I am 16 years old and just bought my first car, a '69 Firebird. I would like to know how to tell if the car is numbers matching, the guy I bought the car from said that he thought it was but he isn't sure. What is a better 4-barrel carb, Holley or Edlebrock(mine currently has the original 2-barrel)? What kind of exhaust system should i put on the car, it has single exhaust right now, is Flowmaster the way to go?
Hey Bigdog Welcome to the best firebird site in the world. As far as carbs go it depends on if you want to stay original or not. I am converting my 2 brl to a 4 on my 67 326 and am staying with a fgf 4 brl I bought on this site. Stay tuned and the real pros on this site will educate you on everything you need to know about your car. I am not one of them but I learn every day from this site. 16 and you already are sharp enough to buy the finest vintage Iron available. You have a bright future my friend. Jimbo
And you were sharp enough to pick the lowest production number of the f/g/f. There is something about the 9, but it's leftover from influence back when I was a kid.
The information here will become an information overload, and you probally do best to ask one question at a time. Some things we'll get in pizzing contests. Other things will cause a uniform response.
The exaust will be a dealer's choice response between custom and kits. As with kits, many f/g/f members have installed kit exaust, and you'll they'll tell you the goods and bads.
With the carburator choice, the pizzing contest comes into play. Lots of us like Quadrajets, and we aren't shy about our preference. There are lots of Holleys too, but it seems that some are a little shy about defending Holleys.
I've known lots of people who have had excellent luck with Holleys. Maybe I didn't try hard enough to give a Holley a chance, but I gave up on them decades ago.
I think that the Eldebrock is a warmed over Quadrajet. The thing is that you can set up your own Quadrajet for a fraction of the money, with the same performance results as the warmed over versions.
A Quadrajet is an incredibally simple carburator. As far as working on them, the toughest thing is a silly little tab that goes on a registered tab. It's down inside of a compartment. Once you know how it's installed, you can use a paper clip or a peice of wire as a tool to position it. Other than finding your own way to dink around with this odd design, anyone with a little wrenching skill can set up a Quadrajet. Some people don't have to work in such fasion, but I set mine up with a hit-or-miss trial by error.
Rather than jumping in with any details, you can go far at increasing your knowledge base if you found a junked Quadrajet. You can probally get one for free because the Holley folks call 'em Quadrajunk. After you get your junk carb, do some internet searches. (I didn't save them, but I have looked, and there are many excellent hits for getting information as to the performance guts for a Quad.) Next, tear into the junk carb, so that you know understand what makes what tick.
There is also a little pizzin about choice of 4bbl intakes. One thing to keep in mind is that the stock manifold has shown to have excellent flow, often exceeding aftermarket manifolds.
So if you're trying to stay on a budget--a person of your age isn't on a budget, are you?--your best bang for the buck would be a stock manifold, whatever choice of carburator that you decide to side with in the pizzing contest about carb choice, and dueal exaust. Headers help, but they can be miserable to install. Also, trying to break manifold bolt/studs loose can turn into instant disaster, so ponder this issue if you're thinking about header upgrades. After all, you already have cast iron manifolds, so you can plumb the dueals off the existing flanges.
One warning! These cars are like crack cocaine. One taste of the rock, and it might be a lifetime addiction.
Welcome to the world of FGF! I am so jealous, wish I had one at 16.
Amervo is right on the money when it comes to carbs, everyone is different and likes one or the other for whatever reason. I have an edelbrock but since I am also relatively new to the carb world, I don’t have a bias yet. I am trying to find my way as well. But I have one that is now dialed in and I am not messing with it.
My first bit of advice would be to go to the FAQ section of this site and just start reading. There is a lot of information here and you will learn a lot about your new car. The next thing I would do is after your done reading all of those posts, search for anything that you have questions about. Chances are it has been discussed in the past. I did this and it was in valuable.
I would also suggest that you see the post by Ashtray, he is also a new FGF owner and asked a similar question a while back. Go to: /forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=003147#000000 There was a lot of positive feedback on this thread.
My first point is always this, safety first! Make sure your car is safe before you start spending money on performance and appearance. I bought my bird this past August and I “thought” it was a very safe and strong car,,,, Wrong! After having the car a little while I discovered several safety issues with it. Had I known these things before I would have never drove the car. Be sure you check all safety items first. When I talk of safety items I am talking about anything and everything that keeps your car on the road and everything that brings it to a stop. Tires, brakes, bearings, bushings, tie rods, couplers, seat belts, ball joints, leafs, springs, shocks, etc… Check them all.
After you ring out all the safety items then start with mechanical issues, is everything in proper working order? What needs to be addressed now, what can wait, and what is just a nice to fix thing.
Basically, make a list of all things that need to be done on the car to make it 100%. Then categorize them by area and priority. This way you can see the whole car in front of you and you wont feel to over whelmed by it. I did this for repairs that needed to be done as well as parts that needed to be replaced. It has really helped to not only organize the project and has allowed me to see that I am making progress when I cross things off the list.
Oh, and yes, these cars are like Crack, you just cant get enough and they will consume you.
Well I think that is a good start for now, enjoy your bird and don’t hesitate to ask questions here. Everyone is just great and there is no such thing as a dumb question. Good to have you aboard. Lets see some pic's.
For $339, you really can't beat the Flowmaster 17139 kit for the '69. It's 2.5" tubes all the way back with an H-Pipe to help equalize exhaust gases, and it includes a set of Flowmaster Delta-40 mufflers.
And it includes EVERYTHING you need; hangers, clamps, screws, bolts...nothing is left out.
Oh - I'd like to also point out the obvious, but none the less important - these old cars aren't designed like the new cars (really?)- they don't have abs, airbags, traction control, crumble zones, etc etc. They do have a lot of horsepower (and torque) - so with that combination, it's easy to get hurt in one of these. It's a great car to have, but I wouldn't someone drive it full time. I know people here probably do, but all I'm saying is that you're taking your chances.
Have fun with it, learn how it handles and stops (try a panic stop in an empty parking lot), and drive prepared. Keep a good distance from the car in front of you, b/c these old birds don't stop as well as a new Accord!
Congrats on the car purchase - yeah, I just posted here recently, and got a ton of info right off the start. Great site!
'68 Firebird, 350-4, 2 spd auto, triple black, Dlx Interior
I'd recommend buying Jim Hand's Book on Pontiac Engines. He's got decades of experience and some interesting data on exhaust system flows, head flows, and camshafts.
