After years of searching, looking and dreaming about owning a 67 or 68 Firebird I finally got my chance to fulfill a childhood dream of mine. In the spring of 1983 my dad brought home a Champagne 326 H.O. 1967 Firebird. As I waked home from school that day, I saw the surface rusted, jacked up rear axle, stars and bars draped across the package tray atrocity and my first grade self thought, "Why did he bring home this piece of junk?"
My younger brother was always hanging around that car.
Pics circa 1983
My mom, who has passed, restored all of the emblems and reupholstered the interior. My uncle helped my dad rebuild the engine and put it all back together. (He later bought it off of my dad in 1987, selling it to a collector in 1988 and bought a new black 5.0 5 speed Mustang GT.) My dad had his friend paint it Guard's Red. When I saw it after all the work they did it left a lasting impression on me. I was enchanted by it. It was and has remained my dream car.
Last summer my girlfriend's Uncle came across a first gen in Ohio. He asked what I was looking for and I told him a 67 or 68. Turns out a friend of a friend of his had passed and was beginning a full restoration of his 1968 Firebird. His son sold it to me cheap and I flew up to Ohio, rented a Ihaul and towed it back to Florida. The firewall, cowl and rear seat bracket were the only original metal left.
I picked up a 400 Pontiac motor from a speed shop and started working on the suspension components. I bought 17" Bandit wheels from US mags and went with 235/45 17x8 front and 275/40 17x9 rear. I also picked up a 2004-R with locking converter for dirt cheap.
And that's where I'm at right now. My daily driver is the 1987 S10 in the background that I built in my old backyard that has a 1996 LT4 350 and a BorgWarner T56 six speed. This car has definitely been much easier to build and I'm happy with the progress, as sporadic as it has been. I'm going to go with a FiTech throttle body fuel injection and will modify the intake plenum to accommodate. Lots of work ahead and I'll try to post up progress here with plenty of pictures.
Welcome BenNSB, love those love stories. How's your little bro these days? Cme469
Thanks, he's good. He has been hounding me to slow down so he can help out with the car. He has dibs on the first ride. I think I'll get him a pair of depends and replicate the first picture, lol!
Hopefully I'm done with the grind wheels for a while. Stripped the interior and finished coating the floorboard, inner firewall, back seat brace and package tray.
You're moving right along with that project. Keep your nose to the grindstone, and you'll be at the end of the tunnel a lot faster than many.
If it isn't out of line to ask, how much did the truck/trailer cost you, and approximate mpg, or approximate fuel bill. 600 miles will be my ballpark mileage.
I just want a real number from a customer, not the smoke-and-mirror price the company advertises.
how much did the truck/trailer cost you, and approximate mpg, or approximate fuel bill. 600 miles will be my ballpark mileage.
I just want a real number from a customer, not the smoke-and-mirror price the company advertises.
It wasn't cheap. I loaded up a bunch of antiques and made it worth my while. If I had still had my full size truck I would have drove it up and back with the car hauler in tow. The van got about 11mpg and I filled up 3 times. That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Wouldn't have been worth it if the car weren't as cheap as I got it for...
I just installed the Bowtie Overdrives transmission crossmember and it was very simple. You can use a TH400 crossmember but it blocks the pan and access to the transmission filter. I feel the money spent was worth it.
Today's goodies:
TH350 crossmember won't work with the 2004-R mount:
Couldn't have been easier, plenty of clearance for exhaust:
Nice to see all the pictures. Do you know what that 200-4R transmission came out of?
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
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.....
Nice to see all the pictures. Do you know what that 200-4R transmission came out of?
The ID tag is gone. I know it is an '87 and prior owner believed it came out of a Monte Carlo SS. I guess I'll find out when try a WOT shift. He had it behind a built 383 SBC in an '82 RX7. The non-performance 2004-R's shift at 3,000 WOT, he said this one was shifting at 5,000 rpm.
Driveshaft that came with the car was too long, not even sure if it was for this car. Scored a 49.5" aluminum driveshaft off of Craigslist. Guy said he had it made for his old Camaro and never installed it and it has sat in the back of his garage for 20 years. He said he spent a week's pay on it back then. I gave him 3 crisp Jackson's and a handshake for it.
My Dad came across a photo of his '67 when he first started working on it:
Started tackling the firewall. I cut out the two rust holes by the doors. Not much welding to do for the patches. I also ordered the pedals and covers. Going to weld the necessary patches and seam seal the firewall. After it spraying matte black and coating the underside with bed liner, I'll run the gas and brake lines and mount the subframe.
The whole bottom floorpan is new metal and there is no rust. Bedliner is waterproof whereas a rubberized undercoating will allow moisture to seep in. My truck's underside looks as good as I did it 5 years ago and I drive on the beach often and live in a high salt environment. I'm going to take the rusted portions of the firewall to bare metal and use a self etching primer then paint it matte or satin black.
