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Well, it's been a few years in the making, but my old Firebird is slated to make its homecoming in just one week!
It is only a 2.8L, but should be fine until I get the time and money together to tear it apart. I'll just be happy to have it and drive it for now.
The seats are worse for wear and need recovered, but they needed that when I sold it.
Paint is fair. The $800 paint job I did in the early 2010's is holding up about how you would expect, and there is some chipping along the door seam at the back, but no major rust.
It's got a hole in the front bumper now, so I'll need to get another one. I'll probably do this at the same time as the paint.
I'm very excited to have a project again, and over the moon that it gets to be my old first car. Just a hop, skip, and a 450 mile round trip jump to go!
Me and the car, circa 2009 ~58,000mi
Me and the car, circa 2012 ~62,000mi
Last picture I had of the car before it sold, circa 2014
Mileage on date of sale, 2014
The car, circa 2021 ~85,000mi
Last edited by codyman125; Sep 3, 2023 at 08:21 AM.
Today was the big day! I replaced the battery, added 2 gallons of premium, and it fired right up!
I can see that uncle Feivel has paid a visit at some point in the past decade, but from what I can tell, he didn’t stay long.
It does have a misfire, but it is running pretty well for having half a tank of 3+ year old gas with only 2 gallons of premium in on top. Good enough to drive itself onto and off of the trailer, as well as a few victory laps around the block when I got it home.
Paint is worse than expected, but that won’t be an issue. I expected “needs repainted” , I got “Really needs repainted”.
Brakes feel like a heaping serving of soft serve, so I’ll need to dig into the lines and see what’s up there. They do still function, but I’m far from impressed.
The oil change tag is still in the car from the last time I got it changed, in APRIL OF 2014!!! God I hope they’ve just been doing them themselves. If not, it’s only been a little over 10k miles since that 2014 oil change. I am skeptical of the oil pressure reading. It is showing 60+ PSI and does not budge at all when the engine is running. Drops to zero when the engine is off however. More investigation needed (after changing the oil).
All-in-all, it was a successful road trip, and I’m pleased as peach with it. My fiancé doesn’t get it at all, but she’s taken the position that she’s “just glad I’m happy”
I’ve spent the day today checking it out and finding issues to fix.
Front end had a significant “clunk” going over bumps and around corners. After checking it all out, I found half of a single sway bar end link bushing still intact. $25 for a new set of end links, and the clunk is completely gone.
The only evidence of Feivel I’ve found is the vacuum line for cruise control being chewed in half. I put a new 5/32” line on, and cruise is working great once again.
On the oil, I can now confirm that the oil must have been changed, but the tag wasn’t updated. The oil in it was cleaner than the (4,500 mi) oil in my truck, but it is now changed anyway.
Last edited by codyman125; Sep 3, 2023 at 08:18 AM.
Getting back to the Firebird first thing this morning. Pads look to be in great shape up front, but there is a grinding/creaking sound from one of them. Anyone have any ideas?
Further inspection has shown the front brake hoses to be hanging on by a thread. New hoses are in the docket for today.
Additionally, my front struts appear to be bad. Doing the push on the fender test, it bounced 2-3 times before settling up front, and zero times out back. They are also coated in oil. (Confirm?)
I didn’t know what the difference between the left and right brake hoses was until today. Turns out they clock into features on the car so that that aren’t installed twisted.
I couldn’t find an answer to why they were different part numbers online, so I just wanted to post sharing that for future first time brake line DIYers.
Well, bleeding the brakes went about as well as I could have expected for a first timer.
I learned that the front brakes are driven off the the rear reservoir on the master cylinder the hard way, then got to learn how to get air out of a master cylinder. After following some threads on the site about what to do about that, I purchased this brake bleeder pump from Harbor Freight, and pulled several large bubbles of air out of the master cylinder.
After fixing my master cylinder issue, I continued to bleed my front brakes and... Well, the brake fluid I removed speaks for itself. I put nearly two full 32oz bottles of clean brake fluid through the system just to get it closer to clear. It is now roughly the color of a watered down tea, but I ran out of time and fluid to keep flushing. I removed as much fluid as possible from the rear brake reservoir, and filled with new fluid, though I should definitely get to fully bleeding the rears as well.
