1971 Firebird455 - Project

[LeighP]

Thanks, I hope it all turns out well....trying my best, although I'm counting on a "shake down/fix the glitch" period after its on the road...lol.

[LeighP]

More tinkering after work.....
Got the radiator and shroud cleaned up, painted and fitted. Bolted on the twin fan pack and sorted the hoses. Looks more like a real engine bay now.
I want to hang some panels on the weekend so I can fit up another couple of things without worrying if I'm going to foul the fenders or nose.

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the fitting in the top radiator hose is an inline filter with a stainless mesh removable element....guy here in my city has been making and selling these for years. With a brand new alloy radiator in there, I want to keep any junk out of the core.

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[syborg tt]

It's been a while since I've had time to look at this thread. I can say this car is looking great.

[LeighP]

Thanks for your kind words. :)

I picked up my custom built drive shaft on Friday....full 3", heavy duty with thicker wall tube. Am running the larger 1350 solid universals with Strange yokes.
Decided to paint it with a factory look, colour code on the shaft should actually be orange/white/yellow for a 455 auto, but since mines a tougher shaft, I've gone for a custom code of orange/white/orange.....well, plus I didn't have any yellow paint laying around....lol. :)

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[aronhk_md]

Looking great Leigh......its looking like a car! lol You had me there for a second....I was thinking, "hmmm...why is he saying it should be orange white orange? Was this paint scheme used for some upgraded package?" But then I kept reading.....lol

[LeighP]

So, added the driveshaft....always a moment of doubt that its going to fit when they're a custom build, but it went in there perfectly.
Hung the fenders so I can work out clearances when I'm adding accessories and other stuff under the hood....looked good, so I hung the nose, too.
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So, I dragged my young bloke away from his home work for a hand and....ta-da!!!! It looks like a car! :shock:
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been more than 20 years since its been in one piece...so to speak.... :cool:

[Code Red]

looking good man, though I prefer the metallic blue engine paint instead of the baby blue ;-)

[aronhk_md]

wow Leigh....it DOES look like a car! I'm thinking that completion....while not right around the corner......isnt that far off.

[LeighP]

Thanks guys...yeah, big morale boost seeing it all in one piece again....even if the panel/paint guys are going to have to strip it all down again, lol.

I was originally going to use the metallic light blue colour on the engine that was in use up to 1970, but its really hard to get that colour...VHT have dropped it and the only guy with stocks of it wanted $30+ a can. The light blue is correct for my year model anyway, so thats OK by me.

[68400BIRD]

Looks geat as always Leigh. I'm keeping a close pace with you. I would like to start hanging the front clip to make sure everything fits correctly to. Which I know it won't. LOL It's been a lot of fun to watch your car come along. Can't wait to see the rims on it.

[LeighP]

Remote oil filter mounted and plumbed.....never used these re-usable two piece fittings before, went together fine. Theres some great youtube videos to show you how to home assemble braided hose fittings if anyone's looking for 'how to's".
The two units at the top of the filter are the oil pressure guage sender and the oil pressure safety switch for the electric fuel pump.

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Fuel regulator and line is all connected now, found this nice fuel pressure guage with an engine turned face...just made for a Firebird!

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And I spent some time with a local company that does hydraulic work, where the guys behind the counter are all car guys. They made up some teflon lined hoses for my trans-cooler set up and we put together some fittings to mount the trans temp sender into one of the lines....I'll be mocking these up soon, then they go back to get crimped.
Man, quality hose and fittings really cost....

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[WS6]

Looking good Leigh.

[LeighP]

To finish up the plumbing, I picked up the trans cooler lines after crimping and got them fitted...must be losing my touch, ended up cutting my thumb while fitting adel clamps to the lines and left blood everywhere....seems there really is a little bit of me been added to the car after all, lol.

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The brass fittings in the line are for the trans temp sender.
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The lines run up over the inner fender in the area covered by the outer fender then down to the trans. (not the clearest pic, sorry)
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[LeighP]

Just mucking about with some more small stuff.....also booked the car in for its exhaust in a couple of weeks when I've got a few days off. 2.5" mandrel bend stainless, should last a while.

Made up some mounts and added the overflow tank that I picked up off Ebay cheap. Also added a neat little electric/air horn unit (also Ebay...love ebay, lol) and a small panel to mount the fan control unit and horn relay neatly.
Have to get some people over soon to quote on the body and paint work as I'm pretty much up to that point once the exhaust is done.

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[LeighP]

Threw the 17" back wheels onto the car tonight as its going down on Tuesday for it's exhaust.
Car is sitting fairly high...probably near stock height at the moment...but I'm not going to get too concerned about the springs until after its been on the road a while and settled a little...then, if needed, I'll do some ride height tuning.

I like the look of the Year One Honeycombs, and the Nitto INVO tyres fit nicely.

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Fitted the new chrome power steer pump tonight as well....man, bit of a struggle because I should have fitted the inner front bolt first (so I could move the pump around for clearance...instead I fitted it last, but its bolted in. Then I find out the power steer belt that came with the pulley kit is too small....lol, lucky I've got a few hanging in the shed out back to check out tomorrow.

[36couper]

Beautiful work. Is that a plastic fuel filter I see? I had a near disaster with one that melted .

[LeighP]

Yeah, it is plastic..but I've been running them for 30 years and never had an issue with one even looking like it's gotten warm....plus I don't mount them anywhere they get direct heat.
I won't use those glass aftermarket filters because of the number of issues that I've heard about......but, other than your comment, I've not known anyone to have an issue with these RYCO brand filters.
Thanks for mentioning it, though.

[LeighP]

Got the pump finished off.....chrome pump from Summit (Summit Brand)....pretty good value, I think around half the price of the Borgesen chrome pump. Both are reman units, so I didn't thing there was any advantage to paying twice the price. Also comes with a neat chrome dip stick cap.

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Thought I'd introduce you to my garage security - Vince the Firecat, guarding the Firebird. One look into those eyes and you know he's serious...trust me, mess with him at your peril. :lol:

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[LeighP]

So, its down at the exhaust shop....Of course, when the guys actually got to see how crowded it is around that back axle they were like "Um, I think we under quoted....", lol.
I told them just do what it needs to be right.....I'm not going to hold them to a rough verbal quote on it. Looks like it's going to take till at least lunch time tomorrow as the tail pipes are the most complicated part. I'm happy with how things are looking so far.

They added flanges to the rear of the headers as they were not happy about using slip over clamps. The "merge" positions nicely under the front of the drive shaft and theres a good clear position for the O2 sensor.
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Here you can see the Waldron repro of the Pontiac VOE mufflers.
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More pics later....

[LeighP]

Slow progress, since they had a guy short...but now theres another guy in there this afternoon and they've started on the tail pipes.

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I will have to make a small piece of hardline for the fuel line between the pump outlet and the body line as the rubber hose comes a little too close to the tailpipe area....but nothing too hard to do.

Hopefully, it'll be done tomorrow.

[LeighP]

Picked the car up this afternoon...the decided against fitting the actual tips as they'll need to be slightly tweaked and he wants to do it when the car is finished with the rear bar fitted so he can get them exactly square.

Heres some pics.....
Finished system from the rear....
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The "Merge", which is their patented version of an X pipe....these work well, had them on other systems.
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The O2 sensor position in the LH front pipe.
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The RH tailpipe showing one of the flanges that allows me to drop the whole centre of the exhaust out if needed to work on the car.
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[solarguy09]

Super Sweet...

I am Cat Man.....Me and Vince would be buddies in no time...

.But then I wouldn't be there to take anything....just to drool about your car and pet the cat.

Nice Job...My build thread better be good...you are doing it really nice....

[LeighP]

thanks very much...I hope it'll be in the paint shop in the next week or two....

PS, Vince says "hey"....

[Doug1]

All i can say is I hope you picked a great painter. It seems all my projects go pretty well until they hit the paint stage. I've used 3 different painters on the last 3 projects after the first guy ended up getting advances for "materials" that turned out to be the drugs he was doing. But I digress... lol

The car is looking great!

[aronhk_md]

Doug is right...the painters seem to either be flakes or they have shops and are 3 yrs behind the schedule they give it seems. lol Your car is turning out gorgeous Leigh. What color is it getting painted again?

