Where to start

[sunshadow]

1st post new to site. I am new to the idea of building a pro touring car. I have been building performance marine engines for years.
Recently traded a big block rotating assembly for a 1973 Firebird Esprit (T/A clone). It's a molested piece of junk but solid so i won't feel guilty about modding it. A pro touring setup really intrests me but i'm thinking of a three or four year build. My question is where to start? I'm thinking suspension? Any advice is welcome!

[srh3trinity]

If the body is solid and you stiffen it up with subframe connectors, then I would go system by system. There are several great suspension options from upgraded springs to full subframes and bolt in Torque Arm and 4 links. These often can be ordered with rear end housings. Then look at brakes. C5 Corvette brakes are a popular option along with Baer and Wilwood. Then engine and trans based on what you want to do with the car. There are several nice 2nd gen Camaro and Firebird builds that you can cheat off of.

[79-TA]

I'd start by trying to figure out what is the most worn out. Look at body bushings and other potentially rotten things. The original steering box on my own Firebird has always been kind of groany. I'm looking at replacing it in not too long.

I wouldn't prioritize expensive brakes so much. That year firebird comes with decent brakes and you'll get by just fine with only track pads and fluid. If you start doing open track days with 15+ minute run times, then you might go to larger brakes.

One of the best things you can do to stiffen 2nd gen F-bodies is install what people call "g-braces." It basically triangulates the firewall and front suspension and does much more than anything short of a cage. If you're tearing the car apart before sticking it back together, you can fully weld the front subframe together while it's convenient. I think Pro-Touring F body was the first company to sell G-braces.

http://pro-touringf-body.com/chassis_components.html

The 2nd gens sit pretty high in stock form, so I'd go for lowering springs (and shocks that are at least not worn out) even if you weren't going to touch the rest of the suspension.

With the car a bit lower and stiffer, you can look into what kind of tires you can fit. Yearone makes cast aluminum 17x9.5 wheels for our cars that are very affordable and will let you run 275 40 17's on all 4 corners. The change in tire size and compound is going to be the single greatest performance gain you will get. When choosing a tire, do a bit of research on what's available in the 200ish treadwear range (so you can meet the 200+ treadwear rules of many pro-touring events.)

Rear gears can really wake these cars up, but until you have an overdrive transmission, you'll always be making big compromises between freeway cruising or acceleration.

Once you feel the car is safe to drive, take it out to an autocross! That will reveal what your is most broken or lacking on your car.

[LeighP]

Depends on the budget, and the intended use.
I decided to go "low cost" on my build, as I wasn't building a competition vehicle, just a nice road car.
My 71 Firebird is specced with solid body mounts and PTFB cubframe connectors, PTFB Pro-G-Braces with cowl brace, DSE rad support braces.
The idea being to tie the car together and stop the flex. I also fabbed up and fitted WS6 style braces for the lower control arm rear mounts.
My brakes were upgraded using a combination of the 1LE front disc conversion (12" rotors) with Wilwood GMIII alloy calipers using uprated D52 stock style pads...the rears are a MPB kit that retrofits larger B body HD finned drums on the back - 2" larger diameter than the stock drums.
I can still fit everything beneath stock Trans Am 15" wheels if I want to.
Springs are matched PTFB GT coils and leaf combo, with adjustable front and rear PTFB anti-roll bars and Koni Classic shocks.
Two sets of wheels - stock looking 15x7" Rally II T/A wheels with Firestone 255/60x15 tyres, or 17x9" Year One Honeycombs with 255/50x17 Nitto Invo tyres.
Other upgrades are stuff like instruments, interior, shifter...that sort of thing.




Looks pretty stock, with all exterior trim and badges etc....unless you look too close.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

As mentioned, always good to ask this question and get realistic with your budget, goals and intended use. Then - as they say - double your budget and add 30%. Not saying you can't do it on the cheap - many have (!), but full blown PT is expensive and the little parts will nickle and dime you. Once you've put a plan together do your best to stick with it. Not only will that speed up the time to hitting the road, but will also save you precious project $$$.

With your plan in hand, here's how I would do it:

Start by getting the body in shape. Any rust, whacked panels etc. need to be fixed first.
Fab in your planned suspension. Wheels and stance are crucial to the finished product and suspension decisions are critical.
Mock up complete drivetrain, exhaust, fuel and brake lines if possible.
Ask yourself a million times if this is it in it's final form and no more fab? (Yeah, I failed this part)
Blow apart after final mock up and head to paint. There's a reason people throw around the term 'paint jail.' Choose wisely! An exception to this would be to actually get it running before paint. No wrong answer here IMHO.

Good luck! Ask questions and read here. You'll find the answers you seek...

[TheJDMan]

You might also consider having someone do a rendering of your project which will help you visualize your end goal. A rendering will also allow you to visualize what different colors and wheels would look like on the finished project. Finally, a rendering will provide incentive to help keep you going on the project.

[sunshadow]

Here's what im starting with. picked it up yesterday