Even with two new lines up front, the brakes still feel a bit mushy (maybe a little better?) while the car is running. It does feel like it stops better, but I haven't been able to lock 'em up yet. All in all... It was a productive day/weekend.
Next up (besides getting registered) is going to be the rear hatch motor. It hasn't been running, and I verified that the gear was stripped (and the housing cracked) this weekend.
This car is so thoughtful. Right when I was wondering what to tackle next, it shows me the way. Guess a new radiator will be in my near future.
I did get to take the car out for a longer cruise last night, and boy howdy do the brakes feel better. The little tests before just around the neighborhood didn’t do it justice. I was lamenting to my fiancé that I couldn’t even lock up the brakes, and tried to demonstrate. Left a nice long pair of skid marks down the street right in front of my house.
Now if only it had enough power to leave the fun kind instead…
Well, I got the radiator replaced! After some research, I found that nobody makes the v6 radiator anymore! I did some digging and found that the 1990 v6 firebird uses the v8 radiator, so I just bought the 1990 v6 radiator hoses and the best el cheapo radiator I could find on RockAuto. This radiator is a bit wider, but seemed to fit up well enough.
Busted v6 Radiator Old vs New Radiator Sizes
After replacing the radiator, I still had a minor leak going on. I decided to replace the old radiator cap and see if it helped. Still leaks a little? New Radiator Cap
Still leaks a little from... somewhere... I have my doubts that the drain on this cheap-a$$ radiator is actually sealing. But, it is good enough to get me by and go for a few rides to work before the end of the year. I would have went with a nicer radiator, but my medium term plans will call for a bigger radiator anyway. Figured I'd just do it right when that time actually comes.
Fiance Ride Along
I've driven it about 250 miles since buying it at this point, and honestly it just keeps running better and better. I'm guessing the bulk of the stumbling is from the injectors being clogged before. I do have a known vacuum leak associated with my air conditioning, but I haven't been inclined to rip the dash apart just yet. When I switch the location setting to the right 3 options, I can hear a continuous sucking sound until I pick a different option. For some of those, it never actually switches where the air is blowing either... More chewed up vacuum lines in my near future...
All that will come after I get the last few good days of the year to just DRIVE out of the way. Still holds the crown for slowest car I've ever owned, but damn if it isn't fun.
Thanks! I'm loving having a project car again. Can't wait until I have more free time to actually work on it. Wrapping up a degree this semester that has been eating up all of my free time outside of work. Then the real fun can begin!
Nice work! What are you plans for the Firebird in the future?
Well, my current daily is a 2017 Silverado. The L83 in it makes good enough power, and I am impressed by 20MPG out of it while driving a big *** brick down the highway. It seems reliable too, so I would like to have basically a Gen V driveline in the Firebird. 1989 Firebird and 2017 Silverado
My old daily was a 2018 Mustang GT. I really enjoyed the 10R80 in that, and I can get the same transmission in Chevy flavor just called the 10L80.
My old 1998 F150 and 2018 Mustang GT.
My ultimate goal is a dead reliable cruiser that makes modern ponies and makes good MPGs. Targeting 350-450HP, and 20-30MPG.
Gotta get the paint fixed and the very very minor (for now) rust spots I have identified. Then make it nice and comfy, something I can drive anywhere in the country and just enjoy.
Nice!! Hopefully, the rust spots are simple to fix. The good thing is that your Firebird runs fine now and you don't need much other than maintenance. I had my 89 Camaro painted first, then parked it for a few years doing an LS swap I am finally enjoying the car but the paint is starting to show its age.
Keep up the good work!
Nice!! Hopefully, the rust spots are simple to fix. The good thing is that your Firebird runs fine now and you don't need much other than maintenance. I had my 89 Camaro painted first, then parked it for a few years doing an LS swap I am finally enjoying the car but the paint is starting to show its age.
Keep up the good work!
I am hoping so too. There really isn't much, even the battery tray looks factory fresh still. Only places I've identified any at all are just in front of the rear wheels, and just behind the doors on either side. Even the seams along the underside of the car are pretty much blemish free.
In front of the wheels looks like it may need some new material, but it is all very rigid still. Only way to know is to dig in.
Behind the doors on the seam is just surface rust. The last owner lived on a rock road, chipped the paint off right there. I could remove 100% of the rust with 10 minutes and some 80 grit.
