Brendon's '67 Firebird thread

[Tuske427]

OK, I'm gonna start one thread here to cover the build up of my car where I can keep adding to as I make progress. I recently posted another thread which covered just one step, but, it doesn't have an accurately descriptive title for this kind of ongoing thread.

My '67 Firebird. I bought this a little over a year ago up in San Jose. It was an unrestored car, which I liked, but it was obviously rusty. I bought it because it was an original verdoro green '67 bird with manual trans and was well equipped. It appeared to be a 400 car, but as I later learned, I misread the body tag and it's a 326HO car. A '67 Verdoro green 400 4 speed car is my holy grail of first gen firebirds. It is what I ideally wanted to work with. This car is close enough.

I drove it locally for a year or so until I was able to sell my previous project and generate the necessary $$ and space to start this build. I've since been collecting parts and have disassembled the car. The car body is currently at the strippers (hence my other thread "went to the strippers")

Today after work I started chopping the subframe for the DSE Stage 3 front end kit mod.

I'll add some pics with description below:

[Tuske427]

This is what the car looked like when I bought it. Not too bad from 10 feet, but that 1969 camaro spoiler had to go.

[Tuske427]

Some pics of the teardown. I took a lot, hoping to use them for reference when it's time for reassembly.

[Tuske427]

I posted pics of the chemical stripping in another thread ("went to the strippers") so I wont repost those pics here. However, today I started the DSE subframe mod by chopping off the old suspension mounts and widening the holes for the shocks. I don't have a real shop to do this work- just my neighborhood garage. As we're new to the neighborhood, I'm sure my neighbors will quickly grow to dislike me and my Firebird for all the noise I'm going to make as I build this car.

[tones2SS]

Looks good Brendon.
Keep us posted.:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

I was able to cut the holes in the subframe for the new suspension components. It's now ready for welding- which my neighbor will be helping me with later this week.

[waynieZ]

Its looking good. Are you going to have him weld up the eams on the sub frame?

[Tuske427]

Its looking good. Are you going to have him weld up the eams on the sub frame?

Hi Wayne:

Yes, those will eventually be addressed. My neighbor tack welded the brackets on tonight. (in turn I'll be designing a logo for him) The plan is to get the subframe on the body, measure and locate where the wheels will be, then we can measure and confirm everything is where it should be, and modify/ adjust as needed. Once we know it's all square, then final tig welding.

He built his own '67 camaro, and this is how he said he did it, so I'll trust him.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Looks great man

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Frank.

This Friday I brought the car body back home from the strippers. I was a bit disappointed that I could still see rust on the car despite 2 dippings. I was expecting the body to be void of all rust- like all the sheet metal seemed to be. Apparently, my car was really, really rusty. They did offer me to bring the car back for one more dipping after removing some of the rusted panels.

Attached are some pics from the weekend. We tested out my neighbor's new plasma cutter by chopping out the rear wheel wells. I spent Saturday cleaning up those cuts/ drilling out the factory spot welds. I also had time to remove the top dash panel. I still have to cut out the inner cowl panel.

I also installed the subframe. I need to align it so we can start measuring and create the subframe connectors, as well as the inner tubs.

[Tuske427]

a few more pics...

[KPC67]

I personally would not bother with dipping my car.
If i were you I would just have is blasted (media, or sand) just don't hit the sheet metal that you plan on using.
Also sandblast as you take your car apart (when you take a quarter panel off)
just my .02

[67rstbkt]

Looking good; in the pictures, it looks like you're just dealing with surface rust. Have you tried a wire wheel? (At least on the underside).

[Tuske427]

Thank you. The dipping process removed most of the rust, but it's still in the cracks and heard to reach areas. This is why I was disappointed with the dipping process. Being submersed in liquid, I'd think that it should reach to just about every area (except for metal that is pinched/ welded together)

However, I'll be replacing and modifying a lot of panels, so I should be able to get to any remaining areas not cleaned already.

I'll use a combination of methods to remove any remaining rust.

Tonight we measured my car, and tightened down the subframe based on the best frame/ body alignment we could calculate. This is so we can work on calculating the suspension and axle size. Of course, it'll come off again, and have to be re measured again....

I'll have to take a few days off as I need to prepare (clean) the house for guests coming later this week. I should get back on this Sat. I'll work on preliminary assembly of the front suspension, as well as building a mock up tire in cardboard (cheaper than buying the real tires at this time as I have extra cardboard and hot melt glue). Then I can work on calculating the max width for the axle that will fit in my car.

[67rstbkt]

Thank you. The dipping process removed most of the rust, but it's still in the cracks and heard to reach areas. This is why I was disappointed with the dipping process. Being submersed in liquid, I'd think that it should reach to just about every area (except for metal that is pinched/ welded together)

However, I'll be replacing and modifying a lot of panels, so I should be able to get to any remaining areas not cleaned already.

I'll use a combination of methods to remove any remaining rust.

Tonight we measured my car, and tightened down the subframe based on the best frame/ body alignment we could calculate. This is so we can work on calculating the suspension and axle size. Of course, it'll come off again, and have to be re measured again....

I'll have to take a few days off as I need to prepare (clean) the house for guests coming later this week. I should get back on this Sat. I'll work on preliminary assembly of the front suspension, as well as building a mock up tire in cardboard (cheaper than buying the real tires at this time as I have extra cardboard and hot melt glue). Then I can work on calculating the max width for the axle that will fit in my car.


I'll be re-attaching my sub-frame this week. Any pointers on where to measure so that I know everything is square?

Thanks

[Tuske427]

I'll be re-attaching my sub-frame this week. Any pointers on where to measure so that I know everything is square?

Thanks

We used a long bar in place of the rear axle (since my axle is out) and set that perpendicular to the car as a place holder. we also used string and ran it parallel along side the car, and used another bar across the front. from this we measured diagonally from corner to corner to get the axle lines square to one another.

