Taking the mini tub plunge

[Steve Firebird]

Funny how these things happen. I was just about ready to finish up the last bit of wiring and install the interior on my 68. Then I decided that the rear wheels just did not fit in the wells like I had hoped. I also had started to dislike the 17-18 combo on the rims and a seed planted some time ago in my sick brain took root and stated to grow.
Tuesday the 27th I am taking my car to AutoKraft and it is going to get a few upgrades. Minitubs and a G bar are going in. I have some new Budnik GTX rims 17 X 11 and a set of 315/35 17 tires to go on the car. They will also install my new exhaust which is made up of 2.5” ovalized tubing with a X pipe and a set of spin tech mufflers. While it is there I am going to have them install the head liner and adjust the new smoked windows I all ready installed. Hopefully when I get it back I can have it on the road right away. Wish me luck Steve

[camcojb]

good luck Steve, but you don't need it with Kurt. He does fantastic work, you're in great hands.

Anxious for pics.............. :thumbsup:

Jody

[Stuart Adams]

Great choice in Kurt and mini tubbing. Your car will have a whole new look. Congrats.

[BBC69Camaro]

I am doing pretty much the same thing thing, mini-tubbing and G-Bar in the rear. So far the progress on my mini-tub I have all the old inner tubs out and the frame rails notched and the new tubs fit in there nice and tight when clamped down, it is amazing how much more space you have!

I bet you will be very happy with your decision!

[Steve Firebird]

Thanks for the comments. I am hoping I can get Kurt to take some pictures so I can post them and have them for my self. I was a little nervouse about spending so much but felt in the long run it will be well worth it. Steve

[KPC67]

Good luck Steve. Keep us updated on the pics, I can't wait to see the wheels.

[Arai]

I started doing the mini tub on mine but pulled off to finish up some rust issues on the main shell (what's left). I have to get the rockers mounted on so I can attach the shell to the floor pans before I can complete the mini tub.

[mark smith]

you will be very happy im sure.the new tire and wheel combo with that suspension mod will give the car a whole new look and ride.my friend has the same exhaust on his ride.sounds sweet.

[XcYZ]

Kurt and Paul at Autokraft do incredible work. You will be more than happy with the finished product and Kurt is great with taking pics/documenting the progress.

[Leadfoot1]

Cool.....

I remember when you started your build asking "are you going to minitub it" and people anwsering "it doesnt't have to be, its nice as it is... bla bla bla" hehe, glad to see you finally came to it. Going to look good!

New question now...are you really going with "only" 315's...How about 335's while your at it?.... Or wait, maybe in a few months... :lol: (there is that seed thing again!)

Nice job man,

Lead.

[Steve Firebird]

I dropped the car off today at AutoKraft. Kurt is a great guy and I wasted way to much of his time looking at projects and discusing the work I want done. I looked over a killer 69 Camaro he is working on that has 335 tires on it and they look sweet. I am going to stick with my skinny little 315 for now but after I burn the 315s off who knows. When I left I felt good about taking it to Kurt and can't wait for the finished product. I wish I would have had him working on it from the start. Hopefully pictures will follow before to long. Steve Cool.....

I remember when you started your build asking "are you going to minitub it" and people anwsering "it doesnt't have to be, its nice as it is... bla bla bla" hehe, glad to see you finally came to it. Going to look good!

New question now...are you really going with "only" 315's...How about 335's while your at it?.... Or wait, maybe in a few months... :lol: (there is that seed thing again!)

Nice job man,

Lead.

[Lenie]

Attababy Steve:thumbsup:

[Steve Firebird]

I had to run over to Kurts shop today because I forgot the rear seat when I brought the car to him. I took a few pictures of the progress. I had put bedliner in the rear wheel wells and it made more work for Kurt and Paul. Sorry Guys!

[Steve Firebird]

Tires are on the new rims.

[KPC67]

Wow, they dont waste any time anyway. Great progress steve. Nive wheels thumbsup:

[Steve Firebird]

One small set back but it is taken care of I think. When Kurt had the tires mounted on the rims the tires were so out of round they could not be balanced. Well I guess one could have been but it would have taken 16 oz of weights to do it. I called Discount Tire Direct and they were very cool about it and a new set on the way so hopefully this set will work out. They are sending UPS to Kurt’s shop to pick up the bad tires on Monday so all is well. I hope.

