We've discussed this a bit on the f-body-classic list. Just seeing thoughts/opinions are over here..

So, finally, after 13 years, I've got another 68 Firebird convertible. It's in CA, and I'll have it shipped to my place right before I come home from Iraq. It's a pretty solid car. Two areas that need work are the engine bay and underside cleanup. Other than that, it's really nice. It's a 400 car with 400 motor and 400 trans. Downsides: drum brakes, no A/C.

I'll have two solid weeks of totally NOTHING to do when I get home. Then, my wife and I are going on a 2 week roadtrip with the car from St. Louis up to Wyoming, South Dakota, back thru Minnesota, and home. No agenda..just driving, camping...enjoying the good 'old USA!

Obviously, driveability is a factor. I'm looking at three major mods:

1. Drum to disc brake upgrade
2. AC
3. EFI/OD Tranny

Safety wise, I'm going with the brake upgrade first. Then I'm thinking AC, then some type of engine/tranny upgrade/swap.

So, focusing on the brakes upgrade...was looking for opinions on source for the brakes. The car has 15" Rally II's. There is a sale right now at PerformanceOnline for a disc brake upgrade kit with 2" dropped spindles for $689.00. It was in the mid 700's when I looked last week. I also saw someone mention a 30%off discount at YearOne. Haven't looked there yet. But thoughts on particular kits, sites for parts...and the 2" dropped spindles vs regular? Seems the big concern was getting the brakes bled correctly before the trip. If need-be, I'll put the brakes on..bleed what I can..take it to local brake shop, and have them power bleed them.

But while I have the brakes apart, I was also thinking of replacing the bushings and linkage parts with a kit from PerformanceOnline as well. I was warned that the polygraphite ones squeak no matter what they say...saw a YouTube vid of it as well Thoughts on that? I'm thinking I could just pull engine/tranny out, pull subframe out...swap brakes/bushings, etc. Take about a week of solid work.

Let me hear your thoughts/concerns! I'm trying to plan this out and get stuff shipped to the house for it to be there when I get home.

OK, for what it's worth:

1) Timeframe. You are going to receive a 44-year old car that you have yet to see in person. You are taking completely on faith somebody else's admissions of what that car needs attended to. For the moment I am going to guess that the 3 major mods you plan on WILL NOT be addressed during your 2 weeks with nothing to do. Even then, I think your plan is a bit optimistic. Make sure you have a good cell phone and some basic tools for that trip!

2) If you ARE planning to get all those mods installed and have the car ready for a major road trip in two weeks - I believe you are WAY too optimistic even if you plan to work very long hours and have a small army of buddys to help you. I think you have been watching too many reruns of Overhauling.

3) 2 inch drop: I suggest you find out first the exact size of the tire and wheel setup you have and live with the car for a while to determine if the 15 inch wheels are causing rubbing issues at full steering system lock before you venture into dropping the front suspension. Especially on a car that may have worn front springs and who knows what else on the front suspension.

What salmon says. You'd probably be better off planning to rent a car for the driving tour.
The AC upgrade is about a week long project all by itself. An upgrade you didn't mention for a long driving trip would be good seats. You could always pull them out after the trip and reinstall the originals. Go over to the pro-touring site and see what they've had to say about drop spindles. I don't remember exactly but I don't think it was good.

If you`re in Calif., why AC? I dont have AC in mine here in Texas....its 'warm' sometimes in summer, but its not a daily driver...as long as you are moving its ok...its a convertible...ac wont do anything for you unless top is up...and I never take mine out if the top needs to be up...only time it goes up is if I get caught in a rain shower

for sure do at least front disc brakes....4 wheel is very 'popular' ,but really doesnt get you much more than fronts....
Robert says abv something about upgrading seats...I have several friends who have done that they love them...personally I just builtin a stationary lumbar support...I drove mine from Houston to Estes Park two summers ago...seats were fine..
as for the drop...I cut my front coils one full turn....did the trick cheaply.

there I just saved you a few thousands! lol

I focus on originality so my thought is, if the car is original, I personally would keep it original. Second, until I knew the car very well, I wouldn't take a "new" 43 year-old vehicle on a trip like that. I took mine on a 2,200 mile trip a couple years ago (same Estes trip as Bjorn) but I know what every grunt, groan, shake, failure, and quirk it has ever had over the past 42 years.

That said, of course I would check out all the safety related systems and parts; brakes, steering, lights, wiper blades, tires, etc. And do all the fluid and filter changes and tuneup items.

Agreed, I had 10 yrs or almost 30k miles on mine before I took it to Estes....so I was fairly familiar with it....before , the longest trips were around 200 a 220 mi trips one way

Wow...

Harsh...

