1968 Firebird...Project Childhood.

[Josue]

I didn't participate, my suspension is still all original, with the exception of KYB replacement shocks, so it would have been a total waste of time. lol

That was actually my first time seeing an AutoX event live, and honestly, it confirmed my feelings that it wouldn't be something I was interested in. If I build something to hit the turns, it's going to be on a road course. I've played at Mid-Ohio and Pittsburgh International Raceway in some Mazdas I had, and that stuff was the time of my life! The Mazda/road course phase of my life is years and years in my rear view though, and as I spend more time at our local drag strip, it's getting me back in the mindset of wanting a drag car someday! The more I think of it though, the more I don't want to totally rape this car by making it so extreme that it wouldn't be a reliable driver.

My "if I had the money" setup, would have been a stout 455, fuel injection, 4L80E trans, some sort of built to the max rear end, aftermarket subframe, and some sort of whole suspension kit that includes a torque arm...either BMR or Speedtech. But Christ, we're talking $30,000-$40,000 just in parts there! Now I'm thinking I should continue the low key budget, and simply rebuild the 350 (I'm eclectic like that anyway, I would love to have a decently powered 350!) FiTec FI, 2004R trans, and ridetech's street grip suspension package. All totalling maybe $10,000? Depends on how deep I go trying to squeeze as much power out of a 350 as I could. I just want something I could comfortably, and reliably, take across the country if I wanted to.

The good news is, my brake system is already on lock, so that's something I don't have to worry about again. Car stops so hard, it shuts off!

[gator68428]

I didn't participate, my suspension is still all original, with the exception of KYB replacement shocks, so it would have been a total waste of time. lol

That was actually my first time seeing an AutoX event live, and honestly, it confirmed my feelings that it wouldn't be something I was interested in. If I build something to hit the turns, it's going to be on a road course. I've played at Mid-Ohio and Pittsburgh International Raceway in some Mazdas I had, and that stuff was the time of my life! The Mazda/road course phase of my life is years and years in my rear view though, and as I spend more time at our local drag strip, it's getting me back in the mindset of wanting a drag car someday! The more I think of it though, the more I don't want to totally rape this car by making it so extreme that it wouldn't be a reliable driver.

My "if I had the money" setup, would have been a stout 455, fuel injection, 4L80E trans, some sort of built to the max rear end, aftermarket subframe, and some sort of whole suspension kit that includes a torque arm...either BMR or Speedtech. But Christ, we're talking $30,000-$40,000 just in parts there! Now I'm thinking I should continue the low key budget, and simply rebuild the 350 (I'm eclectic like that anyway, I would love to have a decently powered 350!) FiTec FI, 2004R trans, and ridetech's street grip suspension package. All totalling maybe $10,000? Depends on how deep I go trying to squeeze as much power out of a 350 as I could. I just want something I could comfortably, and reliably, take across the country if I wanted to.

The good news is, my brake system is already on lock, so that's something I don't have to worry about again. Car stops so hard, it shuts off!

Very good. Everyone needs to enjoy their Firebird in their own way! For me it's trying to kick some LS a$$ with a Pontiac and sheer passion and will power.

I think your low key plan is solid. You can get some decent handling without crazy investment so your time spent driving is more capable on the road. The street grip would be perfect for you goals--and if you get the setup dialed in you'd be surprised at the AutoX potential of the car--you don't need subframes for much of it--just a solid setup and seat time. And yes the Track is highly addictive! what a rush

Your "if you had the money" just described the direction we're going with my Dad's 76 Firebird. Supercharged Butler 440 rotating assembly (428 crank, bored 455 block), currently TH400 but pressuring my Dad to drop the $$ on a 4L80E and some suspension stuff. He already has the FAST XFI 2.0 and the 4L80 controller will plug right in.

[TheBandit]

Got my booster brackets from Summit today, so I finished the firewall stuff up...

Had to re-thread both the rod (obviously) and the bracket as well. Not sure if the threads are deep enough, I'm kind of wondering if I'll strip it right out pushing the pedal too hard in a panic stop or something? haha Once I get it all dialed in and working 100%, I'll throw some tack welds at it to keep everything in place.

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Josh - I hope you don't mind me inundating you with a few questions! Did this start as a stock C5/C6 booster? Do you remember what size threads you cut into the input rod? Did you have to rethread the clevis too? Are those the DSE low angle brackets?

The car looks awesome. I love the yellow paint and the upsized rally IIs. I think you have the right mindset of keeping the car reliable and comfortable/safe to drive. Suspension updates will help with that too. It doesn't have to be stiffly sprung or 1/2" off the ground to benefit from good geometry, shocks, springs etc. I am really happy with the suspension changes I've made as they impact how it goes down the road. The car feels much more like a modern driver. It's comfortable and I have confidence going into corners.

