dusterbd13
07-13-2026, 06:12 AM
Not quite sure where to start this one. It’s a build thread with a back story…..
Ill start at back story. if you just want build thread, skip ahead. Or, in all honesty, with the rambling nature of most my posts, you may want to skip this thread entirely. Up to you!
Anyway, I’ve always kinda wanted a firebird/trans am. Second gen to be exact. In high school, my first serious girlfriend had an uncle who was locked up. Behind her trailer he had left his 76 formula 400. Yellow, window louvers, all the stickers and spoilers. Looked like this, only abandoned in a trailer park.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478626_e65f0d9e91_b-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozyfN)3442f631-9788-449e-b8c8-14b410e87a19_largesize (https://flic.kr/p/2sozyfN) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Theres some good memories of being a 16 year old mopar guy in that trailer park….
Anyway, down the road was a 79-81 trans am, similar shade of yellow. Fat cragars hanging out the rear wheelwells, side pipes, purple window tint, window louvers, and a for sale sign. I tried for month to get ahold of the guy with no answer. God that car was awesome.
Anyway, always wanted to find a later second gen. not a nice one, a scruffy trailer park rat like the ones from my youth. A drivabeater like the cars I’ve traditionally built would suffice as well, just in a slightly different cosmetic vein.
A few months ago, Kevin offered up his numbers matching 71 formula firebird to me.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/a-bird-in-the-hand-a-drivabeater-thread/285072/page1/
after a lot of soul searching, I’ve decided that its time to move that car on. It deserves a full resto, not a rat-so.
Part of that soul searching made me realize that I’ve never actually DRIVEN a second gen f body. That may present a problem. Im not sure if I want to own one in reality, or just in my mind.
So, a plan was hatched. Upon discussion with the braintrust, we decided that the second best option was to find a decent roller that I could put my 6.0 into, and drive around a bit. Something that didn’t need extensive metalwork, or a whole buttload of effort to obtain a minimum viable product for me to try out firebird ownership. I still had my heart set on a 76. So I went and looked at one that looked like it may be a candidate in mt pleasant. Was listed months ago for 1200, and it took the guy weeks to respond. But he eventually did.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386911732_0df2f3762b_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompd1)20260628_151527 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompd1) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386911752_48c968b330_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompdm)20260628_151543 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompdm) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388029549_d08ae2765f_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sos8uH)20260628_151706 (https://flic.kr/p/2sos8uH) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
It was way rougher than I wanted to start with. And no title. But it was a complete 76. And it made my pants tight. The front end, woodgrain dash, rally wheels, d98stripe, the whole package just makes me happy to look at. So I bought it for 550. had runion pick it up and drop it off at my dads, which made firebird number 4, and parts car number 3 in hand right now. Granted, the 71 and 74 will go away together, the 79 is a mistake I should have never bought and really only has a steering column and ac parts I can use…..
Anyway, I came across this shortly afterwards.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387848096_c82ea9f00a_k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcyd)Screenshot_20260711_213807_Facebook (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcyd) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Its an 81, which has to be my least favorite year. It was way more than I wanted to spend, but I messaged anyway. The alligator skin interior beckoned to me. We talked, and he assured me that it was rust free and straight. Kid was early 20s, and the car came with the house he bought as the guy couldn’t take it with him. Story was that the PO froze the 400 up and cracked the block, and decided to go turbo 6.0 but never finished. Car had aftermarket gauges, subframe connectors, slapper bars, new tires and wheels, fiberglass hood, bunch of stereo equipment, and supposedly a tko500. It was good enough for me to be willing to rent a uhaul and travel 4 hours away with a 9mm and 5k in my pocket on Saturday morning. Except that the night before, we got hit by a storm that kicked the crap out of our town. Trees down, windows blown out, power out for most the town, etc. so I had no AC, no CPAP, etc. 2-3 very interrupted and poor hours of sleep later, I left at 4 am for Charleston. I told the guy that id be there at 9:30, so I stopped at waffle house for a very late dinner (or very early?) and a lot of coffee.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913657_324a70a74b_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompMc)20260711_071621 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompMc) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Rolled up, and started inspecting the car. and parts. Found some questionable rust repair, some rust, some kink in the front crossmember, a scrap 6.0, scrap turbo, scrap 6x heads, scrap 400 block, t5, stock oil pan, and the most awesome alligator skin interior I’ve ever seen. I actually was getting back into the truck to leave when he asked me for an offer. Since I was there. So I lowballed him at 2500, he came back at 2800, he kept the 6.0 and turbo stuff. I accepted.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982223_e839767646_k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTqK)Screenshot_20260711_120930_Messages (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTqK) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