[awr68]

Looking great Steve! As said before, Kurt does aswesome work...you're in good hands!!

I think you will like the fitment of the 315 on your car...a 335 on a 67-8 needs fender lip work as the fenderwell is a little narrower than a 69. I opted for the 315 on my car as I wanted the lips untouched and the 315 is a better match for the 245 front tire.

Have fun with all the upgrades, it will really change the car!! :cheers:

[Steve Firebird]

Kurt sent me some pictures today. It’s like Christmas

[XcYZ]

Kurt and Paul do amazing work. There's a lot of pride in their work and it shows. :thumbsup:

[BBC69Camaro]

Those look nice, I hope I can get mine to look like that!

[Steve Firebird]

I just checked the UPS tracking and the G- bar should be deliverd today which is perfect timing since Kurt just finished up the tubs yesterday. The replacement 315 tires are suspose to show up today as well but they never sent me a tracking number. Its a good thing Kurt and Paul are 150 miles away or I would be over there every day bugging them and checking out the progress.

[Steve Firebird]

Kurt and Paul really kicked butt today. They seam sealed the trunk and splatter painted it and undercoated the wheel wells AND got the G-Bar welded in. Next they well prep the rear end to get it shortend.

[BBC69Camaro]

What paint did you use to undercoat the wheel wells?

[awr68]

Looks real nice...they sure do awesome work!!

[KPC67]

Coming along nicely Steve!
by the way I ordered some new tires today.

[Steve Firebird]

I am not sure what he used maybe he will chime in What paint did you use to undercoat the wheel wells?

[Steve Firebird]

Thats cool what did you order? Coming along nicely Steve!
by the way I ordered some new tires today.

[KPC67]

Thats cool what did you order?

The Michelin pilot sport 2
335/30/18, and 275/35/18

Any new progress?

[Steve Firebird]

The Michelin pilot sport 2
335/30/18, and 275/35/18

Any new progress?

Those fat tires should look great. The axles were sent to get shortened the rear end housing is ready to be narrowed. The headliner is in and the windows are all adjusted. When the axles come back they should be ready to put them back in and bolt the rear end in so they can start on the exhaust. I am hping to be able to pick it up the week of the 16th

[KPC67]

Sounds like its coming great. I am hoping the tires aren't too wide..... I might have to make more room:_paranoid
Keep us updated.

[Steve Firebird]

A few shots of the tire/wheel mock up. I had to order a new set of axles because the old ones would not really work out plus the new ones are stronger. I plan to have a set of wheel/tires set up for drag racing for summer of 09 so better to have the stronger axles.

[Moose]

do you have a pic of the rear wheel straight on?.. Heres why. My g bar lower control arms seem to be a 1 inch to short. I can not get the rear wheels centered in the opening. Tryed everything.:_paranoid

[68protouring454]

the g bar never allows the tire to be centered it is always forward in the rear wheel well.
should have made the link adjustable

[Lenie]

Steve, Looks good.:thumbsup:

[Steve Firebird]

the g bar never allows the tire to be centered it is always forward in the rear wheel well.
should have made the link adjustable

If you don't mind me asking. How hard is it to modify the link to make it center the rear end in the wheel well? I might have to call Kurt tomorrow.

[Steve Firebird]

do you have a pic of the rear wheel straight on?.. Heres why. My g bar lower control arms seem to be a 1 inch to short. I can not get the rear wheels centered in the opening. Tryed everything.:_paranoid
Thats just a picture of the wheels in the wells the rear end is sitting on the floor behind the car. I guess I will have to do some checking into that.

[KPC67]

Right on Steve, thats what I wanted to see! those wheels needed to go on a blue car..I can hardly wait to see it sitting on the ground.:thumbsup:

[Leadfoot1]

the g bar never allows the tire to be centered it is always forward in the rear wheel well.
should have made the link adjustable


Got tired of being squeezed by the design. Going with my own version. And the new bushings are in (from Ridetech still) to make the lower arms adjustable.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/Leadfoot1969/DSC09310.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/Leadfoot1969/DSC09305.jpg

They know about the problems/ situation (cause its not really a problem but it could be so much better so simply) and don't change anything, i don't get it 'cause they sure are a top notch gang.

