68 firebird 400 project

[timjen7]

Don't know if anyone has some good info on this, but I need to pick up 2 new front fenders. I can go locally and pick them up from Classic Ind., though my options would be something along the lines of a Dynacorn or Goodmark replacement, which so far I have not heard great things about, or a singificantly higher priced US made piece (almost 3X cost). If anyone has any experience with these brands or other options, let me know. Thx.

[timjen7]

Been a little while, but we've got some progress this week. The shop has been able to start work again on the car, and as you'll see by the pics below, we're making some good progress. They've pulled the entire interior out, got most of the car with an initial primer, and mocked up the front end.
I did go to CI and buy a driver side OER fender, but the gaps weren't what we wanted so, we've repaired the original and it's coming out perfect. The gaps on the OER piece weren't terrible, just not as even as my original fender.
They're really doing a lot of work on the body now, so should have lots of updates and pics

.

[timjen7]

Another update. My body guy called me last week and said we should pull the sub-frame and change out all the body bushings. I really wanted to do that anyway, so at least we'll get that done this week and we can also clean and shoot the frame and underbody. I ordered some new bushings from FC along with new hardware and some door hinge rebuild kits we needed. Dropped them off at the shop yesterday and the car was looking pretty good. Inside was cleaned out and all body panels were on for alignment. I'll have more pics next week. The guys at FC sent out the products pretty quick, so I got those within just a few days of ordering. If they work out, I'll definitely look to them for more parts when I need them.
I went with standard rubber bushings. I know a lot of people go to the poly or even alum, but I'm not looking to race this car. It will stiffen up enough with the new suspension, so I want to keep the ride moderately comfortable.

[gordonr1973]

Any updates? Its a cool project!!

[timjen7]

I'm heading over to the shop this weekend. I know they got the new body bushings in, and hopefully some other things that will be worthy of some new pics I can post. I also need to pic up the parts for blasting and powder coating which will include the front core and support pieces, inner fender wells, hinges, etc. Work's been keeping me busy, so I haven't been able to get in as many updates as I'd like, but I'll kick it back into gear this weekend.

[timjen7]

Well, finally some new progress to report. Went over to the shop last week as I got a call from my guy there. They are doing more work and have taken off all of the core front end parts and inner fenders to send over to be powder coated. They also did a bit of repair on a few rust spots on my floors as you can see below. I'm supposed to go pick up all of the parts at the coaters and will post some pictures of those then. Body parts are starting to look pretty good. More block sanding and primer. Next step should be full primer and sanding to prep for paint and the undercoating and frame coating.
Going to head over to the Good Guys show in Del Mar next weekend and hopefully see some ideas for suspension, brakes, wheels, and anything else that might be there.

[timjen7]

Went to the shop to pick up all of my front end parts we had powder coated. Inner fender wells, front core parts, radiator support, bumper parts. Basically anything we could powder coat up front, we did. Everything looks great. There's a lot more parts than what's in the pics, but you get the idea.
They have all of the removable body panels from the car now ready for paint. The final step is just to block and primer the main shell (roof, quarters, etc.), prime areas like the inside, door jams, and other areas. They should be starting with the under, frame, and interior/floor coatings the first of the year. Hope to have some good pictures to post soon on that. I also finished restoring the tail lamps. Tried to restore the original rubber trim pieces, but they ended up being too weathered and brittle. Bought some new ones to finish off the lamps.

[timjen7]

Update 1-18-15. Been having trouble posting with pics so hopefully this posts. Been quite a while since the last update. A lot done on the car recently and more happening. Body shop pulled the subframe and we decided to powder coat. Got the firewall shot and the undercoat done. Also picked up a full Hotchkis TVS kit, all new disc brake set up, and had the steering box rebuilt. Went with the RSD brake system. Motor and trans is currently being rebuilt and I should have pictures of that soon. Good news on the drive train is, it looks like the motor was previously rebuilt and not too many miles put on the car since. Bottom line was no bore was needed so that saved some money. We are upgrading a few parts though like a Crower cam and a couple of other small upgrades. Pistons and some other parts were upgraded in the previous build so that was more good news. Car also just recieved the first round of paint. I'll post a couple of pics in a seperate post.

[timjen7]

Here's a couple of shots of the first round of paint. I wanted to find something with a good balance between a grey and silver, which isn't easy to come by. I think it came out really good. The shop will be doing the final shoot and sheet metal assembly in the next 2 weeks.

[68400BIRD]

Very nice color. It really pops. Great news on the motor, saving money is always a plus. Post more pictures of the car painted when you can. Any stripes or H.O. lines going on the car?

[timjen7]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm really happy with the color. I should be able to post pics of the drive train next week and more body pics. I'll get some when it's out in the sun and the final paint done. Not doing any lines but I did see one bird with a stinger stripe on the center of the hood I thought looked pretty good, but I'll probably leave it clean. I was entertaining the hood tach. That one is still in play.

[68400BIRD]

A very light silver HO stripe down the side of the car would be very clean. Either way I love the color.

[rohrt]

Looking good. I like the Silver.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Very nice, I love the silver on a 1st gen. Looking good man!

[captainofiron]

that color looks sick!!!!

nice choice

[timjen7]

Thanks for all the compliments. It's actually a grey/silver, but it's pulling a bit more silver in the photos possibly because of the lighting in the bay. Spent the past 2 years trying to come up with a color I really liked and I think this came out pretty good. Once it's outside I'll take a lot of pics and post. Some angles it's a little more grey and some it looks more silver.

[timjen7]

Been a long time since an update, so I thought I'd share some progress. The car has had a lot done as you'll see in the pics below. The previous test color was actually off a bit but we got it corrected and you'll see the final color below. Got the rest of the Hotchkis suspension installed, Rear end shortened about and inch each side, new axles, and got the new wheels and tires on. I went with the Year One Rally wheels. I know most people opt for an 18" wheel, but I wanted to keep somewhat of an original, but a bit more modern look to the car. It'll lower a bit more once the interior and some of the other things like, exhaust, gas tank, etc. are in. We should have the drivetrain finished by next week and we'll be able to fire it up for the first time.

[Gil]

Very nice car!
Love the color
Gil

[timjen7]

Very nice car!
Love the color
Gil

Thanks Gil. Just noticed for some reason my photos doubled in my post.

Hard to tell as it was a bit cloudy here in Cali, but there's a fine silver flake in it that shows a little silver in the sunlight.

I think we're about 8-10 weeks from finishing the car. I'll try to post regular updates and photos as we go along.

[slimjim]

Mate where did you find that colour? off a new Mercedes or audi perhaps?
I love it, I think silver on first gens looks brilliant.
keep it up, you're at the most exciting stage of your build now