[LeighP]

Took some thinking and talking to track down THE pane lshop...the guy specialises in classic cars and has a good rep...been in my local area for longer than I have...and when I drop in there, the cars are turning over, so I know work is getting done.

I hope it's going in there on Friday....if all goes according to plan.

Colour choice......
well, I won't know for sure till the paint is in the gun, but I'm looking at white with an offset blue racing strip on hood and trunk with a blue tail panel......
or this metallic dark green thats a late model colour on the local Commodore (Pontiac G8).


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or

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[LeighP]

I like the green as it'll show the bright deluxe trim and badges better than the white, and the colour reminds me of a modern Brewster Green...

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[LeighP]

Another one of those "Darn, it!" moments.....now that the bodywork is temporarily hung, I decided to check the fit of the new Honeycombs on the front (rears are fine).
I was concerned about the depth of the area where the bearing nut cover is as another member had issues with the Honeycomb centre cap.

That wasn't a problem, the cap has enough clearance on my car it seems.......what is a problem, and I wasn't aware of this, is that the 1LE conversion to bigger brakes on the front has also slightly increased my track....now the 9" Honeycombs sit out so far they are almos illegal (tread surface is barely covered) and I don't think I could lower the car any without issues on the tyre to fender clearance.

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It appears the 15x7" factory Rally II wheels are OK for clearance.....so at least I have a set of those for it with 255's ready to go....but it would appear I'll be looking at custom offset wheels again......I'm sure I'll get my money back on the Honeycombs, but I'm really annoyed that I wasn't aware of the track change.

[LeighP]

Now heres something that does look good....Ringbrother's eye candy arrived in a box the other day.....

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Airframe style billet hinges...the bears make them very nice to move and they are super solid torsionally.
Cool!

[LeighP]

So....the best thing I've always found when something doesn't work the way you'd hope, is to sit down with a tall frost glass of the favourite tasty beverage and have a good think about it.

First bright thought - I just bolted the front togehter...no shims on the upper arms at all.....maybe an alignment would help somewhat.

So its out with the trusty home alignment gauge I bought (was I thinking ahead here or what?) and sure enough, there was stacks too much positive camber.
So I set the camber to -1.25 degrees, as the pro-touring guys are running -1 to -1.5 degrees, and heres the result.

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Probably still a bit close to the fender lip...but I'll run them and see what happens. I'm running tall ball joints which are supposed to set the control arm at the height so that you're already into the neg camber gain part of the curve. If so, the tyre should move in towards the centre of the car when the suspension is compressed. Of course, this is fought be the actual body/frame itself rolling towards the compressing tyre and consequentially increasing the length of the upper arm relative to the ground....you can't win all the time, but I'm hoping its enough . I'm not planning the lower the car a huge amount anyway....evne though lowering it would actually help the static set up somewhat.....its all a trade off

[michael k]

keep the nice honeycombs and switch to wilwood in front instead
i think you will get the right trackwid with there kits
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-10485&year=1972&make=Pontiac&model=Firebird&option=

[LeighP]

Thanks very much....I've added that to my links. I was trying to keep the option of running the original 15x7 Rally IIs on the odd occasion for a change...but that may go out the window.
To tell you the truth, after the car is on the road and registered etc, I'm considering a further upgrade to Ridetech upper and lower arms with their single adjustable coil overs. This Wilwood kit may work great with that.

[sr73bu]

Car looks great Leigh! I like the color options... that "Poison Ivy Green" is the color my dad is going with on his 67 Camaro..

-Sean

[tazzz25906112]

Thanks very much....I've added that to my links. I was trying to keep the option of running the original 15x7 Rally IIs on the odd occasion for a change...but that may go out the window.
To tell you the truth, after the car is on the road and registered etc, I'm considering a further upgrade to Ridetech upper and lower arms with their single adjustable coil overs. This Wilwood kit may work great with that.

Leigh maybe consider working the inner fender and cut/roll the lip on the front fender prior to paint man,,,, I'd guess you'll be glad you did in the not to distant future...
You're moving more and more into a full on pro-touring handling beast with every post and that extra clearance is easy now,,,, hard later. Just think of it pal,,, split that rim place more internal BS/offset and you'll be running big buns up front (and they do make a Hell of a difference)....

[bhcustomdesigns]

Leigh the car is looking great! seeing your car this far along makes me want to work faster on mine lol.I still have alot of work left on mine. :twothumbs

[LeighP]

Thanks for the kind words, guys...much appreciated.
Albert, I'm going to leave the inner/outer fender....I'm not planning on lowering the car too much because basically, our roads suck! I had to lift my 70 Camaro RS/SS up a little because I kept surfing the subframe off the raised section in the middle of the road on some of the nicer twisty drives around here, lol.
I'll see how the clearance works on these cast Honeycombs, looking at the clearance for the backspacing, they could easily have another 1/2" backspace even with the stock arms.
Of course, I could always go Ridetech front arms with coilovers and tall stubs...and something like the Wilwood brakes mentioned earlier......the nice thing about these cars is that they are upgradable as you go. :)
And then theres always those carbon ffibre centred wheels you're doing.....mmmmmmmm

[tazzz25906112]

LOL ;-) thanks bud..... Now we just have to get them to market already LOL....

[Doug1]

I agree with Albert that rolling the inner lip is very easy to do now so there is really no reason not to. It gives you options down the road, cost virtually nothing to do now and won't chip all over the place like it will if you need to do it later. Get your paint guy to do it before he sprays it. He will make short work of it.

Just my 2 cents worth of advise and it is worth just about 2 cents. lol

Love the green!

[syborg tt]

if you need the fender roller just shot me an e-mail I will send you mine.

[LeighP]

Thanks guys...I am getting the backs rolled...but the fronts will be OK for my application. As I said, I'm not lowering it as much as a lot of guys would.
I appreciate the offer of the fender roller.

[LeighP]

Well, dropped in to see the project, and against my expectations on body shops, they'd hauled into the job.
Most of the car is disassembled and stripped of paint. Body still has some small sections down the bottom to strip, but its looking pretty clean so far.
The shop owner said he's pretty happy with the doors and one fender, but the other fender will need some work as it's had the typical 70's-80's repair to some dents then smothered in body filler to make it look nice....its fixable, though, which is good.

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[70Uglybird]

NICE! Can't wait to see this done, the year one honeycombs are nice wheels really kicking myself for not going with them. Did you decide on color yet? I'm always a little weird about white but done right it does look amazing on a early 2nd gen bird. Great the shop is tearing into it, you've got to be going crazy with anticipation at this point!!!

[LeighP]

This is the final choice...green pearl....factory GM colour.
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[4mul8ion]

Great choice and a great build!!! Awesome.

Kevin

[Doug1]

WOW. That's the kind of painter I need to find! Those guys aren't messing around. That car is going to be smokin hot. I am really looking foward to the finished product.

[LeighP]

Ok...so now they've got the door cutouts and cowl sides clean, and the lower body.....car is looking pretty good.

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Not bad for a 40 year old, eh?

Door have got their first coat of primer on them.

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[ryeguy2006a]

You are real close now Leigh. Looking great.

[aronhk_md]

Wow Leigh.....they are really forging ahead FAST. The car is really going to stand out in that color. Have a feeling your body shop guy is the one who invented that term so many of us love to hate....."Git 'er dun!" lol Wont be long before you are putting the interior in.

[bhcustomdesigns]

Leigh its looking good buddy I love the color choice cant wait to see it done! :twothumbs

[LeighP]

Found another old repair...bottom of the LH rear quarter and the bottom of the back valance on the same side...seems to have been an impact repair rather than rust...it's been roughly pulled then filled over....so that'll be another fix.
I came in today and the owner had spent a lot of the day file finishing the roof and correcting small defects in the panel.....old school stuff.

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Heres the LH fender where it had been poorly repaired and filled up....
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All in all, when I see what some guys are going through repairing cars, I'm pretty happy with what we've found.

[LeighP]

So I'm slowly pulling interior parts out of the pile of pieces that came with the car.
I decided that the original rear side panels and sail panels are just not going to cut it with the full resto....so I'll be buying new ones of these, which luckily they reproduce for 71 models. Same with the headliner retaining side trims...I have two sets and both are just too UV damaged at the front to go with a full restoration. I was fooling myself that they'd be OK.....doh!