So, the A/C project is out for now. I'll focus on the front disc upgrade for now. Of course I'm going to inspect the car, and change all the fluids and such. This is a 2 week roadtrip..we are going maybe 5 hours, 6 per day..no rush...I've been in Iraq for a year, and I'm needing some open air, sunshine..without mortars, rockets, and freaking dust!

If the car should fail me...that's what makes a roadtrip fun!
I have faith in the car.

But you know, I asked for some helpful advice. I've been on the f-body-classic usenet group for 13 years. I got to know people, and there have been many things said, suggested...

I just got to say..I'm "new" to this site..I've actually been a lurking member since 2007. But..

Salmon said
"2) If you ARE planning to get all those mods installed and have the car ready for a major road trip in two weeks - I believe you are WAY too optimistic even if you plan to work very long hours and have a small army of buddys to help you. I think you have been watching too many reruns of Overhauling."

Was the flame really necessary? I mean, could have you just said "I think it might be a tad much to do in 2 weeks"? No, a personal attack..and I don't really know you...

Nice way to keep members. Luckily I'm a retired cop, I've had a lot worse. But really...

Welcome Norm,

You never really know how a thread is going to go. Try not to take it personally. I'm sure everyone is very happy for you.

Just remember to abuse Bjorn everyday, tell salmon38 a WWII story and encourage him to buy more toy firebirds, befriend Rob cause his from sunny CA, respect the elders from Chicago and tell plenty of unflattering Engineering jokes for Craig & Dave.

And above all...trust anything a canuck tells you!

OK, OK, I forgot to put in the smiley about Overhauling. Sheesh. I can be in a hurry and stick to the "quick reply" screen which does not allow them.

I imagine if you have hung around these boards for a while you probably know our usual feelings about that show. Especially when they enjoy shoving Chebby motors in them. We also can get uptight about Barrett-Jackson syndrome where everyone thinks their rusty hulk is worth a million bucks.

I wasn't really trying to flame. Just trying to caution you a bit about getting back into an FGF a bit slower that it appeared in what you wrote. People who know me in person say I have inherited my father's dry wit.

I see a lot of OEF/OIF vets every day, so I pegged you as a lot younger than you obviously are even though you are most likely a contactor.

And be happy I wasn't Amervo

All of us here would be upset if you got your car, jumped on the road and ended up coming back home on a flat bed. Or you were ready for the trip and your FGF was still in pieces. We want HAPPY FGF owners.

BTW, the engineer jokes work for me too!

Gotta go - there's another toy FGF on e-bay I've GOT to check out

BTW Norm - if you are a retired cop...


we have GOT to hook you up with Banshee!

Norm, Welcome home and thanks for your service.

I would love to take a rode trip like your planing. My car is far from stock but I took it for a all day cruise event (about 6 hours of driving) and it was tuff. Harsh suspension, uncomfortable seats, oil leak smell and exhaust drone. I posted a similar question about road triping a pontiac on the PY site. I think the best advise I got was invest in some good comfortable seats and a overdrive. So I think your direction is pretty good.

I think good breaks and suspension componets are great ideas. Might want to consider Delrin bushings. To bad you can inspect drive the car before you arrive and have parts ordered before you get back. 3 point seat belts might be another safety consideration.

My .02 on this is if you realy want to go on the road trip be very selective and carefull on the projects you take on. They can easily get out of control exspecialy when you throw in unexpected bugs that almost always come up.

Wish you the best of luck

and IF he still has it, the guy in Quincy, I met up with in 04, cop in Boston ,but he speaks "normal", as he`s from Bedford (Dallas /FtW)...LOL


and I went looking for pics of him, but typically me...not any ,just of his car! Even forgot his screename , but it was his badge.

welcome aboard Norm, this is probably the most friendly and knowledgeable Firebird site out there, you`ve come to the right place...

its too bad my buddy Scott here in town doesnt frequent this site...he`s also a retired Cop, from HPD...drives a pale yellow 69 vert....

Is EFI still on your list of plans? Just wondering, I've been reading about the Atomic setup from MSD and it looks really good. I don't have any experience with it though. I like that it retains a 4 bbl carb look, doesn't take many wires, and seems simple to install.

three guys in my local group have tried EFIs, one returned to stock after about a year...the second has a succesfull story/car after some initial problems ,the third is still, after two years struggling to make it work right...
what people usually forget to tell you is that you need another gas tank...or extensive work on your current...and the gain from the EFI ,so far as I undersyand it, 2-4 mpg....imo ,not worth the hassle.

Norm,
I'm sure nobody here intended on bagging on you. It's just that most of us do our own work as well and know that as soon as you take something off it turns into a can of worms and nothing gets put back on until it's clean and painted or coated or fixed and then cleaned and painted. Some are more anal than others but most everyone knows how long a simple project can take. None of the projects you proposed were simple and there are so many things that can go awry. Somethgs just have to be mail ordered because you can't get it local and it all takes time. That's why we thought you were being unrealistic about your timeline. Plus it's just not a good idea to go on a long trip with brand new systems installed and untested.