I didn't want to assume the car , or the subframe was perfectly square from the factory. After all, they were hand assembled parts that are 40+ years old.

We also ran one of those pointer lasers (the kind with a wide fan beam) down the middle to establish the true center line of the car.
There are alignment holes for the subframe/ body, but again, I'm not entirely trusting it.

I'll try to post a pic tonight.

[67rstbkt]

We used a long bar in place of the rear axle (since my axle is out) and set that perpendicular to the car as a place holder. we also used string and ran it parallel along side the car, and used another bar across the front. from this we measured diagonally from corner to corner to get the axle lines square to one another.

I didn't want to assume the car , or the subframe was perfectly square from the factory. After all, they were hand assembled parts that are 40+ years old.

We also ran one of those pointer lasers (the kind with a wide fan beam) down the middle to establish the true center line of the car.
There are alignment holes for the subframe/ body, but again, I'm not entirely trusting it.

I'll try to post a pic tonight.

Cool, thanks; pictures always help :cheers:

[Tuske427]

Not sure how well you can see this- but there are 2 bars going across the car. one in place of the rear axle. the other is pressed up against the DSE upper control arm mounts.

There are strings and plumb bobs and sharpie marks all over the car and bars.

[67rstbkt]

Thanks, I can work with that :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

This weekend I had limited time to work on this, but I think I made some progress. I don't have the tires I want yet, but I do know the size and overall dimensions, so I mocked up a set in cardboard as place holders. I had plenty of cardboard leftover from my goodmark panel shipment, and this is light to move around.

I also started to install the front suspension for mocking up purposes. I understand that with the DSE suspension/ stock frame there is a wheel width limitation of 7". Although I mocked it up. I'm not exactly sure yet what the limiter is as I don't have my hubs or brakes yet (I can only guesstimate where the wheels will truly sit. ) If anyone has had any experience with this please chime in where the issues are so I can address them.

I also placed the back wheels in, and was happy to see it start to look like a paddle boat- I mean car again. Since I need to replace my quarters and mini tub the car- my neighbor had a good suggestion of widening the back body a bit. This will help maximize track width while keeping the tires inside the body. We mocked up a qtr panel and it looked good, but I apparently didn't get a pic of it, nor the car with the front body panels on.

[Tuske427]

This weekend I bought more sheet metal at Classic Industries and chopped up more of the rear inner wheel wells to make the replacement metal fit (roughly). I was then able to locate and measure the rear wheels for axle ordering- which I did today from Frank @ Prodigy Customs. Since I'm going to widen the body a little it allowed me to order a wider axle. Hopefully this will help keep the "wide track" look that Pontiacs are known for.

The car will not sit this low at ride height. This is where we're estimating the full compression of the suspension so we know there will not be any bottoming out issues contacting the body.

[Tuske427]

This past weekend and the weekend before I spent what available time I had patching the rust holes around my window frames. I had 17 different holes (I squared them off) to patch, created the patch panels from my old quarter panel pieces and welded them in place. It was a great welding practice lesson for me, as welding is one thing I haven't had much experience with yet.

[Tuske427]

I didn't get much done this weekend, I had company in from out of town. I did have a few hours today after work so I removed the passenger door skin and started to make patch panels for the door structure itself. Then I will re skin the door.

I have 2 of the 3 panels pretty much made, the third is only rough cut out. I used the leftover original door skin for the patch material. A new door skin awaits assembly. I also have a pic of some of the pass side rocker panel area that I had to cut out and will need to create a patch.

While the door is apart I'll also spray some Eastwood rust encapsulator to stop any remaining rust I haven't been able to sand out. Unfortunately, the chemical stripping I paid so much for didn't get all this. Such a waste of $$.

[Tuske427]

Still alive, still making rust repairs when possible. Just chipping away at it. I got the pass door fixed, painted with Eastwood rust encapsulator paint and skinned.

I've also repaired the trunk weatherstripping channel and am now onto the pass rocker panel. The panel is requiring half a dozen or so patches. Even as I patch a section, I later learn I should have replaced more metal as I keep blowing through the original thinned metal.

[67rstbkt]

Looking good, man. I know rust is a battle, but keep at it. You'll be happy when it's all gone. I've got two or three small spots to address on mine before I declare a victory........it'll get there:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Thank you. Yeah, I'm keeping a positive outlook on it as it's welding experience for me. I'm getting A LOT of experience with this one :)

I'm taking the next few days off. I should get more rust repair done this long weekend. Will update with pics next week.

[Chicken Louie]

Looking good!! Pics look great!!

[waynieZ]

Nice job on the repairs they look nice. Keep banging them out.

[Tuske427]

Thank you both.

This week's installment is a little more patching and finally a "fun" project (actually, it's all been fun so far)- building some frame ties.

I had a few extra days off this past week so I was able to get a little more done. I patched the rust spot on my pass fender and I smoothed out the cowl panel to rid the wiper arm protrusions in the metal. Instead of just chopping and patching, I did my best to shrink what metal was there and make smaller patches. It was good metal forming practice, imo. I also built some frame ties out of some 2x3 stock. This evening I rolled the car over to my neighbor's house who will do the heavy welding.

[Tuske427]

more pics of the frame ties.

[Tuske427]

Everyone deserves an awesome neighbor. I'm lucky to have one myself- Brett. The pics below are the results of him welding up my subframe. Unfortunately for me and my car, while welding the subframe connectors we discovered the rear frame rails are rusted enough that a good weld was not able to be achieved, so I'll be needing either new frame rails, or, at the least reinforcing them with more material. I'll probably go for the latter, as this way I can build exactly what I need and use any thickness gauge of material I choose.

