'69 Firebird Convertible Project.

[Josue]

So, I'll be embarking on a nice little project for the next few years. My parents already have a completed 1968 Firebird coupe, but they just bought this 1969 Firebird convertible. 350 Pontiac (numbers matching) auto, power steering, power disc front brakes, A/C.

And when I say project, I mean PRO-JECT! hahaha

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3983-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3984-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3985-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3986-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3987-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3988-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_4000-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3995-1.jpg

[Josue]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3989-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3996-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3997-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3998-1.jpg

The sub-frame isn't bolted on, we just slid it under there for storage.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_3999-1.jpg

And dad thinking ahead...lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_4001-1.jpg

The dude we bought it off of got it when he was 18 and still in his high school's auto body program, so he bought this car to play with. It was complete when he got it, but he saw fit to completly tear the car down so that every single nut, bolt, piece, part were spread out ALL OVER a 1 car garage. lol So, needless to say he lost interest with the car in it's current state.

My dad actually came to me with the idea to buy this a while ago, but I veered him away from it because at the time, I was unavailable to help him with it, he has limited automotive knowledge, skills, and tools to try and do it his self, he's already got his '68 that he could be putting the attention into (he barely drives it), so I was sure mom wasn't going to be too keen on him buying another car, and we didn't have anywhere to work on it, the 68 is on 1 side of the garage, and mom gets the other spot.

BUT, in talking/thinking about it more in depth, we decided that we'd be able to swing it this time. I currently live an hour away from them, but I'm waiting to get hired by the FAA, so when they do hire me, hopefully it will be at the facility my mom works at up by their house and I'll move back towards there. We'll probably live with them for a year or 2 while we save up money for a house anyway, so that'll make it easier to spend a few nights a week out in the garage.

Even though the car's in a million pieces, needs the amount of work as it does, and they'll probably have $20K spent with this thing by the time it's said and done, I still think it was a great deal. Hell, it came with $2000 worth of new parts already! And you can't put a price tag on all the quality father/son time spent in the garage, not to mention the fact that they'll KNOW they have a perfectly restored car, and not just somebody else's problems that they've masked with bondo and undercoating.

They could've just as easily sold their 68, bought a decent convertible driver for $15K or so, and been driving it in the spring, but like I said, you never know what you're getting with these "restorations", so it's better to DIY. Plus, since they've grown quite attatched to the 68 through all the work and money put into it, and the 12-13 years we've had it, they'd rather see it stay in the family. So they're going to hang onto it untill I have the cash to buy it off them for what they have in it! Or, if their cash flow gets low for this project, I might start picking up some parts bills here and there, and they'll just take the money I spend off the tab.

Here's their/soon to be my 68 for reference...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_0253-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_0259-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/104_0262-1.jpg

Already have the wheels spinning in my head!!!

[Josue]

And we're already lucking out on the parts search. As I said, the kid saw fit to completly tear apart EVERYTHING that he could possibly tear apart, so the rear end was scattered all over the place. Housing was sitting outside, rotting away, and the only thing he could dig out for it were the gears and axles, nothing else.

So, I found a complete axle assembly on Detroit craigslist. They literally unbolted the driveshaft, the brake line and 4 leaf spring mounts and rolled the entire assembly out as a whole. PERFECT for us since it has everything we need! (we needed leaf springs too) Just have to spruce it up a bit with some paint, change the fluid, and service the brakes a little bit with some shoes and drum turning.

But, we get up to MI (3 hr drive) and it turns out the guy selling this axle, has this shop....

www.bbclassicsinc.com (http://www.bbclassicsinc.com)

Absolutly BLEW OUR MINDS to see that type of work being done in person. Deffinatly gave me alot of ideas on how I want to take the '68!

[dropit69]

sounds like a great project and car looks to be in awesome shape..i think you scored very well keep us updated..

[Josue]

I think so too. It was a little intimidating at 1st, because it's in a million pieces, and will cost alot to restore in the long run, but it was still a good initial price and will be well worth it once we have the end result!

I just need to do some more research on some products I need so I can get started!

[68400BIRD]

You already have a template of what it is suppose to be with the coupe. That right there will help you a lot with all of the nuts,bolts, and clips. The big parts are pretty easy to figure out. LOL I keep saving pics of others peoples cars when I see something that will help me when putting my 68 back together. Good luck and have fun.

