1968 firebird 461ci stroker project

[lucky13firebird]

some pics. replaced both left and right quarter skins, still finishing up with it, but for now, its back to flat black and 13 on the corners :-)

[Young Gun]

Pretty mean looking, I dig it.

[lucky13firebird]

sorry about the lack of updates. Anyways, the insurance finally paid up for when the uhaul wrecked the door and front bumper. I will be replacing the doors, fenders and front bumper very soon. BUT in the mean time, I just bought a 12 bolt out of a 65 chevelle. Its 3.31 ratio so it's better for my pontiac stroker 461ci torque monster and and the chevelle rears are the same width as the 68 firebird, but i will have to reweld the spring perches and all that. it's an open 3.31 ratio rear with drum brakes, but I'll be soon bolting in a posi unit and converting my rear to LS1 brakes to match the front Ls1 brakes. Also planned are hotchkis rear leaf springs and a hell wig rear sway bar to match the monster 1 1/4 front sway bar. The ring gear is in good shape so I'll be throwing in the rear with drum brakes as soo as possible. pics will be coming soon. :-)

what size is the u joint on the 68 firebird and will it match the chevy 12 bolt yoke or will i need a new yoke?

[lucky13firebird]

purchased a used nascar 4" driveshaft with 1350 u joints. and the slip yoke to match it as well. Also bought the LS1 rear brakes finally and matching rotors for the back ;-) . getting a moser 1350 yoke for the 12 bolt and a moser rear cover with bearing supports. Also bought new heavy duty 5 leaf springs and new shackles to put it all under the rear.

bought a disc/disc master to tie it all up, now waiting for me to come home from overseas to start bolting things together.

[lucky13firebird]

built an eaton posi 12 bolt with moser 1350 yoke and moser cover and ls1 brakes with BRP hotrods brackets. going in as soon as I can clear the garage

[lucky13firebird]

the bitchin rear cover

[lucky13firebird]

redid the back seat. doing the front ones in a couple days

[STROKED]

First time seeing this thread, i like how your car is not a garage queen!
Looks bad ass, keep up the great work.

[lucky13firebird]

got the news wheels, test fitting them to the axle. pretty stoked, got the right offset this time, now just need some moser axle and longer studs. with the disc rotors and the wheel, the old studs are too short, so might as well get rid of the stock axles

[OldMechanik]

Badass build...I like the "two lane blacktop" approach...definitely built for function. Please continue to keep posting updates and pics!

[lucky13firebird]

got the 3" exhaust components and the moser axles. now just need to cut and measure everything up and press studs in the axles.

[lucky13firebird]

i got the studs pressed into the new moser axles and installed them over the weekend. so the rear is buttoned up and ready to for brake lines and to be bolted in. Also fabbed up the exhaust, here's a pic of it pieced together and fitted and tacked. so far got one side fully seam welded already and waiting on some spare time to seam weld up the other side and fab a balance tube. 3" exhaust with thrush 3" chamber mufflers. Total price was $175 including mufflers and all bends mandrel bent smooth with consistant radiuses. Now just gotta pony up the $125 for the flowmaster tail pipes for first gen f body cars and i'll be $300 into a 3" exhaust that would normaly run me around $700 from flowmaster. sorry guys, as you can see i'm not made of money.

[lucky13firebird]

btw you guys might get a kick out of this, nevermind my in laws van they helped me move with. but that 1970 vw beetle is literaly my newest car. the firebird was taking a beating from the salt up here in new york, so the last winter untill i move to north carolina I'm redoing the suspension and the rear end and all that as well as new floors too. So i've picked up this bug a year ago for 1k and added another 1.5 k in brakes, bearings and tires and welded some floors in it.

i guess you can say its kinda pro-touring. the motor is bone stock but i upgraded to 4 wheel disc brakes and drive this thing like a mad man. tops out at 85-90 and stops on a dime. takes corners like you wouldn't believe. but yeah, no fancy 2000's car for me, just a **** kicker 1970 bug so i can scrimp and save and keep plugging away on that firebird... and my 67 mustang fastback, and the 68 mustang fastback and my 64 mustang... well yeah. I got my hands full. ;-)

[lucky13firebird]

Well... here's the status now. I'm now stationed at ft bragg and will never again go up to new York and all its salt. I still need to replace the floors from the salt damage and it was a pain to redo the back suspension when I installed the 12 bolt and the 5 leaf heavy duty springs. Also got new wheels with the correct backspacing so I was able to get rid of the 1" adapters in the back and can sleep easy now... The biggest change is I redid the interior aside from the headliner, and finally replaced the drivers door with a dent free rust free patch free original I got for 225 bucks on christmas. No such luck with the passenger door so I gave up and re skinned it for 130 bucks from amd. Also the doors have new hinges and new interior panels and arm rests. I'll post pics of the interior tommorrow.

Btw I welded together a trailer hitch from a free one I got off my buddies wrecked 93 4 runner... looks like **** but does the job well. I towed a 5,000 pound lifted 2000 pathfinder 800 miles down to north Carolina with no issues. And then turned around and drove it to my in laws in nebraska. After a brief stay in Hawaii I drove the (un) lucky 13 firebird to Missouri where I bought this 67 tempest with a pontiac 400 and an st300 2 speed. I then drove the bird to north Carolina again while hauling this 3500 lb car and with me, two kids, Our dog lacy and my lovely wife. Now keep in mind that I had to disconnect the heater core due to a leak and I don't have any ac either... Also keep in mind that I have Manual 4 wheel discuss brakes and no power steering (bought a new pump but pulled the belt off until I can afford new hoses so as not to burn up the pump).... yeah it was awesome in the hills of kentucky. Brakes never overheated in the downhills and the 461 monster under the hood and Ford top loader 3 speed never skipped a beat passing anything and everything at 75-80 up those steep hills...


Here's pics of the 67 tempest, the pathfinder and me using the bird to load my 67 shelby clone project ....

As someone mentioned earlier... This is no garage queen. Really hoping to get out and race it finally... getting pretty old just having to use it as a truck... got my fingers crossed for this summer at some good guys events or something...

[Lenie]

Absolutely awesome!

[Nicks67GTO]

I'm officially a fan of this build....not to state the obvious because you're a Pontiac guy.... but have you checked the vin to see if that Tempest is a 24217 GTO? Its got a 67' GTO tail light panel and until the recent repops, finding a 67' taillight panel in good shape was like striking gold.

[lucky13firebird]

Yeah its a base model tempest With a bench seat and ac. Vin starts with 235. Plus at 2850 with a running 400 and all the trim and everything in the trunk that came off the car.... yeah the guy would've been an idiot to sell that low. Even a post car.

[lucky13firebird]

Touched up the doors and adjusted the hinges. Took some pics before adjusting the hinges. Man is it nice to no longer have a green door... or if you remember back to how crushed my doors were this is a huge improvement.

[Buryingthesun]

Mint car man! I wish I could daily drive mine instead mine just sits and waits for a new part as I scrape money together

[lucky13firebird]

I don't have a choice... it's my only running car since I sold the bug. But thanks, yeah for me the whole sitting around waiting for parts isn't an option. And even when that does happen, it's not for any longer than a few months at a time.