[Josue]

Josh - I hope you don't mind me inundating you with a few questions! Did this start as a stock C5/C6 booster? Do you remember what size threads you cut into the input rod? Did you have to rethread the clevis too? Are those the DSE low angle brackets?

The car looks awesome. I love the yellow paint and the upsized rally IIs. I think you have the right mindset of keeping the car reliable and comfortable/safe to drive. Suspension updates will help with that too. It doesn't have to be stiffly sprung or 1/2" off the ground to benefit from good geometry, shocks, springs etc. I am really happy with the suspension changes I've made as they impact how it goes down the road. The car feels much more like a modern driver. It's comfortable and I have confidence going into corners.

No problem at all!! Sucks photobucket pulled the crap they did, I've been too lazy to try and host the pics somewhere else, because there hasn't been much going on with the car. lol

Yes, this was a stock C5 booster. I don't recall the size threads I cut into the rod and clevis specifically, but it was simply the closest tap and die fitting that would thread on tight enough to cut the new thread(s). And, these were the brackets....cheap and got the job done!

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-760132-blk

Thanks for the compliments as well! I think I've decided to keep the car a comfortable, reliable cruiser, rather than go completely nuts building it to the hill and back. Eventually, I'll get a drag car, or some sort of dual purpose drag/road racing car. This car means so much to me, I don't want to molest it too much.

It did develop a loud tick towards the end of the season last year, ended up being a collapsed lifter. Could have been a cheap fix, but I'm sure I would have had to replace the cam as well. At that point, might as well have had the motor rebuilt, since it's never been done to my knowledge, and was worn and leaking bad. Not knowing whether or not my original 350 was going to stay in the car long term, I opted to buy another motor. I didn't want to rebuild my motor, only for it to end up under a shelf in my garage until the end of time when/if I upgraded to a bigger one. So I have a rebuilt 350 going in right now (budget wouldn't allow me a 400 or 455 build) as well as the 2004-R I've been wanting for years. SUPER excited for the OD gear!! Had my eyes on some EFI this year too, but house projects won't allow it for the time being. haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFUGpHY14ys

[Josue]

Photobucket is working again!

For something as seemingly simple as replacing my motor with the same motor, the swap was a real PITA! It was just one thing after another!!

-Took a while to reassemble the motor, I was waiting for a friend's help because certain parts were intimidating to me since I'd never dug that deep into a motor. I also found out I needed a new dipstick tube, so that postponed it due to slow shipping from Classic Industries.

-I get to the point where the engine is ready to pull, and the brand new picker I bought is TOO SHORT to reach the carb plate! So I have to stop and borrow a friend's...

-Found out the Flowkooler water pump on my old engine wouldn't work on the new one, 8 bolt on the '68, 11 bolt on the '69. Seemed as simple as ordering a new 11 bolt FKWP? Nope, they're 4.5" long, so now my pulleys don't line up!!! Tried a March pulley from Summit, still too short. PM'ed with some people back and forth for over a week before ordering a certain stock pulley needed to make the swap work, then waited a few more days for it to arrive. All good now.

-Bought plug wires for a stock '68 Firebird...meaning with points. New motor came with a HEI distributor, I was unaware plug wires would be different!

-New crossmember for the 2004-R is set back further, so it interfered with my H-pipe. Had to chop it off and just run true duals.

-Finally got the motor fired and broken in, after another small setback. Had to swap out the fuel pump, tried to use the one that came with the motor, but it was shot. Another week passes before my friend can make it back over to tune it and make sure it's road worthy, and the 2nd time we start it...the throttle cable snaps!!!!! So I have to wait another day, after running down to Summit to pick one up the next morning.

Doesn't seem like much now that I typed it out, but between parts setbacks, an expected/unexpected death (cancer), quick trip out of town with the family, my work schedule, gym schedule, family obligations, and my buddy's schedule, this whole process took over a month! I thought for sure it was simply going to be a weekend project. lol Oh well, looking back, it's cool to have the experience under my belt, and I'm glad I went this route, instead of parking the car for years and years waiting for some great build that would have never happened.

The car's performance is beyond my expectations! Went through the typical hiccups with a drivetrain swap, few kinks to work out. Throttle cable was a touch too short, so it was causing the idle to hang up. Vibration in the drivetrain, fixed by the same shims I used under the mount on the TH350 when I had a vibration after that swap...to fix the pinion angle. Tach wasn't working properly, simply bought a new one. lol And I put a new set of gauges where the radio was mounted, between the console and the bottom of the dash, so I had that radio flopping around on the floor for over a week. Got a mount from a member here (see for sale section) that worked perfectly to place the radio in the factory location. I also finally added a set of Morris Classic Concepts 3 point seat belts. Way safer than the factory ones!!

