1973 Firebird Project

[70Uglybird]

Thanks Keith!



Here is the lower with the global west del la rum bushings then the suspension assembly. Wish I had a before pic of the sway bar it looked worse than the spindle did. Brakes are next I'll try to get more pics up!





I took this one. really shows the amazing fit of the subframe connectors:

[4mul8ion]

Car's looking good, Bob. The front spindles turned out great.

Kevin

[LeighP]

Looks good, mate!

[70Uglybird]

Thanks! Here is a pick of the Z06 Calipers he powdercoated. Hopefully have a roller tonight!



New brakes are bit bigger



Trial Fit




Final with the Corvette letters polished and clear powdercoat

[70Uglybird]

Really just tying up odds and ends at this point before the T56, Gears\Posi and springs are installed. Here is a pictures of the current status. Windows and trim are back in and the front end is starting to go back together.

[LeighP]

Fun stage...lining everything up. Enjoy!

[ryeguy2006a]

Gotta love the brakes! Will the rear brakes fit with the staggered shocks and allow for the parking brake?

[70Uglybird]

We shall see on the rears. I have the stock C5 PB and backing plates and picked up the Lokar eb lines and clevis adapters. So I really hope it works out...

[70Uglybird]

I wish I had more time and money to clean stuff up. When the new motor goes in next spring I'm going to do some serious lizard skin and detailing. But for now its crunch time as there have been some nice days. hit a snag and need a new flywheel. the hays I got will work for the 466 but not the 400...bummer. but here is the tranny out before picture. Can't wait to post the T56 picture.



Before of the springs and shocks, again WISH I had more time and money to get it a bit nicer...



Here are some examples of Luke's REAL work. This mustang is UNREAL, ridetech suspension, Fast EFI just a really nice car. The formula has its own build thread but this is a great picture.

[LeighP]

Mustang looks great...is that a flip open fuel filler I see on the rear quarter?

[70Uglybird]

[QUOTE=LeighP;901869]Mustang looks great...is that a flip open fuel filler I see on the rear quarter?[/QUOTE

I don't think so I think thats just a reflection.

The T56 going in with the QTP bell, Hurst Driveline solutions hydraulics and ATS crossmember:






just a cool pic of the dirty new front suspension:

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks good. I want to put a t56 in my car so badly... looks really nice though. Was your car a 4 speed originally?

[70Uglybird]

Car was an auto. It a fairly easy swap although the way I did it fairly expensive. If it wasnt for the killer deal I got on the tranny I would probably recommend a kit. Although if you are a decent fabricator you could do it a lot cheaper than I did! T56 especially the gto is a great tranny

[ryeguy2006a]

I have done a lot of research on this swap, and I have a few questions? What are you doing about the speedo? How are you going to address the reverse lockout on the trans? Also I am going to send you a PM. Looking great by the way.

[70Uglybird]

For the speedo I'm going to go with Speedhut GPS gauge. I was planning on going aftermarket anyways but instead of having to mess with calibrating etc I just figured GPS was easier. Here is a pic of the water guage. Silver face, blue back lit with white pointer...not sure how I feel about it yet so I haven't ordered the rest. I was going to do it on a 3m carbon Fiber covered bezel



On the reverse lock out I haven't thought it through....I did about 5 t56 conversions on 4th gens hacking the auto harness and ran them without the reverse lockup hooked up (until the pcm pins were decoded later) It isn't that big of a deal to force it over. My wife had to use two hands to do it but I could do it without really trying. Its just hard to get it reverse it doesn't actually lock you out.

I'll get you some contact info for the tranny and PM You back!

Thanks!

[bhcustomdesigns]

Those gauges will look good in the car

[70Uglybird]

Those gauges will look good in the car

Thanks!!! I love them, I'm just a little worried about the white pointer hopefully it's easy to see during the day. I'm sure at night it lights up blue no big deal..

[cdoggy81]

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[70Uglybird]

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Thanks. I've been pretty busy this summer so haven't had a chance to update the thread.

The good: suspension is great, six speed is a blast to drive in an old car. New Windows and trim, front end alignment was great.

Bad: the 400 I put in has a rod knock. I have the 466 listed earlier in thread almost ready to go. L&h have it cleaned up and painted charcoal grey. I have Paul spotted ported heads, with the roller cam. Hopefully be a fun driver. Also the brakes aren't what they should be I got a 1 inch polished master to replace the 1 1/8. I'll get some picture up soon.

[ryeguy2006a]

Sorry to hear about the 400, if it makes you feel better I took mine out as well. But I am putting in it's place an LS1/t56!! I can't wait to see more progress on your car.

Oh, and I have the 1" bore MC on my car and the brakes are great. If you want a cheap solution like I used, you can use a C3 Manual brake MC and get it from Autozone. I think I paid 12 bucks for mine and it works great.