The pics attached are mostly of the underside of the subframe, including a reinforcement gusset added to the DSE frame bracket. This should help provide more stability for this part (instead of just relying on welding it to the sheet metal) One pic you can see the side profile of it, but it is only tack welded in that view. DSE provides a triangular bracket to act as a gusset for the top side, but that has not been added yet.

My next post will show pics of the subframe connectors in place.

The project keeps going....

[Tuske427]

Today I worked on chopping my old floor pans out getting the car ready to accept the replacement floor pans. MY subframe connectors are tacked in on the rear rails, but there isn't enough metal left in them to accept a continuos weld. They will need reinforcing, but I'll deal with that when my rear axle/ suspension shows up.

I removed the seat braces and was able to clean up the sides of the rocker panels. looks like my passenger panel may need more patches. I have also rough trimmed the floor pans to fit. They are close enough that I can start welding them in and final trim as needed.

I'll have the tops of the subframe connectors welded before install, as well as painting the bare metal with rust encapsulator.

[Headlines]

Very ccool project

I love the creativity of the wheel mock ups

I am still on the fence weather i should buy a compleated car or do a full on project like this

Some times the fun is in the creation

thanks for sharing

[Tuske427]

Thank you. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to both routes, I guess it depends on what's more important to you. Time, money, being able to say you built it, space and tools handy, etc..

In my case, I don't have a lot of money, so it's easier for me to cough up the time. Plus, I like being able to say I built it.

[Tuske427]

OK, it's been a few weeks since I posted. Usual summer stuff. Weddings to go to, friends to get together with, next thing you know, it's August, and there are more weddings to go to. I have slowly but surely been working on the floor pans. Below are pics of some gussets made for the subframe connectors to have them attach to the car body better, as well as some plates for the underside of the subframe itself (something cleaner than the hacked up mess it had become). I've installed the replacement pans and worked on the seat braces, too. Almost done with that, but I need to do a little more hammering and welding for the passenger side. I located them slightly rearward to provide more foot room for me. This helps to offset the anticipated firewall relocation I plan on having to make, plus I will not be installing a back seat. All is good. It's nice to see the car heading toward a direction of assembly for once.

[Tuske427]

more pics from this weekend

[waynieZ]

Nice Work it looks great.

[Ron Fox]

Thanks for the pics. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Got a few small things done this weekend. Not much extra time lately, so I'm doing what I can when I can. I got my new welder up and running- I went with the Eastwood 135 mig. The price was right and so far so good. I finished up the passenger side seat brace and have it ground down, just needs to be painted. I also built the plugs for the floor pans and have those welded in. Now that I'm a little more comfortable and confident with welding, I went back and added more metal to the rear window frame, and replaced a strip of metal on the driver's side. I only have pics of it in process. I must have forgot to shoot one after I trimmed the metal. I intentionally left the large piece of metal on there to start for 3 reasons. 1- more metal to soak up the heat (less warpage). 2- I can trim after it's welded and worry less about cutting too much metal off beforehand. 3- larger handle to hold while tacking. I also started to prepare my cowl panel. I welded in the brackets for the fenders, as well as filled in some extra holes. I used some washers to help fill in the larger holes. It worked quite well. Enjoy.

[Tuske427]

Quick progress update- Today I was able to start welding on my inner cowl panel. I only had a few hours so it's not finished yet. Below are pics of the progress I made.

[Tuske427]

Looks like I'm overdue for an update. I finished up the inner cowl, and moved on to starting the DSE rear suspension install. I'm still waiting for my rear axle, but I have the suspension brackets. I started to make the holes for the upper link brackets and realized I have more patch work to make. Below are some pics of that project, too.

I've about used up my old passenger door skin in making patch panels. Time to get more sheet metal. I'm sure I'll need it somewhere...

After patching the floors, I bolted the brackets on but they are not parallel to one another . One sits .25" forward of the other. (I installed the arms and placed a rod through them and measured them to the front of the car. I get a .25" discrepancy.) I'm going to wait until I get my axle so I can remeasure, confirm the location of the brackets and adjust as needed.

[Tuske427]

Since I'm temporarily on hold for the upper 4 link brackets this weekend I thought I might install the panhard bar cover. I started by removing some of the old trunk floor. That revealed more rust that the chemical dipping didn't catch. Upon more inspection I figured I should split the triangular shaped pocket of metal that I'll otherwise probably never be able to access. Now is the time to get in there and paint it with some rust encapsulator paint. As I split it open I'm glad I made this choice. It's rather crusty in there.

After cleaning it out as best I could and letting it sit overnight with some rust dissolver today I painted it and welded it back shut. After that I measured the location of the panhard cover and placed it. Now, the instructions call out to make a bracket to cover the driver side gap between the frame rail and the cover. they don't supply a bracket here. I thought it would be better to make as much reinforcement with this bracket as possible, so I made a long one that ties into the frame rail and can be plug welded on the side of the rail.

Below are pics of this.

After completion of this part, I had my neighbor weld it as my welder isn't powerful enough to weld these parts together. It fits like a glove. I haven't welded it to the car yet as I want to make sure the passenger side fits properly, too. I'm not happy with how the panhard bracket itself currently fits. It doesn't fit like the instructions state it should. It'll require more trimming, but that will have to wait for another weekend.

[Tuske427]

Forgot to attach this pic- it's of the interior floor with a coat of rust encapsulator paint on it.

[67rstbkt]

Looking good :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update. Last weekend I worked more on my friend's firebird than mine, so about all I got done was to fabricate a simple sheet metal patch panel that goes in front of the DSE crossmember.

Since I don't have any fancy metal brakes, etc, I had to make this the old fashioned way- hammer the folds and hammer the compound raised areas. I used my welding tank cover for a nice large radius as well as some square stock and clamps to make my 90º bend. It did stretch the metal a bit so I had to use some weight to level it out.

