After a few weeks of some of the coldest weather I've ever seen in NC, I got the car out today--about 60 degrees. Enough MaxLead 2000 gas in the tank and cruised to town with my 7 year old son in the back. As we crossed Main Street in downtown Kernersville (a small town needless to say), a couple of high school girls gave us many cat calls and thumbs up. Well, my autistic 7 year old boy had never seen anything like that before so he was really impressed. Later, in a slow section of our neighborhood going uphill, I did a little rolling burn out, and he said, "Be careful, Dad." LOL
Anyway, when we got home, I had him tell Mom that we got thumbs up from some pretty girls (in a Mayfair Maize Bird no less). I got a lot of "mileage" out of it. I think he is starting to like the Bird. Being autistic, he has shown little interest in cars or girls so far. Now, his 3 year old little brother already talks about race cars and has told older girls, "You are beautiful." I know who is going to cause all the problems...................
Not a significant post here, but I needed to tell somebody!
That sounds pretty impressive to me! What a great experience... Just one of many, many more to come between you, the Pontiac's and the family...
That reminds me, it's almost time for us to take our annual pictures of the boys in the cars. We do that about once a year (if not more) to watch how they grow up in and around the cars we plan on keeping... a life time...
That's actually the reason I put off getting my car back on the road for about 4 years. Then it struck me one day that he didn't know how to drive a 4sp. :P
My youngest boy is 17 and he learned to drive a stick this fall in a Geo tracker we keep at our cabin in northern Michigan. I'm pretty sure that he is going to want to take the Firebird out when it is done. He's gonna have to get past his mom first though. Pretty smart to make the bird here car eh????
Hopefully, you don't have that fold-down back seat option.
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure. I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe. 1968 400 convertible (Scarlet) 1976 T/A - 455 LE (No Burt) 1976 T/A New baby, starting full restoration. 1968 350 - 4 speed 'vert - 400 clone (the Beast!) 1968 350 convertible - Wife's car now- 400 clone (Aleutian Blue) (Blue Angel) 2008 Durango - DD 2008 GXP - New one from NH is AWESOME! 2017 Durango Citadel - Modern is nice! HEMI is amazing! 1998 Silverado Z71 - Father-daughter project 1968 400 coupe - R/A clone (Blue Pearl) (sold) 1967 326 convertible - Sold 1980 T/A SE Bandit - Sold
Forgot to say: Thats really cool BetWinner. Keep your family involved. Made the mistake of let'n my wife and kids drift away from my cars. Raise'n them in sports and all. Plus all the fire dept activities(and parties) over the years.
No way i'm let'n him(19) drive a 12 sec/114 mph(1/4 mile) car without me in it even though i did at age 15-20. Not just a chick magnate, also a cop magnate. They dont let you go with a just a warning or ticket anymore. She(22) has more seat time at the track then me till the other engine is built and sprayed. Another reason, she has a better reaction time then me...
Forgot to say: Thats really cool BetWinner. Keep your family involved. Made the mistake of let'n my wife and kids drift away from my cars.
I need to do a better job of taking them out in the Firebird, especially since I have my Judge in the basement and don't let them near it. The problem is that I'm so picky about what is done with the cars.
I know---I need a beater too!! Little Wife will love that.......................
You keep the Judge in the basement? How do you keep her from get'n out? Seriously, you keep your GTO in there? Is it a drive-in, or more like a trophy room? Can picture myself cary'n everything piece by piece up 7 steps, then down the 20 into mine and assembling it back together.
Thats why i bought the 68 for a street/strip car. So i wouldnt do anything except try'n restore my 67. But now i'm on my 4th yr fix'n up the 68
You keep the Judge in the basement? How do you keep her from get'n out? Seriously, you keep your GTO in there? Is it a drive-in, or more like a trophy room? Can picture myself cary'n everything piece by piece up 7 steps, then down the 20 into mine and assembling it back together.
It is a drive in--a little over 50 feet long and wide enough to get both doors open. I have owned this Judge since 1979 when I was 19. I had it repainted, but except for a few parts that I have now corrected (wheels, shifter, voltage regulator, master cylinder) every part, bolt, nut, washer, etc are original. It was undercoated before it was sold in 1969, and I'm now removing it and refinishing the rear, frame, etc. Removing undercoating with a propane torch/heat guy with plastic razor blades is a huge chore, but the original paint is under it so that's what I'm doing. I have the rear out and have received the replated bolts/nuts back. I am sanding the axle tubes to bare metal with sandpaper--looks good so far. So this is mainly what I do in my spare time--the little time that I have. I plan to have it points judged if I ever get finished underneath it.
I drove it in 1979-1980 and got a daily driver when I graduated from college in May 1981. It has more miles than the Firebird at 89,000. It had 72,000 in 1979.
Wow, you have "spare time? I know were going through the same things with our boys being about the same age. I'm glad to hear your making more progress on the GTO than I am on the bird or the Mustang (pulling the moros out of both and redetailing the engine bays and motors, new tranny in the Mustang and putting everything back in by or before spring is the goal)
I hope you are taking some pix along the way to share with us at some point?
I hope you are taking some pix along the way to share with us at some point? Keep up the good work!
Yeah, spare time is very little. If you saw how slow I am, you would laugh. I will probably end up taking the engine out too. I hope to get the rear end back in this summer--need to replace the brake/fuel lines also. I don't think that I can make the original fuel line wire wrapping look new. I am taking some pictures--such as the original paint on the rear to prove that I did it as the factory did because mine was not painted the accepted way. My 1C Baltimore Judge is also red oxide and body color under there, while the accepted is black paint and body color. There are other original differences from the accepted, but this is a Firebird board so I will not go on about them.
I hope your family is well. Our two boys will work you to death! But it is mostly fun.
Wow, another guy who kept his favorite car from the 70's. Finding out theres quite a few of us. I've had my 67 since 79. Bought it after my very 1st car(68 FB) was pretty much beat to death from drag-n-road racing along with winter salt. Swear i must have put that thing in the ditch weekly whenever there was snow on the roads. Drove the 67 on/off till 93 when the rust had finally taken it over. Its 90% original. Picked up a 68 GTO few yrs ago to restore. All these yrs i've never owned a GTO, but probly gon'a have to sell it to finish the FB's. Worst part is, it's the most solid body muscle car i've owned.
Wow, another guy who kept his favorite car from the 70's. Finding out theres quite a few of us. I've had my 67 since 79. Picked up a 68 GTO few yrs ago to restore. All these yrs i've never owned a GTO, but probly gon'a have to sell it to finish the FB's. Worst part is, it's the most solid body muscle car i've owned.
I've been luck with the rust issue. I stole the Firebird from Brett's (1stgenbirdman) part of the country--Washigton State, and he was kind enough to look at it with me since I'm mostly a dumb GTO guy.
About the only rust in my Judge is on top of the rear end and the rear springs where both of them were not painted. I have used naval jelly to remove the rust from the top of the nodular iron center section--it took a couple of bottles to get it all off. Most of the frame still has the factory paint on it and some undercoating so I'm just sanding it down my hand and repainting.
Some day I'll get a nonoriginal engine Bird and make a hot rod out of it if the purist in me will allow it.........................................