[Josue]

That's another thing that made this decision alot easier, how primitive these cars are! haha I'm confident I can do the metal, body and paint work, then put the car together, since that's what I do all day at work, but my concerns were with the mechanical aspects of these restorations, since I have limited experience...

Stuff like..."Why won't my speedo work?" "Why does my battery keep draining?" "What's that clunking in the tranny while shifting?" But I think with the amount of new parts we're going to have to throw at this thing, it should leave little room for problems. Or at least I would guess. lol

[rohrt]

Thats what I call a project.

[mc84_zz4]

Man! I kept scrolling thru the pics wondering: where's the car?!
Seems like the biggest thing will be get all the bits n pieces organized.
Good luck on the jigsaw puzzle...lol
I isn't that bad if you have another one as a template though, or if you've torn one apart.
A friend of mine restored nut-and-bolt a '69 and went through the entire car.
He has a lot of pics on his website, hope it helps/gives you ideas: www.1969fb.com

[litevette]

That's how I bought my '67 bird when I was about 18. My brother in law raced roundy rounds and had a great garage. I drug all of the stuff out there and stayed up nearly 20 hrs a day working on it.
I had never built a car before, and had no chiltons or anything, so the hard part was figuring out which bolts & which brackets went where. I can't beleive I pulled it off. Definitely too much for my plate these days!

[Motown 454]

Its a good thing he didn't charge you by the bucket lol. Look at all the time he saved you from taking it apart... Nice project good luck with it.

[Josue]

Man! I kept scrolling thru the pics wondering: where's the car?!
Seems like the biggest thing will be get all the bits n pieces organized.
Good luck on the jigsaw puzzle...lol
I isn't that bad if you have another one as a template though, or if you've torn one apart.
A friend of mine restored nut-and-bolt a '69 and went through the entire car.
He has a lot of pics on his website, hope it helps/gives you ideas: www.1969fb.com (http://www.1969fb.com)

Thanks for the website! Stuff like that will help us out alot when we're putting this thing together!

For the most part, I think it should go together fairly easy, we're just going to get held up alot with the small pieces/parts that we have NO IDEA we're missing. hahaha We'll be scratching our heads for days, wondering how to wrap something up, then I'll get online and find a new part we need, then we'll have to wait for it to come....fun time fun times!

[Code Red]

get busy man

[GM_muscle]

looks like you have you a nice project to work on .

[Josue]

Found another great deal on craigslist!!!

A pair of original 69 Camaro doors for $225. The shell's are in great condition, only light surface rust here and there, but the original paint is still visible on 90% of it! Outsides are dented pretty bad though, and will probably be skinned, just because Dad doesn't want anymore bondo in this thing than what's needed, but even then, we're still saving a few hundred bucks over buying brand new shells.

It's kind of silly though, but I'm not even absolutly, 100% sure they'll work on a Firebird convertible? I don't really see why not, and even tried to research it online before I picked these up, but I didn't find any hardcore evidence either way, so I picked them up anyway. Worse case, I can clean them up a little and resell them...lol

[ProdigyCustoms]

Welcome aboard. Stil love those Firebirds.

[Josue]

Thanks! I've seen what you can do, and like everyone else, I'm absolutly amazed...:headbang:

I would deffinatly like to take advantage of the offer in your signature there for the 68, when the time comes. I want the pro-touring look, but I don't (and CAN'T really lol) want to spend the hefty price tags alot of guys on here have into theirs. I don't need to go ALL OUT with it, just a subtle mix here and there for the look and performance I want.

[Josue]

Some movement as of late, but it won't be much overall. lol

After we got this, I started browsing Craigslist religiously! haha Wound up FINALLY getting everything we needed to start the body work, and a few pieces for down the road. Got a real nice OE left fender a few months back for $100, and a header panel/bumper mount and brackets for $100 from the same guy. Went on a little 2hr road trip to someone who had about 25 years worth of parting out Firebirds! Got the passanger side door hinges, gas tank in nice shape, 2 front cocktail shakers, and the lower valance/turn signals for $150. And last week, I found him a nice OE right fender that wasn't far from him, for $150.

