68 firehawk update

[68firehawk]

It's been forever since I've posted on my bird so I thought I'de try and keep things a little more up to date. My new house has kept me fairly occupied this summer so I haven't had as much time to work on the car as I would have liked. I think my first post was under a slightly different name. Anyway. I've got the frame notched ready for the 335's and also working on fabbing in the roll cage. I've also attached some pictures of the rear roll sliders installed. I'm still waiting for the rear end to get back from the shop. After that I can mock it in place, finish up the mini tubs, rear shock mounts and trunk pan. Exact dimensions on the rear end were exactly 53 7/8" hub to hub.

Jacob

[4MuscleMachines]

WOW, from the looks of it, it will be one fine car. Its good to see another Firebird in the PT mix. Nice work!

[CliffS]

Looking good. Keep us updated. Love to see another '68 Poncho.
What wheels are on the pic?

Cliff

[F70t/a]

Look's great. Any pics of your rims?

[primate]

what size rim did you use?

looks great.

[68firehawk]

These aren't the most gradifying pictures. They are even sweeter looking in person. especially mocked up in the rear fender wells. "Man i can't wait for my rear end to get back form the shop. My DSE springs should be here any day too.
I chose to go with Budnick M5's. The rims are 11"x17". If I remember correctly I think I went with a 6.5" offset. When buying rims and your looking to save money, make sure to find out where the price breaks are. For example: Budnick has a price increase if you order anything above an 11" wide rim. I also decided to keep away from the flat lip design. The flat lip design is much better looking but not worth doubbleing the cost at this point. There is also another cool little trick I learned and there was no added cost. You can have them mount the valve stem on the inside of the rim. It makes for a much smoother look.

Jacob

[RobM]

those things are deep dished! i love it

[383blown]

Nice taste in wheels I have Budnik M-5's on my 67 Firebird also![img=http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/6551/birdinprogress0015gc.th.jpg] (http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=birdinprogress0015gc.jpg)

[68firehawk]

Very nice Bird. Have any pictures of the rims installed?
I haven't purchased my front rims yet.

[OHCbird]

I'm using BS CL-77 Rebels, 17x8 & 17x11. Pics tonight...

[CAMAROBOY69]

Looks great so far. Thanks for posting the update pics. I really like the pics of the new wheels and tires. Especially the hidden valve stems.:)

[68firehawk]

It's been awhile since i've update on my car. Now that my house remodel is finishing up i've actually had time to work on her.

I've decided to use a custom sub frame from Art Morrison.

Let me know what you guys think.

Jake

[formula98]

It's looking great! I'm doing similar with a Wayne Due front sub frame (67 Camaro). I have the C4 version. Will 335’s fit? I would like to use that size tire, but am concerned with the fit. I have the DSE mini-tubs but am not sure what my largest tire size is. I want to run 18” wheels and have been waffling between 295’s and the 335’s. Looking at your pictures it looks like it is going to be real tight. Keep the posts coming. I’ll be adding some soon of my DSE install and my C4 IRS install.

[72NovaSS]

Looks awesome! Hope to see more pictures up soon!

[68firehawk]

It's looking great! I'm doing similar with a Wayne Due front sub frame (67 Camaro). I have the C4 version. Will 335’s fit? I would like to use that size tire, but am concerned with the fit. I have the DSE mini-tubs but am not sure what my largest tire size is. I want to run 18” wheels and have been waffling between 295’s and the 335’s. Looking at your pictures it looks like it is going to be real tight. Keep the posts coming. I’ll be adding some soon of my DSE install and my C4 IRS install.

With enough work you can make anything fit. GM's dimensions can very more then 1/2" from one car to the next. I also had to cut and roll my inner fender lips for added clearance.

Jake

[formula98]

Where did you get your tires? I just spent 2 hrs looking for 335's and the largest I can find in anything for an 18" wheel is 295's.

Thanks,

Ron

[LSRS7]

Tire Rack>>>>>>>>>Sponsor>>>>>>>>

[formula98]

I was on their site earlier tonight nothing in the 335.30.18 range. I like the BFG KDW's, Goodyear, and the Pilot Sports, but none in this size on their site today.

[Mike Hall]

Does that AM subframe bolt up or weld in? I have been thinking about maybe getting a custom front clip made for my 67 camaro as Wayne no longer makes them. Any info on that sub you can provide would be great.

Thanks
Mike

[rohrt]

Firehawk

Your building my (wish) car. It looks awsome. Where did you snag the motor/Tranny? Wich motor is it? What did the frame run you? My 68 is white to.

[68firehawk]

Firehawk

Your building my (wish) car. It looks awsome. Where did you snag the motor/Tranny? Wich motor is it? What did the frame run you? My 68 is white to.


My rims are 17” not sure about availability on an 18”.


The motor and transmission are from an 02 Camaro (T-56 and LS1). I also plan to put on a Pro-charger before all is said and done. E-bay is a good start but I ended up calling LKQ auto recyclers to find one that had less then 20K miles on it. This was well over a year ago. I just recently checked and they are getting almost double for what I paid for my setup.


