68 firebird 400 project

[timjen7]

So, after being a member on the PT site for some time, doing a lot of reading, research,etc., I've finally started my own build/restoration. A little history on mycar....
Orignial 68 400 CA car with little rust issues and a fairly straight body. The car belonged to my former boss, who had it as a weekend fun car and gave it to me about 7 years back as a bonus as he knew I liked the car. It's unfortunately not a numbers matching car, but otherwise complete and in overall good shape. He had some HP work done to the motor previously, but didnt retain the documentation. More on that at a later date. The car sat in my driveway, then eventually my garage when I moved. I drove it a few times when I first got it but, it has been sitting an going through slow disassembly the last 4 years. I took more before pics prior to my starting to take apart the front end, but my wife's laptop crashed, and they got dumped.
The car is now at a friend's body shop and starting the first phases of the bodywork. The tail light panel had to be replaced due to a poorly repaired rear end accident and the trunk pan replaced from its beginning to rust. The repair spots you will see onthe sides of the car were not from accidents, but from forklifts bumping into the car when my boss owned it and stored it in the warehouse. Real shame.
Anyway, I'm going to update and document this build as well and as regulalry as I can. I know there are a lot of knowlegable people on here and I've seen others do some very impressive builds. I always appreciate input if you have it.

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As you can see, I've had already started removing the grill and front components.
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Temporary fix of damage from forklift, but from the inside of the fender it's pretty rough. Going to replace the fender.
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Beginning stages of work. Tail panel and trunk pan replaced.
Next step is sanding and prep of the rest of the body and pulling the motor and trans.

[timjen7]

It's been a good while since any progress on my car. I've read thread after thread of cars being stuck in body shop phase for a while, but just now starting to get it. Got over to the shop this weekend with the crane and tools, and got the motor and trans out. Was kind of a pain in the butt. The way one of the headers was installed, made it impossible to get to one of the bolts attaching it. So we had to pull it with the header attached. It wouldn't get past the a/c and kep catching on the motor mound plate on the subframe. Finally had to remove the plate, and it came right out. I hope to have steady progress from here. The plan is to go back next week and remove the windows and remaining parts in the engine bay to get the car ready for prep and sanding. I'll also start posting the some of the other work I'm doing from home restoring various parts soon.

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[lsx80monte]

Nice starting point you got there. Are you keeping the factory a/c or are you gonna shave the firewall and go aftermarket?

[timjen7]

That's a good question on the a/c. The compressor is long since gone from the previous owner, so really all that's left is the box attached to the firewall and that's seen better days. I would like to probably leave to option open to install maybe a Vintage Air set up later, so I don't think the best think to do would be to completely seal off the openings. I've seen options, like the A/C Delete cover that you can buy, but if there are other ideas or better options, I'm all ears.

[lsx80monte]

If you go aftermarket like vintage air or classic auto air, you wont need to purchase the a/c delete box that you mention, as they both have the block-off plates included in their kits.

[timjen7]

Thanks for the A/C tip. I'm going to look into costs on both options for the new system. I spent the past two saturdays at the shop with a good pressure washer, some Purple Power, and Simple Green. Got the car up on 4 jacks and went to work on the engine bay and undercarriage. 45 years of grease and dirt does not come off easy and that's probably the dirtiest work I've ever done. When I arrived at the shop they had already removed most of the side windows, emblems, handles, locks, and interior panels. Wasn't expecting it, so it was a nice surprise.
I'll shoot some more pictures this weekend when the front and rear windows are removed. From there it's into the shop and the body work starts.
I've also started restoring the tail light assemblies and other parts. Will post some pics a bit later.


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[timjen7]

I was able to spend a little time re-doing the tail light assemblies. Started on the first one to make sure everything was going to come out OK. I'm pretty happy with the results. I started on the back casing with a couple of rounds of degreaser, then a fine grit paper, then some steel wool for prep. Then primed and gave it a nice matte aluminum color finish. I polished the lenses with a polishing ball and some compound. Cleaned, primered, and used some black enamel between the lenses. And finally cleaned the original rubber gasket and applied some trim and rubber restorer. The restored unit basically looked about identical to the unrestored one in the pics.
I think next week the shop will be pulling the remaining front and rear windows and starting the body prep work.