So that got me this:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387847531_d1ad33bc46_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcot)20260711_113638 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcot) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913747_4ed1602292_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompNK)20260711_115149 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompNK) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388246310_23daf9234c_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soteVY)20260711_122048 (https://flic.kr/p/2soteVY) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388031574_1ea1779704_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sos96C)20260711_122053 (https://flic.kr/p/2sos96C) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982273_a93f45bacd_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTrB)20260711_122058 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTrB) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913852_6aae0053e7_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompQy)20260711_122102 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompQy) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982383_5453b6940a_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTtv)20260711_122121 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTtv) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388246530_e842e67bc8_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soteZL)20260711_122149 (https://flic.kr/p/2soteZL) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387847866_ca9ae61388_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcuf)20260711_122204 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcuf) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880315_8e4d8372fe_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBEt)20260712_092626 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBEt) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880385_9cdd618bd5_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBFF)20260712_092633 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBFF) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880900_1f91ce0a8e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBQy)20260712_152941 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBQy) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
It also has a fantastic factory dash that has been modified and fiber glassed solid, with a dash pad that was glued over the defrost ducts speakers, and vin. As well as a SERIOUSLY hacked and scary wiring harness.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478151_ce494f77bf_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy7B)20260712_092730 (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy7B) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478191_9f55b9b664_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy8i)20260712_092750 (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy8i) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
About the only parts in the bins that weren’t drivetrain were a battery, some gauge and interior and trim parts, an aluminum radiator and fans, wiper motor and arms, and some other misc. crap.
Got home 14 hours after leaving, as well as driving through some wind and rain that had trees horizontal.
Dropped it at dad’s house next to the 76, dropped the uhaul, and went to bed.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386914167_40d81b794e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompVZ)20260711_163015 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompVZ) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Looking at the car a bit closer Sunday, we also have rear disc brakes, and adjustable distribution valve, 6al, no master cylinder, inoperable seatbelts, new weatherstripping, extra speakers, an amp and sub, aem wideband, bedliner engine bay, rebuilt front suspension, wheel spacers and wrong lug nuts loosely holding on the rear wheels, incomplete window trims, a tilt column, new gas tank that has a leak somewhere, no name shocks and lightweight front springs, seriously different alignment shim stacks, new headliner, and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting.
It was a good buy for what I want. Especially once I sell off the stuff I don’t want. Shame that he used the nice 6x heads for weight for his garden tiller and then kicked them around the concrete floor until they were scrap, but the intake/5 speed/valve covers/mini starter should more than pay for most of the car I think.
Anyway, let’s talk about where to go from here. Because this is a build thread, not a purchase thread.
Weve already talked about the plan for minimum viable product. To get there, I have my $600 6.0 4l80e out of a county short bus to put in it. bought it with a miss in it from runion with wiring and accessories and computer a while back as a possibility to swap into my truck, and never used it. so this is the perfect application. Ill clean it up, paint the aluminum aluminum, block black, and sit it in.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389894385_f57664b31e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBFR4)2026-07-12_06-43-52 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBFR4) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
A few years back, I spent 100 bucks and bought an f body clone oil pan, new starter, intake pipe kit, and fuel pressure regulator from john brown at the challenge. So ill use those parts. Ill need to sort exhaust manifolds, mounts, and driveshaft. And then see if the truck accessories and intake will fit. Rewire the car, or bypass all of the janky **** under there now. but, one step at a time.
Step 1.5, immediately after minimum viable product, will be a prep for the GRM challenge. Its an event I have been doing for years. This year, they have introduced the $5000 class, with no exemptions/recoup/freebies/trades/etc except taxes and one set of tires. This is something I have been advocating for long and hard, so I WILL be bringing a car to support it. this is that car.
Step 2, assuming I like owning and wheeling a firebird, will be development. It will be turned into a 76 visually, with suspension upgrades, new wiring, stock dash/console/hvac, and different rolling stock. Something like this at the end….
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913637_b2ef010d32_b-1.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/150940429@N02/67L4q23E34)84568655-bf09-460b-a4f7-7848bbd13745 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/150940429@N02/67L4q23E34) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
All this is HIGHLY subject to change, and nitrous. So, stay tuned. Step at a time. So first is getting things organized, brown car squared away, and parts cars dealt with. Then the LS sat down in so that its off the floor.