I choose to go with a weld in frame for added stability and less weight. It also allowed me more flexibility with the stance of my car. I will be able to fit 285's up front. As of now I don't think they are planning on offering a bolt in but it wouldn't hurt checking with them to see what their future plans are. Kevin was a big help when I ordered my frame. It's also nice because they are only 30 minuets from my house. Their C-5 front sub frame starts at $1440. You can choose to buy all the hardware, suspension and rack from them if you like. Check out their on line catalog for more info.

[Hammered]

Great to see another Firebird getting attention. Can't wait to see more progress pictures.

John

[rohrt]

Again it looks awsome. Keep posting pics when you can.

Hammered. Your revamped web site was great. I spent a hour going through it.

[Hammered]

Thanks rohrt! I need to add a bunch more already.

[Stoker420]

I didn't know they made firehawks back in 68?

I wish I could afford a new front frame for my 68 fb. Nice rack better geomertry. oh well very nice project.

[camaro608]

hummm.......what do i think................
i think bad ass
i love those brakes
looks good

[Nine Ball]

Nice work on the tubs and frame mods. I don't see any body mounting points on the subframe though, will it be difficult to get all the panels lined up again?

Good choice on engines :) Bonus points if you paint the block Pontiac blue!

[68firehawk]

Nice work on the tubs and frame mods. I don't see any body mounting points on the subframe though, will it be difficult to get all the panels lined up again?

Good choice on engines :) Bonus points if you paint the block Pontiac blue!

Yeah, I'll have to build new front brackets for the core support. One downfall of having a fully custom frame. The good news is I have electronic drawings that show me where the exact mounting points are.

[Hammered]

You line everything to cowl first anyway so you don't need the core support mounts to hang the front sheet metal. If you can add the mounts after the sheet metal is hung, just locate them using the core support.

[68firehawk]

13356

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I finally finished the rear axle and it looks great. Here are some cool before and after shots. One of the last things I had to do was find the shock mount locations and finish up the spring perches. I also included pictures of the upper shock mount/rear sub frame cross member.


I'm very happy with how things are turning out.

[68firehawk]

I’m finally finished most of the fabrication. I have a few more loose ends to tie up then it will be time to strip it down and start bodywork.

The stance shown is still a little higher then final it will be about 1” lower then shown.

[restomodbird69]

great ride,keep it goin

[speedster]

FYI - one thing (which you probably already know if you rotated the rear wheels) is that the inner valve stem sometimes hits the disk brake caliper. If it doesn't hit, still make sure there is adequate clearance. I had to change my Budnik Tiller 5's to the "button" valve stems when using Wilwood disks.

Your car looks great and you have done some really killer fabrication work.

[68firehawk]

FYI - one thing (which you probably already know if you rotated the rear wheels) is that the inner valve stem sometimes hits the disk brake caliper. If it doesn't hit, still make sure there is adequate clearance. I had to change my Budnik Tiller 5's to the "button" valve stems when using Wilwood disks.

Your car looks great and you have done some really killer fabrication work.

This was defiantly something I had to consider. Luckily the rear grand national hubs were so large or I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it. The front valve stems had to go on the outside to clear because I wasn’t willing to go with any more of an offset in the front.

Thanks for the fabrication props. There are many many hours of it in this car already. It's nice when someone else can appreciate the work. Most people I know have know idea what I'm doing and can't really comprehend what it takes.

[68firehawk]

More progress has actually been made on my bird then these pictures show. However, I just had to get a picture of my Procharger up. It showed up today, it was a rush just opening the box. This is a DS1C unit that will push all of 10psi. I can’t wait until it’s installed. The other pictures are of my artsy steering linkage and front brakes. The car is currently sanded down to bare metal. My goal is to have the body work, primer and paint complete by mid May…. We’ll see.

My wife and I spent part of the day last weekend perusing car lots for the perfect color.
We found it, stay tuned. :)

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[68firehawk]

It's amazing how much paint can be put on a car over the years.
I think mine has over 3 coats on it. I had over 40hrs of sanding to get everything down to bare metal. Talk about mind numbing. :)
I probably shouldn't complain because it's the main reason there is so little rust on this car.

I've attached some bare metal pictures of everything before I shot the etching primer. A buddy of mine came over to show me some basics for doing body work and shooting primer. It was a very helpful couple of hours. he showed more new tricks then I've seen in a all the books and magizenes i've read about painting to this day. When it comes time to put the top coat down I still think i'm going to have him do it. You just can't beat experience.

My goal is to have all body work complete by the end of the month.

[Morgan]

The project is looking great and I love all the fab work.

[68firehawk]

Well the firewall and front subframe coatings are finished.
I decided not to paint the firewall the same color as the car. considering I would like to run it in the Silver State classic challange someday and other racing events I wanted it to be more durable finish for engine swaps. The firewall was finished off with an uddercoating and painted with black epoxy primer and sealed.

