ho428
07-03-2008, 06:46 AM
Building a 68 Firebird for Road Race. Most Mustangs and Camaros in the class do not run front bumpers, not really an option with a Firebird.
I was looking at replacinging this entire assembly with Aluminum and using a fiberglass bumper and chop a bunch of wt off the nose.
Anyone here ever built anything like that?
parsonsj
07-03-2008, 09:04 AM
I have. II Much's radiator core support, headlight buckets, grill, bumper, and bumper brackets are made from 4130, aluminum, and fiberglass. A *lot* of work, and Nova fronts are simpler than Firebird fronts.
Still, I had fun with it. I started by making the core support from a 4130 frame, with lots of nut-serts installed. From there I made aluminum panels that bolt to the frame to complete the core support and headlight buckets. I made the grill, radiator brackets, and bumper brackets from aluminum, and then bumper adapters to bolt to the brackets. It took months of trial and error to get all the details worked out.
jp
ho428
07-03-2008, 09:39 AM
I talked with the Tech guy at HSR a little while ago, and he's ok with it as long as it looks factory on the outside. I can remove the headlights and fill in the holes with flat sheet metal.
I think I'll stay with the stock core support for now but instead of mimicking the Firebird bumper assembly I may just set the glass bumper in place and make whatever fits behind it rather than an OEM look mount. For that matter I could probably just mount the bumper off the core support instead of the frame.
I'll need filler panels between it and the core support anyway so why not make the top part go all the way back?
It should be an interesting piece to make though.