1968 firebird 461ci stroker project

[lucky13firebird]

Got 3" exhaust cutouts and a fan clutch to free up some power for events. Still looking for a good deal on ring and pinion gears.

[Gil]

Sorry about the rearend... Maybe it was a little weak for the new 461 ?
Looking forward to see how you rebuild this thing.
Gil

[dangina]

looks better sans scoop!

[lucky13firebird]

looks better sans scoop!

yeah, I much prefer the clean look. Rear end broke because I didn't locktite the pinion nut and then all hell broke loose when it came off... locktite and impact wrench on the next one for sure.

[lucky13firebird]

Pos welder is acting up, time for a new spool of wire I think. But got one side of the cutouts tacked on. Now to the other side tommorrow and to seem weld all of it. I'll add electric switch operated cutout flanges to it in a few weeks.

Bought a 308 ring and pinion set, waiting for it to arrive, then rebuilding the rear end this week or this weekend hopefully.

[lucky13firebird]

Cutouts welded in, exhaust reinstalled. Now just waiting on my 308 gear set to arrive.

[lucky13firebird]

quick video of the exhaust cutouts closed and open after installing them.

[lucky13firebird]

Rebuilt my rear end with all Timken bearings and a set of Richmond 355 gears I got for $25 plus shipping. Here's a 13 part video series for anybody who wants to do it in their driveway ;-) it's a Playlist so I'm posting the first video, the rest play automatically in order.

The guy I bought 308 gears from burned me so I got a full refund. Luckily I had bid on the 355 gears on a whim and had them available to put together this weekend. Sure makes this light car zippy though ;-)

[agoristmike]

Damn dude, this thread is awesome. Your wife must be pretty awesome too to survive hotel living and the like for the sake of the car!

[lucky13firebird]

Yup, she's one in a million. We drove across the country last winter in three days during a blizzard in -20 degree weather.....wait for it..... IN A 1970 VW SUNROOF BUG!!! 2 KIDS AND A DOG TOO!!!

Any woman who comes along on a trip like that is a keeper.

[lucky13firebird]

the british paratroopers came over to cross train with the US airborne corps and me and a couple friends showed them the beach and rode them around in the firebird, posting a video of our town out with the guys, here's some pics. They absolutely LOVED the car, especially when I uncapped the cutouts and revved it hard, they described it as an airplane taking off. good bunch of guys.

[lucky13firebird]

the brits LOVE american cars, video from the night out. some of the guys were saying they want to move here as soon as possible...

[lucky13firebird]

Well, made a rookie mistake, when I rebuilt the rear I cleaned out the pumpkin but forgot to clean the tubes.... all the shattered teeth from the first failure killed every bearing in the rear end during a 120 mph highway blast. Milked it home at 20 mph and tore apart the rear, gears are saveable, but I'll be replacing every single bearing, pinion bearings, carrier bearings... every one. Lesson learned.

[adibs]

well you cant win them all, hopefully this will be the last time you tear that rear apart

[lucky13firebird]

well, finally got a chance to go drag racing with the family again and test out the performance difference of the exhaust cutouts and the radiator fan clutch. I gotta say they're worth the $35 spent on each. Dunno how much value they'd have on a road course but at the strip they're worth 1/5 of a second... and some consistancy. I went from barely hitting 13.7-13.9 and to consistantly hitting 13.6 with 18 wheels and 35 series sidewall daily driver tires... had a lot of fun, here's the video I put together for anyone interested.

[lucky13firebird]

Swapped out the intake manifold gaskets for some with the little exhaust crossover plates that block the damn exhaust crossover and got a best time of 13.3 @ 105 .... ;-) hell yeah, and a side benifit is If I drive 30 minutes somewhere and park for 5 minutes the carb isn't gonna boil away the fuel from the float bowls.

[lucky13firebird]

Swapped in the wheels off my tempest. Love em, only issue is theyre not hub centric and nobody makes rings that big... 70.5 to 82.8mm bore. Also a key note, dunlop tires are horrible, at least this set is. The nexen n3000's are better by far and cheaper

[seancarole]

Not sure what your saying as audio didn't work, but get rid of that glass fuel filter before it turns ur bird into a true Firebird!

[lucky13firebird]

Yeah, ive read about the glass filters leaking. Soon ill be swapping out my fuel supply system for -8an fittings and such. To make it legal for events and such and also to keep it from running lean on the top end... best time was 13.3 @ 105 on crappy streat tires and i just know i can do better than that...

[captainofiron]

Yeah, ive read about the glass filters leaking. Soon ill be swapping out my fuel supply system for -8an fittings and such. To make it legal for events and such and also to keep it from running lean on the top end... best time was 13.3 @ 105 on crappy streat tires and i just know i can do better than that...

yea those glass filters will crack sooner or later

brittle material in an environment that has big temperature swings, lots of vibrations? not a good idea, then fill it with a combustible liquid? even worse idea, lol