Now i picked up this bird for cheap! im talking 500$ cheap, and that included Delivery
Day 1, first look at the car, it looked pretty solid to me, with a little rust in the seams, and the trunk lid was done (split)
Something didn't look right about this, so i assumed the worst and put a pair of rear quarters on the wishlist
Got it into my side of the shop, and started by pulling the hood off and trunk lid and a few other bits,
then i decided to start tearing into the quarters to see how bad they really were.
not only was that all fiberglass, but they did that same for the trunk pan, so more work
the exhaust literally fell out when i was pulling the smashed rear bumper off
so now we begin
i wont be like the others, im going to do the mechanical myself, but leave bodywork and interior to some friends that own shops that i trust to work on her.
the number on the odo lists 65294.6 miles or 105081.47 Kms
Last edited by Seekerbeta; 03/26/1402:34 PM.
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
It doesn't get much cheaper than that Good luck with the build and keep pictures coming when you can!
Cant wait for summer... 68HO4004spvert Sleddog Iowa
God Bless the men and women past and present that have served this country. Thank you. Support D.A.V. - it helps gives a life back to those who gave so much for us.....
Every time I look at this picture of my car, I am amazed how it looks today. If that doesn't motivate you (or make you throw up), nothing will!.
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
It is an Original Sprint, Optioned with the Bench Fold Down Front Seats, and Automatic Column Shift, parchment interior, any pictures you want, let me know, im not getting rid of the Engine or Trans, i want this girl to be as original as i can get, Brakes are going to be upgraded, and as soon as i can afford it, im getting the PHS documentation on this girl
i also want to thank you all for the kind words, when i started tearing into her, i got a little more depressed, and a little more depressed, i know i have as close to a one of a kind firebird as i can get, but ill be questioning everything i can with you guys as i proceed, it actually looks to have half decent floors, Interior is coming out on sunday after my buddies baptism
Last edited by Seekerbeta; 03/28/1403:46 PM.
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
I applaud you for wanting to keep it original. The Sprints are timepieces of history IMHO. When you go to a cruise night or car show, it will be the only one there, it is almost a certainty.
I will warn you that the Sprint paired up with the ST-300 is not a good combination. If mine wasn't original, I would ditch the auto in a second (I may eventually do it anyways). It's like having a dirt bike with 2 gears.
Oh please post some pics of the front bench and center arm rest.. The parchment is of great interest. My front bench is also parchment with headrests (1969). Where oh where can the correct upholstery be (purchased)?
ill post some pictures of the interior when i pull it out of the car tonight, was working on my 74 Vega Wagon Last night, getting a more streetable 750 Holley on the Engine instead of my 950 Demon.
that was last year when i broke the bellhousing in my TH350 Right in half
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
THis is the OHC CHapter of the POCI. You can join the POCI (just like I did) with their "online" registration which is $20 per year. Smoke Signals make sit completely worth it.
Then when you get your POCI number go to this site:
So i continued tonight by pulling the Benches out front bench rear bench
rust cancer rad out new points and everything (i think the coil might need replacing)
far back look
Parts List to Order So Far
- Rear Quarter Panels L + R - Floor Pan - Full -Trunk Pan - Full - In Rear Fenders - Door? (if i can save them, they dont look to bad, some pounding and some cleanup should bring them back - Door Panels (Interior) Front and Rear - Re-Upolster Bench Seats - New Carpet (came apart in my hands) - Pull Engine and Run on engine stand to check everything out - Exhaust - Drain Gas Tank and inspect, Replace if needed - Battery Tray ( I could save, but probably easier to replace - Transmission Cooler Lines - Flush Clean and Inspect Transmission - Find Appropriate Mirrors - Head Liner - Cleanup and Repair Rally Wheels - New Front Bumper (or if possible re-chrome old one) - Replace Cracked Windshield (probably cheapest thing here) - Find Rear Bumper - Clean, Inspect, Reseal Tail Lights - Primer! - Paint - Clean Inspect and Paint Front Subframe (the oil that the engine was leaking probably saved this from alot of rust) - New Brake Lines - Front Disc Conversion - Remove, Repair/Rebuild Carb - New Fuel Lines - Replace Parking Brake lines - Rebuild Rear Drums - Install 400 Trunk lid (Wedding Present) - Install 400 Hood with Rally Scoop (Wedding Present)
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
Suprisingly, does not look too bad, i think a soak and a coat of paint, and it will be fine, motor looks to be in good shape. I bench tested it and it spun up to full revs without any real squeel or complaint. im going to try giving it a coat of paint on the inside, and some POR 15 on the out, and then i think ill put it back in.
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
when i started working last night, i wanted to pull the Cam Cover and check things over, it got new points so i dont want to fuss with the engine if its broken, so i pulled the inspection cover off and all the bolts and nuts, but the valve cover refused to come.. any ideas?
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
You will need to loosen the four bolts that hold the accessory drive to the motor. This will relax the belt and it will slide off. Then you can remove the cam tower and gear.
You seriously NEED the GM Shop Manual for this engine when doing these repairs.
too many will tell you they have seen one but none of them have ever actually worked on one
Yup. A friend has 69 FB Vert Sprint and he had a local mechanic do his. Although the motor runs fine is makes some noises that the OHC shouldn't. Jerry Woodland is the guy to send the head to have a rebuild and/or any machining done. The bottom end is pretty straight forward. Using the 67 and 69 GM Shop manuals should be good to put everything back together minus any improvements made along the way.
Do what I did and pick up a spare OHC to build and install while you work on the one you want to keep.
I have a guy up here that specializes in pontiac blocks, hes done 2 OHCs (In Tempests) before and he knows how to cram some decent numbers out of the little engines. He has a 350 sitting in his shop that i might "borrow" but at this time im working on getting the body to the point i can get all the welding done on it to get it back into decent shape.
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
So i turned the motor over tonight by hand, and everything was free moving, so i then i hooked up the starter and spun the engine over that way, everything sounded like it was spinning properly, i didn't hear any binding, pulled the inspection cover and checked that the belts were all turning properly, so that makes me feel pretty good that the engine is not siezed.
tried to pull the 3 screws off the timing chain cover, but the one (looking at the engine) on the right is a little bit stripped and i couldn't get enough pressure on it, does anyone know if i can slot it and just replace the screw with a 6pt bolt instead?
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress
So last night started working on the car again, everything else has put the car on the back burner, but i spent about an hour on the car last night, Tore the Pax Door Down (no Pics sorry) and bagged and tagged everything, put the Door mech in the parts washer, looks pretty good now, works freely and doesn't bind
thats what the engine bay looked like when i started tonight
and when i finished.
going to get the rest of the front RAD and possibly the drivers side pulled apart next weekend, then ill pull the motor and trans in one piece.
Last edited by Seekerbeta; 01/30/1505:25 PM.
2002 Nissan Sentra Spec-V 1974 Chevy Vega Wagon - 408SBC - 11s in 1/4 1968 Pontiac Firebird - 4.1L OHC 6Cyl - Red on Red - Bench Interior - Restoration in Progress