I went to install said panel on Friday and noticed that my DSE crossmember sits crooked in my car. I discovered it when I was trying to align my panel for tack welding in place. Upon closer inspection I see that the crossmember is assymetrical with approx 3/8" more metal (height) on the passenger side. Now the instructions say this part should sit level, so this must mean the frame rails are not symmetrical from side to side. Strange. I didn't like how the panel sat high to the right (it would become more obvious as I weld my sheet metal trunk panels to it) so I trimmed it to sit level in my car.

[Tuske427]

Following the small panel install I decided to start chopping the back of the car off for the trunk floor and tail panel replacement. I made some decent progress, imo, as the tail panel is roughly trimmed and could be tacked in place. I think. Before I do that I want to make sure the inner panel fits and everything looks square. I also need some paint for the inner frame rails. I would use some rust encapsulator and tried to order some, but I was just informed as of Aug 1st the Eastwood co. can no longer sell that to residents in CA. @#$$%!!! I'll keep my political comments to myself. I'll have to see what else I can get in its place.

I used some square stock to brace what's left of the car while I chopped the tail off, and I repaired some of the frame rail ends to reinforce them as they were pretty much rusted away.

[GHOSTDANCER]

Good looking progress :thumbsup: Keep the pics coming :cheers:

[Tuske427]

Thank you! OK, will add more pics below....

This weekend I worked on welding in the middle trunk panel as well as the tail panel. I did my best to align it, and, of course, the panel only fits so well, so I spent some time revising the weatherstripping channels to make them align again.

I also plan on a little customization to the car, and with that requires the removal of the upper half of the tail light panel. I plan to recess it in an inch or 2. I realize it seems like more work to install it and then rip it apart, but I wanted to make sure the panel was installed and fitted before cutting the panel up. Hopefully I can get it back together again.

[Tuske427]

"doo baum baum. (whisper) chicka chickahhh..."

If you say that right, you'll get it. The pics speak for themselves. This showed up today.

[TT302Z28]

Did you order the rear straight from Moser with the Quadralink brackets installed or did you get this set up by someone else?

Great build!

[Tuske427]

Did you order the rear straight from Moser with the Quadralink brackets installed or did you get this set up by someone else?

Great build!

I ordered this one through Frank at Prodigy Customs

[67zo6Camaro]

Everyone deserves an awesome neighbor. I'm lucky to have one myself- Brett. The pics below are the results of him welding up my subframe. Unfortunately for me and my car, while welding the subframe connectors we discovered the rear frame rails are rusted enough that a good weld was not able to be achieved, so I'll be needing either new frame rails, or, at the least reinforcing them with more material. I'll probably go for the latter, as this way I can build exactly what I need and use any thickness gauge of material I choose.

The pics attached are mostly of the underside of the subframe, including a reinforcement gusset added to the DSE frame bracket. This should help provide more stability for this part (instead of just relying on welding it to the sheet metal) One pic you can see the side profile of it, but it is only tack welded in that view. DSE provides a triangular bracket to act as a gusset for the top side, but that has not been added yet.

My next post will show pics of the subframe connectors in place.

The project keeps going....

Must be pretty cool to have a good welder in the neighborhood:hail:

[Tuske427]

Must be pretty cool to have a good welder in the neighborhood:hail:

Welcome to the board! In my case it's the difference between being able to do this project or not.

Unfortunately, no vehicle progress to report this weekend. Other priorities took over, including my wife's birthday this upcoming week.

[Tuske427]

It's been a few weeks and I only have a couple of hours of work to show. My project is to recess aka "french" the taillight panel in. Nothing crazy, but I thought it would give a subtle change to the car and it'll allow me to blend in my widened fenders better.

My first part is to build the metal under the trunk lid. I don't want that to just be left hanging, so I need to make something there. The trick is that it can not be too thick as that cuts into the area for the taillight panel.

I started with some solid wire and and made some tabs to help hold it where I wanted it. Then I made some sheet metal strips and attached them onto the top. I ran out of time today so all I did was my first pass of welding.

The next 2 weekends are booked so I don't suspect much progress for another 3 weeks. Rough time of year. It happens.

[67zo6Camaro]

the trunk transition looks great. can't wait to see it in person.

Brett

[Tuske427]

the trunk transition looks great. can't wait to see it in person.

Brett

stop on by anytime. Plenty of cold beer in the fridge....

[LUACE]

Progress on this car is awesome... i am really enjoying following this thread!!! :hail:

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Luis!

Turns out I had some time this weekend to work on my car a bit. I took a hand at some sheet metal fabrication. I don't have a lot to show, but a lot of it was honing my metalsmithing skills. And, by that, I mean bending metal in ways that I wasn't able to fix and slicing my hands with sharp edges of metal. I'm getting real good at that :)

I did get the base of the recessed panel and one area of the top. Pics are below, it should be enough to get the idea. Of course, I'll be trimming and modifying the bumper once the quarter panels are back on and the overall width of the car is determined (I am widening it a little)

[67rstbkt]

Cool idea with the tail panel, I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out :thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

Nice progress its looking good.

[Tuske427]

I'm still alive. Just been busy with work, family, etc. Even though I had a "4 day weekend" only today did I have any time to put into my car. Attached are pics of what I did. I wasn't happy with how the panel was coming out. I was getting a negative (concave) dip in the panel in the middle of the car, so I cut it and re welded it. You can see as I placed a ruler along it the "gap" went away.

I also did more welding to it and got it roughed out to where I'm happy with it for now.

I should get more work done this next month, I hope.

[Tuske427]

OK, these past 2 weekends I've been able to spend one day each on making new frame sections for my car. I will weld these in and it'll give a stronger support for the car.

