Some minor fixes
It might seem bizarre to start the page off with a shot of the car in the
air but that's how it started... with an oil change in late May or early June. Work and
family just kept me way too busy.
The intention was to get the nose buffed as a finishing touch to the repair work done
at the end of 2008. I never got around to it, although probably by 2010 sometime. There's
just a need for a little buffing out of the hazing that was left behind here and there
on the nose piece. A remnant of the accident was the front struts being destroyed and
some looseness in the steering... that led to replacing the struts with adjustable
units (since GM no longer offers direct original replacements... their loss) and ball joints,
since they were still the originals after 22 years. While we were at it, the bearings were
repacked and tightened up.
A cursory check of the strut mount bearings showed they were also pretty much due
for replacement. Again, no replacements from GM so the aftermarket stepped up to fill that
requirement.
It was good to see the strut mount area itself was still in good shape after so long.
At the same time, a decision was made to swap out the tires, on the car since 1997 or so.
The source of an annoying leak was also found, in the right left tire. Yet another screw to annoy me.
We found another screw in another tire but no leak had started yet.
The original rear drums are still doing ok after 130 000 kms. No idea what my options will be when
it comes time to replace those things. Got my fingers crossed.
The original muffler is sadly beginning to sound a bit ratty. There are signs of eventual perforation
on the top surface, so I think it's just a matter of time. Thankfully, I have a spare original waiting
in the wings.
Besides a little bit of commuting late in the season with the new tires, the car didn't see much
action for 2009. This photo shows the interesting evolution of the Trans Am styling in the span of
10 model years. And then it was time to park the car before the snow arrived.