A few months ago, my fiance and I moved out of our 2br duplex with 1 car garage, to a 3br/2ba house with a 2.5 car garage...so now that I had the room, it was time to push for the body work to get done. This will be the 1st winter where her and I will both have a garage spot, so I'm going to try and get it at least in primer before the snow flies, that way I can take it somewhere else until the spring, maybe store it at the shop I work at. (I'm a body tech)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4766-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4768-1.jpg

Went up a few sundays ago and built a dolly so we could roll the body around. When I was out of work (around the time we bought the car) I did the paint and body work for my parent's neighbor's 73 F100. He had the thing torn down to the frame, and he built a dolly to roll the cab around on. He was going to throw it away after we were done with the truck, so I told him we'd take it so I could modify it to fit our Firebird.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4063-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4137-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/0801001506-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/0801001506a-1.jpg

Hopefully it's sturdy enough to make the hour drive from my parents to me. lol That cab didn't weigh anything compared to this shell, so I had to do some bracing.

Another piece of the puzzle I needed to start, was a good air compressor. After weeks and weeks of researching and searching craigslist, I found one that would be big enough for my bodywork needs, for $450! Still need to get 220 ran to my garage, and get all the hoses, fittings, and a regulator to get the compressor going, but it's one step closer to officially starting the work on this project.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4904-1.jpg

I was looking for a used 110v mig welder too, but funds are low right now (I'm getting married on Sept 26th, so I really shouldn't have spent the money I did have on the compressor and some of the other parts. LOL) so my parents neighbor might let us borrow his since he's towards the end of his race season (Supermodified/circle track). That, or I'm sure I could load one of the 4 we have at work up a weekend at a time, since there won't be much welding to be done at 1 single time.

So, I guess that's it for now! Again, not much, but we're still excited to see some action with this thing.

[Code Red]

I recognize those corn hole boards ;-)

[Josue]

Hahaha...:high5:

[bonecrrusher]

Haha nice.... Like the garage space!

[ModernMuseum]

This is the first time I saw your build thread. Wow, that's a super project! I applaud you for taking on the task.

I sent you a pM as well.

[Josue]

Yea...it's gonna take some time, and money! haha My parents only have enough money for a little bit at a time, as is the case with most builds. Up 1st will be to get the body and doors sandblasted, then once they can afford some media/soda blasting, get the fenders, hood and trunk done. Like I said, I'll be happy if I can just get the body in primer before the snow flies around here.

And I didn't get a PM from ya yet?

[Josue]

Scored the last major piece of equipment today! $350, used on craigslist....

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/104_4913-1.jpg

Also got my compressor hooked up on saturday. Just need some air hose and I'm fully operational!

[Josue]

Finally getting started!!!!!!

Got the doors and fenders back from the 'blaster yesterday, and we dropped the body off, which will get picked up at the beginning of next week...

Couple few bad spots, but nothing I can't handle and make look great!

Befores...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4918-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4920-1.jpg
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https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4926-1.jpg

Also scored a used hood off craigslist (LOVE that site! haha) If you noticed in the pics on the 1st page, the original hood has ALOT of bondo in it...so we decided to just get one in better shape.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4925-1.jpg

[Josue]

I was pretty pumped to actually do some work at home for the 1st time too...lol

Sprayed a coat of DP90 on the inside and outside of the doors and fenders tonight...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4928-1.jpg
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Previous patch...gonna grind out all the duraglass and redo it...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4933-1.jpg

Same on the top of the fender. They welded the antenna hole shut, and there must've been some dents too...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4930-1.jpg

The other fender just has a small spot of rott that will need patched...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/104_4932-1.jpg

[Code Red]

have fun Josh

[Hammered]

Nice project - it brings back memories of when I started mine. Did you know you have a couple good Pontiac engine builders in your neighborhood?

[Code Red]

Nice project - it brings back memories of when I started mine. Did you know you have a couple good Pontiac engine builders in your neighborhood?


Me or Josh? I see your in my area but Josh is from Akron

[Josue]

^Yea, that...lol

[Hammered]

Sorry guys - I was addressing Josh. Akron has:
http://www.dcimotorsports.com/

http://www.tinindianperformance.com/

and about 1 hr south is:

http://www.krepower.com/

CR: I don't think I've seen your goat around. Would be glad to meet you some time.

John

[Code Red]

Sorry guys - I was addressing Josh. Akron has:
http://www.dcimotorsports.com/

http://www.tinindianperformance.com/

and about 1 hr south is:

http://www.krepower.com/

CR: I don't think I've seen your goat around. Would be glad to meet you some time.