I started out with single pieces I cut out, but ended up cutting them and rewelding them back together for a much better fit.

I'll have the 17th to the new year off of work and plan to work on my car. I hope to get more progress done during this time. Even my wife is out of town (out of the country, actually) so if I don't get much done I can only blame myself! :)

[waynieZ]

Nice work its coming out good.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne!

This weekend was very productive! My neighbor Brett helped me locate the rear axle under the car and we have it mocked up in place. Upon measuring, and remesauring we got it pretty square, within 1/16". The welds are tacked in for now, and when the body goes on a rotisserie, then final welds can be done with much more ease.

The upper link brackets needed modification to fit the contour of my frame. I also made a jig to help ensure that the left and right side were square to one another.

The panhard bar isn't on yet, but the mounting bracket for it needed cutting to make it fit.

[Tuske427]

We also started to fit the engine/ trans in the car. My goal is to retain the oem oil pan as well as use the oem brackets if possible. To accomplish this the engine will go back. way back, as well as some trimming to the car. Once again Brett to the rescue with his plasma cutter.

Because part of the firewall will be recessed, I'm thinking it might be cool to make a removable panel inside for access to the back of the engine.

I need to make more cuts to the car, then clean them up. So far it's looking good. clearance for the steering, headers, etc. The trans tunnel will need to be raised a bit to clear the t56 magnum.

The engine mounting still needs to be worked out but should be no problem.

I'll get back out to the garage tomorrow and make more ruckus.

[KPC67]

Great updates!
the car is coming along nicely:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Kevin!

This week I've worked on the frame crossmember altercation to make room for the LS engine. There was a little scalping, a little reinforcing, a lot of grinding and trimming, a lot more hammering and pounding and bending and tweaking and adjusting to get it to fit.

My neighbor helped me with this and welded this together for me. My 110 volt welder would not be strong enough to handle this.

After getting this back together it became apparent that the headers won't fit and will need some modification on the driver's side. It's a bummer, too, as they had that coating on them. Oh well. This will give a chance to modify them as needed to clear the engine mounts/ supports.

I also raised the trans tunnel to give more room for the trans. Even with that lift it is still a snug fit up there. I only tacked it in place in case it needs more modification.

Next steps will be to mock up the mounting systems/ brackets, etc and start building them.

[waynieZ]

Nice work it looks great. The subframe is looking good.

[syborg tt]

Car looks great

What happened to the early build up pic

[Tuske427]

Car looks great

What happened to the early build up pic

Thank you! I've exceeded my allotment of pics I can post onto this website (even though I try to make them low/ web resolution) so in order to post more I have to delete the older ones.

I more or less duplicate this thread over on hotrodders.com. They don't seem to limit the amount of pics I can upload there.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/journal.php?action=view&journalid=20939

[67zo6Camaro]

Nice work Brendon. I'll stop by soon to see the progress in person.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Brett!

Well, the vacation is all over and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I was able to get a lot done during my break. In addition to Brett helping me locate the rear axle and place the engine in the car I mocked up some tubular bars for the engine mounts and built the revised trans tunnel.

Attached are a couple of pics of the tubular mounts. Now the challenge will be to get these built out of metal.

Once these are done then the two driver side header tubes and be rebuilt, preferably to the back of the mount so the header can possibly be removed without the engine coming out.

[Tuske427]

I spent my available time this past week building the recessed firewall. I decided against making it removable, and I made it intentionally asymmetrical to provide more room for the clutch hoses/ linkage.

I went through 2 sets of cardboard mock ups and ultimately warped the heck out of it by welding it too quickly. I need to be more patient. Lesson learned, I hope. I made a slice to help alleviate some of the warpage, but it'll need more finessing to make it presentable.

I still need to build a cap in the front, as there is a slight overhang of the firewall sheet metal on the top passenger side. I'll box that in.

[67zo6Camaro]

Looks good Brendon. Let me know if you want help finalizing the engine mounts and header adjustment.

Brett

[Tuske427]

Just a quick update- here are some pics of the reinforcing plates I'm making for the frame rails. These will be welded to the frame to help support the load. Following this I hope to work on making the tubes for the engine mounts. Progress will be slow these next few weeks. There's a lot of other family stuff happening.

I also made a panel today to help close off my recessed firewall.

[waynieZ]

It looks great, nice work.

[Tuske427]

Thank you!

I didn't think I was going to have any time this weekend to work on the car as there were family plans, but they fell through and I ended up having some time after all. I welded the cap for my recessed firewall on, and, on a whim, decided to see how my center console would fit in the interior. I discovered it didn't fit. Part of the issue is that the console will be moving back some, and, as many of you know, the shape of the console is tapered, so it created gaps along the sides. I had already spliced my console and raised it up a bit, then cut it down the middle to see if widening it would fix it. But then I realized how "hacked" it was looking so I decided to cut the whole thing out and build a new one.

Of course, a project like this would be much quicker and cleaner with a nice metal brake, which I don't have, so I improvised with my floor jack handle, some clamps, lots of groans and grunts.

I haven't finished it yet, but I have it roughly trimmed and starting to tack it in place. After it's in I will build a tapered area in the back to blend it down to the tunnel.

[Tuske427]

Still alive. Have been really busy with work, family, etc. Had a few hours this weekend (cancelled plans) so I worked on the trans tunnel more. I welded the rest of it in and added some patch panels up front. I also sliced open the rear part along the top to blend into my new tunnel and will need to make a pie shaped patch panel to fill it in. When I do, the tunnel should be level across the top. I took a pic from the side view, you can see the original area is just slightly lower than the new section- this should be corrected when I add the patch in. I hope.