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[T_Raven]

Looks like a pretty solid car to start with. Can't wait to see some progess

[timjen7]

Yeah, the car was not bad when I got it. Luckily it's been in southern CA it's whole life, so no real rust issues to deal with. I am replacing the front fenders, due to some lower rust, but that's about it. Should have some new progress pics soon.

[im4u2nvss]

Great project! Love the early firebirds.

[68400BIRD]

If the front fenders are original it might be easier to fix them over trying to get repops to fit correctly. Looks like a nice solid car for a great project.

[timjen7]

Except for the new tail light panel and trunk pan we recently replaced, the rest is original. I would like to keep the original front fenders, but I was speaking with my body shop guy, and his feeling was replacments would be better. Beside's the lower rust, one's pretty rough inside due to some previous damage. I've read that AMD is doing some decent replacements. Anyone know anything about the Firebird metal from them or have other suggestions?

[lsx80monte]

If you decide to have your a/c box restored, this is what it should look like when finished.

[timjen7]

Looks like good work on the AC box. I'll reply to your PM.

[lsx80monte]

Sorry if sent you two pms as my pc froze.

[timjen7]

So the shop called me last week when I was out of the country and informed me that when they removed the front windshield, the top dash metal had been basically eaten away as you can see in the pic. Went down to CI this weekend and picked up a new one. You can see it laying accross the dash in a couple of the pics. I'm assuming this must be a common issue, even on good cars. They accomplished quite a bit in the past 2 weeks, removing the doors for sanding and primer. Same with the trunk lid and the front lower valance pieces. They also repaired some poorly done previous repairs on the back passenger quarter. I'm thinking we'll get the rest of the body sanded and prepped in the next couple of weeks. Seems to be making some steady progress.75098

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[CruizinKev]

nice progress! :twothumbs

[timjen7]

Thanks Kevin. More pics coming tomorrow. Got another call yesterday and front fenders are off and the new dash panel should be in place. Will post new pics this weekend.

[timjen7]

Finally got over to the shop today. Some progress. Front fenders pulled. The removed the old top dash metal that was rusted out and welded in the new piece (see pic). Got the back quarter that was repaired with a shot of primer.
I picked up all of the interior panels, hood hinges, windows, moldings, and other misc. parts.
I'll probably be taking the hinges and front core parts, including the radiator support, over this week to get blasted and coated.
Starting to think about colors a bit.




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[Buryingthesun]

Nice color

[timjen7]

Don't know if anyone has some good info on this, but I need to pick up 2 new front fenders. I can go locally and pick them up from Classic Ind., though my options would be something along the lines of a Dynacorn or Goodmark replacement, which so far I have not heard great things about, or a singificantly higher priced US made piece (almost 3X cost). If anyone has any experience with these brands or other options, let me know. Thx.

[timjen7]

Been a little while, but we've got some progress this week. The shop has been able to start work again on the car, and as you'll see by the pics below, we're making some good progress. They've pulled the entire interior out, got most of the car with an initial primer, and mocked up the front end.
I did go to CI and buy a driver side OER fender, but the gaps weren't what we wanted so, we've repaired the original and it's coming out perfect. The gaps on the OER piece weren't terrible, just not as even as my original fender.
They're really doing a lot of work on the body now, so should have lots of updates and pics

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[timjen7]

Another update. My body guy called me last week and said we should pull the sub-frame and change out all the body bushings. I really wanted to do that anyway, so at least we'll get that done this week and we can also clean and shoot the frame and underbody. I ordered some new bushings from FC along with new hardware and some door hinge rebuild kits we needed. Dropped them off at the shop yesterday and the car was looking pretty good. Inside was cleaned out and all body panels were on for alignment. I'll have more pics next week. The guys at FC sent out the products pretty quick, so I got those within just a few days of ordering. If they work out, I'll definitely look to them for more parts when I need them.
I went with standard rubber bushings. I know a lot of people go to the poly or even alum, but I'm not looking to race this car. It will stiffen up enough with the new suspension, so I want to keep the ride moderately comfortable.