The real question is whether I have it in me to paint a car by myself, or if I can find a place deep enough in my wallet to not have to.
On this day 13 years ago, Blue came home from getting her new paint job.
Probably needs a paint job more NOW than she did before this one was applied, lol.
I’m swamped with the last semester crap working on my MSME. Can’t wait to get to working on the car, but it will have to wait until at least the new year.
Did you have any issues with emissions for registration? I'm planning to move my '84 Z28 to Denver and am trying to determine what restrictions I might have before replacing the engine in Alabama and registering with Denver County.
Did you have any issues with emissions for registration? I'm planning to move my '84 Z28 to Denver and am trying to determine what restrictions I might have before replacing the engine in Alabama and registering with Denver County.
I didn't, but Kansas doesn't have any emissions testing or inspection. Denver will likely be different (I believe Colorado follows CARB which is a worst case scenario)
Did you have any issues with emissions for registration? I'm planning to move my '84 Z28 to Denver and am trying to determine what restrictions I might have before replacing the engine in Alabama and registering with Denver County.
WHY would you want to move to Denver?? It's a giant cat-box...
It has been a few months, but I finally wrapped up school for good, and can get back to the project. I had installed a new lower radiator hose a few months ago, but I bought a cheap one and it is garbage. Seeping coolant all over. Never seen that before from a new hose, but I bought a nicer one and I will be getting to that soon!
A second idea I’ve been cooking up is to make a new center console for the car. I want it to look factory, or at least be the factory shape. I’ve got a lot of experience in CAD and in additive manufacturing, so I’m thinking I will model the center console and print a new one. A layer of fiberglass or carbon fiber over the plastic would make it more rigid, and improve the appearance. Would anyone be interested if I started making these?
Finally, I’ve got some damn cool friends. Check out this custom HotWheels they had made of my car! Some year and trim differences for sure, but it’s a good day for the good guys. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!
Back to it! We've got a B-E-A-U-tiful few days in the midwest, so time to get cracking on the 'bird again!
First order of business was the coolant (still) leaking all over the garage floor. I went to jack up the car to get the new lower radiator hose on, and misplaced the jack, letting it slip forward onto the center link. Violently.
Measuring the toe just for ***** and gigs, I measured 48" at the rear of the front tires side to side, and 46" at the front of the front tires side to side. So I guess I'm rebuilding the steering this weekend!
Once I got the car up on jack stands (PROPERLY), I went ahead with checking out the lower radiator hose... but, it's actually the water pump leaking. COOL. I hear those are super easy on the 2.8.
List of work for the weekend is now:
Water Pump & Gasket - BOSH 98070 & FEL-PRO 35409
Front Shocks - MONROE 71728
Center Link - MOOG DS1049
Tie Rod Ends (Inner & Outer, Both Sides) - RAYBESTOS 4011316 & 4011317
Tie Rod Sleeves - TRW JSA1015
Brake Pads - WAGNER ZD154
Control Arm Bushings - PRECISION CHASSIS PRE K6253
Ball Joints - ACDELCO 45D2026
Idler Arm - ACDELCO 45C1065
Partridge in a Pear Tree
Much fun to be had, and lesson learned... make sure you position your jacks carefully... I'll post more when work gets cracking!
Last edited by codyman125; Feb 23, 2024 at 11:58 AM.
Pain in the rear to get down. My ball joint & bushing press won’t fit between the legs of the control arms, so I’ll need to find a different path… New Bosch water pump and Fel-Pro gasket. Glad I got the gasket, Bosch FOLDED the one in the box, breaking it in half. Also, the boss for the Power steering pump is tapped for the wrong hole size. It’s the same size as the larger bolts on the PS pump bracket for some reason. No more nothing in the front wheel well… for now. Chaos
This is really a great story to follow. Your dedication to your car is amazing! It’s awesome how you are rebuilding it with NICE new parts. Some disagree but IMO new is always better…in certain contexts. The paint scheme is, as they said in the 80’s,
“totally radical dude”. Its a sharp WELL DRESSED car. Looking forward to what’s next….
This is really a great story to follow. Your dedication to your car is amazing! It’s awesome how you are rebuilding it with NICE new parts. Some disagree but IMO new is always better…in certain contexts. The paint scheme is, as they said in the 80’s,
“totally radical dude”. It’s a sharp WELL DRESSED car. Looking forward to what’s next….