John


it stays in the garage mostly at my parents right now probably bringing it back over to my garage here soon it still needs alot of work but i'm always up for meeting fellow car people

[Hammered]

Great - I'm out of town until the 30th. Perhaps we can catch up at a cruisein in Oct.

[Code Red]

Great - I'm out of town until the 30th. Perhaps we can catch up at a cruisein in Oct.
probably do that

[Josue]

Sorry guys - I was addressing Josh. Akron has:
http://www.dcimotorsports.com/

http://www.tinindianperformance.com/

and about 1 hr south is:

http://www.krepower.com/

CR: I don't think I've seen your goat around. Would be glad to meet you some time.

John

Thanks for the info! My dad is going to get a friend to throw the engine components back together for this thing...or so he THINKS it will be that easy, but when I get the '68 off him, I'm going to have the 350 freshened up.

[Code Red]

Thanks for the info! My dad is going to get a friend to throw the engine components back together for this thing...or so he THINKS it will be that easy, but when I get the '68 off him, I'm going to have the 350 freshened up.


400 or go home lol

[Josue]

I may! Depends on what's cheaper, and what I feel is my goal at the time. I first wanted a mid 13 second-ish car, but I don't want to spend a ton of money or have complete, 4mpg sh*t gas mileage or something. lol So, if I could get away with freshening up the 350 cheap, and just focus on suspension and drivetrain (manual conversion, gears/posi, etc) mods, I think it should be a real fun car to drive still!

[Code Red]

Or a LS based motor swap that'll save you on gas mileage ;-)

[Josue]

$4,000-$5,000 for the swap is WAY out of the price range...lol

[bryster]

Looks like quite a project...My 68 is in about the same shape. Good luck....Look forward to seeing more pics...

[Josue]

Picked the body up from the 'blaster's last night, he did a pretty good job! Only charged $500 for the body itself, granted, it's a convertible, and the 1/4's were cut off, but I didn't think it was a bad price. The deck lid was $50, and the doors and fenders were $55 ea. We're pretty happy with his work!

Got the body and deck lid primed up tonight though....what a PITA crawling around on my back like that! hahaha Thank god for the PPS cups I used, or else I would've never been able to spray at all the different angles needed to get underneath the car without spilling paint all over myself and the floor!

Sprayed most of the underneath and realized..."HEY, I forgot to take pics of it in bare metal!" lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4942-1.jpg
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Deck lid is pretty wavy, gonna take more mud than I thought!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4947-1.jpg

[Josue]

Unfortunatly, as expected, the blasting revealed alot more problem areas than we initially thought. I already didn't like the work the previous owner did in installing the driverside floor pan, rear inner 1/4, and the fact that instead of installing the entire trunk pan he bought, he just cut a few pieces out and welded them in....terrible. I planned on redoing all this, but the rest of the floor pan has some questionable areas in it, so I might do an entire floor. Same with the trunk pan, it's not bad, but a new one is best. That's why these areas are bare metal still, I didn't want to waste the primer if I was just going to replace the panels...

So, it might be sitting for a while until my parents can come up with some money to get these parts. I already had to chip in $300 of my money to pay for the rest of the sandblasting, the DP90 and rest of the materials I had them buy was over $600, so they were a little short. haha Maybe I can slam out some side work in the mean time and get some cash flow coming in!!

[Code Red]

real nice Josh

yeah at some point I think the GTO needs to be taken all the way down since I know it has some questionable areas

[Josue]

Might be able to help ya out, if I'm still around! (FAA thingy...)

[Josue]

More small updates...

Spent about 6 hours this past saturday straightening the decklid out. Bondo wasn't drying too well, then it'd rock up out of nowhere, so it was a pain to sand. I usually like to start sanding when it's just getting tacky...it helps get the shape without busting your ass. I see these things on craigslist for cheap all day, and we probably could've found one in better shape, so I didn't have to mud it end to end, but after paying $50 to have it blasted, then spraying it with DP90, we already had some good money into it, so I just fixed it...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4951-1.jpg

Respirator kids....this is dangerous stuff!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4953-1.jpg

Fin...(for now lol)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4963-1.jpg

Primed it tonight...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4990-1.jpg

Did the glove box door too...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4993-1.jpg

[Josue]

Here's a picture walk through of the rest of the car, and the problem area's I have to deal with...

