FENIX Pontiac Firebird 67. it will rise again

[Fenix]

Now the FENIX project begins. It's a Pontiac Firebird 67 that burned up. No insurance . I start with an empty shell. My thoughts on the construction are a car that can be driven hard and runs like hell. Updated suspension and better brakes. furnishings become something in the middle between new and old. Of course I will keep the old engine. There is no better sound than an old v8. The engine should be tuned with a stroker package and some fun cylinder heads and maybe a little NOS. This is what I have to start with. Here it has barely cooled down

[T/A Addict]

WOW.... That is tough to see :( Gotta give you credit to even think about rebuilding it!
I agree... the old V8 Ponchos had their own wonderful sound :)

[Fenix]

Now I have brought home the car and can finally start building. I start by picking off all the parts so I can see how extensive the damage is. Say what you want, but even if it's burned up, it's a cool car

[ilikeike]

Hope your build goes well, and reasonably quick.

[Rod]

ohhhh... lets build a full tube frame set the 650hp LS engine back into the fire wall, get the weight balance around 52 rear 48 front install a sweet IRS, paddle shift and sequential transmission, carbon the hell out of everything if it has to be replace or repaired it better get modified

[Fenix]

Rod it sounds like a cool car. But I'm not going to drive the track with my car and I probably do not have the money for it. The advantage of a giant car fire is that you see all the faults with the car. I'll probably have to change the roof. It was clear that there was a vinyl roof on the car when it was new

[68Formula]

If you're keeping the Pontiac, then Butler Performance, Kauffman Racing, and SD Performance are some of the best in the business. As a matter of fact, I'd recommend SD Performance CNC ported heads (either Edelbrock or KRE - maybe consult SD for recommendation). http://www.sdperformance.com/listProducts.php?categoryID=31.

Go roller cam or hydraulic roller (ditch the hyd. flat tappet). And upgrade to a Holley Sniper EFI setup for a mix of old/new school.

And if you trim the shroud down slightly on a Lincoln MARKVIII electric fan, it'll fit very nicely to the radiator. I mounted mine updside down from how it mounts in a Lincoln, to offset it to the accessory drive pulley and it worked perfectly.

[ilikeike]

ohhhh... lets build a full tube frame set the 650hp LS engine back into the fire wall, get the weight balance around 52 rear 48 front install a sweet IRS, paddle shift and sequential transmission, carbon the hell out of everything if it has to be replace or repaired it better get modified

Makes me want to go light my car on fire.:idea:

[72-SS-396]

Many, if not most people, would be heartbroken and give up. I commend you on moving forward and looking at this as an opportunity rather than dwelling on the loss. I'm looking forward to your build!

[andrewb70]

Looking forward to the progress. Where are you located?

Andrew

[Fenix]

68Formula. Of course I keep my 400 Pontiac. I've looked at Buttler a bit and they seem to know what they doing.I hope to have money for a stroker package 461 with forged base and some high flowing cylinder heads. I aiming for 600 hp and maybe a little NOS on it
72-ss-396 of course it was very unfortunate but this is going to be a lot of fun. I live near Gothenburg in Sweden. The car is taken down and the engine is lifted out. Now the sheet metal job begins and I am a beginner at it.

[Fenix]

A new day in the workshop. Today it was the rear axle that I picked down to order parts. It will probably be Strange axles and a new Eton differential clutch and new bearings and 3.73 in gear. I will soon order a Tremec T56 magnum close ratio, Then it probably fits well with that gear ratio

[ryeguy2006a]

Do you know what caused that fire? That's never a good sight...

What is that rear out of? Looks like a bigger car like an Impala. Great project, keep us all posted. Nice to see that you're staying with the Pontiac power. I've always had this crazy idea to retrofit LS crank and cam sensors to a Pontiac motor and run either a stock ECU or now the Terminator X.

[Fenix]

ryeguy2006a
Fuel line broke. Burn like hell
It is a camaro first gen rear axle that have mounts from an early Impala. Just cut off this mounts. There are new mounts on the way from Ridetech

[Fenix]

This is the first job on the body. When the car burned, there was a big heat dent. I could not cut with the angle grinder. I had to drill instead. After welding, it became like this. Soon there will be new challenges

[Vimes]

Don't know what shipping would be to Sweden, but...

https://www.npdlink.com/product/quarter-panel-factory-type-rh-complete-oe-coverage/110497/8300
https://www.npdlink.com/product/quarter-panel-factory-type-lh-complete-oe-coverage/110498/8300
https://www.npdlink.com/product/roof-skin-panel-amd-reproduction/110343/1986

Alternatively, it looked like they had everything you'd need to make it a convertible if you wanted.

[Fenix]

There is hope. I have found sheet metal under all the brown ****

[Fenix]

Vimes. I will try to weld in a new piece where there is rust. I have the roof and front fender

[Fenix]

This car once had a vinyl roof. It's rust here. Just cut off the panel. The weekend is saved

[Fenix]

Hello again. a little update on what I've been doing since last time. I have replaced the right and left side where the vinyl roof met the rear fender. It was not easy to weld. The plate was quite thin and I burned through several times. I'm a beginner at this and I hope it holds. I'm getting better and better

[Fenix]

I have ordered new parts for the rear axle and I have received my parts from Ridetech with weld on brackets for the suspension. I take the opportunity to cut off the old ones.

[Fenix]

Hello again. Some time ago I got the subframe mounted from the car. Now it is mounted in auto rotisserie. Someone has repaired and replaced parts of the floor in the car. That job is very poorly done. They cut out the part and then pushed in the new floor. Double joints and not getting the floor down properly. I have cut off the parts and welded them back on. I would probably have bought new floorboards and replaced the entire floor instead. You learn all the time. The trunk floor is bad and needs to be replaced. this time I will change to a new piece of sheet metal. Now that the floor in the trunk is gone, I take the opportunity to minutub the car

[Fenix]

It's been a while since I updated. I have repaired the floor in the car. Cut out the floorpan and re welded it. so now it looks okay. I have finished the mini tube. It is ready to weld in I have removed all parts from the subframe. I need to grind almost all welds. I thought of reinforcing the subframe plate under the engine so I can lift it with a jack there.