Thanks! I want it to be a safe and reliable
cruiser, doesn’t have to be the best or fastest.
my dad suggested the paint scheme, I was skeptical at first, but man did it grow on me. When the time for paint comes, it’ll just be a recreation of what is on there now. Maybe I’ll even get that Kansas BLKNBLU tag again at some point (currently taken by someone else)…
That’s awesome. Yeah I’m with you…I’m building my 84 Z28 to drive and have fun with. Not every car needs to be a Friday night drag strip warrior. Some may disagree but that’s their opinion. Keep up the good work my friend and looking forward to your next updates
I got the new water pump mounted, and resized the hole on the PS bracket for the oversized bolt hole on the water pump. The bolt I ended up using was an M10-1.5 x 35mm hex head, along with a generic M10 flat washer. It seems to have done the job, and things are moving forward!
Water Pump Installed New Bolt
After fighting with the control arms, I think I stretched one of them out. I briefly tried using a bottle jack to loosen the bushings (an absolute boneheaded move in retrospect), and now that control arm won’t go back in its home.
Passenger control arm - won’t fit
Comparing the two control arms, it appears that the one I used the jack on is about a 1/4” wider than the other one. Angrier than hell at myself for that, and even worse that I finished pressing in the new bushings and ball joint before noticing. $50 down the drain unless I can find a way to salvage the arm.
Lined up on one side… Stretched and misaligned on the other…
For a path forward, I have a few ideas:
New Tubular Control Arms. Speedway Motors has a set of nothing specials for $199, and if I had known about them before buying bushings and ball joints, I would have just done that from the get go. I don’t think these are in the same league as a nice set of UMIs, but they can’t be worse than the stockers, right? Relevant Forum Thread
New to me control arm from Hawks Motorsports. These get the job done, but it’s $50 for the part, and another $50 for a new set of bushings and a matching ball joint. Plus, this whole process has been a pain in my rear. Not a big fan of this option.
Squeeze it to fit. Can I just put this in a press and squeeze it to make it better? I don’t know, but if the part is junk anyway, I’m keen to find out. $100 buys a cheap A-Frame press from JEGS. I wouldn’t mind having one, but don’t want to spend the money if it won’t fix the problem.
Take it to a shop. This costs pride, but hey, who needs that anyway. Maybe they have a press and they’ll give ‘er a squeeze for me.
Exactly what I had to do. Took the front arms out and restored them. I bought some quality bushings and ball joints. I took them to a local hydraulic shop and they popped the old ones out, new in and they reinstalled in the car with ease. If you happen to need a new one and don’t wanna drop a ton of cash check your local salvage yard. Guy here quoted me $70 if I needed one. That includes him removing it from donor car
I got mad and just ordered the new tubular control arms. I get married on Friday and I’m away on my honeymoon for a week after, so they will hopefully be here right in time for me to get back.
New Control Arms and Hardware
I’m really disappointed that I won’t have the car done for wedding day, but it is what it is. As far as I can tell, I might be the first guy on the forum to actually install and drive them, but not the first to get them. (See previous forum link).
After a long day of work, the car is back together again! Speedway ended up not being able to give me a firm delivery date for their A-Arms, so I went with BMR to get me a set. I ended up with what are technically G-Body arms due to time constraints, but BMR confirmed that they are the same part number that they sell as F-Body arms too (and almost $100 cheaper to boot!). They fit well, and I have no real complaints. As a note, I had to swap to right angle zerk fittings for these control arms. At least one of the existing straight ones was going to be inaccessible with the control arms on the car.
Driver’s Side Control Arm Passenger’s Side Suspension Assembly
Right Angle Zerk Fitting
I ended up reusing the existing wheel bearings, but did opt for new front inner wheel seals, as mine were falling apart.
Back on the Ground!
With that done, it now desperately needs an alignment. Despite my best attempt at matching the old hardware, I can tell just looking at it that it has pretty bad toe-out. Additionally, these new control arms are noisy! They creak and pop like crazy on acceleration and braking. I am wondering if I over torqued the bolts for the control arms… I may go back and loosen those in the morning just to see. (Advice on this?)
I would call the company and see what they suggest for torque ft. pounds.