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[gordonr1973]

Any updates? Its a cool project!!

[timjen7]

I'm heading over to the shop this weekend. I know they got the new body bushings in, and hopefully some other things that will be worthy of some new pics I can post. I also need to pic up the parts for blasting and powder coating which will include the front core and support pieces, inner fender wells, hinges, etc. Work's been keeping me busy, so I haven't been able to get in as many updates as I'd like, but I'll kick it back into gear this weekend.

[timjen7]

Well, finally some new progress to report. Went over to the shop last week as I got a call from my guy there. They are doing more work and have taken off all of the core front end parts and inner fenders to send over to be powder coated. They also did a bit of repair on a few rust spots on my floors as you can see below. I'm supposed to go pick up all of the parts at the coaters and will post some pictures of those then. Body parts are starting to look pretty good. More block sanding and primer. Next step should be full primer and sanding to prep for paint and the undercoating and frame coating.
Going to head over to the Good Guys show in Del Mar next weekend and hopefully see some ideas for suspension, brakes, wheels, and anything else that might be there.

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[timjen7]

Went to the shop to pick up all of my front end parts we had powder coated. Inner fender wells, front core parts, radiator support, bumper parts. Basically anything we could powder coat up front, we did. Everything looks great. There's a lot more parts than what's in the pics, but you get the idea.
They have all of the removable body panels from the car now ready for paint. The final step is just to block and primer the main shell (roof, quarters, etc.), prime areas like the inside, door jams, and other areas. They should be starting with the under, frame, and interior/floor coatings the first of the year. Hope to have some good pictures to post soon on that. I also finished restoring the tail lamps. Tried to restore the original rubber trim pieces, but they ended up being too weathered and brittle. Bought some new ones to finish off the lamps.


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[timjen7]

Update 1-18-15. Been having trouble posting with pics so hopefully this posts. Been quite a while since the last update. A lot done on the car recently and more happening. Body shop pulled the subframe and we decided to powder coat. Got the firewall shot and the undercoat done. Also picked up a full Hotchkis TVS kit, all new disc brake set up, and had the steering box rebuilt. Went with the RSD brake system. Motor and trans is currently being rebuilt and I should have pictures of that soon. Good news on the drive train is, it looks like the motor was previously rebuilt and not too many miles put on the car since. Bottom line was no bore was needed so that saved some money. We are upgrading a few parts though like a Crower cam and a couple of other small upgrades. Pistons and some other parts were upgraded in the previous build so that was more good news. Car also just recieved the first round of paint. I'll post a couple of pics in a seperate post.

[timjen7]

Here's a couple of shots of the first round of paint. I wanted to find something with a good balance between a grey and silver, which isn't easy to come by. I think it came out really good. The shop will be doing the final shoot and sheet metal assembly in the next 2 weeks.

[68400BIRD]

Very nice color. It really pops. Great news on the motor, saving money is always a plus. Post more pictures of the car painted when you can. Any stripes or H.O. lines going on the car?

[timjen7]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm really happy with the color. I should be able to post pics of the drive train next week and more body pics. I'll get some when it's out in the sun and the final paint done. Not doing any lines but I did see one bird with a stinger stripe on the center of the hood I thought looked pretty good, but I'll probably leave it clean. I was entertaining the hood tach. That one is still in play.

[68400BIRD]

A very light silver HO stripe down the side of the car would be very clean. Either way I love the color.

[rohrt]

Looking good. I like the Silver.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Very nice, I love the silver on a 1st gen. Looking good man!

[captainofiron]

that color looks sick!!!!

nice choice

[timjen7]

Thanks for all the compliments. It's actually a grey/silver, but it's pulling a bit more silver in the photos possibly because of the lighting in the bay. Spent the past 2 years trying to come up with a color I really liked and I think this came out pretty good. Once it's outside I'll take a lot of pics and post. Some angles it's a little more grey and some it looks more silver.