[Tuske427]

This weekend I was able to build my trans tunnel patch and get the car up on my neighbor's rotisserie. It was quite fascinating to get the car up there and rotate it around. It's amazing how nice it is to be able to work on the underside of the car while not crawling around underneath it through the dolly with only inches of room to move around. It took the greater part of the afternoon to get it all set up. Earlier today I started grinding down some welds and making a couple of small patches that were still needed. I won't be able to work on it next weekend but after that I'll get back to

[KPC67]

Great job man:thumbsup:

[syborg tt]

Tranny Tunnel looks awesome. I am really enjoying watching this build

[Tuske427]

Cool, thank you!

This weekend was more welding, more grinding, welding some more, grinding some more. Oh, and a few patch panels...

[Tuske427]

I had a little time this weekend to work on my car. Yesterday I made a few patch panels to replace (big surprise) some thin/ rusted out areas. Today I worked on double/ triple checking my rear suspension and how it mounts to the car. With the car upside down I had placed the leaf spring perches back to where they were tack welded- and they were not square with the car. The holes, when looking across, didn't line up. So I made a full day out of mounting my axle upside down, connecting the 4 links and measuring again. This actually had some benefits as I needed to determine where my panhard bar mount would locate as well as the shock mounts.

Of course, as I went to roll the cherry picker and locate my axle- it just barely interfered with the rotisserie. Some 2x4's solved that.

I was able to measure again pretty much everything and the suspension is within a 1/16" of being equal. It is, I hope, close enough. I was able to trim down my perches as they can now sit better inside and I'll be able to weld them up the next time I work on the car. same for my panhard bar mount. That too required some trimming and modifying to fit right in my car. The shock mounts should be straight forward...

I think I'll be working on my friend's Delorean next weekend and the one following I'll be at the Monster Jam World finals (Vegas) for work. I hope to resume on this soon.

[Tuske427]

Did a little welding yesterday. I also drilled some holes in the frame and welded in tubes so I can install/ remove the lower control arms from the welded in perches. I also trimmed the DSE cross member for rear axle clearance and used the trimmed piece to extend the cross member to the end of the driver side frame rails. There was a tiny gap on each side and there was just enough material to finish them off.

Today it rained, and I had to go to work anyhow. Next time I'll do more grinding and it should look a little cleaner...

[waynieZ]

It looks great your doing some nice work.

[Ron Fox]

Looking Good! :thumbsup:

[Chicken Louie]

Awesome work on your bird!!

[Tuske427]

Thank you, everyone!

Another weekend, more welding & grinding. I did install the gas tank brackets and I had to cobble up a tool to allow me to clean the metal along the frame rail and trunk pan enough to weld them together. I couldn't reach it with my grinders and sanders. I also removed the rear seat belt brackets and discovered yet more rusted metal. So I cut that out and patched it up.

[67zo6Camaro]

Lots of hard work going into this car...and you are doing a great job. I will have to start calling you "Patches" due to all the rust patches you have made...Wow.

[waynieZ]

Nice progress. I know alot of it doesn't show like bolting on new parts but it will make the car structurly better then new. Nice.

[67rstbkt]

That's looking awesome, keep up the good work :thumbsup: I did not see in your posts if you mentioned drivetrain. Are you going with a Pontiac motor? Something different? Undecided?

[Tuske427]

Nice progress. I know alot of it doesn't show like bolting on new parts but it will make the car structurly better then new. Nice.

Thank you, Wayne! Yeah, it is a lot of I guess what some would consider mundane labor or just work, but I'm actually enjoying it. It's nice to see it slowly coming together.

[Tuske427]

That's looking awesome, keep up the good work :thumbsup: I did not see in your posts if you mentioned drivetrain. Are you going with a Pontiac motor? Something different? Undecided?

I have a 2001 LS1 for it and a new T56 Magnum. The engine parts so far I have a set of LS6 heads, headers, reduced crank pulley, z06 MAF and a FAST 90 lsx manifold/ throttle body. Plans also include an aggressive cam. Not sure if I'm going to stroke it or add forced induction. depends on the budget. right now I'm the only one working so funds are really tight. That may be it for a while, who knows. I still have a lot to buy for the car.

[Tuske427]

I put a few hours in this weekend. I made a couple of patches (Brett would be proud) for my trunk to fill in the drain holes. I also ground down the gas tank strap welds and started making some channels for additional exhaust clearance in the floor pans. I hope to finish this one up next weekend. Then I can start making the rear drive shaft loop/ suspension support (this one is inspired by another build on this board) and I'll want to make an access panel in my trunk floor for the electric fuel pump/ gas tank. I did this in my last build and it was extremely helpful. It saves having to drop the tank to access the pump.

[waynieZ]

Nice progress.

[67zo6Camaro]

Yep. Saw it in person and Im proud. Can't wait to see motor mounted and car on ground. I know I keep pushing... Im kind of a vissual person.

Keep up the good work.

Brett

[Tuske427]

I didn't post pics last weekend but I did finish up the exhaust cut outs. Attached are a couple of pics of how that turned out.

[Tuske427]

Also last weekend and today I worked on the driveshaft safety hoop. I made a quick sketch of how I'd like to build it and last weekend I bought more metal and roughed out the parts. Because my drivetrain isn't in and I don't have a driveshaft yet I believe it would be difficult to accurately calculate the range of driveshaft will travel, so I'm only making part of it now and will make the bottom half later when everything else is in.

A big thanks goes out to Brett (67zo6Camaro) for taking some time to slice the parts out with his plasma cutter. That saved me a lot of time and clean up, not to mention cut off wheels and a big dusty mess to clean up. I bent the strips by hand with my vise and then welded it up. I also cut more tubing to make sleeves (same method that I did for my frame rails) for the bolt holes/ bottom half. I'll drill the correct size holes when I determine which fasteners I'll use. I was lucky enough that the 1" tape was the right size so I could cut the tubes relatively clean without a lathe. I welded the top areas and then drilled some holes on the bottom to plug weld the sleeves to the bottom. I didn't want to fill up the inside of the holes with weld...

