CAD model of cell frame with some car panels and exhaust pipe to design in clearance.

Yellow part is removable for cell cage installation.

Welding complete. 3 bolts complete the frame install. 3 more bolts hold the cage to the frame. (All 3/8" grade 8 flanged hex head)

Next thing to tackle is the clearance bumps for the plumbing. Lot more design work needed here. This is just hacked up to get the cell into the car. I work alone so I was using those straps, plus a jack to pull and push the cell into place during final fitment.

 

Hey Dennis, I just read through your entire build thread, and wow, the amount of work that you've done is incredible!! I know you followed my Home Brew Road Racer build thread, and I'm glad I was able to give you some ideas and inspiration for your build. It looks like we both have navigated through some major life changes and still continued our builds. While my car has been "driveable" since 2017, it didn't get painted and put into a more finished form until this past summer. I'm still working on it to get it cleaned up and finish all the details but after 15 years it sure feels good to have it running, driving, and looking respectable.

Very glad that you've kept after it all these years and can't wait to see it on the road.

When it looks like this, you wonder if it will ever get finished.


And then it finally comes down off the jack stands and you can finally drive it. Looking like this it sure got some reactions from other motorist, and drew a crowd at car shows...lol.


Finally got the bodywork done over last winter and this spring. I cant tell you how pleased I am with how the car turned out. It looks very close to drawings I made when I first started planning this build back in 2005.

One proud builder/owner


My favorite view of the car.




From 2017

 

Hey 83RDRACR, thanks for taking the time to read thru all my nonsense!
I remember your build very well and I bet it was an emotional experience getting to see your car in a more finished state.
I dream about that day all the time. One foot in front of the other. I'll get there in time.
Your build is incredibly impressive. Amazing work. Really amazing to see one off stuff. Love it. Car looks great!

Stay tunned! Someday we will both be done!

 

Fabricating the Aeromotive PTFE fuel lines.

Making pumps in the floor for each line wasnt practical since the entire cell shifts an inch right and back when being installed, so clearnace would have been a nightmare. New approach is an entire zone lifted 2.5" or maybe 3" to house all the line connections. The billet fuel door will be mounted to yhe bump. Anyways, the feed, return and bulkhead are all fabricated. Next is the breathers. Aftter that I can finally get back to sheet metal work and finish this lifted area.

 

Had to model this crazy clearnace shape in CAD so my brain could understand what I needed to fabricate. Slowly coming together.

Paper pattern for cover.

In metal with aluminum port test fit.

Dual fuel cell vents. Took me a bit to sort out how i wanted to mount them to the cell. Didn't want anything mounted to the car.

I have since added more brackets to lock in the shape and prevent abrasion from vibration.

 

We have followed each others build threads over the years, and your "finally doing right" thread is great. The design and craftsmanship is incredible. What baffles me is the placement of the fuel cell. It is mounted so high, and then the additional height of the fuel lines, it just looks so intrusive. It totally negates any use of the cargo area, and will be difficult to cover with carpet. It just seems like it could have been done in a more simpler way.

 

Hey 83, it has been great following each others builds over the years! You're not wrong. It is pretty intrusive. The original plan was to modify the trunk floor to be able to place the cell in the cargo area. Then I got concerned with the cell being "in the car" with me. So after that the plan was to put it in the same location, but be outside of the car. Modified the floor again.
I couldn't find any fuel cell with side mounted ports and I wanted to go with a brand I know and have seen around for years, so I decided on Aeromotive.
I thought I could put the cell tucked up under the modded floor with no changes, leaving it about 4" lower than is currently designed. This was the plan.

I also decided I wanted a true dual stainless exhaust that didn't require me to fabricate any of it. I grabbed a blackheart series setup before they got discontinued.
The crossover pipe that goes from over-axle to DS muffler passes directly under the cell. (This was the main issue).

To build up enough clearance I had to push the cell up. I also hadn't accounted for how tall the 90 degree fittings were going to be on the top of the cell. I thought an inch or two was enough. I was super wrong.

My odd bump in the floor was to accommodate the cell and exhaust I already had, along withe clearance for the fittings and the exhaust cross over.

Instead of scrapping the entire concept I decided to roll with the punches.

Also keep in mind, this will be a 100% show car. The most "cargo" this will see is a spare jacket and some quick detailer.

As for finishing. I will paint the flux capacitor shaped bump body color (white), and trim the rest of the lower area in carpet. Maybe make a trim ring out of MDF and have it held in place with magnets. That is way down the line.


Anyways, sorry for the long rant. Hope it helps explain why things look so odd. Hope it is a fun talking point at car shows someday!

 

Fabing up some simple close of panels for the cell's removable frame section.

FINALLY done sanding and preppeing for Eastwood epoxy primer. I use acid etch to get the welds yeady and a surface prep tool for the flat parts.

Enderside of the fuel cell "bump"
[img alt="Inside view of fuel cell bump.

Next step is to fill all transitions with a bit of bondo to make it preventable as a finished surface. "]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thirdgen.org-vbulletin/2000x901/20250917_174901_a46cf284bd3501afd465320423851fb5bece8668.jpg[/img]
Inside view of fuel cell bump. Next step is to fill all transitions with a bit of bondo to make it preventable as a finished surface.

 

I totally understand about having to raise the fuel cell to clear the factory style exhaust. My plan was always to have the exhaust exit through the rocker panel in front of the rear tires, and while my fuel cell mounts in the factory location, it leaves no room for over-the-axle pipes or a muffler.

Cant wait to see your car back on the road. It will truly be a one of a kind show piece.