Outer side cowl assemblies-

They're not too too bad, but there are some rust holes, and previous shady repairs, and mom wants this car done right, no matter what the cost, so I'm gonna put these in...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4964-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4966-1.jpg

Center cowl repair-

The kid welded a new dash piece on the top there, and he cut the cowl area for whatever reason. New one is over $300, so I'm just gonna weld this back up...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4965-1.jpg

Lower door post repair panel-

Self explanitory. lol Luckily they make a patch panel for this area, so that should make it easy...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4968-1.jpg

New complete floor assembly-

More shady work from the previous owner, the floorpan he welded in is horrible. Check out this pic of the driver side toe board....WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WELD A NEW PANEL ON TOP OF ROTTED, CONTAMINATED METAL?!?!?!?!?!?!?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4969-1.jpg

Under the rear seat doesn't look much better...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4970-1.jpg

Passanger side, under the seat...pretty nasty.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4984-1.jpg

Rear floorboard...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4985-1.jpg

Front floorboard/toe board...again, questionable repair area.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4986-1.jpg

Pricing these pieces out individually, it'll only be $15 more to do a complete floorpan assembly, plus less work, so we're going that route.

Complete wheelhouse panels-

Driver side...suprise suprise, hack job welding it in...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4972-1.jpg

The inner is rusted too...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4971-1.jpg

Passanger side...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4979-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4980-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4978-1.jpg

Complete wheelhouse assemblies are cheap, so I'll put it in with one shot.

[Josue]

Trunk floor kit-

Aaaaaaand, once again, WTF was this kid thinking? Why, when you can CLEARLY see that the whole trunk pan is rusted, would you patch some pieces in!?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4976-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4975-1.jpg

So, we're gonna do a whole kit, new floor, extensions, kick down looking pieces behind the quarter, and braces underneath. He managed to splice one of those in thinking that was the way to go...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4987-1.jpg

Extensions...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4973-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4977-1.jpg

New complete quarter panels-

We have new skins for it, but getting complete quarters will be a better, easier repair, so we're going that route. It will take care of the rust around this area...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4983-1.jpg

And also these previous repairs in the door jamb area...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4982-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/104_4989-1.jpg

All in all, the bill from Classic Industries is around $2,000 for all these parts. My dad's trying to sell one of his antique pool tables (1912!), and once he does, we should have the money to keep rolling on this. Hopefully I can get some stuff done before long, it's already cold as hell around here!

In the mean time, I'm just gonna mud up the fenders and doors. I wanted to fit these to the car 1st, but I don't want to waste time while I'm waiting for them to come up with the money for these parts, so I'll just tweak them later if need be....

[Code Red]

wow Josh alot of work ahead of you man good luck

[GM_muscle]

i see lots of metal work comimg up.

[Josue]

I like metal work ALOT better than bondo work! haha I can't wait to start cutting and welding...

[Josue]

Dad sold that pool table today, so we're gonna get the ball rolling on some parts this week!! :twothumbs Got $2,800 for it, but he has to give my mom some money so they can get a website made for their house in Aruba they want to rent out. The rest will go to the car though...

Had an interesting offer made though. I guess someone at the dealer he takes the vehicles to, has a little muscle car collection. One of them is a '74 Nova that has a dent and/or tear/hole in the quarter panel. The guy said if I fixed it for him, he'd put our motor together and tune it when it was in. We're nowhere near ready for the motor though, and I don't want to do my part of the deal and then by the time we're ready for the motor, we've already lost contact with the guy for whatever reason, so I thought that maybe we'd get enough motor parts together so it can get assembled. That way, at least the motor would be together if we did lose touch with the guy...

If that's the case, we'll probably just get the floorpan, toe board extensions, and trunk kit so I can get those in, and get enough of the suspension together so I can make it a roller so it's easier to wheel around. I wanted to get the underneath painted, but it won't be a big deal to unbolt the subframe and axle, and do it in the spring.

[Josue]

Got some stuff done this summer, but not as much as I thought/wanted to. We hit a LOT of snags along the way, as always seems to happen. Little stupid stuff...thought we had all 4 door hinges, but only had 3, so had to wait a few weeks to get another one. Went to heat up a broken bolt out, ran out of Oxygen. Went to weld the floor up, ran out of welding gas. Went to weld up the pieces on the side of the cowl, ran out of wire. WTF!!! hahaha Not to mention the mental struggle for me to WANT to work on the car after doing this for 8 hours a day at work.

