73 Firebird

[70Uglybird]

Which Kore3 setup is that.

[jp455]

Its the full Z06 kit with hand brake.

[cdoggy81]

That's cool if you can go 255 F & 295 R. I want to see that! If it doesn't rub it will look real nice :]
I'm too chicken & was going to play it safe at 245 F & 285 R LoL

[jp455]

Yup...its been done before. I already have 255s in front and Oldflm has that same setup, 255 and 295 with 18" wheels. But hes running 18x8 and 18x10...I dont know what backspaces hes running though. Im starting to lean towards 18x8 instead of 18x9...

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...d-Gen-Firebird

[jp455]

By far the worst part of the car is the engine...turns out two lobes on the cam were getting rounded. So its going to get a light rebuild and a hydraulic roller cam is going to the replace the flat hydraulic that wore down. It would be interesting to see why it wore down though...I used good oil changed regularly and there doesnt seem to be any problems with the pump or anything. Maybe it ran low on oil for longer than I thought.

This is going to be a very mild build so the 2 bolt caps are fine.

[jp455]

Damn...looks the E/T wheels won't fit over the front brakes with the backspace needed. I really wanted to get those! So I guess I'll start another thread...

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...99#post1191899

[OLDFLM]

255/45/18s up front on 18x8 and 295/40/18s out back on 18x10s. Nice sidewall, 27"f and 27.3" rear overall, GREAT handling with the Falken R615s!!

fwiw I may go with 255/40/18s up front when I replace the next set of tires. The 295/40/18 Falken's the back are PERFECT imo!

[jp455]

Hi Ty...thanks for chiming in! I've certainly taken your car as a reference. What backspaces did you use? I have 255s in front on 17x8 with 5.5 backspace. I'm almost leaning towards keeping that setup but with 18s.

[OLDFLM]

My car isn't a good apples-to-apples out back as I'm running the BMR rear Torque Arm and have more room for bs even with stock tubs.

That said years ago SW's red Trans Am SW (pre-DSE) was running the AR CL205s (grey centered TTIIs):

18x8 front with 4.5bs 255/40/18 26.03-inches tall
18x10 rear with 5.5bs 295/35/18 26.12-inches tall

http://www.fototime.com/BED92E55C02E5C7/orig.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/02160A6A8446BE4/orig.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/4A34656EB77ACB9/orig.jpg

This was with 1.5" lower leaf springs out back and a half coil cut up front.

[jp455]

Right I forget you dont have leafs in the rear. The measurements on SWs are what I was thinking in the back. In the front I have 17x8 with 5.5" so when I go to 18s maybe I-ll just tuck it in .5"

[jp455]

Im going with 255-40 and 295-35...but I´ll probably have to play with those sizes a bit because as far as Ive seen there are VERY few brands that actually have both of those sizes in the same model tire! I think Falken and Michelin so far are the only ones I have seen. So I´ll either play a bit with the widths or the aspect ratios.

[jp455]

On the plus side the rear end is pretty much done. The fuel tank was blasted and repainted, the brakes are on and the fuel and brake lines too. So as soon as the Speedtech stuff comes in it can roll again. Then the interior will get some attention. Meanwhile the engine is getting done...

Looking at this picture I got to thinking where the heck those leaf springs came from and I cant remember at all! That was stage 1 of the build back in 96 or so...been a while.

[jp455]

Sweeeet front suspension arrived! The kit looks fantastic! I'll post up pics when it's on. Now just have to get wheels/tires set and it's on to the interior.

[Angelo]

Love the rim choice. One of my favorite cars. Dad had a 70

[jp455]

Thanks! Yeah those rims are pretty classic. Dont see many Firebirds around...I think Ive seen 2 in person ever.

Well suspension is on...looking good!

[Doug1]

Good looking car. Manuel, didn't you used to have a wheel company called Hydyne?

[cdoggy81]

Any updates?

[yellow1098Greg]

Awesome build! My 77 needs these updates ASAP! I know this will open a can of worms but what made you choose the speedtech setup over the beloved ridetech? Because you were keeping the leafs in the rear?

[jp455]

Hi all...yeah, been a while, Ive been waiting on the wheels to arrive and since without them the car couldnt go on the ground and everything underneath was done there wasnt really more to do in the meantime. Wheels havent arrived yet...but, that made me stumble into a problem/solution that apparently several people have. The big brakes make finding a (cheap) spare very hard. So trying to get the car on the ground while the actual wheels arrive Ive found that front dragster skinnies fit! The tires are 135/90 R17 spares so perfect for a spare wheel later on. Since I needed 4 I'll be putting up the other 3 for sale once the "real" wheels arrive. So if anybody wants a spare let me know...I´ll sell them at cost plus shipping.





In the meantime the engine was done. Its a basic rebuild with a roller hydraulic. The pistons were already forged ones from that work I did in 96. The heads are cleaned up 6Xs. Nothing extreme, but nice and reliable. This is going to be more leaning towards a GT ride than an all out autocross or track car. Those valve covers were temporary while the actual ones arrived which they did, but I havent put them on yet. The breather is a pretty sweet billet piece from Moroso...it unscrews so it doubles as an oil cap. I also painted the pulleys black...they were polished but got really pitted from sitting in that humid garage. So now it has the matching valve covers...





As for the questions...yes, I used to own Hydyne Motorsport but I got called to the UK to do development work on the new Aston Martin DB11 so that was a chance I wasnt going to let pass. So Ive been here for almost 5 years now.

The Speedtech choice had nothing to do with keeping the leafs...I actually plan on swapping over to their torque arm later on, when $$ allows. I just liked the kit overall, great quality plus the upright was included which worked out great since I was going to use the Z06 brakes. If I would of had the cash I would have bought the complete kit that comes with a brand new axle too!

- - - Updated - - -

[jp455]

Just a quick update...cars on the ground now with those 4 spares on temporarily while the CCWs arrive so thought Id show what thats like. As I mentioned before I'll be keeping one and selling the other 3 so if anyone wants them let me know. I'll put them on the For Sale page with price details...will sell them at cost plus shipping. BTW the tires are actual spare tires, not just small tires, so they arent small tires holding a big car...