This way, Its letting me run as wide a tire you can find now too. The lower arms are inside the rails now so they don't hit anything...Its just getting crowdy with the 3.5 inch exhausts and all...


Lead.

[awr68]

Couldn't you just use an adjustable rod end and the housing bracket? How much needed adjustment are we talking to center the wheel?

[Moose]

They know about the problems/ situation (cause its not really a problem but it could be so much better so simply) and don't change anything, i don't get it 'cause they sure are a top notch gang.
Lead.


i've talked to air ride and chris alston and both told me that they never have heard of this problem..

Now with my car, it has the driveshaft to far in, so either I shorten the driveshaft by another 1", or make adjustable lower control arms.

I'm going to make the lower control arms adjustable as well.. I can get the pinion angle spot on at that point.

Not trying to scare you steve, I hope yours comes out 10 times better then mine.. Probally will since you have a professional shop doing awesome work..

Also, any chance you can find out how much the rear was narrowed, and back spacing on the rear rims when you get a chance.. I want to mini tub mine as well, and that sure would help me.:cheers:

[Steve Firebird]

i've talked to air ride and chris alston and both told me that they never have heard of this problem..

Now with my car, it has the driveshaft to far in, so either I shorten the driveshaft by another 1", or make adjustable lower control arms.

I'm going to make the lower control arms adjustable as well.. I can get the pinion angle spot on at that point.

Not trying to scare you steve, I hope yours comes out 10 times better then mine.. Probally will since you have a professional shop doing awesome work..

Also, any chance you can find out how much the rear was narrowed, and back spacing on the rear rims when you get a chance.. I want to mini tub mine as well, and that sure would help me.:cheers:
Sure thing. The BS on the rims are 5.5 and I the rear end is getting narrowed 2" on each side if I remember right. I can recheck with Kuert when he gets back from the Power Tour to make sure. I emailed Kurt about the wheels centering in the well and he is going to keep and eye on it. One thing I asked is weather or not they are dead centered in the well from the factory. I don't think thery were.

[Leadfoot1]

Couldn't you just use an adjustable rod end and the housing bracket? How much needed adjustment are we talking to center the wheel?


Thats exactly what i'm doing. (but at the crossmember, because i'm going to run a smaller rod end to gain clearance for the muffs too (from the between adjustable mount's brackets installed width being reduced from 4 inch to 1.75 or so) and the housing mount is already set for existing width at rear housing brkt)

The rest is because of tire size. The "Problem" i was having is/was because of tire size. With my 345/25/20's i could not fit them because of the way the front bushing is done. A la factory size, with the rod centered on the bushing housing. If they would have done it like DSE does it (bushing on the outside and bar mounted inside the front leaf pocket or rod welded on inside of bushing housing) the clearance would be that much better and thats the difference between a 315 and a 345 (or 30x13.5 for me now and a 30 x 10.5). I had talked to Bret and another guy about this but thats long ago.

I've moved the bars in to eliminate the space problem and the adjustability is coming in because, by using the crossmember(and its placement), i have to cut the bars because they are closer to the rear of the car now (too long) so i figured i'd make them adjustable as i was there...

My only prob/issue was tire clearance. Ah! If only i was not always set on having the biggest tires i can fit i would not have so many problems in my life :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :lol:


Lead.:lateral:

[68protouring454]

they were not centered from factory but nothing else was square or nice either. kurt could easily make the link adjustable, on vinnys car the wheel is about 1/2 to far forward.
and air ride always says "we've never had that problem before"
however if you ask around, anyone who has installed it will tell you the same thing.
jake

[Steve Firebird]

Kurt sent me these last pictures and said the car is all done except the exhaust. I am going to have take it to a muffler shop to have the tail pipes custom bent to work with the 4 link set up. Kurt said he thinks the tires are pretty close to dead center in the wells and they look pretty good to me in the pictures. When I get it home and cleaned up I will post some more pictures. Looks like some late nights in the shop to finish her up and get on the street again. I can't wait:willy:

[Lenie]

Looks really good Steve. Love them family photos.:thumbsup:

[Stuart Adams]

Nice meats.

