Rusty Feathers (1967 Firebird)

[Jeff_R]

This is an unusual Firebird. It was allocated to Barnes Pontiac in Chambersburg, PA early in 1967. I was told it was the first one that the dealership had received (it is a very early production car, many of the parts have 1966 dates on them).

The original owner had a 1965 421 Grand Prix and wanted to trade for the first Firebird that came in. The dealership warned him that he would not be happy with the first one, as it had the base 6 cylinder; but he bought it anyway. He kept it for a year, then traded it in on a 1968 400 Firebird.

The family that owned the dealership kept the car as a family car, and passed it down to the grand children. At some point, it ran against a brick wall on the passenger side (hence no Firebird emblems on that side, the fender was replaced with a Camaro part). They eventually sold the car to a gentleman that had just finished restoring a Mustang and he was planning on restoring the Firebird. He was suddenly transferred to San Diego and could only take one car with him. That was in 1997 when I bought the car.

So the car has always been a PA car, and except for some rust starting around the windshield, actually has very little rust. At some point, someone was smart and drilled holes in the lowest points of the trunk. Seems to have worked, since the trunk is very solid.

[Jeff_R]

As I mentioned earlier, in 2010 I wanted a Pro-Touring or Resto-Mod type car. Something comfortable that I could drive everyday, have fun with on the weekends, and wouldn't break the bank (HA!).

So I started planning... before that, I had built the car into a one of none car (OHC-6 Sprints could not be ordered with a 4-speed and Air Conditioning); but it wasn't that exciting to drive. I had always been a fan of handling over speed, so that helped in what direction I wanted to go, and as is my habit of over-thinking everything, I spent a lot of time researching (all while saving money).

So the plan was the following:

- ridetech Coilovers, front and rear
- C6 Front Brakes - using Kore3 hubs (those things are a work of art!!!)
- 4th Gen Rear Brakes - which, don't work real well with a Pontiac rear axle... so that required a swap to a Chevy version... not all bad, as that also gives me the chance to upgrade the ratio (3.73:1).
- Vintage Air
- T-56 - I had read and re-read Socrates awesome thread on his T-56 in his GTO. It was a great inspiration for me and I was able to locate a Viper T-56 nearby at a decent price... but... when they say your mileage may vary, in my case it did. I would have to cut a very large hole in the floor to make it work. In hindsight, I suppose the LS folks actually mount the engine lower than the Pontiac, so there was no way that was going to work. Plan B, a TKO-600 from Silver Sport Transmissions.
- Pontiac 400 - I LOVE the sound of a tuned Pontiac at idle, it just sounds so mean! I have 7K3 heads, an old Edelbrock intake with a 1406 carb, and a RA III cam. Stock exhaust manifolds (7K3 only has 4 exhaust bolts, instead of the standard 6). It was freshly re-gasketed and ran pretty decent (granted, that was 6 years ago when I last ran it).

So while all this planning was taking place, in 2015 a buddy got me hooked on an addictive hobby (more than working on the car). Cross-country scavenger hunts with Rally North America (www.rallynorthamerica.com). The idea is that at the starting line, you get a clue card with 6-10 things you need to take a selfie at... these aren't the normal tourist trap things, but neat stuff nonetheless. We cover about 300-400 miles a day. We do have some track events, high-speed parade laps at race tracks (Watkins Glen, Summit Motorsports, VIR, Pueblo, Portland to name some of the ones I have been on) and drag racing. All of this is to raise money for charity... so it has a good cause, great friends, awesome roads/cars... what more could you ask for?

So, this changed the plan a little bit... as I now want to use the Firebird for a rally. And to add to the plans, this summer is around the Great Lakes (a bucket list item for me). And we are taking the kids (all three of them, in two cars). So I need to get busy!!!

[Jeff_R]

So October 2019, I started cleaning up the garage to work on the car again...



Yes, that is a T-56 laying underneath the car... it was the safest place to store it while life got in the way. My son, who is 12, helped me take off the front end sheetmetal.



... and then the motor came out...

[Jeff_R]

I had read that using oven cleaner is great way to clean frames/engines... and it is! It also looked like it snowed in my garage. Funny thing is, I remember last time I did this that I don't want to have to do this again. I guess wisdom is knowing how realistic things are.



... I was even able to get 2 out of 3 kids to help!

[Jeff_R]

A couple of coats of VHT Chassis paint (satin finish) and it was back on its wheels...



meanwhile, I had to take a beauty shot of the engine...

[Jeff_R]

Two weeks ago, I started to put in a new American Autowire wiring harness, when a buddy said that while the interior is gutted, I should paint everything. So, I started to paint the interior components in Signet Gold...

Steering Column...



Console Lid...

[Jeff_R]

So.. it has taken some time (mostly evenings and weekends), but I now have most of the interior painted/cleaned.

Center Console all ready to go...


Gauge panel (with Nu Vintage gauges)


New package tray (it's sparkily!!! the old one was brown and didn't have speaker cutouts).


and a couple of coats of Signet Gold...




I read a neat trick for painting the dash... just hope it worked out... which is to use small chunks of posterboard as masking. I don't see any primer or gold on any of the glass, so it appears to have worked.

I need to add clear (planning on that tonight) and then I can start putting in the sound deadening and carpet. Finally, starting to put it back together!

With a long weekend, I'm hoping to get a good start on the wiring harness and Vintage Air install. Hopefully also put the engine in for the last time.