He saw my want ad and decided that he probably wouldn't be able to get to it so he sold it to me at a resonable price. It needs a rear quarter patch and drivers side floor pans. Other than that it is a fairly solid car.

I was wondering if the stock posi diff would hold up with a 400 hp 400 4 speed and wide tires. The car is going to be a driver so I just want. To get some insight on direction to head. I dont want to get everything together and then brake it the first drive out

Your rear should be a HD 4-pinion type. I don't' think the factory issued the 3.90 and 4.33 in a non HD form.

Your center case should have a large embossed "N" on it (for nodular) on the top just behind the pinion nut - but that's basically impossible to see with the rear end in the car. I have a photo but it's 35mm.

Some experts out there claim the Pontiac 8.2 HD 4-pinion rear is stronger than a Chevy 12-bolt.

Nice find, please keep us updated on your restore.
Cal

I thinking about what I wanna do about my car as far as color and body. I dont have the funds to find a correct motor and I have a lead on the close ratio trans that will work. Will modifying the car and changing the color really change the value of the car since it is not a numbers car??? I am thinking about putting the camaro spoiler on and a few other little mods. I really dont like the color it came with but dont want to damage its value. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your help. The restoration will start soon

Depends what your end plan is.
Do you plan on selling it?
Are you building the car for an investment?
To me you have a rare car that is incomplete.
Trying to find all of the correct parts can take time and money. But could be a challenge and fun in the end.
I would either try and sell it to someone who is looking for that exact car. Or if you have no interest in selling it I would build it to make you happy.
But, I would not make changes that cannot be reversed or throw away any of the original parts.
With that being said if you want the rear spoiler you will have to drill into a 400 trunk lid.
The paint can always be changed at a later date to the original color.

If you are concerned about future value, unfortunately yes, every change will lower the value. Anyone purchasing it will look at it as what will it cost to undo what you did.

This is really the same for any rare car.


So:
1) Not worry about the value and build what you want.
2) Sell it, purchase a clean body and build what you want.
3) Restore it, drive it, and then sell it if you want something different. Skip on the real expensive parts if finance is an issue such as carb and block. They can affect value, but not as much as personal modifications. Get the correct heads and repo manifolds. The color is actually really nice when done correctly.

Brian

4) Give it to me as a belated Christmas present

Sell it to a collector that has the $ to restore it.
Should make enough to get you a good driver.

Unless I'm mistaken, since the front bumper is not a 400 bumper, I would guess that it was in an accident at some point(why change bumpers). You'll want to check the frame, etc.

The car may have had some minor damage to the bumper but it was no in anyaccident that i can tell. It still has all of the original sheet metal up front including the ram air core supper block off plates I dont know why it dont have the 400 bumper but I kinda like the smooth look.

Heres some front end pics

So heres a quick question. What is my car worth in original condition without the original motor? I don't have ton of money to put in to buying a original motor and I don't plan on selling it. Any input is greatly apreciated.

there is no such thing as buying an original motor

Best you can get is period correct 400.

Well a guy on the forums found a couple code correct motors but 7 and 9 grand is out of my budget and will be for a long time. I am just going to build the yz block I have with 16 heads and put it back to original looking under the hood and paint it how I want and if I ever hit the lottery maybe put it back to stock

It has happened a couple of rare times according to stories I have read in Hemming's Muscle Machines over the years.

Simple question to ask, extremely difficult to answer without lots more info and pictures.

IMHO, maybe $3,000. I say that just to get the conversation started.

I was going to say $2000 depending on what the rest of the car and the interior is like. I paid under $2k for my numbers matching 400 coupe a few years back.
(Just for comparison)
IMHO, without the matching drivetrain, you just have another firebird.... may as well have a base model.

In that case I wont worry about the keeping it original and just build how i want it. You guys may have got great deals on your cars but the only cars I found under 4 grand were rusted so bad they almost need a new body or were 350 cars. It was what I wanted and since it still has the 3.90 posi i think that it is worth what i payed. It may not be original but it is still a ra1 car. It is never going to be sold so I guess it will just be made how i want it to be.

I think you would have a line down the street for 2K and I would be first in line.

Any desirable car definitely has value even without the original engine. If the rear frame is in good shape – probably closer to 6K.

Build and drive it. Just do not chop it up.
(Still think the color is nice)

Brian

The only real mods I wanted to do is remove the front fender emblems and put a spoiler on

Resto projects here have become very hard to find. Any original 400 car in restorable cond. would draw good dollars here. Numbers matching only matters if you sell it, nobody else needs to know. Build and enjoy, nice car. I paid 4000 for my numbers matching 400 coupe with major front end damage and rough body and interior. I'm sure I'd get that back easily.

Great price on car stories are sort of like fishing stories...

Great idea. If your not trying to make money off of it, build it exactly how you want it. I have a base model car and that's what I am doing. My car had no motor, transmission, and an incorrect rear end in it.

The prices I'm reading make me feel like I'm on another planet! You will not find any first gen Firebird that is in decent running and driving shape for less than 12k here in Quebec. On second thought, I guess Quebec is kind of like another planet....

Spring time should be interesting. The dollar is tanking right now. We will probably be in 85-89 cents CND to the US buck. That's going to slow if not kill any car purchases in the US by Canadians.

If you want to visit Canada, this year might be the best time to come in recent memory.

Exports do better with a lower CND dollar...at least

So I just bought a m21 trans with shifter and linkage for my car. I had to buy it cause the price of 500 was to good to pass up. The firebird will be put on hold till I get my wifes nova driving. Blew up the rear end and have been rebuilding l. As soon as its done then back in bird mode

I'd say you got a deal there...

Thats why I had to buy it now I just need to get a Bellhousing and some of the small parts. I have a while till my motors is completed

The weather has been nice here the last few days time to remove that slush box out of the car. Four speed I got ended up being a better deal than I thought. Trans had been rebuilt recently. Shifter and sincronizers in great shape and just have to re seal the side cover. Progress. Slow but in the tight direction.

Do you have all of the correct linkages, shifter etc? Did it come from another Firebird? I'm curious because I'm, contemplating the same thing, but with a Super T10 from a second gen.

I honestly dont know what the trans shifter came from. The trans had all the shifter and linkage on it I may have to change the shifter handle. I have some of the linkage still in my car but some of the springs and other little parts are missing. I will let you know more when I get it going back together

I got my transmission today it is in that shape except for one little broken tab by the trans mount. I pulled out the center counsel and found some cutting done to the tunnel to install the auto shifter. Unfortunate but repairable. Now all I need to do is start the body repair here soon. I hope that I can get it on the road soon.

We need pictures!

Here is a few pics of the car tunnel,trans and heads I have bought over the last few weeks.

As soon as I get the ok to bring my car up to my body guy its going to be getting underway. Right now he is working on a 70 440 six pack shaker cuda. He is a mopar guy but he is a good guy. Cant hold the mopar thing against him. I will be working on the sheet metal first and get it ready. I will need time to think about the color.

Started removing the interior and front end parts. Hope to take to body shop in the next month

My body guy just sold a 69 charger 500 hemi car and is now in search of his dream car. A 70-71 cuda converible. If anyone knows of a project one for sale let me know. Hes going to do the body on my bird at cost of materials so at least I can do is ask around. Thanks for all the help with my bird.

I started to take my car apart and found someone had cut some of the wires behind the dash. I hope that I can fix it. I took the gauges out se see how bad they were but found they just need a good cleaning along with the outer metal part needing refinished. The car has(working to the person I bought it from) it has around 119954 miles on it. And sat for around in a barn for 27 years.