So here we go, this is the story about my 1969 Firebird 400 Convertible, bought on Ebay 01/24/11.

I will try to upload pictures during the process to get this car back on the road, questions, comments and ideas are more than welcome.

The timeframe is 2-3 years, remember that I live in Norway and even the smallest part will take a week or more to get shipped here.

Skol!

First off all the auction pictures..

Why dont people cover vert roof's to save the interior

Thank you and Ditto !

This car has been out for a long time, if you look at the pictures from the auction you will see that the double pictures are taken at another location way earlier than the other pictures

So at this forum I did meet Bjorn and as he was living pretty near to the place the FB was stored, I asked him if he could go and take a look at it, and he said yes !

I owe you big time Bjorn, Thank you !

So where's Bjorn's 'new' picts?

Good luck with it.

So here is some of the pictures Bjorn took 1/27/11

More pics

Wow! And I thought my project was bad. You'll need a lot of patience with that one.

So it might be possible to save the hood,fenders and doors, some of the interior and the drivetrain.

It will for sure need a new complete floor, trunklid and both quarterpanels, that is 1565 USD in sheet metal.

Wow, welcome to the site and good luck with that project. It's great that there are people out there willing to take on such a project. Prepare yourself realistically, whatever you think it's going to cost, multiply that times three and you'll be close. I base that on my own experience and many many projects that I've watched first hand over the years...

Ohh I know what it will take, but thank you for the warning anyways.

My ongoing project a -73 Eldorado convertible was one of those 3 x the budget cars, the problem was the interior, I ended up importing a low milage HT for parts so the interior on that one did cost my 5000 USD give or take a little, but I got a 98% perfect orignal interior..

On the rust bucket it is a different story where you actually can put together a new car from repro parts.

Your shipping 80% scrap metal to Norway. Why not get something better. IMO

Why buy someone else's cobbled up pos! Mine was in that condition or worse, and when its done I know what I will have.

Well as I said in another tread so can I buy a 8000 USD car and have the same expences on sheetmetal that I will have on this one.

Sure it will not look so bad, but after changing the lower quarters, the lower fenders, the trunk floor and patched up the floor the cost will be the same.

I think it is easier to change a whole panel than to cut and patch, the result will be better and you will for sure not use any more time on it.

Have you welded up panels on a unibody 69 FB before?

I feel the same about changing the whole panel I am doing just that and I feel it will be a better job in the long run, for just a daily beater patch panels will work but for those of us that spend days just trying to get the gaps exact why not do it right the first time. I see that as a diamond in the rough but it wouldn't scare me to undertake it, some of us love a challenge.
Good luck and remember when you start to get frustrated just walk away it will still be there the next day.

Nope, but it is not much different from the second generation birds and Nova's I have done, and remember that I am in Norway, Europe, if I push it so does maybe 1% of the cars here have a frame, they are all unibodys buddy, no problem

I agree, I have the same project awaiting me but would you spend good money to ship scrap?

Thanks Jerry

Gus for us on the other side of the pond it is not scrap, I could import this car, clean it up and sell it within a week AND make a couple of 1000 bucks on it.

I have taken mine apart and all I'm left with (that's any good) is:

front clip
roof
dash
RH rocker
interior components
other small components
even frame is no good

I've done my research for the last 13 months and if your just doing patches it's fairly straight forward but once your into full floor, rockers and frames the cost goes up by 3.
Most of these projects fail at that point because they have difficulty aligning the floors with the quarters and the trunk pan. You can get a complete floor to trunk with frame for $2800 but you still have to stitch it into the existing body.
I have followed a lot of threads and they fade to black when they get to this point. With the right equipment it can be done but a project that does need a full pan and frame is cheaper. These cars can be bought for less than $5k. Craig got a car that's pretty rough but only needs patches for less than $2K. And it's nos. matching 400/4sp!

How much does it cost to import?

I remember when I lived in germany, american guys were selling their us made cars for 3 and 4 times what they were worth here but over there they were a rare items, it was worth it to them to restore things most of us parted. That was 25 years ago and some of these cars are harder to come by now

Then maybe we should hook up with Loffen and send him cars to flip.
At least then they might get built cost effectively.

Seriously, if your interested I can find, strip, get the new panels and ship it all to you to sell.

Let the man get on with it Mine was rough to, numbers matching, but had the best 4 years of my life putting it all together, spending $ and getting new parts in the mail

The shipping with pickup is around 2000 USD then you have to pay 25% VAT of the shipping and what you paid for the car.

If the car is 30 years or older you do not pay any taxes to get the license plates, just 900 USD in different fees.

The value of cars depends on a lot of stuff, here are a link to a couple (1 USD = 5.9 Nok):

Prices here on old US cars are so so, you can get a good 68 350 HO vert for 38,500
http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=22475367

This is the cheapest FGF I could find now, a 350 with 400 engine
http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=21860326

Sure just send me a PM with what you want for it shipped to 07036 NJ, but no hurry, it will take at least 6-8 weeks before I get the FB home to check it up.

PM sent

Loffen, I like it! Its not that hard as long as you take lot of measuerments and take your time. Here is a link to my build thread if your interested. https://firstgenfirebird.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=215325&page=1

Hei Roy

Great thread !
I guess mine will be simular, but I was thinking of taking it piece by piece (floor, left side, right side)not all at once.
Did you have any problems with the quality and fitment of the sheet metal ?

I had problems with full quarters around the taillight section I am almost done with one side now waiting for a replacement outer wheel house that was molded wrong. Full trunk floor fit like a glove, I took a break from mine for a couple months to do other things but will be starting again next week. I posted pics on facebook

Thanks, I think once you start you will find its better to do it all at once, that way you can get all the new parts to fit together better. As far as the fitment everything fit very well with very little "massaging". And one reason I think its better to do it all at once is because I think the new pieces fit each other better than they fit the OEM pieces.

a couple more...

and the best part..two patch panels...!

Wow.. and I mean.. wow..!!

If you can turn that thing around and get it road worthy, show worthy, my hats and a few cases of beer off to you...I salute you!!

One of the comments I still remember from talking to a body guy decades ago was that its always best to start with the best possible frame/unibody, shell you can, and then build around that. You will save yourselv a lot of time and money in the long run.

My beloved Buffy with the nice original floorboards, etc. is looking more and more sweet...