Only thing I didn't get done that I wanted to, was the trunk floor. I had a friend who wanted me to do the body work on his truck before winter though, and that's a paying job, so I got the Firebird out of there to get that in. lol

Pics!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0003-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0005-1.jpg

Little hole in the inner rocker there, I patched it before welding the floor in.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0008-2.jpg
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Big pieces...lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0017-1.jpg

Smaller pieces so i could take them to work for the scrap guy.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0019-1.jpg

[Josue]

Now, I deal with aftermarket parts almost on a daily basis at work (unfortunately) but I was NOT prepared to have to mess with these parts as much as I did to get them to fit....holy hell.

This is the 1st time I set the floor in...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0020-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0023-1.jpg
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The little driveshaft bumpstop bracket (I'm assuming that's what it is) was holding the floor up, so I had to drill it off.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0027-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0028-1.jpg

Decided to go with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator on the insides of these pieces for rust prevention/protection.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0029-1.jpg
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Toe boards welded in...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0034-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0035-1.jpg

[Josue]

Prepping the floor with weld through primer...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0038-1.jpg
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Another snag, the car was bowing down in the middle. We got it with the braces welded in, but we're not sure if the previous owner did this before tearing the car apart so it wouldn't bend, or afterwards and the car was already screwed. Had to get it off the dolly and onto jack stands so it was sitting level. Also cut out his bracing and replaced it with my own.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0054-1.jpg

Door gaps looked good enough...so let's go!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0056-1.jpg
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Little corner I have to patch up, cut out by the previous owner when he welded in a half floorpan.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0062-1.jpg

[Josue]

Prepping the firewall extensions...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0046-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0050-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0052-1.jpg

Sprayed some etch on the bare metal, and took it back up to my work to store for the winter. My wife and I are expecting our 1st child in June though, so we'll see what I can get done next year!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0065-1.jpg
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https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/DSC_0066-1.jpg

[Firebird-Geek]

I feel your pain with all the panel replacing... I curse the rust gods often! Great Job... it will be all worth it once you get behind the wheel for the first time! It's great to see some more Firebirds on here! Also, awesome to see a father-son build... that is something you will always remember, and makes the car that more special to the both of you!

[Josue]

Thanks!! It's definitely something we're excited to embark on, and eventually, complete. lol It's a little tougher for me though, because he's not exactly mechanically inclined. lol Where as I do this........

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/08/photobucket102721342132401619-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/08/photobucket52491342132402876-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/08/photobucket54621343439895592-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/08/photobucket31021343439902365-1.jpg
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https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/08/photobucket19131343439904662-1.jpg

......for a living. hahaha So, it's pretty much all me on this build. Problem is, my wife and I welcomed our first child back in June, and I'm in the process of getting into a new career that will require us to move closer to the facility I'll be at, and likely to a temporary location until we can afford to buy a house and I can set up my garage again, so this project will hit a snag for a long time it seems.

While we're still here though, my goal is to get it rolling on it's wheels before winter, so we can move it around easier than with that dolly. We got some missing pieces we needed recently, so all I need to do is get it all sandblasted, choose a paint for it all, paint and assemble it all! Easy enough, right? haha

[Josue]

Inching towards my winter goal!

Tore all the parts down a while ago, but the sandblaster drug his feet for 2 months, so I just got the parts back this past weekend. Good timing though, cause it was likely the last nice weekend of the year, almost 70 degrees, perfect painting weather!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/DSC_0073-1.jpg
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Eastwood Rust Encapsulator...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/DSC_0080-1.jpg

Eastwood Original Chassis Black...(it will dry more satin)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/DSC_0081-1.jpg
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And all the overspray on the floor swept up too. haha

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/DSC_0086-1.jpg

[LUV2XLR8]

good to see another f-body close by.. good job on the progress!

[T.K.]