Anyhow, I'm converting the car over to the solid headliner board style, rather than the correct early soft headliner. The car came with a late 73/74 headliner, that had seen better days, but it was salvageable....so out comes the fibreglass repair kit and it came up pretty good. I'll be getting my interior guy to retrim it in the correct black perforated vinyl and foam.

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Had to completely rebuild this corner
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There were some splits that must have happened while the board was sitting around out of the car.
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[Doug1]

I bought one of the hard plastic backers from Year One. It looks like they just took a big, flat sheet of semi-ridgid plastic, about the thickness of plastic on a milk jug, and cut it out using one like yours for a template. Seems easy enough to reproduce since the roll it up into a tube a ship it that way. I'm not sure how well it works but I think the advantage is that it won't disentegrate over time like most pressed backer boards do. With the humdity we have here, the factory ones all sagged after a couple of years.

As for the sail panel and plastic side supports, why don't you consider covering them? You can add filler to shape them out if needed and then put on a faux leather fabric or whatever fabric you cover your seats in. IIRC you are using more modern seats. That has the advantage of the look of more modern materials and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for finding old ones in good condition. Just a thought.

[LeighP]

I thought about that...covering the panels, but the only way I've seen that looks good is to vacuum mold the vinyl to the panel the way they restore dash tops. The company that restored my dash will do it, but they want more than the cost of new panels to do the job.
I can buy brand new OER repro rear side armrests, sail panels and upper headliner side moldings, all done in black....and they'll match the black of the Year One door panels.....

[michael k]

4 my self im thinking of a dark green metalic coulor on my formula
volvo has one very nice

[LeighP]

Do it...everyone goes red, yellow, orange or blue.....green is different. :)

[Doug1]

I thought about that...covering the panels, but the only way I've seen that looks good is to vacuum mold the vinyl to the panel the way they restore dash tops. The company that restored my dash will do it, but they want more than the cost of new panels to do the job.
I can buy brand new OER repro rear side armrests, sail panels and upper headliner side moldings, all done in black....and they'll match the black of the Year One door panels.....


I have seen some that are glued that look great. It takes a lot of patience and some skill to stretch the material so that it looks factory. I have some photos and an article that I saved somewhere of a guy who did the panels in a 4th gen. They came out great and he took tons of photos and explained how he did it.

[LeighP]

Got a great deal from Pete at Fbodywarehouse....really looked after me on the trim parts......I don't mind the look of the factory trim, but it has to be in good condition to look right.

[LeighP]

The panel shop has finished up those annoying "before Christmas" jobs, and they're back onto my car.

They found that the rear window opening didn't really line up nicely along the edge of the window trims....so they've been working those edges to get things right.
I dropped the front and rear screens down today so they can trial fit the glass to make sure the molds sit correctly all the way round....these guys are really going to town on this and spending some serious time to make it look right.

First skim of filler ....got this just as they were applying it.
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LH side of the rear window, where he's been working the body line....
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And for some reason, I'd accidentally spun the selector knob on the new camera to video....so heres a few seconds of MP4
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[LeighP]

Saturday - the guys are hard at it...fixing poorly done old repairs.... they hope to have it in primer Monday or Tuesday

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Heres the RH side sail panel area after reworking it...the LH is half done.
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[LeighP]

Work continues...they are hoping to have the shell primed tomorrow or wednesday.

Undetected previous repairs that had to be reworked currently stand at....
- Left and right sail panel areas where the vinyl roof had been removed and the leading had cracked
- rear LH quarter bottom and rear valance from previous accident damage
- LH lower B pillar at the bottom edge above the sill, looks like a small rust repair poorly done...not rusty, just not real nice work.
- RH front fender dents from old accident damage

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[Ripper]

Looking real good!


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I wish I could have started with a solid body like that. That would have saved me a year or so, haha.

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[LeighP]

Ouch.....bit more work there than mine....

[LeighP]

Well, almost there (primer)...looks like tomorrow now. They've got one more spot they want to work then it'll be ready to prime. Doors were in the booth getting guide coated when I was there today. Rear inner fender lips have been rolled and the fender lip trims trial fitted to make sure everything will work OK.

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[LeighP]

So, we're finally up to primer.....they got it into the booth this afternoon and sprayed some primer/hi-fill on it. He said they'll be doing some blocking tomorrow then next week they'll be fitting up the panels.

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And they're also working that damage on the front RH fender...they tell me it'll be good.
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[LeighP]

This is what the fender damage looked like after the filler was removed...
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Now it looks like this, all metal work, too...not filled up like before...
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Heres the base coat that they mixed up to colour the car as a base for blocking it, and also to provide a coloured base for the translucent pearl green topcoat, so it covers better.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

And heres the first of the topcoat on the inner door surfaces....over the base coat great...it really looks great in person.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Ripper]

Nice color! You won't be able to sneak around town with it though. lol

[LeighP]

Awww, and here I was thinking it'd be low profile......lol.

[Doug1]

It looks like they do some excellent paint work. That is looking very clean and sharp!

[LeighP]

More happening...they're working on the Formula hood...found a couple of small spots where they need to do fibreglass repairs on the undersides.

Trunk lid is painted inside, as are the fenders. He stone guarded the interior of the fenders before painting....not really sure that was needed as no rocks can get up there with the inner fenders in place, but it looks clean and neat.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
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They also found a previous repair on the windscreen surround that I had done at another place was a bit dodgy (thin), so they're reworking it....I hate paying for poor workmanship, really annoys me.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[tazzz25906112]

Leigh I love the color buddy,,,, my cousin David use have a 73 4 speed Formula in that color with a white gut...... It was a great looking car and turned heads like crazy....

[syborg tt]

man that looks nice. That is going to give the inside of the fenders a cool look when you open the hood.


He stone guarded the interior of the fenders before painting....not really sure that was needed as no rocks can get up there with the inner fenders in place, but it looks clean and neat.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[daytonayellaz]

This a sweet build Leigh! I was looking hard for a 70-73 bird when I found my 70 camaro, I couldnt turn it down or I would own one of these cars. Keep up the good work!

[workbenchracer]

These are my favorite Firebirds. Had a friend in high school do something stupid with his Dad's (while Dad was out of town) and I was heart broken. :( It was bad. Wet roads, hit from side, front end moved over about 1 foot. I will watch in envy!

[LeighP]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Small hold up...thought my hinges on the car were OK, but they didn't pass muster....small amount of play in the bushes and the detent roller looked a tad average on one.
Luckily, my friend with the Pontiac parts store came to the rescue with a new set of repro hinges on overnight delivery.
Those repro hinges look pretty good...heavy guage steel just like the factory ones.

They're trying their best to get the car fitted up and maybe a base coat of colour laid on before they break for the holidays. Picked up the re-chromed bumper from the shop today as well, nice job, and I had them weld up the jack slots while they were at it.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[LeighP]

Change of pace....while the car is off getting painted, I'm working on small parts so they don't slow me down later.
Latest project is to make up my customised dash panel.

I bought a restored T/A panel off Randy Combs, I really like the engine turned dash and Randy does the finest work. I had Randy remove the instrument rings as I wouldn't need them.
I planned to fit aftermarket instruments from Classic Instruments, I've used them before and they are good gear...plus they had a special style gauge that I really wanted for my car. I've been in the aircraft industry, military and civilian, all my adult life - so when I found these aircraft styled gauges, I just had to have them.

Problem being, if you hang all the gauges into the thin alloy engine turned facia, its not going to like that weight in it and it'll flex and feel flimsy. The answer is to make a doubler of alloy that will fit to the back of the facia and the gauges will then clamp it all together (with some polyurethane adhesive to help it along the way).

Marking out the doubler
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Painting up the pieces you can see through the facia
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Polyurethane bonding...I knew buying the jumbo pack of clamps would come in handy
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The instruments....still have to do a panel for the LH side where some switches are going. The long billet piece is a trans shift position indicator and brake warning light.
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The speedometer has these false adjustment knobs that conceal LEDs that act as the high beam light and left and right turn indicator lights.
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[bhcustomdesigns]

The gauges look great !!!!! :twothumbs

[LeighP]

Well, the boys got past the issue with the hinges...the new ones are painted and on the car, doors re-hung, and this afternoon they were working on setting up the front end (trial).

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Of course, they need the new bling hinges for the hood....
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I picked up a pair of used bumper guards for the rear bumper....I had them rechromed at the same time as the back bumper and added new rubber. They don't look half bad. I just hope the polyurethane holding the rubber on stays stuck.....seems pretty good, I had to cut some that squeezed out of the join with a razor blade, so I'd say its good.

