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    1. #1
      Join Date
      Apr 2010
      Posts
      363
      Country Flag: United States

      Touring 69 Pontiac Firebird

      Project DEATH MACHINE


      Greetings ladies and gents,

      I re-built a '69 bird back in high school and drive it all the way through college until someone rear-ended me coming back from a job interview (see below). Since then, I've lived in apartments all over the world and have finally settled down into a house. I managed to snag a 69 firebird shell on ebay that was already painted and came with a lot of extra parts. I just got the black one delivered to my house last week and will retrieve the restored/wrecked one from West TX in a few weeks. It shouldn't be a big deal to move all the necessary interior pieces from the old car into the new one.

      Here's a list of parts that were included with the sale of the black one. I think I got my money's worth

      Detroit Speed and Engineering mini tub kit
      DS&E rear leaf springs 2” lower than stock
      DS&E stainless steel gas tank.
      DS&E weld in sub frame connectors.
      DS&E 7 speed wind shield wiper motor (all wired and installed with factory knob)
      Hotchkis front coil springs, sway bar (front and rear) 2" lower
      All new shocks.
      Rear disc brakes
      Currie Ford 9”with 3.73 posi rearend, (disc brakes and narrowed 2” on each side. )
      1969 Trans Am rear spoiler
      Painless wiring kit.
      Power window and locks with two remotes
      Dakota digital dash.
      All AC under the dash is done (Vintage Air - doesn't have connections through firewall though)
      New dash pad and face.
      New Headliner
      New front windshield all other glass is perfect.
      All interior and exterior paint is done, body is near flawless.
      Magnaflow exhaust (seemingly full system)
      Stock firewall removed and smooth plate welded in.
      Also included was a Pontiac 400 engine with ceramic coated headers, but won't be used in the build.


      I'm looking at putting in an LS2 with a T-56 6-speed. I was originally thinking about an automatic but I prefer the control of the manual. With the mini-tub, I plan on running approximately a 10 or 11" tire in the back and as wide as I can fit in the front and still be tucked in. I'm thinking about a 17"/18" combo, but that's for a little bit later.

      So, I'm scrounging ebay, CL, all the usual places for LS2's and there seem to be different varieties. I've also done some extensive searching in the threads here - this site is fantastic!

      So, my first question (hopefully I can get some of them answered here so I don't have to litter the other forums with duplicity) is what model LS2 should I be looking at? I currently have the stock spindles and sub-frame in the front (might be changing the spindles later though depending on what discs they work with). It appears that some LS2's have different configurations of the alternator and A/C compressor. Should I try to stick with a particular make a model (GTO vs Vette vs whatever) to accomodate the fitment and aftermarket A/C compressor required for the Vintage Air system? (Should I consider LS6's for the same amount of power?) I'll also be running headers later so they'll have to clear the stock gear box unless I convert to a rack and pinion setup.

      It looks like I can get a used combo for around $5-$6k on ebay - if someone has a reference for a better place to procure one though, please let me know.

      Anyway, thanks in advance for the replies and I'm glad I stumbled upon this site some time ago. Keep up the good work. And now...for the goods...

      New:






      Wrecked:












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