The Trans AM – A Work in Progress – Yves Landry Foundation

January 2022 – The Launch Centre update

We have the front dash and cowl that was rotted out fully repaired and painted and all four rims are complete and done now. We moved locations so we had to put it on hold now to get our new ship set up. I am now teaching an aviation program and only have one auto class so i try to get as much done as we can during that class. I ordered some engine parts and will be taking then to the college next week as they are helping with the engine. They have all of the tooling needed to do it and have agreed to help.

March 2021 – The Launch Centre update

Here are some pictures from just before our last shutdown. In these pictures, we are doing some final adjustments on the seams and gaps.

January 2020 – The Launch Centre update

I believe the last (update) was just after we discovered the substantial deterioration of the floors and dash panel behind the windshield. We have been focusing on repairing those areas before we proceed with finally reassembling the body panels prior to preparing them for final primer and paint.
We made contact with a new sponsor that came to our facility and removed the windshield with the students in order for us to access the rusted out area. That business is KJ’s auto glass out of Fort Erie. He will also re install when we are ready.
The floor and dash are both repaired and ready to paint.
We have also found another sponsor that is helping with some of the auto body finish materials. Treschak Enterprises from Fonthill has given us some paint and will help with more in the future.

October 2019 – The Launch Centre update

Well, sometimes in the world of classic vehicle restorations we seem to make one step forward and two back. This week we dismantled the interior to allow us to proceed with the details of the body work and found a few holes in the front floor section. This is pretty common on older cars. We are currently looking to source the patch pieces to repair it.
Today, we had a new partner come in and demonstrate how to remove a windshield for the class using the latest tools and technology. We knew that there was a bit of rust behind it on the lower corners of the dash, however we did not know it was so severe. Again, a common fault area with the Trans Am. In order to repair it properly, we have to remove the dashboard and cut out the rotted area. We will then rebuild the area with metal as there is no parts available to repair this. This is a tricky spot that will be finicky and will take a bit of time to repair.
It is always good for students to see issues like this because a lot of time is spent during a restoration repairing things that you never saw before things were taken apart. They have learned where to inspect vehicles for common rot areas and to take the time before purchasing to fully check over these cars.

Today, we had a new partner come in and demonstrate how to remove a windshield for the class using the latest tools and technology. We knew that there was a bit of rust behind it on the lower corners of the dash, however we did not know it was so severe. Again, a common fault area with the Trans Am. In order to repair it properly, we have to remove the dashboard and cut out the rotted area. We will then rebuild the area with metal as there is no parts available to repair this. This is a tricky spot that will be finicky and will take a bit of time to repair.
It is always good for students to see issues like this because a lot of time is spent during a restoration repairing things that you never saw before things were taken apart. They have learned where to inspect vehicles for common rot areas and to take the time before purchasing to fully check over these cars.

June 2019 – Update from The Launch Centre

Currently we are continuing on the exterior of the car. We have most parts in primer and have started bolting these parts back onto the car and aligning them. This tends to take a while as it is finicky and difficult to get all of the lines and gaps equal and perfect on older cars that have had parts changed but we are coming along pretty well.

March 2019 – Update from The Launch Centre

Just wanted to give you a heads up into our progress. We ended up completely dismantling the engine for the trans am. We originally wanted to just replace the camshaft and lifers as they were showing signs of wear and were causing some internal engine noise. In addition, by upgrading the camshaft, we will be adding some power to the engine (always a must!). After we removed the parts required to access the camshaft, we noticed some significant wear on some of the other internal engine components so we have completely dismantled the engine to assess and repair. In order to help with this as there is some machine shop work and equipment required, we have asked Niagara College for their partnership with this part of the restoration. I took the engine parts there this week and will be working with them on that end. Another good thing about this partnership is that some of my students from last year are at the college and will continue to be involved with the project even though they have moved on from our facility.