I was able to tack weld and start welding the bracket in this afternoon, but I still have more welding to do. for some reason I am plagued with contamination when I'm welding this. I sanded, ground it down, welded, re welded, etc. Just one of those days, I guess. I won't be working on tomorrow as I have volunteered to help out at the Edelbrock car show tomorrow at their hq in Torrance. I think I'll be driving the Hot Wheels '66 GTO there. I'm looking forward to that.

[waynieZ]

Thats a nice set up. Your thinking of a lot of thing thst are after thoughts to most others. I looks good!

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne. I think it helps having had a a project car or two before. It's always an evolution. I'm sure the next one will be better than this.

That, and I'm not in a rush to get this done. The process of building the car is just as much fun for me. I'm doing my best to not put myself up against tight schedules/ deadlines, etc.

[Tuske427]

I had a few hours today to work on the car, so I finished up my top half of the driveshaft safety hoop, and worked on my gas tank access door a bit.

I still need to get some hinges and a latch/ fastener for keeping it closed.

[waynieZ]

The top part of the driveshaft loop came our great. The access panel will save a lot of work if you need to get to the sending unit later on. Nice.

[67zo6Camaro]

Progress is awsome with a lot of nice touches. Keep up the good work.

I had a few hours today to work on the car, so I finished up my top half of the driveshaft safety hoop, and worked on my gas tank access door a bit.

I still need to get some hinges and a latch/ fastener for keeping it closed.

[syborg tt]

Great progress on the car. I am going to borrow you floor trimming for the exhaust.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, everyone! It means a lot to receive the kind words.

I spent some time yesterday finishing up the fuel tank access panel. I purchased a hinge from Lowes and modified it. I welded the hinge to the door but not to the trunk. I used some buttonhead allen screws and welded some nuts on the underside and used one larger one for securing it shut. I plan on using some type of weatherstripping to help seal it and prevent any vibrations or exhaust leaks. I also trimmed the allen bolts to length. they are untrimmed in the pics.

The metalwork is for the most part there, but it will need some bondo/ prep work to get it to a "show" status..

[cencalc6]

Great build

[Tuske427]

Thank you!

This afternoon I completed a couple of small projects. I welded in the inner seat belt brackets to the trans tunnel. I also built some drainage tubes for the rear window channel. As we all know these first gens like to collect water at the base of the rear windows so I added some drainage tubes to the corners to allow water to drip through. I'll attach rubber tubes to these and have them exit through the wheel wells (when installed)

[Tuske427]

I had a couple of hours today so I borrowed my old wheels from my neighbor, Brett, to see how they would fit on my car. Well, they didn't. It's a good thing I am planning to use a different wheel. I was thinking about the American Racing 200s wheel (17x9.5 front) and (17x11 rear). I like the retro look, but I need to talk to someone who knows about these wheels. If they're crap or won't clear the brakes I want then I'll need to keep looking. But this was a good lesson to see and determine the sizes that will fit and what modifications I'll need to do to make these work. I knew that I would need to modify/ rebuild the inner fenders but it looks like I'll be notching the frame rails, too. Hope to get to that next weekend...

[waynieZ]

When I was a kid I wished I could fit tires like that on my Z/28 in the rear never mine the front.

[Tuske427]

They'll fit your car now, yes?

BTW- those pics I posted today are the incorrect offset. The wheels would barely turn like that. I had to space them out a good 2" or so. They also tuck in way too far, imo.

[Tuske427]

This weekend I notched my frame to make room for the 17x9.5 rims to fit in the front and have a full range of steering. To keep my frame from becoming fragile, I reinforced the frame inside with 2 ribs on each side. I was able to recycle & re use my old corssmember plates I had cut from the frame when I modified it for the LS engine. I also added two tubes on the passenger side to provide additional support for the idler arm. I also feel good knowing that I've already reinforced the frame in this area in preparation for my engine mounts. With the tubular mounts installed they will box this area in so I think with all this in place the frame should be OK.

[Tuske427]

Here are some additional pics of the passenger side.

I also spent the day today applying the KBS coating to my axle and underside. I had previously purchased their 3 step kit. It looks like good stuff and they'll sell it to me here in CA. (Eastwood won't sell their rust encapsulator to CA residents anymore) It's a little glossier than I wanted, but, it's the bottom of the car and it'll eventually get dirty when I drive it.

[waynieZ]

I'm no engineer but as usual it looks very well done. The bottom of the car and rear look great.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne! Wow, time does fly. I'm still alive. I had a last minute trip to Hong Kong and China for work for 2 weeks (3 weekends, though), and now it's a month later. I was lucky to get 3 days this weekend to work on the car. I took it off the rotisserie and put it back on the body dolly. I also set the engine back in and mocked up a little more accurate tube layout for the engine mounts, as well as roughed out my adaptor plates. I had bought some in a kit, but I'd like to take advantage of all the bolt holes on the block as I'm locating my engine farther back. I'll draw up a pattern in Illustrator and use it to trim out the plates to give them a little style. I have something in mind... I also bought some DOM tubing today and dropped it off at a local tube bending shop to have parts of it bent. I'll also need to purchase a tube cutting tool so I can make some clean cuts for welding.

Since I'm on hold for that I started to mock up the rear inner wheel wells as I'll be making my own mini tubs. I have the driver side set up, now I just need to slice up a strip of metal and start fitting it in place. Fortunately for me since I'm going to flare out the quarter panels I'll need to modify the outer wheel wells too. This will allow me to correct any imperfections/ errors I might make on the inner wheels wells.