I think I was just anxious. After an alignment and driving it around a little, the noises are a lot quieter than they were when they were first installed. It all got thoroughly greased, but I think there were a few dry spots until it worked in properly. I did also find that I left the tie-rod endlink a little loose on the driver's side, so that could have contributed as well.
It's pretty nice out today, and so I drove the 'bird to work. The front end has quieted down a lot and quickly too. Going over bumps is waaaaaay better with the new struts up front.
On the Road Again
I got a lifetime alignment agreement with Firestone, and they got it a lot better but still not perfect. They didn't touch the caster/camber up front, and I'm not sure why not. What is left that could be worn and would contribute to this? Pre and Post Alignment Specs
As a third note, I accidentally fixed my radio! The passenger side wasn't working previously. Over lunch today, I pulled the radio out to look at it, and the connector was a little loose. Pushed it in the rest of the way and presto! Now if only there were mounting tabs left to hold the radio in place... going to have to find a fix for that at some point, but I'm happy for the day. Even if I cracked the otherwise pristine dashpad yesterday... Just gotta focus on the positive.
Unfortunately not a lot new. Life has a way of blowing up every time I see an opening coming up. I traded the Silverado for an Accord to save money on gas, but the engine went out shortly after purchase. I swapped the engine, and <6 months later, an uninsured driver in a Civic flipped a G-Wagon in front of me. Ended up meeting the Chief's Mitch Schwartz because of that one. His wife was driving the G-Wagon. All together, that cost me a year of projects. This year's slowdown is looking to be a hard push to pay off student loans. A worthy cause, but I'd rather spend it on the 'bird.
I do have a couple priorities for the Firebird though, see below.
Center Console - I am trying to make a reproduction for these cars. See my other thread HERE.
Interior - The seats need work. They're falling apart internally and externally. I'm contemplating replacing with seats out of a GTO or Camaro, but haven't had the funds to do this yet. There is a set of (poor condition) GTO seats a few miles down the road that I may opt to get though.
Also,
Originally Posted by codyman125
Additionally, these new control arms are noisy! They creak and pop like crazy on acceleration and braking. I am wondering if I over torqued the bolts for the control arms… I may go back and loosen those in the morning just to see. (Advice on this?)
Following up on my own previous post, I figured this out! The bolts were looser than they should have been. I increased the torque to just past 50 ft-lbs and the creaking, popping, and clunking all went away. Just another learning moment on the car.
an uninsured driver in a Civic flipped a G-Wagon in front of me. Ended up meeting the Chief's Mitch Schwartz because of that one. His wife was driving the G-Wagon.
CHIEF's wife, uninsured, and flips the vehicle. I hope that you didn't pay anything towards this.
an uninsured driver in a Civic flipped a G-Wagon in front of me. Ended up meeting the Chief's Mitch Schwartz because of that one. His wife was driving the G-Wagon.
CHIEF's wife, uninsured, and flips the vehicle. I hope that you didn't pay anything towards this.
Yeah, I wish. Mrs. Schwartz wasn’t at fault. The uninsured driver was driving a civic and pit maneuvered her in the G-Wagon while the Civic was weaving in and out of traffic. I stood on the brakes but hit the underside of the G-Wagon when it slid into my lane.
Last edited by codyman125; Jul 14, 2025 at 06:21 PM.
It sucks that you had to go through that. Good thing you were okay and can update us later on with progress on your Firebird!
Honest to goodness I could write a book on the frustration. Can't get blood from a stone so just gotta move on. You're right though, it is a good thing that everything is ok, and nothing irreplaceable was lost. There is still a lot to be thankful for!
On the 'bird, still not many updates at this time, but I will have some updates on the center console project relatively soon. I've got about 2/3rds of it redesigned with extra strength in mind, as well as upholstery and printability. Those combined with upgrades to the print setup are looking very promising for a complete first article in the near future!
Wish I had more interesting updates, but all I've got are funny coincidences. If I had a nickel for every 2006 Honda Accord that I owned that got totaled this year, I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Wife got rear ended waiting at a highway on-ramp. Damage wasn't too bad, but enough to total a 175,000 mile base model 20 year old accord. Everyone was OK, but more delays on the Firebird (and mostly the center console project) due to this.
Last edited by codyman125; Oct 29, 2025 at 10:26 AM.
