Although some people may not agree with or appreciate the concept, no one can deny that you have determination. Stick with it until it's complete. It should at least be something different, if not interesting.

 

At least it doesn't have 14 spoilers, red trim everywhere, and honda wheels.

 

I really like the headlights. I'm not wild about the air intake on this version of your front bumper (I like the square pic better)- but the headlights are really neat!!

Years ago, I saw T-bird lights on a Mustang. I think it was Tim Allen's. Your idea is so much better! It is very original.

Don't let folks get you down! I can't tell you how many unsolicited "comments" I got for my TPI C3 Vette. I heard so many folks complain about it not being a correct restoration, a blasphemy to all Vettes, etc. I think every project goes through an ugly duck phase. Mine was white with a brown interior. Here is the finished car-
http://www.geocities.com/chiphihawk/..._lights_up.JPG

 

That looks gorgeous. I don't care for those rims at all, but the rest is awesome I've always wanted to build a custom C3, black on black of course, chrome sidepipes, big block haha. Or maybe turbo small block even.

/thread-jacking

 

Cruising at 80? must be nice, the closest freeway is 70miles from where I live! The frontend is braced very well now, I did have some problems at first when I just temporarily threw it on there with some poprivets and no bracing what-so-ever, hit a driveway a little fast and at the wrong angle then it only had about 6 rivets holding it on. It's good now though, Z rated at least.


Picked up some new nascar tires off of fleabay, shipped for the pair cost 100.00 They also sell 25" tires for 80.00 a pair if anyone is interested. The size I chose was 27.5/12/15. The front tires will be Mickey thompson sportsman front runners. For front wheels I had a couple of "space saver" spare tires to mount the sportsman's on. I will have to cut and weld the center of the wheels because I have C5 brakes they will only fit with about 1.75" backspacing. The rear wheels I made using four steel wheels off a blazer (15x8's), using the rear axle as a big lathe I started the car up and let it idle in first while I made my cuts with a grinder. Once I cut the wheels into two pieces I again used the axle to check for straightness and tack welded the wheels together. The rest was just welding 'em up off the car then mounting the tires. The wheels ended up being 15x11 and a test drive showed no vibration up to 60mph w/o wheel weights or balancing of any kind. The tires hook up pretty good even cold I did a couple of launches and while they wont work as good as a dedicated wrinkle wall drag tire, they are a lot better than the 275/40/18 street tires. The posi must be too weak for the sticky nascar tires because it first left patch on the RR tire, then on the second launch it left patch on the LR side tire. The street tires always leave two nice patches. The slicks also pickup every speck of gravel and dirt in the driveway!

To get the 27.5/12/15 tires and 15x11" rims to fit I mini tubbed the rear, moved the LCA's inward about an inch, cut away part of the "spring pocket" before boxing it back in, and had to grind a bit of cooling fins off the brake caliper (LT1 rearend) for the 15" steel wheel.

And finally, one last pic for now..

Yep, swiss cheesed suicide doors. Weight before drilling was about 100lbs. I've got them down to about 65lbs. and the window motors needed several small braces to help distribute the loads put on the door panels. Before anyone says anything about crash worthyness, I don't plan on crashing! The swiss cheesed doors should be stronger than aftermarket fiberglass doors which only weight like 20lbs. Removing the steel crash bar and replacing with aluminum of the same size was worth almost 15lbs. by itself and will not change the bracing of the window motors. 1/4" HD rivets hold the aluminum bar in place of the steel.
edit- I lied! here's another pic..

 

OMG that looks like a mess, your scaring me now lol. I hope your really really good at body work, I would think it would take a miracle to get that to look smooth again. good luck! I want to see it finished!

 

That makes two of us. Man you must love to work! What a huuuuge job I hope it turns out well for all the effort you put in. Best of luck

 

Here's the pics from last week, just days before the show. It was a scramble trying to get the car back together enough to drive down to thirdgenfest!