[timjen7]

Been a long time since an update, so I thought I'd share some progress. The car has had a lot done as you'll see in the pics below. The previous test color was actually off a bit but we got it corrected and you'll see the final color below. Got the rest of the Hotchkis suspension installed, Rear end shortened about and inch each side, new axles, and got the new wheels and tires on. I went with the Year One Rally wheels. I know most people opt for an 18" wheel, but I wanted to keep somewhat of an original, but a bit more modern look to the car. It'll lower a bit more once the interior and some of the other things like, exhaust, gas tank, etc. are in. We should have the drivetrain finished by next week and we'll be able to fire it up for the first time.

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[Gil]

Very nice car!
Love the color
Gil

[timjen7]

Very nice car!
Love the color
Gil

Thanks Gil. Just noticed for some reason my photos doubled in my post.

Hard to tell as it was a bit cloudy here in Cali, but there's a fine silver flake in it that shows a little silver in the sunlight.

I think we're about 8-10 weeks from finishing the car. I'll try to post regular updates and photos as we go along.

[slimjim]

Mate where did you find that colour? off a new Mercedes or audi perhaps?
I love it, I think silver on first gens looks brilliant.
keep it up, you're at the most exciting stage of your build now

[timjen7]

Mate where did you find that colour? off a new Mercedes or audi perhaps?
I love it, I think silver on first gens looks brilliant.
keep it up, you're at the most exciting stage of your build now

Thanks James. It's actually a BMW grey color with a mild silver flake in it. Mercedes had another one I considered for a while, but this one won out.
This is for sure the best part of the build, seeing it all come together. You actually start caring less about all of the time and money as you can begin to see the results of all of the work. I'm really happy with the way this is turning out. Thanks for the post and I'll keep posting pics.

[timjen7]

((removed duplicate post))

[68400BIRD]

The car looks great. You did a great job on picking out the color. Your finally at the fun point of bolting parts back on the car.

[Josue]

Loving the color too!

What are you rear end specs? Looks like an 8.5, correct?

What about the engine specs?

[timjen7]

Loving the color too!

What are you rear end specs? Looks like an 8.5, correct?

What about the engine specs?

Thanks for the compliments on the color. It's a BMW space grey for anyone wondering.

Yes the rear end is an 8.5. It was on the car when I got it. With the new rims/tires we actually had to shorten it about an inch each side.

Engine specs (what I know of them):
date code correct 400 bored .30 over
Crower cam
Comp Cams aluminum 1:52 roller rockers
Edelbrock RPM manifold
Holley 750
forged pistons
Cloyes timing chain
factory d port heads
Hooker super comp headers
and just picked up a new Flowmaster American Thunder header back exhaust with 2.5 in H pipe and Super 44's. I really wanted the Hooker Aerochamber mufflers, but I couldn't find anyone who made a header back 2.5 in H exhaust system with no mufflers. You can get the 3" all day long, but no 2.5. I'll try these and see how it sounds and I can always switch out the mufflers if I'm not liking the sound.
Should be firing it up next weekend so I'll shoot a short vid and post if I can.

[Rag-Rat]

Thumbs up for your choice of color and I like those wheels too.

[timjen7]

Thumbs up for your choice of color and I like those wheels too.

Thanks Chris. It's kind of hard to tell from the pic, and I didn't even realize it until my mechanic pointed it out to me, but the inner part of the rims (between spokes) are a similar color to the car which was kind of an added bonus. They came this way out of the box.
In any event the finish of the wheels seems to show well against the car color.

[Rag-Rat]

Agreed, my brother put them on his 69 GTO also.

[timjen7]

Well, I've had the car back for about a month now. It's about finished except for badges, and a few small things we still need to do. Car drives great and came out better than I expected. It runs a little warm when idling at lights or in traffic, but I think we'll fix that by changing to a smaller water pump pulley. Here's a pic of the finished product (less badges of course). I'll post pics later of the engine compartment, interior, and underside of the car.

A lot of fun to drive. Now I get to live with the constant worry of people parking too close to the car, security, etc...

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[Gil]

Very nice !
Awesome color
Gil

[captainofiron]

very cool color, I wanted a grey similar to yours but as the project evolved I decided to go with an original color