Headers arrived on my porch today. I got them installed in about 25 minutes. Way easier than my S10. I used nord-lock washers on the header bolts. Happy with the fit of the Heddman's and I have plenty of room for the oil filter. Supposed to pick up entire bolt kit and stainless steel brake lines tomorrow. Another Craigslist score. I'm starting to get spoiled.
Going to be fun spraying this under the car. Hoping my two other boxes get here soon, much more exciting- BRP fuel injection tank and FiTech Go EFI 4 Power Adder 600...
Careful with that late model intake. Looks like maybe a mismatch with the heat cross-over. Sometimes that top opening in the head is dead spac. Sometimes not.
Careful with that late model intake. Looks like maybe a mismatch with the heat cross-over.
Yeah I noticed that right off the bat. It was a '77 numbers matching W72 400 motor. The heat riser matches the intake port and that is dead space. After much research and pondering I decided to not fill or block it off as the benefits are short lived, the heat still soaks through the intake after 20 minutes or so. You might shave a tenth off of your 1/4 mile but two runs in it'll be back up to the temp without block off plates.
After years of building Chevy motors, these Poncho nuances are really keeping me engaged and learning.
After a long work weekend and taking it easy yesterday, I tackled my EFI fuel tank. Following the easy to follow instructions, I measured, cut and assembled the fuel pump and return along with the fuel sending unit. Tank was 6 3/8" deep, mid point for the rheostat was 3 5/16". Everything checked out, fuel pump sits nicely in the built in reservoir. I used PTFE thread sealant on all the mounting screws. The tank mocked up easily. I used some peel and stick roofing seal as my anti squeak strips on the tank and straps. I plan on using a C5 filter/regulator when I run the fuel lines. Turns out the FiTech calls for 58 psi so that works out well.
I just installed the Bowtie Overdrives transmission crossmember and it was very simple. You can use a TH400 crossmember but it blocks the pan and access to the transmission filter. I feel the money spent was worth it.
Today's goodies:
TH350 crossmember won't work with the 2004-R mount:
Couldn't have been easier, plenty of clearance for exhaust:
BenNSB, I have been looking for a long time for a crossmember that wont block the pan on the 2004R and you say this one wont? What is the part number of this one you are using so I can get it? I have problems with mine blocking the very back of the pan and making it hard to tighten a couple of the pan bolts.
XMCA67692 is the part number, Bowtie Overdrives is the manufacturer. I got mine off of eBay. You can see in the pictures I took there is ample clearance to remove the pan unobstructed. Pricey, but I felt it would be worth it in the long run.
XMCA67692 is the part number, Bowtie Overdrives is the manufacturer. I got mine off of eBay. You can see in the pictures I took there is ample clearance to remove the pan unobstructed. Pricey, but I felt it would be worth it in the long run.
Thanks Ben that is very helpful since I have not been able to get on Bowties website. Looks like it isnt working. I have seen these exact ones before a couple of years ago at various sites but on asking if they work with a Firebird I am always told that they are not compatable with the Firebirds. So it is nice to know that it does work since (always told only for camaro) i was alway thinking that they pretty much use the same Sub-frame. Is there any thing listed in any paperwork stating for use with under a certain amount of HP?
You're welcome. Nothing noted on the receipt I got from Bowtie. I couldn't pull up the site either. It is a stout piece, I'm confident it will hold up to my 400 hp setup. If you are talking 600+ hp I think it would hold if you had solid motor mounts. I'm assuming you'd have a 4-link rear setup or something similar. It is a hefty gauge tube and the ends are solidly welded all the way around the mounting tabs. I feel like I'd lose a motor mount before this crossmember gave me any issues. Maybe in a few years I can report back on how it holds up to boost...
As far as compatibility, there are a few different mounting holes that allow for some adjustment. Mine installed just fine. Of course after cramming an old LT4 and a T56 in my '87 S10, everything about this car feels easy.
You're welcome. Nothing noted on the receipt I got from Bowtie. I couldn't pull up the site either. It is a stout piece, I'm confident it will hold up to my 400 hp setup. If you are talking 600+ hp I think it would hold if you had solid motor mounts. I'm assuming you'd have a 4-link rear setup or something similar. It is a hefty gauge tube and the ends are solidly welded all the way around the mounting tabs. I feel like I'd lose a motor mount before this crossmember gave me any issues. Maybe in a few years I can report back on how it holds up to boost...
As far as compatibility, there are a few different mounting holes that allow for some adjustment. Mine installed just fine. Of course after cramming an old LT4 and a T56 in my '87 S10, everything about this car feels easy.
Cool beans man, again, much appreciated. I will be running about 500 HP with the butler poly mounts and a stout 2004R from Extreme automatics by Lonnie Diers, so I shouldnt have a problem.