Front tires showed up, welded the "space saver spare tire" wheels and test drove. I got a little impatient trying to get the one straight before welding, so there is a small vibration coming from that side. Balancing may cure it or I'll just live with it since it wasnt that bad anyway.


Here's a couple more pics of body work..

 

I do love to work, I think because I live in the middle of flippin' nowhere there's not much else to do for fun! I won't get a chance to post anything new for awhile because I have to start my summer job now so I'll leave you with these pic's, this is what she looks like currently after a couple days of straight sanding/ laying out more fiberglass/ sanding/ repeat/ repeat until fingers bleed. lol

The paint is 96 cents a can, walmart flat black. I don't know when it will see high build auto primer, let alone the two stage two tone copper/gold and grey metallic.
The mirrors are chrome billet style motorcycle mirrors from JcWhitney motorcyclye catalog, kinda funny when I ordered them the sales rep she asked me what machine they were for and laughed when I said pontiac trans am.

 

You said the doors were about 100lbs, is this with the glass etc or just the metal door itself?

 

I've taken one of my doors out for hinge replacement, and I was able to lift it fine, so I would say it's around 90lbs or so w/glass. But my buff-o-meter could be off.

 

 

You know, looking at the last few sets of assembled pictures it really stands out that what that front end really needs is more of a crown to the hood, so it’s curved like the front end is

 

Your takin 'American' out of American Muscle

 

Show me which part was imported.

 

The mirrors are prolly made in Taiwan, if that helps

Fixed it for ya lmao.

It is comin' along, but that grill just looks plain weird & out-of-place.

 

I just meant... your makin it look like an import(this thing wont let me say R.i.c.e.r!) But your doin a good job though, it is good craftmanship!

 

You know, I love how you’re willing to just cut the thing apart and not worry about it. Between safety inspections and the local HOA there is no way that I could pull that off here.

Huh, any more pics of this or maybe even pics in progress of it? Did you screw with the “framerail” in there or just the sheetmetal to either side (wheel tub and side of the spring pocket)? Did flattening out the spring pocket cause any problems with the spring? Does that tub still clear the inside plastic panels/did anything major have to get moved around inside? I’ve always thought about slicing right through the middle of the narrow section in the front of the stock wheel tubs and then pushing it flat (front section forward, side section inward) and then welding in a filler but haven’t done it because I haven’t had a reason to try to shove enough tire in there to really make it necessary.

What BS did you end up with with those wheels (the rear ones)? Any more pics of that or of them on the car?

 

That's the only pic's I have for now, no step by step pics. I did get some paint on the fender work and I will take some more pics when I get back to working on the car I'll measure the backspacing and also bolt them up for some pic's then get back with ya. I didn't cut into the frame rail at all besides the spring pocket area, the spring doesnt rub. Stock control arms and inner fenders will be in the way before the spring pocket is. I think a 12" wheel could fit with perfect backspacing. I will have to measure the exact back spacing I ended up with because it's the maximum possible without cutting into the "frame rails". I don't think the stock interior panels will fit the way I did it, It might be possible to get them to fit using a smaller diameter tire or only widening the inner fenders a couple of inches like you were planning.

I will say this, those nascar tires STICK! Talk about hookup, I had to use the bottle to launch in 1st gear, where with the street tires I couldnt even think of using the bottle until 2nd. Running at about 8lbs. of air pressure in the tires I was worried about having a bead pop off and not getting a proper footprint for maximum contact patch. I think I'll try 12lbs. of pressure next time. The taller/sticky tires messed with gearing and now the engine bogs off the line, I don't like the idea of dumping the clutch at 4500rpm just to keep the rpm's up through 1st gear, changing from 3.42's to 4.11's would be the best thing if I was staying with the current engine combo. I'm hoping the new engine will have enough power to keep pulling the larger tires thru 1st gear without changing anything else in the combo.

 

I am loving the rear end on that thing...reminds me of the vett.
Keep up the excellent work man

 

OK, this car has been a WIP for so long, I can't even remember what the ultimate goal is, lmao. Judging by all the body mods and such, I'm gonna say a show car, yes?

