73 Firebird

[jp455]

Just FYI...



https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...kspace-1-75-in

[jp455]

Wheels are in!

[Ripper]

Great wheels!!!
Still in UK, or back in the US?

I can see you're missing the front spoiler? What are the plans there? ;)

[jp455]

Car's in the states and I'm in the UK for the foreseeable future so cars coming here when it's done.

Funny enough good question on the spoiler...for now the stock one is going back on. Buuutt...once it's here it's gone. Let's say I've gone to visit one of the many traditional body craftsmen in the UK! Got the render done but after the last spoiler got away from me I'm keeping this one close to my chest till work starts.

[Ripper]

Makes sense...

What is the ETA of taking the car to UK? I've been thinking of trying to find a job outside Sweden, but my car project is preventing that for the moment lol.
Well, not only but... at least a little.

[jp455]

Yeah...just the savings on parts alone is reason enough to do it there rather than here. Plus the engine had to be rebuilt, and even though obviously theres pleeenty of amazing engine shops in the UK, I thought it would be best to have it done by someone thats done hundreds of Pontiac engines before.

No ETA yet...it should be done soon then I'll figure out when to bring it over. In any case theres not much hurry because Im certainly not driving it here with salt on the roads.

Well if youre thinking of moving to the UK you can always bring the project with you!

[jp455]

So not a whole lot has been going on lately. Im waiting for a few things to continue...trans, gauges, the rear fog light which is needed in the UK, and and new headlights. The tires came in but theyre not mounted yet. Cant wait to see how those turn out! At the same time Matthew happened...and the car is in Florida. Nothing happened in the end but the shop closed down for the usual hurricane preparations.

In the meantime the HVAC has been done...I ended up going a sort of half way route which is a bit ironic. I didnt go to a Vintage Air AC system because 1. its not cheap, and 2. how many times do I actually use the AC in England. Not many. And Im not driving this car year round in the rain again either. Sooo...I installed a stock non AC to keep the heating. Ironic because the car had factory AC.

[vwmopar]

I plan on running the same wheels and brake setup on my 77 Buick LeSabre Coupe. What specs are the wheels?

[jp455]

I got 18x9 and 10. The backspace I would imagine would be different to yours.

[jp455]

Bit more progress while the gearbox arrives. The interior is gutted to do a few things, and after that the carpeting will be replaced. It was the original 1973 one and was frayed in a couple of places.

Two things have happened...the gauges arrived and look pretty sweet! I got the Speedhut gauges with the GPS speedo. The third gauge will go where the Firebird logo is, and I'll move that somewhere else. Still deciding where. Eventually for phase 2 the dash panel will be all new with an idea Ive had for a while...but that requires quite a bit of fabrication and I wont get into it now.



The other thing is that here in the UK its mandatory to have a red light in the back for fog. Im still checking if front fog lights are needed but I think they aren't. So the red light was put on using one of the bumper brackets so no hole drilling was needed which was sweet. To balance things off the place I got the red light from also had a clear version...so I put both in to make it more symmetrical. Plus the stock backup lights aren't exactly the brightest thing out there so a bit more light to reverse ain't gonna hurt!

[jp455]

Pretty sweet when parts come in and progress is made!

So the gearbox arrived...a TKO. Was waiting on that for the engine to go in. The engine is like I said nothing crazy...a 455 with factory heads, a roller cam, Harland Sharp 1.6 rockers, forged pistons with better compression, and the usual Edelbrock and Holley intake. Im even using Ram Air type cast exhaust manifold. The estimate is between 400 and 450 hp...will have to dyno it and see. The focus though is definitively more GT car than all out performance. Probably because an LS is in the cards next...

[Centerforce]

Very cool! We've always been huge fans of that shape-shifting color, but have never seen it on a firebird before!

[jp455]

Thanks! Yeah when I painted it back in 96 or so there werent many cars in general that used that paint for the whole car. Most used it as an accent. There was a Mustang, think it may have been a Cobra, from the 90s that used it all over and that was actually the inspiration for it. Funny enough when I tried buying that paint at Ford dealerships they said they only sold it to people who owned that limited edition Mustang, and even then they wanted any unused paint returned. Apparently it was the same pigment used at the time to make the little color shifting seal on money! Sounded like a lot of bull to me but that was the story at the time.

Around the same time though DuPont started the Chromalusion line so I used that. Unfortunately they dont make it anymore...so its going to be a rough one when its time to do some needed paint repair work!

[jp455]

Some more progress then...gearbox is in! Its a TKO600 which will be a nice change from the 700R4! The gear spread isnt ideal I guess...but Im sure I'll be very happy with it for a while.

[jp455]

So things are moving quite quick at this point! The engine is in...haven't started it yet as it turns out I need a spacer for the valve covers. The Moroso breather I got is pretty chunky so it hits the rocker right below it. Once the spacer arrives the engine can get fired up! A nice oil vapor canister is going in too. The booster/master is smaller and more modern one so that together with having gotten rid of the old A/C system gives the whole engine bay waaayyy more room. What a difference...the engine bay in general was looking quite sorry from all the humidity.





The dash is coming together too! Nothing crazy there either. I actually have phaseII already drawn up but that will come at a later date because the structure behind the gauge panel will have to be modified. The Speedhut gauges look pretty awesome though. They slipped right in...only had to cut the extra hole for the third gauge on the side as it only had 2 stock.

[TerryD]

Coming along nicely!
What size are the Speedhut gauges? They fit great!

[jp455]

Thanks Terry! I got slightly larger than stock face wise but the backs slipped right in. So tach and speedo are 4" and the rest 2 1/16".

[jp455]

With the engine in the car is pretty much set weight wise, so the subframe connectors went in.





With that done was just waiting for the driveshaft to arrive before putting wheels on, so thats done and done! Its sitting really high because it was on the lift for a while. I havent actually changed the rear springs from the first photo so it will sit the same. If anything I might have to raise it as the tires are a bit taller now. Im still a bit worried they may rub. Ive seen the same offset and tire size fit in other 73s but still...will have to wait till it settles and see.

[1965gp]

Looks great- love the gauges. I hope my 72 comes out half this nice.

[cdoggy81]

You went with a 295/35 for the rear on a 10" wheel but what backspace did you go with again?
Where are you worried about it rubbing? Does it stick out a little past the fender? Do you or can you roll the inner ender lip ?

What sub frame connectors are those as I really like how they tuck up in there?