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[LeighP]

Well, Christmas break is here, the guys finished up this afternoon. Heres how things sit....a lot of the gaps are finalised, but theres still some work to do here and there.

The LH fender rear edge needed some help on the gap to the door....
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Have to wait till next year to see it in paint..... :lol:

[LeighP]

Well, to complete the facia of the dash, I finished the LH side where the switch gear goes. No face level vent in my car (was an A/C car) so I used that area for locating some switches for lighting etc.

Made up a doubler to fit the back of the dash, painted satin black to match the other side.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Urethaned that into the dash facia and when cured, mounted up the switch gear.

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Switches are (from top Left)

Dome Lt Head Lt
Rear Demist Park Lt
Trunk Release Inst Lt

The wiper switch opening is set up for the DSE wiper kit switch and the old headlight switch position was perfect for the starter switch. I have to research up a little first, but if my alternator requires a warning lamp (some do, some don't), I'll mount one where the "LIGHTS WIPER" plastic sign used to sit.

Now all I have to do, is loom it all up and fit some plugs, so I can easily fit/remove the facia as needed.

[NOT A TA]

Looks great Leigh! Are you going to use the original lighter opening for the headlight switch?

[LeighP]

The small billet push buttons are for the lights....not using a factory style push/pull knob switch. The lighter spot will have one off the heater/demister cables running in it...the other one is going in the hole to the immediate right of the lighter spot.

[dusterbd13]

ao, where did you get the switches? havent come across thiose yet, and they seem like theyd be perfect for some of the stuff i do.

michael

[LeighP]

AutoLoc Billet Buttons.....part of a company called The Hoffman Group. You design the custom switches on line and they make them up and mail them out....lots of combinations of switch logos and LED colours.

[LeighP]

Been working on the wiring looms for the dash, I want to make it modular so I can remove and replace the dash just by disconnecting some plugs.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


Panel shop guys are still playing with the gaps, trying to get the nose right....they fitted up the Aerocatches yesterday. Their painter isn't back from holidays for another week, so I guess theres time for them to tweak the bodywork.

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[tazzz25906112]

Nice Leigh!!! Please forward some shots from hood latches (top and bottom side) to my e-mails at [email protected] if you get a chance...
I really like the placement they chose for the Areocatches and I'd love to see more...

[LeighP]

No worries....I'll take some more pics of the whole install. They positioned them in that spot (and facing the way they are) so the strikers could mount on the rear outer edge of the rad support....just outboard of the hole thats there fro mthe factory (couldn't use that as it put the latch in the wrong spot).

[LeighP]

Still playing with the dash wiring...today I got the main instruments and the starter switch wired to plugs.

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Just the billet switches on the side to do now...those are a little fiddly as I have to solder the wire connections to the pins on the switches.

[sr73bu]

Looks amazing Leigh! Love the Color, Guages and hood latches! Can't wait to see this all come together!

-Sean

[LeighP]

Had a quiet afternoon - everyone was out, lol.
Got a chance to finish off the dash wiring.....a couple of more plugs than I intended, but with the pulse generator for the speedometer and all the button switches with LEDs in them it got a little more complicated.
Annoying soldering wires to the button switches....my small circuit board soldering iron doesn't put out enough heat to solder the wires, and the larger one I have is a bit tight to work with in the small spaces between the pins....

Heres the connections on the button switches, the LEDs light up when the switch is selected on...I tested them and they work fine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

And heres the finished dash from the rear. All the looms are designed to pass through the structure of the dash itself, so I didn't have to cut anything behind there for clearance.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Ripper]

I really dig the dash! Looking real good!
Oh, I dig everything btw...Great build, and I really wish I will have the same high finish on mine. :smoke:


Did you mount the aerocatch flush or on top of the hood? It's hard to see on the pics (at least on my screen...).

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[LeighP]

Those are the "on top" style...they sandwich the hood between the catch flange and the nuts/washers underneath.
You can buy a flush version, but that either bonds to the hood, or requires screws with countersunk washers on the outside of the hood. I thought the flange style would be stronger.
These are also lockable, which I like.

[Ripper]

yeah, I know. But some people lowers them down in the hood so they sit in the same level. However, since your hood is a fiber glass I was curious if you done it some how...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/01/w7w21-1.jpg

lockable is nice, definitely...

[LeighP]

I see what you mean...thats a neat job, but no, it didn't occur to me to try doing that....they are just surface mounted. Looks good, though.

[Takid455]

Both have pros and cons. The recessed one has a nice flush look but debris can build up in the void and may be tough to clean. The flat mounted one, well will have an obstruction on an otherwise flat surface.

I would have used them if I knew about them prior to painting the hood. No if I want to install them, I would need to have the top mounted style as making the recessed area will damage the surrounding paint.

[LeighP]

So, I'm still doing small projects to fill in time and save time later.

Fitted up the Autometer Trans Oil and Engine Oil Temp gauges to the A pillar pod housing I got from Anvil Autos. They do lots of cool CF parts for 2nd gens.

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And I fitted up an eye level centre brake light to the rear headliner trim retainer, as well as refinishing the front and rear trims in satin black.

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The pegs are just holding the wiring where I've bedded it into some sealant while it sets - to stop it moving around.

[FirebirdSteve]

Very Interesting........

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/01/Arte-1.jpg

[LeighP]

Wow, thats a blast from the past.....sort of matches the vintage, though....lol.

[LeighP]

OK...so we've reached the stage where theres enough progress to warrant more pics.
Car is back in pieces, getting the final undercoat - it'll be blocked and get the base colour on it next week.....theres a public holiday coming up, so its a short week, but at least it should be in the base colour.

Heres a pile of Firebird parts ready for priming.
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Doors are done.
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And the body freshly primed.
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[LeighP]

WE HAVE SOME COLOUR!!!!!!

Well, its only the base colour, they still have to apply the top colour (pearl green) over the base, but he's identified a couple of extremely slight low spots he wants to fix first....so since tomorrow is a public holiday, the guys are also getting friday off to make a long weekend...so mine will sit till next week...hardening up a little.

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[aronhk_md]

Leigh.....all I can say is wow....on all of it. Can you come help me with mine? lol

[bhcustomdesigns]

Its looking good Leigh,I cant wait to see it finished its going to be a very nice car!Now if I can just get mine that far along lol. :twothumbs

[LeighP]

Thanks guys....pretty happy with how it looks...the flash actually fades out the colour....its not a bad colour on itsown, but with the pearl jade green over the top, its AWESOME!!!!! lol.
Be nice to live closer to a bunch of other 2nd gen guys, help out on projects etc...there aren't that many of us around!

Just had some good news on the registration front...they changed some rules on the required paperwork recently, meaning a $450 compliance certificate required on imports to ensure they meat government design rules.....well, it seems the cut off point is cars built after 01 AUG 1972, which means all I need is a vehicle ID and safety check, rather than the expensive compliance certificate....yippee, $450 better in my pocket!

[68400BIRD]

It's looking great. Can't wait to see the top coat and clear on it. This is going to be a long weekend for you. LOL

[Doug1]

It won't be long now! That is really looking sharp Leigh. I'm looking forward to the action photos!

[LeighP]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! COLOUR!!!!!!!

They phoned me late today....seems the booth was free and the painter was keen to paint it....

Even the panel shop owner is impressed with the colour choice.

Without further delay.....the shell - freshly painted.

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Is that cool, or what? The pearl in the paint really shows off under the lights of the booth - I can't wait to see this in the sun. And this is just "off the gun". :cool: :cool:

[ccm399]

Very NICE sir!

Make sure to post up those pics in the sun!

Chris

[cowboy1]

Love the color!

[68400BIRD]

Wow!!!!:) That really pops, can't wait to see it put back together. I bet those AR500's are going to look great.

[Olav]

Nice!!

[ATOMonkey]

Wow, that paint really POPS! Should look even better in daylight.

[1360]

Wow...looks great!

[Aussie]

Looking great

[tazzz25906112]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! COLOUR!!!!!!!

They phoned me late today....seems the booth was free and the painter was keen to paint it....

Even the panel shop owner is impressed with the colour choice.

Without further delay.....the shell - freshly painted.

