1971 Firebird455 - Project

[68400BIRD]

It sure is nice to see some of it in primer. Your at about the same spot as me if not a little further along. A little bottom apint and I will be bolting on goodies also. Keep the pics coming.

[LeighP]

I like the rear seatbelt idea. Very nice touch. Is it mandated or just something you wanted to do?

Seems to be a little "grey" area.....I believe I could get away with using original lap belts, however if I'm putting my girlfriends kids in the back seat, I feel I should be using up to date belt technology for comfort and safety. I'm also updating the front belts to new inertia reels....similiar to what I set up in my old 70 RS/SS Camaro.
I debated deleting the rear seats and building a flat floor with storage bins and just carpeting the rear out and having a half cage.....but then I decided I liked the option of occasionally seating someone back there.

The bottom of the car was already painted by one of the previous owners....its pretty clean underneath already....made my life a little easier.

[LeighP]

Yippeeeeee.....my car is finally out of the panel shop and back in my garage. Tilt tray guy dumped it in my driveway this afternoon.
Rust around the front and rear screens has been repaired and left in primer. Firewall has been converted back to left hand drive configuration, filled and plated for a smooth firewall....everything has new seam sealer and has been painted. The Stain Black is probably a little too glossy, but I can live with that...looks good.


Best part is, the panel shop owner felt bad about stuffing me around for almost 3 months...gave me a terrific deal on the work, so I made out there OK. Guess it pays to be nice, even when things aren't happening fast enough to suit you.

[68400BIRD]

Looks great, I got a little nervous at first when you said they dropped it in your driveway.LOL What do you plan on working on next?

[CruizinKev]

yeah looks great!

[LeighP]

Time to clean it up some (its 'panel shop' filthy), fit out the heater/demist system and new inertia reel seatbelts front and rear....then paint out the interior...going to try out my homemade Lizard Skin insulation paint.
Get that subframe off the front and install the new frame then tackle the rear springs and rear axle rebuild.

[LeighP]

Been slipping some of the cowl parts back onto the car as I go. I fitted up a wiper kit I picked up from Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) .....converts to a late model wiper with 5 intermittant settings and low/high. Kit comes with adapter and a wiring harness. Fits quite well, very compact on the firewall. Only issue is that the switch mount is made for a Camaro dash, so I'll have to fabricate a mount to suit the Firebird dash.

[OLDFLM]

Looking good my friend!! Search for the dash build thread that John (NOT A TA) did on my dash and you'll see where he fabbed a bracket for the wiper switch in my car... HTH

[thedude327]

Leigh,

Your proj. is looking good. Are you swapping to an aftermarket front subframe or one that's setup for left hand drive? Firewall turned out great !! The rear seat belt mod looks interesting too. Can you post more pics of it as you get it sorted?


Paul

[LeighP]

Ty....John posted some pics for me of that bracket which I saved. Thanks.

Paul, I've got a couple of people interested in what I'm doing with the belts so I'll be sure and post some pics as I go. I have another frame that was used in a RHD conversion, but is way less modified than the one on the car....I'll be using it in LHD configuration...with a couple of little mods.

[LeighP]

For those who've asked about the belt installation.....
- The rears....
I used the last model Ford rear centre seat belts from a local model with Australian compliance tags. They bolt flat to a surface and feed off the top of the belt, which was exactly what I needed. The belts are mounted in a steel box which is welded into the parcel tray corners, low enough so half of the belt reel is recessed into the tray.


The welded in box stiffened the tray somewhat, but its not enough for a good belt mount, so I used the system theats in most of the Australian Compliance Plate converted RHD 2nd gens I've seen....a piece of steel that joins the reel attachment to the inner fender (a bolt will be added on final assembly).

I then made up a cover for the reel, so that it could be trimmed over and also retain the plastic belt feed trim.


- The fronts...
These belts are supplied by an Authorised Restraint Supplier/fitter. I worked with him to combine the length of drop-link I needed as well as the reel type to suit my application. The reel is a special type designed to feed, retract and lock when installed at an angle. A bracket was made to adapt a single top mount bolt to the factory twin bolt top mount...the steel used is thicker than the original attachment bracket. The original trim cover will fit over the new bracket. All other attachment points are the factory locations.



I previously used a similiar arrangement in my 70 RS/SS Camaro, so I know how well these belts fit and work....they are very comfortable.

[Motown 454]

Nice set up, it looks great.

[CruizinKev]

yeah nice!

[LeighP]

thanks guys.

[NOT A TA]

Nice belt setup leigh. How far out does the inertia reel stick from the rockers? I know you're using the Vette seats that are narrower than stock, but do you think most aftermarket "sport" racing seats would fit and slide past the reels?

[subtlez28]

Leigh, nice car!
I 100% agree early 2nd gen Formula hoods are the best looking!

I like the detail on the seatbelt mods. I think this is an area all older muscle cars should be updated!

Maybe I missed it, but what is the plan for engine and trans?

[Roadbuster]

Love what you have done on the rear seatbelt retractors. When done I bet most people will think it came that way!

I want to do something similar to my GTO so I can safely have my daughter in the car once she is old enough to get out of a child seat.

Jon

[LeighP]

Thanks guys. To answer some ?...
1. The reels stick out just under 3" I'd say...when we fitted up this same configuration of belt for my frined's 73 Camaro, his stock seat would just hit the reel at full rear travel. I'd say any seat narrower than a stock seat would be fine.
2. Driveline plans are - 455 +.040" (464ci), tricked TH350 with 2.75:1 1st gear...all the good bits in it - B&M ratchet shifter. The rear end will be the stock 10 bolt housing, new 3.08:1 gears for the highway (hence the 2.75:1 low gear in the trans), moser forged axles and a Richmond PowerTrax locker centre.

About my choice of combination....the car is not being built to drag race, its being built as a budget Grand Tourer in the European tradition of the name...a driving car for spirited long distance runs.
I can't afford to go for the really trick gear thats out there now, but I can maximise the efficiency of the stock configuration for handling and ride etc.

[tazzz25906112]

Knocking it out of the park Leigh, and I too think those belts are killer,,,, keep up the great work buddy

[cdoggy81]

Great work so far, keep it up!!! (& the cool pics )