Ill start at back story. if you just want build thread, skip ahead. Or, in all honesty, with the rambling nature of most my posts, you may want to skip this thread entirely. Up to you!
Anyway, I’ve always kinda wanted a firebird/trans am. Second gen to be exact. In high school, my first serious girlfriend had an uncle who was locked up. Behind her trailer he had left his 76 formula 400. Yellow, window louvers, all the stickers and spoilers. Looked like this, only abandoned in a trailer park.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478626_e65f0d9e91_b-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozyfN)3442f631-9788-449e-b8c8-14b410e87a19_largesize (https://flic.kr/p/2sozyfN) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Theres some good memories of being a 16 year old mopar guy in that trailer park….
Anyway, down the road was a 79-81 trans am, similar shade of yellow. Fat cragars hanging out the rear wheelwells, side pipes, purple window tint, window louvers, and a for sale sign. I tried for month to get ahold of the guy with no answer. God that car was awesome.
Anyway, always wanted to find a later second gen. not a nice one, a scruffy trailer park rat like the ones from my youth. A drivabeater like the cars I’ve traditionally built would suffice as well, just in a slightly different cosmetic vein.
A few months ago, Kevin offered up his numbers matching 71 formula firebird to me.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/a-bird-in-the-hand-a-drivabeater-thread/285072/page1/
after a lot of soul searching, I’ve decided that its time to move that car on. It deserves a full resto, not a rat-so.
Part of that soul searching made me realize that I’ve never actually DRIVEN a second gen f body. That may present a problem. Im not sure if I want to own one in reality, or just in my mind.
So, a plan was hatched. Upon discussion with the braintrust, we decided that the second best option was to find a decent roller that I could put my 6.0 into, and drive around a bit. Something that didn’t need extensive metalwork, or a whole buttload of effort to obtain a minimum viable product for me to try out firebird ownership. I still had my heart set on a 76. So I went and looked at one that looked like it may be a candidate in mt pleasant. Was listed months ago for 1200, and it took the guy weeks to respond. But he eventually did.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386911732_0df2f3762b_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompd1)20260628_151527 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompd1) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386911752_48c968b330_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompdm)20260628_151543 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompdm) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388029549_d08ae2765f_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sos8uH)20260628_151706 (https://flic.kr/p/2sos8uH) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
It was way rougher than I wanted to start with. And no title. But it was a complete 76. And it made my pants tight. The front end, woodgrain dash, rally wheels, d98stripe, the whole package just makes me happy to look at. So I bought it for 550. had runion pick it up and drop it off at my dads, which made firebird number 4, and parts car number 3 in hand right now. Granted, the 71 and 74 will go away together, the 79 is a mistake I should have never bought and really only has a steering column and ac parts I can use…..
Anyway, I came across this shortly afterwards.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387848096_c82ea9f00a_k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcyd)Screenshot_20260711_213807_Facebook (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcyd) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Its an 81, which has to be my least favorite year. It was way more than I wanted to spend, but I messaged anyway. The alligator skin interior beckoned to me. We talked, and he assured me that it was rust free and straight. Kid was early 20s, and the car came with the house he bought as the guy couldn’t take it with him. Story was that the PO froze the 400 up and cracked the block, and decided to go turbo 6.0 but never finished. Car had aftermarket gauges, subframe connectors, slapper bars, new tires and wheels, fiberglass hood, bunch of stereo equipment, and supposedly a tko500. It was good enough for me to be willing to rent a uhaul and travel 4 hours away with a 9mm and 5k in my pocket on Saturday morning. Except that the night before, we got hit by a storm that kicked the crap out of our town. Trees down, windows blown out, power out for most the town, etc. so I had no AC, no CPAP, etc. 2-3 very interrupted and poor hours of sleep later, I left at 4 am for Charleston. I told the guy that id be there at 9:30, so I stopped at waffle house for a very late dinner (or very early?) and a lot of coffee.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913657_324a70a74b_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompMc)20260711_071621 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompMc) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Rolled up, and started inspecting the car. and parts. Found some questionable rust repair, some rust, some kink in the front crossmember, a scrap 6.0, scrap turbo, scrap 6x heads, scrap 400 block, t5, stock oil pan, and the most awesome alligator skin interior I’ve ever seen. I actually was getting back into the truck to leave when he asked me for an offer. Since I was there. So I lowballed him at 2500, he came back at 2800, he kept the 6.0 and turbo stuff. I accepted.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982223_e839767646_k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTqK)Screenshot_20260711_120930_Messages (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTqK) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
