1971 Firebird455 - Project

[LeighP]

Thanks...I really like those GTO rear (and fronts) seats in your T/A...they look right at home in the back.
I'm going to get some rear seat headrests and supports from some late model wreck and have my trimmer fit them to the rear seats and base the rear seat pattern on the Corvette seats I'm using in the front.

[BA.]

very nice work there man, you got a lot of extra work in that puppy!

[LeighP]

Well, I've finished converting a 75+ Camaro subframe to a 71 Firebird frame and added WS6 spec braces for the rear lower control arm mount.
Camaros have the mounts for the sway bar brackets tapped into the chassis metal. Due to the higher loads applied by the larger Trans Am sway bars, Firebirds use Rivnuts to anchor the sway bar brackets.
I drilled the original holes out to fit Rivnuts and set them with hand tools....easy and cheap if you are only doing a few.
Heres all you need....

Here are the Rivnuts set on one of the front frame rails....

I located the correct position for the WS6 control arm brace mounts using a 79 subframe I have spare here. The factory only taps the subframe for the mount, but since I had some Rivnuts, I fitted one into the chassis. The control arm rear mount is drilled for a 3/8" bolt....

The chassis is going by a small engineering shop down the road to get the late model rear body mount locations plated over, then its off to the powder coater for blasting and coating.

[LeighP]

Got the heater unit fitted up .... holes in the firewall etc. Fits in very nicely, though I've now got it out again while I sort out insulating the firewall, at least the bit behind the heater unit.
I hit the firewall and toe board areas with my angle grinder and wire brush.....should have seen the stuff fly....dirt everywhere, lol.
All cleaned up with wax and grease remover then got stuck into a few coats of my home made insulating paint.
The paint is a mix of epoxy anti-rust paint and micro-balloons (aka micro-spheres).....50/50 by volume. I turned 500ml of paint into a litre of this stuff, then coated the firewall until it was all used up.
The micro-balloons are tiny glass spheres that are hollow...suspend them in a paint base like this and it forms a nice insulating layer. There is a commercial product called Lizard Skin that uses this method, but they use a latex based paint and are way more expensive...I'm not even sure you can buy it here in Australia.
Anyway....I'll get some Dynamat Xtreme sheets to go over the paint and add a firewall pad over that of Dynapad....which is a multi layer noise and heat barrier.

[LeighP]

Awwww, I broke it.....


Waiting on the new subframe which is away being welded on then powdercoated.....

[LeighP]

Subframe is back from the engineering shop.
New set of custom made WS6 style control arm mount braces...

The unused late model rear body mount holes all plated up, top and bottom...

The slightly rust thinned front body mounts re-inforced with a ring of steel plate, fro munderneath so it doesn't alter the body to frame distance...

Its off to the blaster/powdercoater later on this morning.

[LeighP]

Some gear back from the powdercoaters....Subframe in satin black (control arms are getting done right now...) sway bars and crossmember in silver metallic.
I painted the new GM B body spindles in POR15 Cast Grey finish.....I'm using B body spindles so I can run 12" 1LE discs off a late 80's 3rd gen optional brake setup.

[Motown 454]

Nice work, the subframe looks great.

[LeighP]

Thanks Wayne.
.
Got stuck in this morning, between people dropping by to pick up parts...thanks guys :D ....
Got the subframe up and fitted, aligned and cross measured and torqued up. Fitted the front sway bar and sway bar brace (like a 3rd gen brace, but made for 2nd gens).
Fitted the WS6 style rear lower control arm mount braces I had made.
Fitted up one of the subframe cconnectors, I'll have the other finished tomorrow.....they bolted on very nicely...fit well.
Just to see how they fit, I positioned the front subframe "G Braces".....they actually don't bolt on until the front fenders are fitted.

[Roadbuster]

Great looking setup with all the triangulation it should be very stiff.

looking forward to the next installment!

Jon

[protouring70]

That is sweet! can't beat the look of a clean car!

[Hoghead123]

I love these cars, wish I had one...

[LeighP]

Got the other subframe connector on today....funny how one side is easy, the other fights you all the way. Not that the connector didn't fit...it fits fine, just drill access for some reason was a little harder and I broke my large drill bit ...how I don't know, but it shattered...so I had to down tools and pack up and go off in search of a new drill bit...on a Sunday.
After that was all bolted in, I fitted up the heater unit after first covering that section of the firewall with dynamat and dynapad. Next trick is concentrate on the getting front end back together so the car is rollable for when I have to move.

[LeighP]

A little while since I last posted, but I have been working on the car.....assembling the front suspension and steering. Had to wait till an internal spring compressor came in for me....seems no one stocks these anymore for "old School" coil spring cars....just the outside style ones for strut equipped cars.
Got the upper and lower arms powdercoated in satin black. Uppers use solid steel greasable bushes on an offset forged cross shaft (more built in camber). I've used tall forged steel balljoints in the top to increase the negative camber gain when the suspension is in compression.
Lower arms use alloy and Delrin greasable bushes and standard quality replacement balljoints. My GEN II front coils went in OK and I fitted up the Koni Classic shocks and adjusted them to the "++" position...which is the halfway point between soft and hard.
Had to fit the new engine mounts before fitting the lower control arms went in...way easier to get the bolts into position that way. I've got Energy Suspension inserts in the clamshell style late model mounts. Mounts are left loose till the engine is fitted.
Steering box is a new 12.7:1 GM670 power box with billet steel pitman arm and new rag joint. I'll be using a repro intermediate steering shaft as soon as the supply turns up in the country. All new drag link (Camaro one - hence the straight replacement pitman arm - they are different from Firebird drag link/pitman arm) and new tierods and idler arm...the tie rod adjusters are an aftermarket solid replacement rather than the factory split tube design.
Stub axles are later model new GM "B" body stubs....so I can fit 12" 1LE option discs from a late 80's F-body. Discs are new SSBC "Big Bite" rotors...I wasn't particularly looking for crossdrilled rotors, but these were on special at Summit for a really good price.
So only problem now is I have to find some old 15" tyres to fit to my spare Rally II wheels to use as "roll arounds"....the old wheels I've been using are 14" Rally IIs and they won't fit anymore due to the new front stubs, lol.

[68400BIRD]

WOW!! Looks grreeat. Nice to see some progress.

[syborg tt]

Awesome Build - plenty of idea's here for my next project. Thank you very much.

[LeighP]

Thanks guys.

[PT_79_TA_461]

hey, i was thinking about the solid body mounts....can you just drop the body on the frame, bolt it up and do a lil welding...? kinda like what the Mopar guys have? integrated Body/frame?

[LeighP]

You'd still need to space the body off the frame....the solid mounts I have can be used in the reverse position to lower the body in relation to the frame, or in combination to "wedge" the body over the frame. Issues arise with clearances in the engine bay, so I didn't pursue this option.

[vsefiream]

hey, i was thinking about the solid body mounts....can you just drop the body on the frame, bolt it up and do a lil welding...? kinda like what the Mopar guys have? integrated Body/frame?

Yes you can, Herb Adams did this to one of his cars. He welded the frame directly to the body.