 

Not sure why the last image won't post, but oh well. It is just the inside of angle of the last shot.
I will be flipping the car back to horizontal this week and diving into the doors next. They will be mini projects of their own.
Shaving door handles, installing poppers and pulls, as well as rebuilding the window motors and anything else I find.
Oh, and figuring out how to mount some aftermarket side view mirrors. Everyone has factory ones, so I have been playing around with the idea of using some smaller post mount. Will post pics when I get to that stage.

 

hi there,
For a couple years 3rd gen Firebirds had flag mirrors as an option, you might look into getting a pair of those. Factory option, so it would fit in the factory location. But still look custom.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Found a few images online and doesn't fit the aesthetic I am going for exactly.

I actually want something that looks even more custom than that. APR performance sells these universal fit ones that I think would look cool.
Kind of like some race cars I have seen over the years.

They use to sell a fiberglass option for very cheap. If I paint them white to match the car, then paying for carbon is a waste. If only carbon is offered, and I really like them then perhaps I would leave them bare. Not sure yet.

 

try taking a lap through your local junkyard and see if anything catches your eye to modify and use on your build.

 

Not a bad idea. Thanks.

 

Door taken completly apart. Brown stuff is left over tack from the sound deadening I had on there. Only thing left to take off is the hige parts for the rebuild kits.

Most of this stuff isnt going back in, but here is everything pulled. Need to figure out what to use for lubrication in the regulator tracks.

 

Removed the door latch and found several overmolded plastic parts had been worn down over the years to their metal base material. Decided I needed to replace the latch assembly. There are lots of threads and people saying what will and won't work.

Found these on partsgeek.com. Said they were for 82-88 Camaros. About $167 for the pair all in. Boxe showed up saying Monte Calro and Buck Regal. Was worried but after comparing them and mounting them, they are an exact match!

Looking into opinions now for how to strip the jam/hinge area. Outsource media blasting is what I am looking into first. If that fails, I will look into chemical stripping.

 

Whats left after removing sound deadening I had added 20 years ago

Archival pic to remind me how to put it all back together.




Small cracks by almost all mouning tabs.

Cracked door GFX, need to sort out replacement

Welded in replacement stud


Going to use my surface conditioning tool to get most of this paint off. Then prep and paint it (evenatually) to use as practice before the real deal.


Initial sanding of hinges

A few pics of some work I have been doing. I will be stripping the doors down to metal and priming them after the handles are shaved. Going to paint the insides with black rust encapsulator. Outside will be epoxy primer for now. Then back into the basement for them, while I move onto the next section.

 

Over the last 5 months I have slowly been sanding these doors down to get them ready for primer.

Think they are finally ready.

I have some Eastwood rust encapsulator and Eastwood gray epoxy primer.

Plan is to apply the very thin encapsulator to the lower door skin rotted areas so that can do it's thing, then wait a day and scuff up the entire door and do two coats of epoxy primer.

Also do the entire inside in encapsulator.

Thoughts?

Bondo seen is what I found under the old paint job. Figured leaving it there doesn't hurt. I will be adding a lot back as I straighten out the warp from the door handle shave.

 

New to this thread. I like the look of the shaved handles! gonna be awesome when you are done. My experience from 30 yrs of building/working on cars...Take your time and let everything dry before sanding/messing with it...You wind up making a bigger mess!

 

Solid advice. I have went back in too early many times and found primer to be very fragile. Actually takes quite a few days to fully cure, maybe even a week.
I work on the project only when there is basically nothing else that needs attention in my house or other vehicles, so I tend to wait over a week since there is always something else to work on after work.

Once I get this first layer of epoxy primer on, I will filler the skins to get them smooth-ish. Will also order any parts I need for the hinges to get those up to snuff.

 

Stripped hinge area. Took forever.


Underside of door 1

Underside of door 2


Finally ready for epoxy primer.

 

Two coats of Eastwood epoxy primer. I also brushed a bit of rust encapsulator on the internal questionable areas (2 coats).
[img alt="Fully aware this will all be hidden when assembled, but it acts as good practice for my painting technique.

Also nice peice of mind that a high quality primer is sealing any exposed metal. "]https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thirdgen.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/f7e8c607_35ea_467b_b489_48801ac1b365_e3074b6ee7a7d5cae691fb9a16ca9ee498c69bc3.jpg[/img]
Fully aware this will all be hidden when assembled, but it acts as good practice for my painting technique. Also nice peice of mind that a high quality primer is sealing any exposed metal.





In about a week when it is fully cured, I will mask off the perimeter and flid the doors to prime the outer door skins. Then filler work can begin.

 

There was an odd error that wouldn't allow this pic to load in my last post. Nothing special, but here it is.

 

Pain in the rear stripping doors, with all of those contoured surfaces. Good progress.

 

Thanks. It feels good to finally get something on all that bare metal. I was getting worried about rust.
Since it still gets cold at night here these things cure super slowly. Couple nights ago I tested a small spot with my finger nail, was still able to make a depression. Needs more time before I flip them.

In the meantime I am working at cleaning up the garage so it is easier to drape the whole place in plastic when the time comes for more primer/paint.
I am 3D printing tons of peg board to organize all my odd tools that don't fit in my toolboxes. Need to do something to still feel like the project is moving forward.

 

Time to start rebuilding the hinges now that the doors are primed inside and out.

Question: What should I do about these galvanized lower hinge halves? I think I should prime them too so they match everything.

Scuff with 120 and spray some the same epoxy primer?

 

Sand blasted all the door hinge components and sprayed 2 coats of epoxy primer.



Going to let these dry for at least a week.
While that is going on, I will clean up the window tracks and re-learn where these things go. Will also be converting everything to riv-nuts. Zero rivets here.