1971 Firebird455 - Project

[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/Bra...rebird&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.

[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.

[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.

[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.






Not bad for a 40 year old, eh?

Door have got their first coat of primer on them.

[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!

[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.





Heres the LH fender where it had been poorly repaired and filled up....


All in all, when I see what some guys are going through repairing cars, I'm pretty happy with what we've found.