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Is that cool, or what? The pearl in the paint really shows off under the lights of the booth - I can't wait to see this in the sun. And this is just "off the gun". :cool: :cool:

Looks """Great""" buddy congrats....

[LeighP]

Hung around this afternoon...heres some more panels, fresh off the gun. I hope they'll be fitting the doors up tomorrow.....

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Love this colour.....the camera just doesn't do it justice. Its incredibly "green"...deep jade metallic, sliding to a mint pearl depending on the viewing angle and the light. In some lights, it looks almost black.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Color is sick Leigh! Congrats man.

[LeighP]

Great watching it come together like this.

[LeighP]

Had to run somemore parts down there today...that I thought they already had...man, theres pieces of this car all over the place. :lol:

Its coming together -

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[68400BIRD]

Looking great, can't wait to see some wheels on it.

[vcho455]

Thanks for the build thread. You have done a great job and I have picked up a few good ideas for my 72 bird. Love the fact that your not putting a T/A spoiler on it like everyone else does.
P.S. What is the red car in the background?

[LeighP]

Only spoiler I'm using is a satin black factory front spoiler (entre section) due to these cars being notorious for getting air under the nose at speed. I wanted the car to show off the basic design shape without all the T/A spoilers.

The red car is a 72 Holden HQ Monaro coupe with a Holden Statesman (twin headlight / twin grill) nose on it....slightly damaged by a car transporter letting it roll into something.

[Ripper]

Looks great!

[Coasty]

Mate I've just read the whole thing. Amazing job. Hopefully next time I'm in Sydney I'll see it around.
The colour is awesome too. Love it!

[LeighP]

Well, some more visual progress......more panels are painted, they'll be going on tomorrow.

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Be nice to see it all in one piece and colour!

[Takid455]

Slowly but surely you will see it come together before your eyes. That gave the push to get to the end. I am sure it will have the same effect for you.

[LeighP]

Yeah, thanks....its got the fenders on it now, but one has to come off as he forgot to put the heater and trans cooler lines behind the outer fender out of site, lol....I mentioned that before....but who listens? lol.

Body has been lightly blocked in prep for the final coat of paint next week.

[INTMD8]

I love the color and it looks like they did a very nice job on the bodywork and paint. 71 is my favorite year because of the front fender vents :)

[LeighP]

lol...the panel guy doesn't like the vents...was surprised when I said I specifically used he correct fenders because I like the 71's one year only vents.

At last it's starting to look like a car again....

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[67speedfreak]

Car is looking great !

[gsxrken]

Gorgeous car. It looks like a Hot Wheels car. I had a Bandit Trans Am back in the day and loved it.

I love the color and have always thought the Formula hood really was the Best Hood Ever.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[LeighP]

Finishing up the nose....these endura noses are not the easiest thing to get to line up everywhere, especially after 40 years of use.

Heres the body shop owner, Alan - who's been doing most of the work on my car, shaping the Lord Fusor filler on one end of the nose.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

The hood is in hi-fill now, waiting to be blocked and base coated.

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There was a broken vent rib here that was poorly repaired previously....can't tell it now, though.

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[Dons67]

Leigh - Car is coming along nicely - I'm a big fan of the 71 vents too - panel guys, what do they know :smoke:

[LeighP]

Hood is now in the base coat.

There'll be a couple of solid days on prepping and painting the car next week.

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[LeighP]

Car was out for it's final clean this afternoon, they cleaned out the interior, trunk etc and pressure washed the exterior (without flooding it, luckily, lol). They want to remove as much dust as possible before it goes in to the booth in the morning.

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Bodyshop owner decided he wanted to use the best, hardest clear on the car.....seems its pretty expensive stuff, but its used for high end cars like Mercedes etc.
Ceramiclear - apparently, you only get 24-36 hours to remove any little imperfections and buff it up as it gets really hard and becomes tough to work.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Heres the trunk lid finished in colour and the ceramiclear.

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[LeighP]

Turned up to the panel shop this afternoon...look what they were doing in the booth....

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Heres some pics, this is straight off the gun, the clear hasn't even flowed out and settled yet....

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Pretty straight, I'm happy.... :)

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This one shows how the colour changes with the angle of the lighting, at times the car looks almost black.

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[SparkyRnD]

that's a great bold color!

[LeighP]

They were cutting and buffing today when I turned up, then the windscreen fitter arrived and fitted the front and rear glass. Looks sort of like a car, eh? :cool:

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They pushed it out into the daylight to have a look at the buffing job....

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It was late afternoon....so I still don't have a pic with the sun directly on the paint....still looks great, the pics just don't capture the metallic or the colour changes as well as I'd like.

[NOT A TA]

Looks great Leigh! You'll be on the road before long.

[CliffS]

looking good, beautifil color.

[LeighP]

Thanks guys.

More progress.....painting some of the other parts and starting on the exterior trim.

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[cdoggy81]

is that chrome trim on the wheel wells???

[PonchoJohn]

is that chrome trim on the wheel wells???

It was optional on non-Trans Am Firebirds.

[LeighP]

Yeah, bright annodised alloy trim...and theres sill molds to go on too.

[kmdracer]

Jaybus! Awesome job here. I'll be down under in April sometime. Too bad I'll be in Southern Australia, would love to pop in and see this in person.

[LeighP]

Thanks, have fun in South Australia. :)

[WS6]

Great color choice Leigh!

[cdoggy81]

"It was optional on non-Trans Am Firebirds. "

Of all the years on the PY forum & owning 5 1970-1973 cars I never knew that... Learn something new every day :)
Keep up the good progress! She will be a blast when complete.

[LeighP]

So, it's still dragging on....I'm pushing to have the car completed so I can bring it home tomorrow afternoon...before everything stops for Easter. I do not want my car locked away for 5 more days out of my holiday.

Progress pics.

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[ryeguy2006a]

Looking really good Leigh. I'll keep my fingers crossed you are able to get it back before the holiday.

[tazzz25906112]

Looking awesome buddy,,,, hope you have a great Easter and the car comes home in time.....

[rfalker1]

car looks great.. love the color

[LeighP]

Heck of a push to get it done by this afternoon, before the holidays started.

As she rolled out of the paint shop this afternoon. Still a few things to be done with the paint shop..little stuff that can wait till the car is mobile and on the road.

ta-da!
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And finally...at home...
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[CliffS]

Stunning Bird!!

[PA Formula 78]

Man that is sharp looking. I still don't know if I am sold on not having a spoiler on the car though. But it certainly is a stunning looking car, and I can't wait to see it all put back together.

[twosaturns]

Man that is sharp looking. I still don't know if I am sold on not having a spoiler on the car though. But it certainly is a stunning looking car, and I can't wait to see it all put back together.
I find it refreshing to see an F body w/o all the extras; so many of them have spoilers and cowl induction hoods and whatnot that seeing one w/o makes it somehow more exotic.

[John Wright]

I haven't check'd in here for awhile......you have been busy, the car looks fantastic.

[dusterbd13]

im digging it.
keep it up.

[LeighP]

Thanks guys....I've owned T/A's and here in Australia nearly ever Firebird you see is a T/A...or has all the spoilers. I really like the smooth look of the original body. The only spoiler I've added is the front one, as with the body shape, these cars will get a lot of air under the nose without one.

[68400BIRD]

WOW!!!! Looks great. What color is the interior going to be? We need more pictures as you complete more.

[LeighP]

Interior is going to be black....leather mid 80's Corvette seats and the rear seat custom trimmed to resemble the vette seats.

OK...more pics...
For those thinking of using Aerocatches on their cars, heres how mine fitted. Pretty neat and tidy install.

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And if anyone was doubting it was my car......
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hehehe.

[KnightMare]

That green looks great. great project

[LeighP]

Thanks.

For people interested in the front spoiler.....

Its an ABS molded repro of the T/A centre spoiler section. Its fitted with a kit from member Norwood (Craig), which worked very well. Seeing as I don't have wheel spoilers, I had to make up some standoff mounts for the ends. I used the tubes from an old set of sway bar end links (see, never throw this stuff away, it comes in handy) and a long bolt (about 3&1/4" - 5/16" dia UNC). When I tightened the ends up, it caused the centre to pull down slightly from the body, so I made a small piece of steel to fit under the centre retaining bolt and stretch forward to hold the front of the spoiler up to the body when the bolt was tightened...seems to work OK, the spoiler sits tight to the body right across and is solidly mounted.

