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View Full Version : HELP!...Me plan my next build "Project Wannabe PT"



litevette
04-13-2009, 02:08 PM
Hi all! Within the next 6 mos. to 1 year I intend to plunk down the dough for my next project. I will be starting with a '67 or '68 Firebird. My goal is to build a (for no other way to put it) "wannabe" PT car. By "wannabe", I mean it will have big wheels, big brakes, sit low, have modern seats, steering wheel & sound system. I will be starting with a pretty much "done", restored to stock 'Bird. This way I can drive it while I mod it. My last car, not sure if any of you remember my 'Vette, was on the road/drag strip maybe a grand total of 2 weeks in the 8 years it took me to build it. This time, I want to be able to get into it from day 1, fire it up and go cruise, with the obvious occasional, short down time for some of the above mentioned/below questioned mods. SO... my questions that follow are what I'd like help with. I thank you inadvance as i know I'm asking some in depth questions. I also know I can find some of these answers here, and some of these answers there by spending a ton of time doing searches here, but time I don't have (if I had the time, I wouldn't have the money to do this build). So again, I'd greatly appreciate the help. O.K. here go the questions:

1. What products, or combination of products should I use, (so that I'm not buying products twice), would I need to acheive the low stance and big brakes? Keep in mind that I'll have a stock chassis and will not be mini tubbing.

2. With the above installed products, what's the largest front & rear wheel & tire sizes I can put on with the dropped stance. As additional food for the discussion, I like as big a rim as possible. I'm not a fan of a lot of sidewall on my tires. I'm also concerned with clearance during turning and the unavoidable, occasional hard acceleration.

3. What PT looking, comfortable seats are available that will fit nicely (not sitting high & no clearance issues), and are available covered in black vinyl as I won't be changing the rest of the stock, black vinyl interior.

4. What problems have any of you ran into doing any of the above so that I can avoid them.

Again, thanks in advance for your help!

litevette
04-13-2009, 07:21 PM
Anyone? Anyone?

formula
04-13-2009, 09:16 PM
1) sounds like you're just looking for a standard hotchkiss drop kit. Call Frank at prodigy about setting you up with a nice brake kit.

2)dunno first gens well enough to speak on wheels.

3) look at procar seats by scat. Comfy, supportive, cheap.

Wheels are by far the biggest pitfall. Get that right, and you're home free.

litevette
04-14-2009, 07:11 PM
1) sounds like you're just looking for a standard hotchkiss drop kit. Call Frank at prodigy about setting you up with a nice brake kit.

2)dunno first gens well enough to speak on wheels.

3) look at procar seats by scat. Comfy, supportive, cheap.

Wheels are by far the biggest pitfall. Get that right, and you're home free.
Thanks. I Appreciate it. Those Elite Lumbar seats look like just the ticket. I'll have to find out if they'll fit without sitting too high off the floor. Hope so because they have the look I'm wanting and they look comfy!
I'll have to check out prodigy when it comes time for those brakes too.
Glad to know that hotchkiss makes that kit. I didn't want to piece the suspension together!

gto406
04-15-2009, 07:50 AM
My only request, try to keep it all Poncho. The number of Birds becoming houses for LS motors is becoming very disheartening.

litevette
04-16-2009, 05:46 PM
My only request, try to keep it all Poncho. The number of Birds becoming houses for LS motors is becoming very disheartening.
I plan on not doing anything, engine wise, for quite a while. If I find one that is #'s matching, I will eventually take the original motor out and set it in storage, then find a 400 I can do as I wish with/flog on by destoying the original block. I don't want to mess up it's value. That is another reason why I've decided against a mini tub. I know what you mean. Look how many '67-'69 Camaro's are available on Ebay (not such a shame to hack them), then look how many first gen 'Birds are available. Not to many. We are going to run out of them before too much longer!

gto406
04-16-2009, 07:23 PM
Sounds good, nothing wrong with setting aside a #'s match motor so you can flog on it 8^)

You may want to hook up with a set of tubular control arms (e.g. SC&C, Global West, DSE, or Hotchkis) with a set of drop coil springs to bring your ride height down (~1-2") on a stock sub-frame. I believe some of those may work with a large brake package (Matt's Bowties I believe sells a bolt on kit to increase your rotor size, with a beefier caliper) that doesn't require a modified spindle. You would then have to run a larger wheel (i.e. 16" or larger) but if your going a PT route, that is probably your motivation anyhow.

With respect to the largest wheel tire combo, the best way to find out what will fit is (once everything is fitted up) to simply measure it out. Measure inside your wheel housings with your suspension on (sitting as close to ride height as you can get).

I know there was a great article (in Car Craft) that shows you how to measure for tire size/backspace requirements. I found a link on their site which may help you out. Always best to measure yourself, each combo is slightly different:

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/fitting_tires_wheels/index.html

Best of luck.

litevette
04-17-2009, 02:59 PM
Excellent information! That's what I'm looking for. I like the idea of being able to do a bolt on kit without the spindle mod AND drop it with the springs. On my 'Vette, I was able to just buy some Gymkana springs for the front to get the drop I wanted. BTW, here's what that 'Vette looked like.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif[/URL (http://http://imageshack.us)]
[/URL"]http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=521&i=picture064bv6.jpg"] (http://[URL="http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=521&i=picture064bv6.jpg)

gmcdermit1
04-17-2009, 03:02 PM
Sweet vette...I have always been a sucker for those cars!

litevette
04-17-2009, 03:04 PM
Thanks! Too bad I had to let it go.