 

If it werent for the VIN number i dont think you would have a way to prove that thats a firebird. Are you sure you're not getting carried away?

 

the lights are still a dead givaway. doors too. but without a (stock) hatch, nose, rear bumper or hood it could b just about anything.

this thing has realy come along in the last few months. i am damn impressed.

 

When I first seen this car I hated it, but now I actually like it, and btw you do some great work, You should change your mirrors back to stock would look so much better. keep up the great work and keep us up to date

 

The rear bumper is really good. I must say, I'd do it if I had the talent.

 

I just found this thread and I must say I enjoyed reading through it. I give you props for sticking with it and putting in god knows how many hours.

I have the tendancy to begin huge projects and then have open ended dates for finish times as well, so I can certainly relate.

If I may ask one question, why aren't you concentrating your efforts on finishing up with one area of the car before starting on other projects (doors rear wheels etc.) Just a question, that's all. You appear to have plenty of motivation and determination, so I am sure you will finish it up and it will all come out great.

I particularly like your mods to the frame and generating the nascar feel with this thing.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

1983Fbody,

Can you show the pics of front end suspension (k-member, A-arms/springs, frame), please?

Thanks

 

Yes please post some more pictures when you can...

 

so? where are those pics/measurements?

 

If you don't like it, you are more than welcome to go look quietly at something else. I happen to find body fab interesting.

 

Once again, there is nothing more american than a hotrod. The first pickups were aftermarket model T cars.

 

8" of BS on the wheels, no wider without moving frame rails and going to coil overs. That's with an LT1 rearend and offset control arm bushings.

I haven't got anything else done to the car since last pics, just been putting the miles on it @ 17500 since most of this work was done. I did some racing too and it started bogging down after about two passes, found out the nitrous bottle wasn't mounted upright. Felt pretty dumb after that, still had fun none-the-less. I'll get something uploaded when I get the new engine tho. Thanks again for everyone's interest.

 

is that with a 12" wheel?

 

Wow, looks awesome! I cannot wait to see more pictures of your project.

 

i cant wait to see more of this , im intrigued by this . and i hope that when you do paint it you spend lot of time and im mean lot of time sanding and making it straight and flat . I see the front bumper and it looks wavy so i just wanna see it all smooth and looking good . I dont know if i like everything youve done to it but its cool to see it all and i deffy like some of it . Good work. cant wait to see it done .

 

This car is differnt for sure thats why I think I like it, it's going to be the most unique third gen ever thats for sure, that thing most have thousands of hours into it

 

Wow thats sick looking

















Now you can run with the ricers.

 

Well done. You have a lot of talent and imagination to be able to do what you've done. I can't wait to see the finished product as well.

 

Here's the latest gritty on the project-
The big news is my new engine is finally in. The block was back ordered for about six months. It's a world products aluminum block, 3.875" stroke, 400 bore, and 6" rods equals 415c.i. The heads are edelbrock victor jr, custom comp cams roller, rpm air gap, canton road race oil pan, sheet metal valve covers, blah blah everyone just wants to know the numbers anyway. lol It dyno'd at 469hp and 496 tq. The car now weights in at 2900lbs with a full tank, the new engine cut about 250lbs off the frontend and it seriously hauls. I was expecting more tire spinning ability though, I think all the weight off the front just helps to plant the rear. There's also the tiny headers I've still got on the car which are waay too small, probably costing me 40hp. I'll have to start another thread with pic's of the custom exhaust I've been welding up 1 7/8" weld up headers with the drivers side crossing over behind the distributor above the bellhousing dual 3 1/2 into a 5" single is the plan. Then there's all the junk I have to do before I even think of using the bottle on this engine, junk like upgrading the fuel system, rear end, and installing the d.s. safety loop!


The other news is I got a place of my own now with a garage so I can finish the fiberglass work, my dad didn't like all the dust it created in his shop which kind of put the body work on hold. I'll have more pic's up when I get some free time, right now it's too busy with getting the house ready for winter.

edit- about 19,000 miles on the car now with 600mi. on the new engine

 

Thanks for the update! Nice motor, that is some serious power.