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[BA.]

Looking good man, congrats on getting out of paint-jail. ;)

love those hood latch things too!

[LeighP]

Thanks. :)

Did a few more things today, front licence plate bracket etc etc....
I added a pair of billet hood props to the car. Two reasons, first up the gas rams which "just" held up the hood when we first fitted the billet hinges have weakened slightly and now won't hold up the hood...they make lifting it easier, but won't hold it open....second thing is that looking at where the gas rams sit, I may have to take them off anyway when I fit the Pro-G-Braces later...we'll see on that question.

Thought you guys might be interested.....took a little while to figure the best location where there was clearance for the folded props, but it all came out great, I think. These are very sturdy, hood is nice and solid when open.

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[Torquedork]

Leigh,

Really glad you're finally getting close to finishing!!! Way to go!

[LeighP]

Thanks, mate...long way to go...wiring, get it running...waiting for the oil leaks ....arrrggghhh!!!!! lol.

[Doug1]

Congratulations Leigh! I know you are thrilled to be getting her on the road. Great job! I'm envious! I've got to get a car put back together! lol

[LeighP]

Yeah, but when yours in together, everyone else will just have to stand back, lol.

I've been painting the trunk....was going to use some OER grey/white trunk spatter paint I had sitting around here, but even after 10 minutes of shaking, it came out of the can looking like 40 grit sandpaper....aweful.
So I went with good old GM satin black. Looks much neater...sorry no pic. Got the trunk seal in with the help of a little weatherstrip adhesive, it no longer rolls the seal out when I close the trunk. WIN!
Started in on the doors today....got the roof rail weatherstriping and outer door sweeps in both sides, built up the drivers door and got the glass in and adjusted. If you're doing this job, believe me...get a Fisher Body Manual...it'll make your life SO much easier.
Added a nice power door lock kit from a company called Modo Innovations. Probably the best kit I think I've ever used...really detailed instructions, lots of colour pics and full size drilling templates that actually fit where they are supposed to. A+ effort.

Only thing I have a pic of is the door lock mounting kit...2nd gen specific.
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[rohrt]

cool stuff

[LeighP]

Getting there..slowly...all the doors are now reconstructed, the glass adjusted..all the seals on etc. Trunk is painted out, seal fitted and electric release on. Gotta start the wiring soon.

[LeighP]

Been away for a few days up north...doing the tropical thing. Got a few things done recently. Added some wiring to the front turn signals and headlights so I could refit them...you can't get your hand in there hook up the wiring...great design, lol.
That let me reassemble the headlights and grills....so the car looks a little more finished at the front now.
The OER repro grills are nice, but you have to be careful with the small metal clips that hold the stainless piece to the grill. Some of the clips extend just a little past the outer edge of the grill and will scratch the paint if you try to fit the grill straight out of the box. I had to grind off a little of the clips here and there to make sure I didn't scratch anything.

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Added the Ram Air boots and retainers and made up some supports for the aircleaner intake snouts.....Ames lists the correct supports, but they are out of stock on backorder...so I made some up that work fine to carry the load on the intakes. The cowl seal went on OK...for some reason, I had to reposition the 4 middle clips along the top of the firewall...the holes do not line up with were Soff-Seal put them...the sides were fine. Seal works well and does not jack the rear of the hood as I was worried might happen.

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Until I get my license plates back when the car is finished, I figured it might as well wear some original 1971 Michigan plates....

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[LeighP]

Dinner was late coming tonight...wife had friends over.....so I pulled out the new flash looking chrome master cylinder I got from Jegs and bench bled it and fitted it up. Looks nice, I think.

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[LeighP]

Pulled the old steering column and shaft out, been messing around getting the brake pedal hooked up...its a matching design to the accelerator pedal by Clayton Machine Works.
Of course, bolt in accessory stuff never just bolts in. I'm using a replacement booster with an adjustable clevis hook up...didn't suit the aftermarket pedal so I had to get a bracket made up by a friend at his engineering shop.
Then I pulled the new steering intermediate shaft out, painted it up and found the special bolt I had here for the old shaft didn't suit the new one...off to the shop for a new bolt.
Tomorrow...stick the dash in, change the ignition lock and paint and fit the actual column I'm using..not the temporary one thats been in there till now.

Everything is so time consuming....even the little stuff seems to take forever as it all needs to be "adjusted", lol.

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Shameless plug here....thats one of the new intermediate steering shafts my friend repros...nice thing, all new.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks great Leigh. I like the flip flops.

[LeighP]

Aussie safety boots.....I don't wear shoes unless I'm at work! :)

Laid out the harness the other day and ran some lighting and engine wiring through the firewall together with the DSE wiper kit's wiring loom.
I decided to put the main electrical panel behind the glove box lid.....once I had the dash in position, it became obvious there wouldn't be much room for a glove box anyway....prefect spot for the fuses and relays etc.

Made up two braces and mounted an alloy sheet in there for something to attach stuff to.....

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And then mounted up and ran the harness, fuse box and relay pack.

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Just working outwards from here. :-D

[gsxrken]

Nice work! Keep it up. Gonna be sick.

[LeighP]

Thanks. :)

Spent today taping harness and arranging it up behind the dash and down along each side of the car...running he audio RCA cables down one side and the rest of he harness and Amp power down the other side. Everything seems to be laying out OK....till I forgot to run the power for the rear window blower....oh, well...guess it'll be run down the centre console instead. :lol:

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[LeighP]

Things are slowly progressing, now that I have to go back to working for a living. Having 5 weeks off is such a nice break....lol.

Finished restoring the steering column, replaced the lock barrel with a new GM one, and when I pulled it apart, found the turn signal switch was broken, so that cost me a few more dollars...all painted and bolted in the car.

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Finished the trunk, except for the speakers and the rear screen blower....looks pretty tidy.

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I'm still working on wiring and other stuff....all time consuming, but not worth taking pics of.

[cobragt]

car is looking awesome! Love the color!

[LeighP]

Thanks very much. :)

I was making brackets for the windscreen washer tank this afternoon...got that sorted out...its an alloy (black annodised) repro of a GM Holden washer tank...nice size, fits where it needs to neatly. Then I started thinking about the shift position indicator system....I've got a Dakota Digital sender unit for the gear position display, but until I looked at it last night, I didn't realise its also set up to give you neutral/park safety and the back up lights. I'm not going to use the micro switches that came with the B&M shifter, I'll go with the Dakota Digital control box.
The sender unit can be mounted externally on the side of the gearbox, or anywhere else you like...I set it up to run off a convenient tab on the shifter itself. Now I'll just mount the control box forward of the shifter...easy.

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[67speedfreak]

Now those are some sexy parts right there ! :) Looking good !

[ryeguy2006a]

Leigh, are you not using the factory heating box? That one looks different than the stock one, is that some Aussie version of a stock box?

[LeighP]

Its a heater unit out of a little Diahatsu 4WD - I picked it up some time back for another project, but it fits nicely in the 71.....I like the clean firewall, I've always disliked the complicated heater assembly on GM cars.

[LeighP]

Received the insulation for the roof panel so I finally got a chance this afternoon to line the upper side of the headliner board with this light weight insulation.
I'll be fitting the headliner tomorrow and working on the parcel tray board as well.
Interior upholstery trimmer was here this afternoon test fitting the rear seats so we could work out what needs to be modified.....at least thats pushing forward now.

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[OLDFLM]

So you're putting a later headliner in the car?

[LeighP]

Yeah, when I got the car, the factory bows and headliner were gone, and this late 73 board was with it. I checked that the later style front/rear and side supports for the board will work (looks like it will) ...so I thought it was a better idea to run the solid board...a little more headroom maybe . :)

[LeighP]

Got the headlining board in today, and the other trims that hold it up....started working on the parcel tray this afternoon.
Man, holding up the board while you stuff about trying to get a screw started is fun....lol.

You can see the upper replacement seatbelt mounts that I guy I know makes...lets you bolt modern single point mount belts into one of these older style roof mounts.

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Heres how the eye level centre brake light sits.....should attract people's attention.

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[geberhard]

loving the build! I so want to do a second gen build! keep it coming mate!

[LeighP]

Pushing on with the parcel tray project....I want to get this finished so I can have the auto trimmer cover it before the seats are done.

