Project "Bad Bird"- 1967 Firebird Convertible

[john5670]

Background:

The car was purchased in July of 2006. It was a surprise anniversary gift from my mom for my dad. I found that car and bought a 1 way ticket to Florida. The car had been parked for at least 10 years. The guy thought I was nuts when I told him I was driving it back to Minnesota. I gave him the cash and off I went. I made it 3 miles from my house when the rear end locked up. I called my dad and he drove to pick me up and saw his new project. After we started taking the car a part we realized that maybe I should have picked a little less rusty of a car. This is the first restoration project we had attempted and we were clearly over our heads. The project wouldn't have been possible without a few of his buddies who provided good advice and forums on pro-touring.com. We currently are done with paint and assembling the car. We figure we have about a month left of work.

Project:

1967 Firebird Convertible
Factory AC
Numbers matching block

Under the Hood:

Engine (Bulter Performance Parts, Wheeler Racing Machining)
586 HP @6000 RPMs
462 CI
330 cfm ported Butler race heads
Port Matched Performer RPM intake
Holley 4150 HP
Forged rotating assembly
4 Bolt Mains
Canton Oil Pan
Dougs 1 7/8" to 3 1/2 headers
10.25 to 1 Compression
MSD ignition (Hidden in the glove box)
Billet Specialties Serpentine System

Cooling-
Norther Radiator
Dual Spal fans

Drive Train:

Tremec TKO 600
Center Force Dual Friction Clutch
GM 12 Bolt Rear End
Hotchkis 2 inch drop Front, 3 inch rear
QA1 Shocks
18 inch Intro V-Rod Rims
Bfgoodrich KDW G-Force Tires
Rear - 255/40/18
Front - 225/40/18

Paint and Body:

Father and son first paint job
PPG Single stage with clear coat finish
Weld in frame connectors

Interior:

1998 Firebird front seats re-covered in leather by Yellow Dog
Leather covered factory rear seat
Vintage Air
Dynamat floors
Everything else new

[rickpaw]

Looks great

[T_Raven]

Looks really nice. I'm not much of a convertible fan but this looks like it will be a nice one.

[CruizinKev]

looking good! :twothumbs and wow that was a looong first drive :6gears:

[dlrepmn]

Really, really nice car.

Get some pics of the interior up once you get it in.

I want to see what Mark did on your seats.

You got plenty of time to make Car Craft. Aren't deadlines motivating? You have obviously very busy and focused. Good luck!

Scott in Minnesota

[Topless69]

Looks fantastic. nice job.

[john5670]

The build is almost complete. We have been working on it almost everyday. This is our first build, so I under estimated how much work assembly was going to be. Today we finished the brakes. The front of the car sits about perfect, but the back is a bit high. Hopefully with the interior installed it will settle some. The interior will be complete next week and the plan is to start it up and go for its first drive the following. We still need to order the drive shaft. We are thinking Inland Empire's 3 inch aluminum. Any using the same or have an opinion on steel?

[gearbanger]

If I remember correctly, I was going to have to use a 4" aluminum to handle about that same power level as you have according to inland empire. I went with a 3.5" steel instead, and I still have just a slight driveshaft tunnel interference at full compression in the rear. My car sits pretty low and when you have a couple in the back and hit a good bump, it compresses the bumpo stops enough to hit right under the back seat. I guess that's why the factory drive shaft had a necked down section in the rear of the factory tube.

[BirdsThaWord]

Looks like you guys are really doing it right! I bet she'll be a real nice ride when done. I'm subscribing and will be watching your updates, so hurry up and post more pics!

[chunger]

Nice build - always happy to see another ragtop owner around here!

What wheels are those & what size tire are you running?

[Subway]

Nice 'bird! :)

[john5670]

The car is ready to start. We have the new seats installed. I think they turned out great. In one of the pictures you can see the glove box I made. If anyone is interested in one let me know. It's formed out of 1/16" aluminum and is designed to clear a Vintage Air system. My dad and I are getting very excited. We have been working on the car for so long it it seemed like we would never get this far.

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[john5670]

We are still making good progress. We are firing the motor up in the car on Monday. We would have taken it for a test drive, but the drive shaft is not ready yet. The exhaust is going in at the end of the week. We are planning on installing 3" dual that drop out the back. Installing a hotchkis x-brace to help gain ground clearance by running the exhaust inside the brace.



https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/06/th_P4290823-1.jpg (http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac253/djohn400/?action=view&current=P4290823.mp4)

[LeighP]

Great looking car....I like your choice of wheels, they suit the car.

[dlrepmn]

Very nice!

Love the seats. Mark and the new kid do nice work. Your Intro's look great on this car. I had mine dyno'd at Wheeler too. You crushed my numbers though.

See you at CC right?

Scott

[45tek]

Beautiful, beautiful ride guyz!

[john5670]

Thanks Scott....We loved your choice of rims and interior. Your car looks great and obviously influenced the choice of a few items on our car. We should be at Car Craft if things keep going good. Look forward to seeing your ride there.