Hard to tell from the pics but from what I can see that isnt enough bracing for a convertible before you cut the floor out. I would have braced that up a lot more and ideally welded it to a table for the work you are doing. For a proT car, now is the time to think about how you are going to proT it. With even a little more power these F-body convertibles flex a lot. THe verts have a bit more bracing stock but you should really look at subframe connectors at a minimum. Me personally, I like 2x4 front to back along the inside of the rockers welded to the subframe in the front and the rear. consider at least one cross member between the two. I like the full inner frame design as used by Art Morrison and some other sponsors but that requires significant chopping and customizing of the floor.

Its too late to prevent the bowing. eyeballing door jams alone really isnt enough. I know you already but the floor in but I recomend doing a bunch of diagnal measuremns to make sure its squared up now before you weld up quarters and more. Dont want to bow the body panels, have gap problems, or worse convertible top dont reach problems later.

[Josue]

This isn't a proT car though, just a normal, stock, driver quality restoration that will only get driven 5 times a summer. We're not cutting corners, but we're not going all out like most other cars on here either. haha

I get what you're saying though, and after discovering some F-Body measurements existed, I'll definitely be making sure everything is correct.

[Josue]

Accomplished my goal, car is a roller!!

How nice it's going to be moving this thing now. I'll be away for 3 months training for my new job at the beginning of next year, but we're moving closer to my parents, as my new facility is 15 mins from them. Our house is only 7 mins from them as well, and they're having a 28'X40' pole barn built soon, so this project will get finished there.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0087-1.jpg
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Thanks to Project Routy from V8TV, I made these shock simulators so we didn't have to fight with the coil springs on a bare subframe that didn't have the weight of the car to help. lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0094-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0095-1.jpg

Gotta steer it!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0096-1.jpg
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Threw the sheet metal on so it was that much less to move.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0101-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/12/DSC_0102-1.jpg
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[Josue]

Figured I'd post about the end of the road with this project. lol

I just haven't been able to find the time to work on it as much as we'd like. The new career, bought a house, had another kid...life's just not accepting of a ground up restoration right now. This is as far as I made it with the car in the new barn...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/11/DSC_0171_zpsfa8542ff-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0171_zpsfa8542ff.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/11/DSC_0170_zps888aee43-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0170_zps888aee43.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/11/DSC_0165_zps0c042d71-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0165_zps0c042d71.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/11/DSC_0154_zpse3cdc172-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0154_zpse3cdc172.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/11/DSC_0155_zps0aad8f3f-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0155_zps0aad8f3f.jpg.html)

Got all the metal cut out in the rear of the car, and I was fitting everything up. After 4-5 hours of cutting, grinding, clamping, bending....and only being marginally further ahead than when I started, I realized this project was way beyond my means right now. So, made it a roller again, and sold everything...(those quarter panels are just screwed on, they still need more fitment work)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/20141201_195258_zpsxwoewzn9-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/20141201_195258_zpsxwoewzn9.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/20141201_195640_zps8xwphunt-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/20141201_195640_zps8xwphunt.jpg.html)

The car sold locally, to a gentleman 10 mins away. We're going to keep in touch with him though, and we're excited to see the progress he makes! We even offered him to come look at Dad's new toy whenever he needs the reference. hahaha

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/DSC_0176_zps90fe62e4-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0176_zps90fe62e4.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/DSC_0182_zpsf8571e1c-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0182_zpsf8571e1c.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/DSC_0173_zps8d6a35ec-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0173_zps8d6a35ec.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/DSC_0179_zpsdd0027f2-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0179_zpsdd0027f2.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/01/DSC_0180_zpsf0ba4ac8-1.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/josue309/media/Vehicles%202/1969%20Firebird/DSC_0180_zpsf0ba4ac8.jpg.html)

Wound up buying a driver quality convertible, that's turn key and ready to drive today! 350/2bbl car, 4sp, 35K mi, power drum brakes, power top, new interior, and assorted new parts here and there. Found it in NC, and payed a classic car inspector to check it out for us, instead of us flying down there. He did an AMAZING job! Sent us 236 pictures of the car, and gave it a very fair review so we knew what we were getting ourselves into when buying a car that we weren't able to check out ourselves. Had it shipped up to Ohio, and now begins the LONG LONG winter season before he can actually drive it. haha It's not perfect, but at least he can drive it while we give it some TLC.

I'll be buying their 68 this summer. I'm taking out a loan for the appraised amount, and they're selling it to me for about half that, so I should have a decent budget to upgrade that car to my liking.

[lucky13firebird]

Wow, looking good. Lucky