So, I had the board cut to shape, I took a page out of the audio guys book and used some polartec fleece stapled over the seatbelt bulges to form the "humps" to clear the belts.
I used silicon spray on the metal covers I'd previously made.
I soaked the fleece with fibreglass resin, which set up nicely to give me the basic shape.

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Once it had hardened, I popped the board off the tray and trimmed the fleece to shape.

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Next, I laminated some chopped strand mat over the fleece to make it more rigid and give it a little more strength.

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I trimmed the edges after it had cured a little....tomorrow, I'll sand, smooth and use some polyester body filler to smooth the whole thing out. Doesn't have to be perfect as the tray will be foamed and covered in vinyl....which should hide small imperfections.

[LeighP]

OK...spent today finishing this off so I can get it to the trimmer asap.

Filled and sanded the two cover areas, cut out the slots for the belts to run through. Clearanced the rear inner corners of he covers for the speaker covers, so they'll sit flat.

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[CruizinKev]

cool good work Leigh!

[Greg from Aus]

Nice work Leigh.

Greg

[LeighP]

Thanks for the kind words, guys....appreciated. :)

[LeighP]

Back into it this afternoon...after putting together a netball pole/hoop for my daughter to practice...then, of course, it immediately started to rain so she can't use it...lol.

Started sticking the dynamat all over the parcel tray and side walls in the back. Doubled it up a bit over the wheels arches.

I picked up the trimmed parcel tray the other day...nice job, just how I was hoping it'd turn out. After I got the belts bolted in, the tray fits in very nicely and the belt covers work just as I'd intended. Speakers and the rear demist blower tomorrow.....then I'm ready for the seat.

Received my Optima battery mount from Summit the other day, together with a HD negative cable disconnect. I like the idea of being able to quickly unhook the battery with the flip of a lever.....I'll be fitting a 20 Amp run around circuit across the contacts so the stereo will maintain it's pre-sets if I turn the main disconnect off.

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[ryeguy2006a]

Leigh, looks like it was made that way. Nice work.

[aronhk_md]

Leigh, its been a while since I stopped in to your thread as I've been quite busy, but all I can say is wow...your car is incredible. I love all the detail you have put into it. Regarding the car stereo...I doubt you need a 20 amp line for it. The only wire that needs direct juice is the memory wire, and it has an infinitesimal drawin amps. No more than a clock. Everything else can be wired with the disconnect.

[LeighP]

Yeah, thanks...someone else pointed that out...I think I'll try a 5 amp fuse in the holder rather than 20.....a bit of overkill, eh?
.
.

Thanks Ryan. :)

[LeighP]

So, heres the finished product....all came together OK....thought I'd dislocate my shoulder putting the speakers in. Once the seat is in, it'll all be neat and tidy.

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[aronhk_md]

it looks factory.....nice!

[LeighP]

Picked up my set of Rally IIs today....I sent them down to a local shop that's restored a few wheels for me before (thats all they do)....painted in high gloss, high metallic, silver and charcoal...they look great.
Added my 255/60x15 Firehawks and a 225/70x15 for the spare.
These will be the "other" set of wheels for my 71 - for when I want a change of look (stock).

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[Takid455]

Like the rear belts. Did you reinforce the underside/ structure?

[LeighP]

Has a heavy gauge mounting box for the reel seam welded into each corner of the parcel tray where the structure adds some stiffness. I fitted a doubler under the mounting bolt for the reel.
I was going to brace down to the inner fender, but since the load is basically in shear, I really don't think its necessary.

[LeighP]

Finally got a chance this afternoon to do a bit. I worked out where/how to mount the battery cut-off switch and I got the Summit Optima battery mount bolted in.
Of course, the mount doesn't fit in the bottom of he battery tray, a little too big....so I made some standoffs to sandwich between the mount and the tray.
Seemed to work out pretty nicely.
I'm using a 34/78 series red top Optima battery....I like having the second set of contacts on the side for the accessories and body ground etc.

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You might be able to see the small bracket for the cut-off down the RH bottom of the tray....I won't mount the cut-off till I've got the battery cables made up.

[Olav]

Love this car !

[LeighP]

Still plodding along....have got the auto electrical guy making up the battery cables for me...be ready in a couple of days.

Finally got to finish the trunk....wired the speaker cables (man, I hate leaning into the trunk to work....bad back....) and the rear demist fan.
Worked out my spare wouldn't sit where I'd hoped it would.....speakers too deep and the the spare is a 225/70...bit too wide. So I made a retainer for the spare hold down further to the rear and mounted the spare there. Worked out OK in the end.

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If you look through the slot in the wheel, you can see the mount fitted to the trunk where the floor raises up from the pan.
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[xplane]

Looks great Leigh!

Steady progress. You have any pictures with the Rallye II's yet?

[LeighP]

Thanks, no pics yet....I'll put the Rally IIs on when I bleed the brakes. Got a couple of other things to do when I change the wheels over as well.

[TEMP GTO]

Hi Leigh, Finally got a chance to look through your thread. Very nice work! I hope my project turns out half as good as yours.

[LeighP]

Been finishing up the wiring under the hood.....still some to do, just when you think you're finished, you remember theres something else to sort out, lol.

Everyone likes pics......so heres some showing the engine wiring tubes I made up for each side over the manifold.....coolant temp/alternator feed on the LH side, fan control sensor/electric choke on the RH side.

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And a neat little spot to fit the outside airtemp sender....or radiator inlet temp sensor...depending on what you want to call it...lol.

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[CliffS]

Sweet Mill!

[LeighP]

Engine bay is finished...well, for now anyway....

Got it jacked up so I can do the wiring on the fuel pump and tank tomorrow, then its back inside.

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Battery installation and master switch.
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Looking pretty clean.
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I like this pic, it shows the colour nicely and also shows the ride height/stance.
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[mikes70]

looks fantastic!!!

Where did you get those hood hinges at? Especially the intermediate ones. I need some for my 2nd gen...

[LeighP]

Billet hood props designed for a Mustang...they lock over centre and work very well...really stable with the hood open.

I had to make a couple of top mount brackets but otherwise, they fit out of the box. Watch out for the clearance on the sides of the hood when closed....you have to get the mounts in the right spot so the props close parallel to the hood. The main hinges are Ring Brothers Air Frame style billet......pity the gas struts won't hold the weight of the factory Formula hood, hence the props.

http://www.billetdepot.com/mustang-billet-extreme-hood-prop-05.html


(http://www.billetdepot.com/mustang-billet-extreme-hood-prop-05.html)

[Ripped]

Love your car, and build.

The rear seat belt mod, looks very professional.

Great stance, and both wheel choices are good. I saw a set of the 17's you have on a black trans am, this weekend, and I think they look awesome.


I was laughing about the hood prop, because the lightweight springs, for my f/g hood, do not always hold my hood up.
When people were looking under my hood at a car show this weekend, I was hoping the thing did not fall down and sqush them in the engine bay ;)

But I'll have to use somthing else. Those props won't work for me.

Keep up the good work!

[sr73bu]

The paint, wheels, and various upgrades all came out great... really loving this car!

Nice work!

-Sean

[67speedfreak]

Car looks great. Love what you did with the rear package tray and belts !

[LeighP]

See, this is how I make life hard for myself......

1. See some cool billet electrical switches....Must have!!! :roll:
2. Fit them up to the dash, then think...hmmm, these won't carry large amounts of current - I'll need relays.
3. Make a relay and power supply panel and then mount it somewhere in the car that I can get at if needed for servicing.
4. Wire it all up...realising that I'm using twice the amount of wire that I'd need to if I just used an off the shelf head light switch..... :roll:
....but it wouldn't be as cool! :lol:

The switches....
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The relay panel....
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Fitted...in the process of wiring when I ran out of daylight....
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[90MJext]

Very nice

[LeighP]

And...we're getting closer....

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Tested a few circuits....seems a lot works, a few things don't....so theres some fault finding to do.
Too tired to worry about it tonight......

[cdoggy81]

nice! what did you use to get those parking lights so bright? LED's ?

[LeighP]

Camera makes them look a bit brighter than they are, but yes...they're LEDs. Special globes that have both white and amber LEDs on them - they light up either colour depending on what you've got switched on. We have to have white park lights and amber turn signals....this makes one globe do both jobs.