Ok, well...
First, thanks all for clarifying..but I'm a "tad" stressed over here, and sometimes I tend to be "sensitive". But it's funny...Salmon..if you would have put the :), I would have been a lot better So , please forgive my sensitivity..it didn't matter that I got sick the past couple days.

That being said...

45 y/o...did 20 years as a cop. I got out and went to the railroad for a couple years..that didn't pan out (sucked), so I went to IT

Now about the car...

I think I'm going to tackle the brake upgrade first. I've done a bunch of research. I'm looking at the kit from PerformanceOnline. But someone on here is selling a Wilwood kit unopened. The Wilwood kit uses the stock drum spindles to bolt onto. The POL kit is all new components, including spindles. I'm still debating on the 2" drop spindles or stock spindles.

I've told my wife to expect problems It's an adventure! I just want to enjoy the great American outdoors, without dust, rockets, and the smell of feces everywhere. I come home the end of May. We are leaving the middle of June for 2 weeks. Heading up to Wyoming/South Dakota, and back thru Minnesota.

So, I'm also still wanting to replace the bushings..but I might wait on that. I'll have everything purchased and delivered at home. I'm going to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the first couple days..then I'm tackling the car

So, the A/C upgrade will wait. I think a week is plenty of time to replace bushings and change out the brakes. I have a shop 1/4 mile from my house to press out/in the a-arm bushings.

It's all good if you have AAA or assuming you will have classic car insurance, I'm pretty sure they offer a pretty comprehensive roadside/towing feature.

So it's been around two weeks since your post, what did you end up doing and are you ready to head out on the highway?

Cheers!

Depending on what size rims that you are planning on using I would check into KORE3.com and look at the C5/C6 corvette brake set up. If the car has been sitting for a long time I would look at new tires. If the tires are bad you might want to look into going with a bigger rim so you can put bigger brakes in.
I'm getting ready to install the front brakes within thenext month. But you will need 17" wheels. What is so nice about the kits is that you can buy any replacement parts at the local auto parts store. While Wilwood and Baer are nice and expensive you need to order from them or on-line when something goes wrong.
I just readback through your first post and noticed your comment on dropped spindles. Do a search on pro-touring.com on dropped spindles before you buy any.
Let is know when you will be coming through MN maybe we can meet up.

I would also stayaway from any poly bushings that are used in a rotating location. Check into Hotchkis, for a complete suspension kit or Globalwest for their control arms/del-a-lum bushing kits.

I would second that

X2 on that. That is exactly what I want to do on my 2nd bird I have. But like what Robert said you would need bigger rims.

You never gave a budget so its fun to spend your money:)

I think the Hotchkis kits are a good budget minded kit. If money is not object there are some other kits out there that are very nice like http://scandc.com/new/

since the AC is out I think you should look at some comfy seats and a quick ratio steering.

Sprech asked:
>So it's been around two weeks since your post, what did you end >up doing and are you ready to head out on the highway?

I'm still in Iraq! I don't come home until the end of May. My car is still at the current owner's until I have the auto transporter show up to pick it up. He's driving it around the block, keeping tires filled and battery charged, until I'm ready to get it picked up.

Norm, Welcome to the group! Congrats on the new find, and yes, thanks for all you guys do for all of us!

Make sure yoy check out scarebird: http://www.scarebird.com/ for the drum to disc conversions as well. They are up my way in the Seattle area and the owner is an engineer/machinist for Boeing. Anyway, they offer kits for the conversion that you can use stock parts to build it with and then know you can always get parts when needed...

Anyway, I would concentrate on any known issues, then the brakes, then work your way to any other major projects. It can be done, but as others have stated, it may be a little more difficult with out your own history with the car. But, it is a car none the less, it was made to drive and to get you where your going and obviously has performed that duty for over 40 years... so why not? It's simple to work on and parts are readily available in most cases... I say do it up, get out there and enjoy her!

I wish I had the time and the money, I'd love to drive mine back to Cali for an extended visit... no schedule, no cares... just cruising!

You deserve the pleasure of a good road trip in a true American Classic! Keep us posted and let us know if there's anything we can do to help! Get home safe & soon!

Brett - 67 Drop Top 455!

Norm, I have the Year One Disc Brake conversion on my 69 Bird and it works great. My only complaint is the break peddle is too high now. I had it converted to a Power Booster (ordered seperately) at the same time. I am told the booster bracket installed is the wrong size and is causing the high pedal. Year One runs a lot of 20% off sales if you get on their customer list. Also, simply replacing the foam in the seats made them much more comfortable.

Be safe out there. Im also a cop and was born and raised in IL.