1969 firebird L6 T5 build thread, two-tone paint and 18's LOTS of pics!

[maroon88iroc]

well i have had this firebird around for awhile. i am building it for turkey rod run down in daytona florida. it is going to be a kind of different build. low to the ground, 18" wheels and two-tone paint. i am using the inline 6 cylinder and retrofitting a T5 transmission with the hydraulic clutch assembly. that is going to require the most fab. i am using 1st gen four speed pedals that i will modify to accept the master cylinder rod. i will have to fab a transmission mount and cut the driveshaft. i have alot of different motor combinations that i could use in this car (like a forged 455 w/ a th400, or a lt1 t56, or a 383 w/ 700r4 or t5) but i want to do something different that not many people would really do.. and i dont know if anyone has ever put a T5 behind a L6 but i am sure it has been done before. i am doing front a front disc conversion and hopefully a rear disc conversion a little later. 2" drop spindles in the front. heres some pictures. i hope to update this thread with progress. so keep checking in.

here is the car as when i got it.





interior cleaned up



here is a photoshop of what the car will look like when finished. this is the paint scheme i have chose as of now but that could change still..



stripping the car

[maroon88iroc]

wheels and tires are adr 18"s. 18.8.5 in the front with a 2" lip and 235/40/18 bfg t/a kdw flame series tires. ($215 per tire) and the rears are 18x9.5 with a 3" lip and 275/40/18 goodyear eagle F1's ($325 per tire)





spacers 1" hub centrics. idk if these are the right size i was thinking i was going to need 2" spacers but the place i bought the spacers from told me these would work so i will try them, if they are wrong i have to send them back and get the correct size. the front discs are going to move the wheels out a half inch so i have to get the disc conversion on for mockup so i can figure out the spacers that i need.



i will update soon, i am in the process of stripping the car and i am going to start on the front disc conversion.

[maroon88iroc]

mock up.. they look absolutely SICK!

hopefully the disc brakes wont push the wheels out too much more because they are sitting about perfect.





soon to come: disc brake conversion on the front with 2" drop spindles dual bowl master cylinder, power brake booster and adjustable proportioning valve. T5-swap, engine bay detail, finish striping, primer black then paint after awhile.

[maroon88iroc]

ok a little more progress today i started on the disc conversion and front end rebuild. i got both the upper and lower control arms off the front driver side. man this thing hasnt been messed with in forever. the shock seperated on me and i had a little problem seperating the ball joints and tie rod end. im going to try and paint everything before i put it all back together.

heres a couple pics, i stripped half the roof. does anyone have a secret technique to this? it took me three hours to do this half of the roof. i am using aircraft stripper and 80 grit on a DA.




before



all out



all of the parts for the front end



here is the broken shock and lower control arm... its going to be tough getting that super tall spring in there with 2" drop spindles...

[dropit69]

great progress those wheels do look sick on there..hopefully they work out for ya..keep up the pics..

[GBodyGMachine]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and stake those studs in the aluminum spacer some how. I have had the studs turn in the aluminum on mine, and had to cut them off. Now I just run really long studs in the axles and hubs with an aluminum spacer with no studs.
Jeff

[speedster]

That'll be one bright 'bird when you are done with it. Can't wait to see the finished product. Good luck...

[dstryr]

The two tone thing is kinda boring imho.

I think that thing would look sick all orange with some black stripes and black trim. maybe? haha.

[Code Red]

should be a fun project

[maroon88iroc]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and stake those studs in the aluminum spacer some how. I have had the studs turn in the aluminum on mine, and had to cut them off. Now I just run really long studs in the axles and hubs with an aluminum spacer with no studs.
Jeff

what do you mean? i havent heard of this before, this is the first car i have had spacers on and really dont have any expirience with them.

[GBodyGMachine]

what do you mean? i havent heard of this before, this is the first car i have had spacers on and really dont have any expirience with them.

I mean the studs that are pressed into the spacers will spin because the aluminum is not strong enough to hold them in place.

[maroon88iroc]

I mean the studs that are pressed into the spacers will spin because the aluminum is not strong enough to hold them in place.

so what you are saying is you drilled holes in from the outside of the spacer and used like a roll pin to keep them from spinning?

[ill steez]

what kind of power are you expecting out of the inline 6?

cool project by the way!

[maroon88iroc]

what kind of power are you expecting out of the inline 6?

cool project by the way!

lol not very much, this is basically going to be a cruising car. something for long trips and car shows. i am hoping to be getting close to 30 mpg out of it on the road.

[dstryr]

Save yourself some trouble and use a different tranny than the t5....

That way in the future you can throw a turbo in there to give the inline 6 some power haha

[maroon88iroc]

Save yourself some trouble and use a different tranny than the t5....

That way in the future you can throw a turbo in there to give the inline 6 some power haha

i swapped a t5 into my iroc in place of the 700r4 and havent looked back. i had a basically stock 350 in it with a comp xe 268 cam and gmpp heads with a street dominator intake and a 650 dp. the t5 held up GREAT behind it, i used a centerforce dual friction clutch. i ran pretty consistant in the high 13's and pretty much beat the crap out of the car lol, id go to the track and make over 15 passes and drive it home. never had any problems with the trans. but when i was doing the swap everyone told me "itll never last" it was the best thing i ever did to that car. i probably wont ever put any kind of power into this firebird though, i have my 67 rs that i am going to put something stronger in. this car is just to go slow and clean.

[T_Raven]

nice project. my 67 was originally an L6 w/3 on the tree. it's got a 455/400 now and i have an Ls1/t56 that are most likely going in it. i still have the original engine and trans and every once in a while i think about putting them back in. it's just a cool engine and a column shifted manual is fun, and it's always funny letting people try to figure out how to shift it. i've even considered trying to put in some kind of overdrive manual and modify the colum shifter to work.

those wheels look great on it. i almost bought a set for my black 89 gta when i saw them on another black 89 like mine but i never thought they'd look good on a first gen. i didn't even like the way your rendering looks but to see the actual wheels on the car looks good. i actually think they go well with the white paint. can't wait to see some more progress

[maroon88iroc]

nice project. my 67 was originally an L6 w/3 on the tree. it's got a 455/400 now and i have an Ls1/t56 that are most likely going in it. i still have the original engine and trans and every once in a while i think about putting them back in. it's just a cool engine and a column shifted manual is fun, and it's always funny letting people try to figure out how to shift it. i've even considered trying to put in some kind of overdrive manual and modify the colum shifter to work.

those wheels look great on it. i almost bought a set for my black 89 gta when i saw them on another black 89 like mine but i never thought they'd look good on a first gen. i didn't even like the way your rendering looks but to see the actual wheels on the car looks good. i actually think they go well with the white paint. can't wait to see some more progress

thanks man, i am not set in stone on the paint for the car, the orange and black has been my choice but i havent completely decided.

last night i got a little more done. i got the other side all apart, and i got all the upper and lower a-arms prepped for paint. also have the frame and inner fenders prepped. going to take the a-arms up to the machine shop today and see if they can press the bushings out.

[maroon88iroc]

heres pics of it completely dissasembled, sittin next to my 67 rs



the a-arms are prepped for paint



the frame is also ready to be painted.

[dropit69]

love the wheels..where did you get them at?..