Bought a project car a couple of weeks ago. It appears to have been off the road since 2004 when previous owner junked the motor.

Currently working to put a 400 together to put it back on the road.
400 that's 60 over
Edelbrock heads
Doug headers
Msd ignition
Automatic that will eventually get swapped for manual
3:73 rear axle with limited slip.

So far lots of parts on order, and will be asking for lots of advice.

New tires arrive tomorrow to replace the ones from the 90's that came on it. They held air for about 3 hours. So today we dido a quick repaint on the wheels as they were rough.

Looks like a nice starting point. Welcome, and congrats!

Look like a couple of happy campers. You're not going to put a FWD under it are ya?

welcome aboard

Those are my 2 buddies that went to get it with me. No FWD under it, I plan to keep this a classic.

Making a little progress, new tires are on. Parts arrived from Butler so hoping to get started on engine assembly this weekend. Still waiting on paint and an intake.

Does anyone have a good picture of front drive assembly so I can try to figure out what I'm missing.

Are those 14" or 15" tires. Where did you buy them? Do you know what the number is for the rubber compound?

They are 15's. Tires are from wal-mart, they were the cheapest source. 235/60r15 on front and 255/60r15 on rear.

Started making progress today with the help of some friends. It was fun playing with the air shocks to adjust ride height.

Looking more like a fwd everyday.

Does fwd mean something besides four wheel drive here?

Futz with daily?

No, the intent was four wheel drive. It just looked a bit high to me but I'm from the "down in the dirt" is more stable school of thought. It's all about personal preference I guess.

It will get lower once it has an engine and Trans in it. I don't plan to lower it, but I do prefer full wheel wells.

Ah! You're right. The front will get much lower with engine and trans installed. You could always go with some lowering blocks in the back to bring it down after.

I will if it is tall in the back. Of course I will start by only putting 10 psi in air shocks, I think it had 65 psi for pic.

Are you gonna paint it back to that blue or go with something different? I think car would look great with maybe some white accents or maybe white racing stripes. If the car sits up too high after you get the motor tranny back in, check out some aftermarket A arms some of them give you a inch drop, stance would look great if it sits just a little too high. Great start for a car though, if you're looking at something a little different check out my 67 i got its in this part of the forums, completely different car but the paint job might give you a little inspiration.

Most likely go back to a similar blue eventually. Currently it's about getting it back on the road asap. Hood and spoiler are nasty gray/black so they will get flat black before on the road. Right now it's a budget build and budget is running low.

I appreciate everyone's comments and welcomes. Hopefully it's a enjoyable soon and we get another classic back on the road. Right now pricing out collector insurance options.....

A question for those with more knowledge. There is a small port in my new oil filter mount maybe 3/8" , what goes there?

Oil pressure gauge or sending unit.

Thank you!

I restored my my Rally II wheels and they look sharp. Drove it around for a few months without the trim rings and I really liked the look. I ordered new trim rings because thats what you do right. After spending a lifetime on the phone trying to figure out which ones were the correct ones, like i'm the first guy ever to have a set of rally II rims. End of it is I ended up with the wrong ones. Scuffed the paint all to hell when I put them on. Wish I just ran them without the rings. I think it looks tough!

Well after a long while off the project I am back to the firebird. Hoping to have the engine and transmission in before Christmas. Looking forward to driving this thing sometime this Spring. Thanks in advance for all the help.

Pics are better my friend!! Let us see the progress!!

I'll get new pics up soon. For now I've got to finish the 69 vette then put the Z06 away for the winter before firebird comes back to main garage.

Dang, you have quit a few projects going on there! Wish I had your garage space!

Lots of projects to help friends. The Z06 is my only other toy right now. Trying to wrap up engine in next week or so. I did get some vintage valve covers.

Got the engine almost completely done finally. Previously top end was just sitting on it.

Can someone share a stock power steering bracket assembly picture with me? Guessing on everything as nothing was marked when the car was taken apart.

Hey Aaron, that looks like a later year alt bracket. It uses different PS hardware than the old style one. I have some of the hardware for 69 if you decide to go original but that one will work if you get the matching PS hardware. Also check the water pump pulley to see if your alt lines up.

I've gotten them aligned at this point. Thanks for heads up on p.s. parts. I'll be figuring the p.s. out when I stab the engine in a couple weeks.

Tonight was supposed to be a big night, but instead it was educational. First I need adapters to fit my 70 block in my 69 car. Second headers were a bear, and old guys can teach us young guys a lot! Hopefully next weekend we can get this bolted in place.

Looking good.
FWIW, may want to rethink that intake. Factory iron intakes flow better.
Want camshaft and carb cfm?

Got one if you need it.

I don't recall the cam part number off hand. Thanks for advice on intake, but I'll stay the course to get it going. Carb is a 770 street avenger.

Took the day off and with a friend's help got engine mounts and adapters put in. Figured out it has lowering springs on the front, and got to see it at ride height. Next up get it plumbed and wired. Debating mini starter.

"...I need adapters to fit my 70 block in my 69 car..."


That don't sound right to me.

The 1970 blocks are supposed to have 5 motor mount bolt holes on each side, so that you can use either the 2-bolt or 3-bolt mounts. Those blocks should fit late '60's on up thru the last Pontiac V8 equipped bodies.

http://www.jbp-pontiac.com/Articles/Engine_Block_Ident_Ames.jpeg

After looking closer at the engine pics you posted, I can see that the block casting # is 481988. Those were used in '71 thru early '75 model cars.They were all supposed to have 5 motor mount bolt holes, as far as I know. The '78 & '79 W72 engines had XX 481988 blocks. Some, if not all of those had the bosses for all 5 holes, but only had holes drilled for the 3-bolt mounts. So, is your block an XX 481988 ?

This is a first for me with a pontiac, but the first round the mounts were 3/4" aproximately off the frame mounts. The link below is what I installed and then alignment was a piece of cake.

http://www.firebirdcentral.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=ENC-2242

Finally back on the bird. Today I got to hear it fire up with open headers and it was badass! Now to get it driving.

Today we finally got the engine wrapped up and timed. The machine shop put a solid plug in for the distributor oiler, that was fun to do with the engine installed. Long story while the transmission was out I decided to swap to a 4 speed and just posted a wanted ad for parts. I was going to sell the car but I think I'll keep it now.

Pics from today, still not pretty but glad to finally have the hood on and an engine I can head run.

I will say the progress has been a lot of fun with my friends.

After 15 years off the road, the bird drove for the first time today. Still lots to do, but today was a huge milestone for me getting to move the car.