Howdy Boys,

I went out to the garage this evening -- stared at the Firebird -- and realized that I don't have the first stinking idea where I should be going from here.

It's moments like these that I realize I'm waaaaay over my head and probably should have stuck with model cars. Ok, feeling sorry for myself moment is over.

It's a 69. I have the subframe detached from the car, the motor and tranny are removed from the subframe. I basically have a subframe on front wheels.

The other thing I should say is that I'm finding a stunning lack of clarity in the various manuals that I have. I've got the Fisher Body Manual, the "assembly manual", and the Pontiac Service Manual (all on CD). Is it just me or is the "assembly manual" a bunch of hand-scrawled notes from 1969 that are impossible to understand?

Anyway...I want to get this frame cleaned up, sand-blasted, and restored, but am wondering do I leave the suspension/steering stuff all attached and go see the sand-blaster or should I *remove* everything first (control arms and whatnot) and do them as pieces?

And speaking of suspension removal, I feel totally over my head here. Can I safely start unbolting stuff or will the springs come shooting out like a missile?

Better yet, is there some place in one of these various books that actually describes how to remove this stuff? If so, can somebody point me to the relevant section?

Jeez, I just re-read all this and I sound like a stooge. That's mostly because I am. Just feeling overwhelmed.

I guess in summary, can somebody advise me on what I should do with this subframe with front wheels along my path to restoration?

Thanks. Sorry for the long post.
Tom