[crustysack]

WOW that is some really nice paintwork there-I can count the wrinkles in the blue tarp that is at least 5 ft behind you- keep up the great work

[BirdsThaWord]

Wow! Those seats came out really nice!!!

[john5670]

Well the day finally came after many hours of work. We fired up the 600 horse motor in the car tonight. The only thing my dad and I could say is wow! I hope the convertible body can handle the power. Makes me a little nervous seeing it shake the car the way it did. Tomorrow we go for our first test drive around the block. I will post a video soon showing the first start up.

[BirdsThaWord]

So cool! I bet you guys are crazy excited!!!

[79PonchoUK]

That's a great build....my first build was a full restomod on a classic mini. It turned out nicely and I thought I'd done well until I saw this....it's on another level.

Paintwork looks amazing.

[john5670]

Well we took the car for a short test drive through the neighborhood with open headers. Even though we set every car that we drove by alarm off people still waived and smiled. The car is definitely snappy with tons of power. We practically idled though down the road with a few blurps to let the tires spin a little. The header chrome and front windshield will be installed tomorrow. We ordered new hotchkis rear 3" drop springs to replace the 1.5". Those will be installed this weekend. I am guessing it will be road worthy in 2 weeks.

[Small Block LSX]

We are still making good progress. We are firing the motor up in the car on Monday. We would have taken it for a test drive, but the drive shaft is not ready yet. The exhaust is going in at the end of the week. We are planning on installing 3" dual that drop out the back. Installing a hotchkis x-brace to help gain ground clearance by running the exhaust inside the brace.



https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/06/th_P4290823-1.jpg (http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac253/djohn400/?action=view&current=P4290823.mp4)

Hey, I've been there before. This was after we built my friends forged 383 (dart block, brodix heads) with a blow through D1SC for his 77 Corvette!

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You must be from Minnesota too, eh?

[john5670]

Yeah we are from Cambridge. Jeff does a great job dyno tuning motors. Gary at Wheeler machined the block and assembled the engine. All the parts were purchased from Butler Performance.

[Josh69]

Lookin' Good, any updates? You guys going to be ready for CC?

I'll be there Sat and Sun with my black '69 coupe. I'll keep an eye out for ya! I gotta spend my weekend wet-sanding and buffing mine, then wrapping up some loose ends. Seems like they are never done, but well enough to get there!

Josh

[john5670]

The car is almost complete. The top is being installed by Yellow Dog interiors and should be complete next week. I too still need to final buff and wrap up loose ends. I will be on the look out for your car. We will be at Car Craft and all weekend.

[john5670]

Well the car is looking good. We have put about 125 miles on the car and it has been awesome. The latest updates are:

-The top is on
-Filler panel buffed
-Interior will be finished tomorrow

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My Dad and Mom
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[chunger]

Love the car, it's super clean. All your hard work has paid off!

[68400BIRD]

Looks very nice. I'll look you up on Friday. Hope to see you at CC.

[BirdsThaWord]

Man oh man! Your car looks fantastic!!!

[dlrepmn]

Congrats!

Talk about motivated! Major accomplishment. See you there Friday. Your motor brings a new meaning to shakedown runs. I hope you put good subframe connectors on that car. You are going to need them.

Scott in Minnesota

My neighbor just bought a real 70 Chevelle SS (his malibu/SS clone wasn't going fast enough) and I think he is even more excited to go than I am. He reminded me twice (last night and this morning) that CC is Friday.

"Duh.. I know Steve. Give it a rest already."

[john5670]

Well we made it to Car Craft last weekend. It was a great time. There were a lot of amazing cars. Below is a pic of the car. Scott thanks for finding us a great parking spot.

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[LeighP]

Thats a top job...car is a real head turner!

[rohrt]

Well the day finally came after many hours of work. We fired up the 600 horse motor in the car tonight. The only thing my dad and I could say is wow! I hope the convertible body can handle the power. Makes me a little nervous seeing it shake the car the way it did. Tomorrow we go for our first test drive around the block. I will post a video soon showing the first start up.

I have noticed that I can see the top of the passenger side door gap spacing change while I drive down the road. Thats kinda freaky. I don't have frame connectors but I do have the underbody brace.

[dlrepmn]

Not me, that was my buddy Don Walsh. I owe him big again. He bleeds Pontiac "literally" as you can see by the Pontiac tatoos. That's his Lemans Sport in the distance with him texting. At least 13 Pontiacs, but he doesn't count them any more. LOL!

Power parking and the power of laser cut signs. It was pretty well behaved this year on the parking rivalry. Real happy you guys could make it. Glad I could get pics of both birds together. We will get more once you get that bumper on. Lots of fun.

You didn't post the car wash honey pics though. I was on the phone with the wife and couldn't get the camera going quick enough!

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[Motown 454]

The car looks great, nice work. I like the plate.

[john5670]

Well its time to tear into the Firebird again. This winter we are going to install a Prodigy 4-link, hook up the ac, and get the radio working. Pictures to come soon of the 4-link install.

[armourmark]

Nice. Can't wait to hear about and see the 4-link install. Car looks great! I love high end cars, but there's something special about a car built in a guy's own garage.