Hello everyone,

I guess I have finally been hit by a midlife crisis (I'll be 40 soon) I bought a daily-driver (generous) condition 1967 Firebird that has non matching #s body, engine and trans. What makes this even more interesting is that I am not what you would call "mechanically" capable. That is the very reason I didn't purchase a matching #s car, but one that I would like to fix up to the point where it will be a daily driver....and maybe learn a little with regards to cars on my little journey. So, I am seeking help in both the Firebird area, and possibly the "home mechanic" area. I will leave the big tickets items (engine rebuilds etc) to professional shops, however I wouldn't mind being able to do just about every small and mid level job on this vehicle myself. The vehicle itself has been "partially" restored, one of the floor pans was rusted out and it was replaced, not a good job...but it's "ok." There is some surface rust on the undercarriage. Vin indicates that this was originally a 6 cylinder coupe.

I plan on ensuring that the vehicle is mechanically sound first, which I believe will require a thorough look over the engine, trans, brakes and suspension...here the learning curve will be pretty steep but I will do what I can by myself and find a competent mechanic for the harder stuff.

This will be followed by redoing the entire interior, and getting the gauges hooked up and working. This part I will attempt to do mostly myself (tear out the seats and get them upholstered etc). Eventually (years from now) I will redo the entire body, but that is a long term goal.

So, without any further ado, I have my first questions.

I have been trying to figure out exactly what I have from an engine perspective. The gentlemen that sold me the car told me that it is a 1973 Pontiac 400 with a Holley 4160. It may, or may not have been rebuild at some point, I am not sure. So I have been looking for the Date Stamp and can't find it, however as you can see below in the picture I did find the XY, which indicates that it is a 400.

So could one of you fine folks do a noobie a favor and given the attached pictures tell me what I have :from an engine perspective? Also, if there are any more firebird resources that can help me with my project, please advise..thank you very much.

Welcome aboard! Lots of good resources here. You may want to look around on my site as well to. It is in my signature. There is some good resources there too. Here is a link to how to document your motor. http://www.teufert.net/identify/identify.htm

You'll need to get the date code on the back behind the distributor and block code behind passenger head. Since there are several years YX to get details.

Welcome. I have '67 400 coupe so I am pretty familiar with the 1st year. I would start off by getting the original factory documents for your car so you know what you really have:

Pontiac Historical Services

Next I offer this website with excellent factory and service documentation online in the "Library" section:

The First Gen Site

I would also put together my own reference library. I am probably old school, but I like books and manuals at my fingertips. I would suggest having on hand:

1) Factory 1967 Fisher Body Manual
2) Factory 1967 Pontiac Service Manual
3) Factory 1967 Supplemental Firebird Service Manual
4) Camaro Restoration Handbook by Ron Sessions (shows you how to disassemble the car)
5) 1967 Camaro Factory Assembly Manual (Shows you how to put it back together/no Firebird manual available)
6) Chilton's 1967 - 81 Firebird Manual for basic info (like tuneup specs)

Oh my. It appears that you bought somebody elses abortion. Probably not that bad but if you plan to drive it everyday I hope you don't have to go too far from home(walking distance).
On the driver side of the block just forward of the motor mount there is a verticle number cast into the block that will say 400, 455(not sure if they did 350s). Date code will be on the dist pad.
It's a nice looking car. Love the rookie year.
Thing about it is you need 3 things to do a car( two out of three won't get it). You need the TIME, the MONEY, and the PLACE. And you need all three at the same time.
Good luck. You bought your ticket. Get on. Hang on and try to enjoy the ride. We're always here with free advice.

This can't be it, can it?..doesn't match the YX if it is a 75...

That is the heads date code. This link I provided earlier shows the locations of all the codes. http://www.teufert.net/identify/identify.htm

The block number is visible on the passenger side through the gap between rear of hood and firewall.... the date code at the back of the block is best seen from the driver's side.... both are on horizontal surfaces.

Other sites that may be handy:
www.wallaceracing.com/engine.htm
www.spottsperformance.com/engineid.htm

when I bought mine 14 yrs ago, previous owner had installed a 73 - 400 also...its a fairly powerless engine , but depending on the heads...it came with 4C,4X ,for a 170 hp, or a 4X for 185/230 hp...you can always get better heads to get power...I bought 5C heads with larger valves from a 75 (these are fairly "unknown" heads, meaning normally cost less than the more 'known' 6X heads) and had them milled down to 90-92 CC..for a fairly good power...and could still use regular gas

Scuba,
I just got done (99.99% anyway) with my 67 and if your close I can help you with some of the stuff mechanically. I'm in north Orange County, I restored my non matching 67 Firebird with a 71 400 in it.

thanks LouC I may have to take you up on that offer. I am located in the lompoc area. Anyways, quick update, with a friend of mine we rebuild the engine. It ended up being a 71' 400 with 455 heads and a ram air IV cam. The mere fact that I know that this is a ludicrous setup now, means I have come a long way when it comes to understanding engines. We replaced the cam with a lunati 262, and put rebuild 6X (89cc) heads on it.

Bottom line, runs much better! I'll be tackling the front end bushings and suspension parts next, which I think I have a handle on. However, I also want to replace the stock rear-end, with something that makes more sense. I believe it is an open 2.56 ratio rear end right now. I currently have front disk brakes, and am ok with keeping drums in the back. Does anyone have any suggestions/experience with a source for a bolt on complete rear-end with drum brakes? 3.55? Thanks in advance. Sherman