Now as with most of my weekends I get to go back to the endless ammount of blocking and primer before painting can begin.

Let me know what you think.

[72NovaSS]

Amazing!

[68firehawk]

Well the paint turned out way better then I could have ever expected. It appears that over 240hrs of body work paid off. The last major push included two full days and an all nighter in the paint booth. We played with the booth temps to get what you see here. And yep that’s about 5 coats of clear you’re looking at. The color is a custom one off color that we mixed different pearls into until we were happy.

Overall I couldn’t be happier. And better yet the wife has an all new appreciation for the car. It still holds true that girls love shiny things.

Keep in mind she is still not buffed in these pictures. :)
Let me know what you think.

[Smock67]

Wow i am loving your bird. That color is amazing

[restomodbird69]

that look great!!

[olds87]

That is awesome.

[67SSDan]

I dig it. That thing is going to look mean when you get done.

Dan

[BA.]

Excellent deep color of blue. Looks great!

[68firehawk]

Thanks guys! It's good to hear that a lot of people like the color. As you can imagine it's even better in person. I hope to have everything back together and on the road before fall. The doors, engine, procharger are all currently put back in and on the car. It's always the details that take forever. I'm currently running new fuel and brake lines. Next it's time for wiring and interior.

[curly]

Nice! I like the color and wheel combo :worship: . The procharger should add the fun factor to it also.

[Morgan]

I love the color! Car looks great and thanks for keeping us updated on the progress.

[camaro608]

i cant wait i have a 95 firehawk so this thing is going to be bad ass

[jeffandre]

Beautiful work! Can't wait to see it all together. Would love to see more pics of the cage work too. A deep blue is my fav, just have to decide on white or gray stripes for my 71 Camaro...

[formula98]

Great color! Looking killer keep the posts coming....

[68firehawk]

Well the car's coming along slowly.
So many people were asking about the car that I decided to build a website for it.

See new pictures here

http://alexandersfirebird.googlepages.com

Jake

[Lenie]

Jake, looks like alot of hard work is paying off, bird looks really good.

[Young Gun]

nice work...keep the updates coming!

[WS6]

Love it!

[68firehawk]

My bird is still alive. I have a new more recent picure. One major update in the last few years is the a new triangulated 4 link. She sits perfect in my book and I have a ton of adjustibility. Since my last post i've built a house and had two boys so the bird has taken a back seat. Doesn't mean i don't take her out whenver the weather permits. My boys are also finally able to help me in the shop "what you doing dad?" every two seconds. So this means more time for my toys again. :) Next in line is a new intercooler for the procharger. I just didn't plan it that well and want better routing and cooling capibility. After that i need to upgrade to an 8 rib pully for the procharger. This also means changing my current pully setup. Then it's time to finally get her tuned with a new ECU. She runs rich and i know i'm not getting near the ammount of power out of it as i should. Speaking of ECU's anyone have some recommendations? LS1 running a DS1C procharger at 10PSI 68lb injectors. I was told at one point my stock ECU just isn't that great and it would be a good idea to get a performance one that could give me more information and adjustibility. I've been looking at the Big Stuff 3 but that's all i've ever really herd of. Any recommendations or directions from the welth of knowledge on this form is welcome. I also live on the west coast in Washington state and i really don't get a warm fuzzy from anyone local that could help me out with a new ECU and dynoing the car of this caliber. Everyone I've had a change to talk with locally about my bird looks at me like a deear in the headlights. I haven't done much reaserch yet since i'm back in action so we'll see how this summer's upgrades go.

Sincerely
Jacob

[seancarole]

wOw !!! Very nice bird and congrats on the kido's and new home. Got any videos?

[68firehawk]

thanks Sean
No videos yet. I'm a little shy to completely get into the throttle until I have it tuned on a dyno. That being said i'm also hesitant to spend time making a video until i can get full potential out of it and get it on a track on unoccupied industrial area for a couple turns. :)

[68firehawk]

it's been a couple years but better late then never. :) she made 610 to the wheels with about 8lbs boost at 5900. Had a little issue with the slave cylinder so i fixed it and haven't taken it back for full throttle but close enough to freak me out. I drive my bird on nice days now and again and my boys love it. I'll be taking it to the local track one of these days but for now it's only used to get my attitude checked on nice sunny days to run to the parts store :) Just started another project now that won't be full pro-touring but will have an LS with some stance. Pic attached of my 1968 RS/SS Camaro i picked up last fall and just started working on a few weeks ago. Also since i hang in the shop most nights building things i made up a fun little you tube channel called jakes shop :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHgBGYW33mqHEqJB__ErRQ

Thanks!
Jake

[Buryingthesun]

That blue on the firebird looks slick! Nice job bud

[68firehawk]

Thanks. custom color. started as an 08 Nissan color and added some different pearls and hit it with a UV light until i liked it.