[Moose]

MUCH better then mine Steve..

looks Great!!!

[mdprovee]

Looks Good! I am sure you are happy you did it.

[KPC67]

Looks good Steve
:thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

Looks real good looks great from the back
Wayne

[Steve Firebird]

Its 5:23 AM here and I am getting ready to go and pick up the car. Weather forcast is :
"Mostly cloudy with periods of showers and scattered thunderstorms; some storms may produce hail or high winds."
Man I hope I can stay out of that sh!t.
Its times like this I with I had an enclosed trailer. :_paranoid :_paranoid :_paranoid :_paranoid :_paranoid

[Steve Firebird]

I made it home with no problems. I have to say I can't be more impressed with the job Kurt and Paul did on the car. Great guys to work with and a super high quality job. One of my Buddies was picking on me and called me a "Check Writer" because I hired the 4 link and mini tub install done. I can tell you guys paying Kurt and Paul was some of the best money I have spent so far on the car.

[JETSET700]

Steve,

Did yoou end up 335's or stay with the 315's it looks like a 335 in a
mock up pic. Maybe a Nitto drag 555R ? And didyou roll fender lip?

Peter

[Steve Firebird]

Peter, The tires are 315 nitto 555NT they are not the drag tire. Kurt did trim the lips but I think mostly because they were the reproduction quarters and they were quite a bit bigger then the factory ones. The tires look huge to me all most cartoonish. They look bigger in person then in the pictures. I don't think I will have the urge to go any bigger.

I am in the process or putting the interior back in and I had to cut and trim trim the rear interior panels because of the mini tubs but I think I have the best of it now. I cant put the carpet in yet because the shop (Ring Brothers)thats installing my exhaust s said the may want to weld brackets on the underside of the car to make the install look clean. I am trying to get every thing else I can done so once the exhaust is in I can start driving it right away.

[JETSET700]

Thanks I think I'm going 315's as well. They look huge anyway right
& my tire #'s are the last thing I expect anyone to nit pic.

Peter

[Steve Firebird]

Here is a quick up date. I took the Firebird to Ring Brothers today to get the exhaust built. Hopefully they can get the exhaust built and back from the place that is doing the ceramic coating by the first of next week. Mike took a lot of time working with me to make sure we where both on the same page with what they were going to do for the exhaust.
I did get to visit with to Mike and Jim a little and got to take a peek at Razor. I had my 13 year old son Clayton along and both Mike and Jim took time to introduce them selves and shake his hand. I have known them for a long time and they are just the same nice guys they were way back when I first met them. My son was pretty excited after he saw Razor (as was I) what an unbelievable car.
The shop recovering my rear set said I should be able to pick it up Friday.
I am starting to get excided again about the car. For a while there it seemed like it would never get done and was just pure force of will that keep me plugging away at it. Working with Kurt Anderson from AutoKraft and now Mike & Jim sure seem to make life easier.
I will get some pictures of the exhaust and interior when I get it back home and post them. Steve

[Steve Firebird]

I got the car back from the Ring Brothers with the new exhaust installed. It has RARE ram are exhaust manifolds and an ovalized tubing X-pipe , Flowmaster mufflers and they custom built the tailpipes to work with the 4-link. Then it was sent out for ceramic coating and reinstalled. I decided that the fuel lines need to be redone so I have steel tubing and a tubing bender ordered so wish me luck with that project. I need to get this car done since i am registered for the TA nationals in Dayton on the 22nd and the ProTouring event in Sept. here are a few pictures of the system. Steve

[Devil Dog]

Wow, that's how I want my exhaust to look.
Did you go with 3 chamber Delta Flow Mufflers?
Were there any problems with routing the tubiing around the G-Bar brackets?
Marco

[Steve Firebird]

They were worried about getting around the brackets and room between the trunk floor and diff since the car is lowered but after they started on it it was not a problem. The exhaust is 2.5 not 3.0 so I had a little extra room. To tell you the truth I was not sure what to do for mufflers and told them I wanted a nice rumble and to just pick what they thought would be best. I think they said they went with a 40 series muffler. It has a nice sound maybe a little loud for some but hey its a muscle car.

[WILWAXU]

Car looks great!