[gsxrken]

This is the kind of car I like (well who doesn't), where there is something interesting to discuss no matter what you look. Really cool car. The Formula hood really rocks on these.
I had a black and gold Bandit TA back in the day and my future wife got a white and gold one. Always like the second gen 'birds.
Keep posting up pics!



I like this pic, it shows the colour nicely and also shows the ride height/stance.
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[srh3trinity]

I like the switch panel and the dash looks awesome. It's coming together nicely.

[dangina]

Very cool ideas! I love the dash with the switch panel and the rear seatbelt ideas - looks factory - its the first time I've seen that firebird in that color - looks great!!!

[LeighP]

Thanks for the kind words, guys....getting closer to getting it done. Had the auto trim guy out the other day test fitting the rear seat. Its getting custom matched to the Corvette front seats so they look right....hopefully, the seats will be done in a couple of weeks. maybe I'll have figured out my odd electrical issues by then.

[MMC]

Very nice car! If i may ask exactly what kind and size are you aftermarket wheels? Hard to get a good view of them at the angle you shot your picture. Thanks

[LeighP]

Year One's cast alloy 17x9" Honeycombs.

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[LeighP]

Well, I wasn't happy with the billet switches, after seeing them in situ. They just didn't work for me, so I decided to go back to the original idea of aircraft switches (to match the cockpit style instruments)

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Tried starting it the other day, not a hope - no spark at all. Something in the brand new MSD set up just wasn't working at all. Swapped in a GM style HEI today, car started first turn. Ran the cam in, set the idle. I have to track and repair a couple of small coolant leaks up the front of the engine somewhere, but oil pressure and other temps looked fine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m195/TA76400/71%20Firebird/?action=view&current=FirstStartVid.mp4)

[LeighP]

OK, got an oil change and filter done today....damn filter stuck onto the remote filter housing - so I used grease on the seal this time rather than a wipe of oil. Hope it comes off easier next time.
We checked the timing and adjusted the idle mixture.....runs very sweetly, not hesitations or roughness etc. Thank you, Cliff Ruggles for the gem of a Q-jet!

We've got the gearbox nearly topped off (ran out of oil today), but its certainly got enough to get all the gears nicely.

Here it is, first time under its own power in more than 25 years.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m195/TA76400/71%20Firebird/?action=view&current=FirstDriveSep12.mp4)

Pulled the power steering pump, bracket and alternator off....found the coolant leak. LH head front freeze plug is leaking. Thats a weight off my mind.

Thanks to my best friend, Michael, for his Pontiac expertise today. :)

[68400BIRD]

Congrats on getting it moving under it's own power. I can only guess at how happy you must have been. You have done outstanding work on the car and you should be very proud.

[LeighP]

Thank you. Appreciate the kind words. Yes, theres definately a feeling of having accomplished something. I've never "restored" a complete car before.

[Chadman27]

Lookin great Leigh!

[LeighP]

Got back into the wiring, got the lights hooked up to the new switches, got the wipers set up and working....decide to give the car a bath for the first time, got a couple of small cabin leaks somewhere up on the cowl, but without trim in it, I shouldn't have a lot of trouble to identify where its coming from. Side windows and trunk sealed nicely.

Looks good in the afternoon sun.

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[LeighP]

Working on the centre console....custom built using a factory bin and lid. Will have a flat panel for more instruments, switches etc at the front running off the dash down to the shifter.

Heres the box supporting the console bin and armrest....wanted this mounted as a starting point for everything else. Nice and solid to lean on, unlike the factory plastic fantastic thing.

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Next comes the solid side supports front and rear, then the forward sections.

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When the structure is done, I'll skin the whole thing with 3mm MDF, then resin and glass coat it for strength. I'm thinking of having the console vacuum covered like the dash, in the same GM Aircell vinyl.

[Hotwhilz]

The Bird is looking good Leigh, how do you like the Aerocatch? I got some installed on my Nova as well and looking for some feedback on the everyday use?
Consol looks great too, you got some mad Ideas!

[LeighP]

Aerocatches work well...nice and smooth. I don't lock them normally, just latch them closed. The locks are for when I want to leave the car parked somewhere.
Sometimes the ideas get the better of me....lol, the console started off very different in my head. :)

[72blackbird]

Leigh,
Congrats on getting your 71 Bird up and running- looks really sweet with either the Rally IIs or the 17" Honeycombs.

Geno

[tazzz25906112]

Now that is one very pretty car,,, Congrats buddy she sure looks good!!!!


Got back into the wiring, got the lights hooked up to the new switches, got the wipers set up and working....decide to give the car a bath for the first time, got a couple of small cabin leaks somewhere up on the cowl, but without trim in it, I shouldn't have a lot of trouble to identify where its coming from. Side windows and trunk sealed nicely.

Looks good in the afternoon sun.

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[Hotwhilz]

Aerocatches work well...nice and smooth. I don't lock them normally, just latch them closed. The locks are for when I want to leave the car parked somewhere.
Sometimes the ideas get the better of me....lol, the console started off very different in my head. :)

Thanks for reporting, did you lube them? what did you use? Project always starts different to what come finally out!

[LeighP]

Thanks guys. :)

The aerocatches don't require lube...the polished stainless latching pins slide easily, supported in the polymer catches and the alignment striker is designed with some mis-alignment possible....pretty straight forward to adjust.

[Hotwhilz]

In the instructions it mention it requires lubbing prior to use, that's why I was wondering!
I'll see if it needs some overtime!

Thanks Leigh

[LeighP]

Cut out the other front side of the console. Made up a joining piece to clear the shifter and shift indicator sender. Just adding some cross braces with rivnuts in them to be able to screw down the fascia plates. Ran out of steel strip, of course.....continue tomorrow.

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[srh3trinity]

That console is really shaping up nicely.

[LeighP]

Thanks...I think it'll work out well. It came out of the car pretty easy today...so I figure after its covered and complete, it shouldn't be a problem to fit.

Got some more done today.....I need some alloy sheet, and of course, its a long weekend, so everyone is closed on a Saturday....typical.

Applied most of the skinning covering today...get the rest finished tomorrow. Then it fill and shape everything, resin soak it to waterproof it and start in on setting up for making the fascias.

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[LeighP]

Nice having a few days to work on this project....progressing each day is a morale booster, lol.

Been fitting up some trim edging and cleaning up the outside edges....do some filling tomorrow I think. Fitted the footwell interior lights, something in keeping with the Firebird/aviation theme.

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[LeighP]

And so.....its done, ready for covering. I'm going to try and drop it off this week at the people who did my dash restoration for a vacuum covered (molded) vinyl.

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Theres a void under the skin at the back where I can feed the sound system USB cable into the bin area to hook up my phone/music.

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Theres a power outlet for phone charging, or a Nav unit on the flat panel in front of the bin.

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I'll make up the templates for the fascia panels after it comes back from skinning, that way I know they'll fit.

[1977TRANSAM]

That's a really nice console.
Great job.

[LeighP]

Got the interior light working...was testing the connections, then it occured to me to turn around the globe the other way...wahoo! Light!
So who knew LED festoon globes were directional? Not me....lol.

Fitted up the rear side side trims....these are OER repro pieces, top and bottom. They do not fit as easily as factory pieces.....there was a little bit of colourful language associated with getting them into position....the tops pieces do not sit right along the rear window edge, I'll see what I can do about that later. Also, you need to drill two new holes in the metal work to screw the coat hooks to, as there is no way the holes in the trims line up with the holes in the body....
Painted the front floors......just got to get the alarm guy to come over and install the security/entry system and I think I'll be ready for the rest of the trim.

The repro pieces at least look nice....

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[Dons67]

Every detail is flawless - great work!

[Tuffhx]

Awesome build Leigh,just finished reading the whole thread and got some great idea's..

[LeighP]

OK..big day. Lots of visual progress happening.

Picked up the covered console from the trimmer yesterday...nice job!!!!!!

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They matched the GM grain vinyl they used for my dash.

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Today, its carpet time, followed by seatbelts and fire extinguisher mount. Also fitted the Bluetooth hands free unit for the stereo....small box that velcro's to the inside front of the console.

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Front carpet was fun...had to split it in halves to get it in easily. I had my interior trimmer put a wide stip of velcro up the front to hold it together. At the back, the seat tracks will stop it moving around and the console holds it down.
Console needed a little adjusting to suit the carpet thickness, but fits really nicely.

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Tomorrow...hope to get stuck into the kick panels, park brake and the front seats.