 

that car is gonna be sweeter than it already is! Im interested in seeing pics of the exhaust. keep up the good work will expect it to be painted by next spring!

 

Here's some exhaust pic's...







It took about 10 hours to get the drivers side header to where it is now. I'm sure it will be another 10hr's to finish that side. My main concerns were: clearance for plug wires, easy valve cover removal, heat by the brake cylinder and distributor, ability to easily remove plugs, ground clearance, and equal length primarys. The plugs shouldn't be a problem nor ground clearance. I may have to install heat shields between the brake resevoir and distributor along with heat wrap on the dist. cap? Equal length primarys should be pretty close to actual, within an inch i'd say. The hedman kit didn't quite have the right bends included so I ordered up some mandrel bends in "U, J" shapes. The new mandrel bends should get the headers within an inch of equal length. I'm still not sure about primary length if any one can help...

Info for anyone looking at the hedman "weldup header" kit for their own project-

The hedman kit would work great with an engine plate if you were to install them like they are designed, the engine mounts are right in the way otherwise. It also took about 4-5 hrs to grind the adapter plates supplied w/ the hedman kit. A plasma cutter or milling machine would've cut that down to about an hour.

As far as body work-

I'm still trying to get proper lighting in the garage and a 220 outlet wired for the compressor. I may end up painting the walls, ceiling, and floor white. We picked up some commercial grade lights on sale like you would see above the pumps at gas stations, they should put off plenty of light for sanding/spraying and don't draw a lot of power. The new garage is coming right along, considering it started out with a dirt floor, no electric, and took over a week to clean all the junk out. I think the house/garage was so bad that they actually lowered the value of the property. Anyway, back on track here...

I've got a lot more plans w/ intake swap, 9" J-yard rear, sumping the tank, larger fuel line and hiding wires (routed thru frame rails), etc. For now, I'm going to concentrate on finishing up some things before jumping into the next big project. More pic's to follow.

 

holly melt the distributor cap batman! your gonna have to wrap the **** outa that collector and were are you going to run it once you get to the pass side? I love seeing things done differently than anyone else and you my friend have taken that to the extreme, keep it up ill be waiting for pics like a lil kid waiting for santa at christmas!

 

i like the concept and admire your determination but i dont really think the grill is right. Its just my opinion but maybe if it had a slight v shape to it and a mesh grill or a grill with more bars it would look better. I hope to see more of this car but like someone said before take a lot of time on the paint, it gives you a chance to even out the lines. Also if the paint is ****ed up it takes away from the entire appearnce of the car. and dont go with flat paint like some ppl like to do, it just looks shitty. Id say go with HOK paint and coat the hell out of it to make sure you color is rich and try to clear coat to give a nice wet look to it.

good luck though, its really impressive

 

is that a dynomax bullet?

 

any new news. it'd be great to see more pics of what you've done. great workmanship.

 

Looking good, Keep us posted!

 

Maybe it is obvious to everyone else, but I just don't get it. Why are you routing your header like that from the driver's side? Won't that cause more problems than the possible benefit of getting both collectors so close together early on. I assume you are just doing that to shorten the overall length of the exhaust before it merges to one pipe, right? Maybe I just don't understand what you are going for.

I am sure you have some reason for the exhaust routing, but I don't know what it is. BTW are you building this car for normal street use, or circle track racing.

 

Any updates? progress? incarcerated? lol.

 

No new news really, the car is on the back burner for awhile. We raped the car of it's stroked aluminum 400, dropped it into the el camino, and bolted on some paddles to play on the sand dunes. Now I've got some help and we are four linking the el camino and doing coil spring conversions to keep up w/ the long travel buggys running LS1's and coilovers.

As for the car, it hasn't moved since the insurance ran out in April...
There's still a ton of body work to do, the paint is sitting under the shelf. The rotors have a glaze of rust showing. You'll be glad to hear I shyt-canned the single exhaust and plan on duals! I'll post up again when I get something done.