So that got me this:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387847531_d1ad33bc46_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcot)20260711_113638 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcot) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913747_4ed1602292_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompNK)20260711_115149 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompNK) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388246310_23daf9234c_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soteVY)20260711_122048 (https://flic.kr/p/2soteVY) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388031574_1ea1779704_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sos96C)20260711_122053 (https://flic.kr/p/2sos96C) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982273_a93f45bacd_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTrB)20260711_122058 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTrB) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913852_6aae0053e7_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompQy)20260711_122102 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompQy) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387982383_5453b6940a_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTtv)20260711_122121 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorTtv) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55388246530_e842e67bc8_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soteZL)20260711_122149 (https://flic.kr/p/2soteZL) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55387847866_ca9ae61388_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcuf)20260711_122204 (https://flic.kr/p/2sorcuf) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880315_8e4d8372fe_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBEt)20260712_092626 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBEt) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880385_9cdd618bd5_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBFF)20260712_092633 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBFF) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389880900_1f91ce0a8e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBQy)20260712_152941 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBBQy) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
It also has a fantastic factory dash that has been modified and fiber glassed solid, with a dash pad that was glued over the defrost ducts speakers, and vin. As well as a SERIOUSLY hacked and scary wiring harness.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478151_ce494f77bf_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy7B)20260712_092730 (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy7B) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389478191_9f55b9b664_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy8i)20260712_092750 (https://flic.kr/p/2sozy8i) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
About the only parts in the bins that weren’t drivetrain were a battery, some gauge and interior and trim parts, an aluminum radiator and fans, wiper motor and arms, and some other misc. crap.
Got home 14 hours after leaving, as well as driving through some wind and rain that had trees horizontal.
Dropped it at dad’s house next to the 76, dropped the uhaul, and went to bed.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386914167_40d81b794e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2sompVZ)20260711_163015 (https://flic.kr/p/2sompVZ) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
Looking at the car a bit closer Sunday, we also have rear disc brakes, and adjustable distribution valve, 6al, no master cylinder, inoperable seatbelts, new weatherstripping, extra speakers, an amp and sub, aem wideband, bedliner engine bay, rebuilt front suspension, wheel spacers and wrong lug nuts loosely holding on the rear wheels, incomplete window trims, a tilt column, new gas tank that has a leak somewhere, no name shocks and lightweight front springs, seriously different alignment shim stacks, new headliner, and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting.
It was a good buy for what I want. Especially once I sell off the stuff I don’t want. Shame that he used the nice 6x heads for weight for his garden tiller and then kicked them around the concrete floor until they were scrap, but the intake/5 speed/valve covers/mini starter should more than pay for most of the car I think.
Anyway, let’s talk about where to go from here. Because this is a build thread, not a purchase thread.
Weve already talked about the plan for minimum viable product. To get there, I have my $600 6.0 4l80e out of a county short bus to put in it. bought it with a miss in it from runion with wiring and accessories and computer a while back as a possibility to swap into my truck, and never used it. so this is the perfect application. Ill clean it up, paint the aluminum aluminum, block black, and sit it in.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55389894385_f57664b31e_4k-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2soBFR4)2026-07-12_06-43-52 (https://flic.kr/p/2soBFR4) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
A few years back, I spent 100 bucks and bought an f body clone oil pan, new starter, intake pipe kit, and fuel pressure regulator from john brown at the challenge. So ill use those parts. Ill need to sort exhaust manifolds, mounts, and driveshaft. And then see if the truck accessories and intake will fit. Rewire the car, or bypass all of the janky **** under there now. but, one step at a time.
Step 1.5, immediately after minimum viable product, will be a prep for the GRM challenge. Its an event I have been doing for years. This year, they have introduced the $5000 class, with no exemptions/recoup/freebies/trades/etc except taxes and one set of tires. This is something I have been advocating for long and hard, so I WILL be bringing a car to support it. this is that car.
Step 2, assuming I like owning and wheeling a firebird, will be development. It will be turned into a 76 visually, with suspension upgrades, new wiring, stock dash/console/hvac, and different rolling stock. Something like this at the end….
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2026/07/55386913637_b2ef010d32_b-1.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/150940429@N02/67L4q23E34)84568655-bf09-460b-a4f7-7848bbd13745 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/150940429@N02/67L4q23E34) by Michael Crawford (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150940429@N02/), on Flickr
All this is HIGHLY subject to change, and nitrous. So, stay tuned. Step at a time. So first is getting things organized, brown car squared away, and parts cars dealt with. Then the LS sat down in so that its off the floor.