It drives awesome though, and overdrive is amazing!! 3.08 gears, and I'm only at 2000rpm's at 75mph. Around town, 50-ish mph, 1700rpm...it's lovely! The choke is also working properly for the first time in ever, so the car fires right up and runs great!

Onto the pics!!



Used motor came with a bunch of goodies! Selling off the stuff I don't need will help offset the costs.



Freshly rebuilt 2004-R






Reassembled

[Josue]

[Josue]

Old knob style....ack!

[boss_hoss]

Nice build, great drivetrain choice. I love my 400/200-4R combo. , the overdrive is great ad is going to allow me to install some more aggressive gears without sacrificing drivability.

[Josue]

Best thing I've done to the car yet!

I've seen people run 3.73's with no problem, but I wanted even more RPM's, since this is just a cruiser, so I went with 3.08's. The car is slow as hell as it is haha, so there's no point in me trying to make it something it's not with big gears.

Drove it an hour and back last week to visit friends, it did awesome! Minus the slight headache I got from the exhaust drone for that long! Considering taking it the 2hrs and back to Columbus Goodguys this Saturday, but I'm not sure. Little point in me taking it, if I'm not going to sit there with it so I can talk to people about my car. I'll spend the whole time walking around (and still not see everything there!), so I might as well take my DD for all that.

[JayinMI]

When I used to see these more often, I used to use a Metra dash kit for Volvo's. Bottom one in the pic.
If you turn it upside down, the angle is about perfect for 1st gen Camaro/Firebird dashes. I just had to shave a little of the lip off the sides.
Makes for a pretty clean solution for cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-99-9222.../dp/B0002BEZ3K

Way better solution than those craptastic, overpriced Retrosound/Classic car radios people use nowadays.
$19 2 shaft radio with cheap plastic cosmetics and a huge markup. So many better options nowadays.
Props for not being afraid to cut your dash. It was never going to be a concourse d'elegance competitor, right? lol

Jay

[boss_hoss]

Funny you mention that about going to car shows. I have the same
Issue myself. I’d rather take My daily to a show instead of getting stuck sitting next to my car until the show is over. Fortunately I’m close enough to our parents place I may drag my pops along to the show so he can post up by the car and I can walk around.

Best thing I've done to the car yet!

I've seen people run 3.73's with no problem, but I wanted even more RPM's, since this is just a cruiser, so I went with 3.08's. The car is slow as hell as it is haha, so there's no point in me trying to make it something it's not with big gears.

Drove it an hour and back last week to visit friends, it did awesome! Minus the slight headache I got from the exhaust drone for that long! Considering taking it the 2hrs and back to Columbus Goodguys this Saturday, but I'm not sure. Little point in me taking it, if I'm not going to sit there with it so I can talk to people about my car. I'll spend the whole time walking around (and still not see everything there!), so I might as well take my DD for all that.

[Josue]

Way better solution than those craptastic, overpriced Retrosound/Classic car radios people use nowadays.
$19 2 shaft radio with cheap plastic cosmetics and a huge markup. So many better options nowadays.
Props for not being afraid to cut your dash. It was never going to be a concourse d'elegance competitor, right? lol

Bingo! The car is far from being worth it to do a full, factory restoration. It's just a run of the mill, average, 350/2bbl/2sp/2.56 open rear end, car that they made tens of thousands of....so I might as well make it how I want!

I'll admit, there was a sense of "welp, there's no going back now" after I cut my dash like that. haha I'm a bit weary about things that aren't very reversible/bolt on. I still have all the original parts to the car, just because. Cutting the dash apart was pretty permanent though! But I'm comfortable with my decision, LOVE the radio in that location, and you're right....there was no way I was spending $300 on some POS "factory appearing" radio just for the sake of keeping that stock look. I'll spend less than $100 at my local audio store, for a single DIN with CD and USB and call it a day. (still on the list, need to stop the hemorrhaging first!)

Funny you mention that about going to car shows. I have the same
Issue myself. I’d rather take My daily to a show instead of getting stuck sitting next to my car until the show is over. Fortunately I’m close enough to our parents place I may drag my pops along to the show so he can post up by the car and I can walk around.

Hahaha....exactly! Not to be conceited, but I enjoy talking to people about my car, telling them what all I did, and answering any questions they may have. I think the same goes for most car people out there.

Hard to find a balance between that, and getting to see and talk to other people about their cars at shows! We go to Quaker Steak and Lube for their weekly cruise in on Sunday night's, and I still spend the whole time walking around, not posted up by my car.