It might be a few weeks again before I get any time to work on this. I am booked this weekend, and the following will be my anniversary. Summers sure are busy...

[ssick chevelle]

awesome work so far. ill be tuning into this project on a regular basis for updates.

[Tuske427]

somehow I missed posting pics of my pvc tubes mocked up...

[Tuske427]

I was able to get a little work done this weekend on the driver inner wheel well mini tub project. First- I got the tubes for my motor mounts back from the pipe shop that bent them. Since there was a price minimum, I had them bend a couple extra just in case. 2 are bent at 37º and the other 2 are at 45º. Even with that I still over paid. Time to buy my own pipe bender... I'll start that project after I receive my pipe notcher from the Eastwood co.

So I was able to weld up the strip of metal I cut to fit the inner wheel well and have it roughly welded in place. It fit pretty well. I had only one area that bubbled out on me and a quick slice to the side fixed that. I still need to go over some areas and then do some trimming on the inside, but all in all I'm very happy with the result. I also made a frame rail piece that follows the contour of the mini tub- wow, it was amazing how much that strengthened up the back end of this car. It's been in pieces for so long I have forgotten what a solid car feels like. Every time I'd roll it in and out of the garage it would shake and rattle like jello, and it's finally doing less and less. A good feeling of accomplishment...

Next weekend is our wedding anniversary so I won't be working on the car.

[waynieZ]

Nice job it looks great.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne!

This weekend I was able to resume on the car. I was able to finish up welding the driver side inner wheel well and I started the passenger side. I ran out of welding gas today so I was not able to finish welding it. I'll have to do that next weekend. I used the remainder of the day today to start cutting the tubes to make my engine mounts. I had to shim the body dolly and then shim the engine to get it centered and level, but the lesson I learned today was that I should have located the car in the garage farther so I could shut my garage door without disturbing it. I didn't- so I will have to do all that again next weekend.

The last pic I took shows a gap from the tubing to the dr side frame rail. When I position the tube correctly, that gap goes away. It was the only pic I had in this view...

[Tuske427]

This past Friday and Sat I worked on my car. I was able to finish up the passenger side inner fender and get some progress on my engine mounts.

I was able to use my new Eastwood tubing notcher and it worked quite well. Of course, it makes a big mess as I'm using a lot of oil to keep the blade cool.

It took a lot of grinding, test fitting, grinding more, etc. to get them to fit. I first welded them with that "worm bead" and it looked more like gummy worms, so I went over them with spot welding for a cleaner look. I also made some gussets for added strength. Now all I need to do is make the plates that connect to the tube I'll use to trap the engine mount bolts.

What's funny is the pvc tubing I used still fit. I guess I made them accurate, or consistent, to my mock ups...

I also need to make a little more trimming for the engine before it goes back in.

[AM.MSCL]

Nice Fab work! It looks like you going to have to fab the headers for the car also!

[Tuske427]

Nice Fab work! It looks like you going to have to fab the headers for the car also!

Thank you!

Fortunately, the headers, hopefully, won't be too bad. I have a set of the Edelbrock LS1 headers, and the driver side will need two of the tubes rebuilt. the passenger side still fits with clearance to spare. The engine mount tubes were built around the headers in place.

[Tuske427]

I had some time today to work on the car (I have to go in to work tomorrow and won't have a chance to work on it, so I'm posting my weekly progress tonight) but I was able to finally bolt the engine in today. After getting the tubing mounts ready I made the engine bolt tubes out of some chrome moly tubing my neighbor Brett (67Zo6camaro) hooked me up with. He also helped to tig weld them in as I don't know if my equipment is set up to weld chrome moly. I filled in the ends and bolted the engine in. Now I'm in the process of building the trans cross member and mount.

I'll be using the original trans mount and modifying it to fit. I'm working on "scalping" the top so it can sit higher (more exhaust clearance) and building some brackets to weld to the inner frame rails so I can bolt this new cross member where it needs to go. I should get this part finished up and installed next weekend.

[Firebird-Geek]

I have been on this site and Pro-touring for months now reading and watching people build their projects... but this build has to be one of my favorites!! :thumbsup:

It is AMAZING to see the thought and effort you are putting in to the tweaks that add improved functionality and uniqueness to the car. They are also ones that don't break the bank like some of the custom garage builds (I know I can't afford a CNC machine :eek: ).

As a fellow Firebird owner, you are making one of the coolest firebirds I have seen. I cannot wait to see what you do next... (especially when it comes time to fitting the front bumper better than the factory did with their 3/4 inch gap.) Keep it up... If I could I would buy you a beer just to ask you a TON of questions and advice on my build!!:cheers:

[Tuske427]

I have been on this site and Pro-touring for months now reading and watching people build their projects... but this build has to be one of my favorites!! :thumbsup:

It is AMAZING to see the thought and effort you are putting in to the tweaks that add improved functionality and uniqueness to the car. They are also ones that don't break the bank like some of the custom garage builds (I know I can't afford a CNC machine :eek: ).

As a fellow Firebird owner, you are making one of the coolest firebirds I have seen. I cannot wait to see what you do next... (especially when it comes time to fitting the front bumper better than the factory did with their 3/4 inch gap.) Keep it up... If I could I would buy you a beer just to ask you a TON of questions and advice on my build!!:cheers:

Thank you! You're too kind. I'd be happy to talk Firebirds and advise in any way I can. I can't take all the credit, as I've referenced other car builds and taken advise and help from others myself. It does help having built some cars before, but each time I take a project on, it's more involved than the last. (makes me wonder what I'll do on the next car)

I too wish I had a CNC machine and was versed in Pro E. :)

[Tuske427]

I had some time after work on Friday to finish up my trans crossmember. I was able to weld the brackets on and attach it. Nothing is torqued down, of course, but the bolts line up and the car is holding the engine.

Next weekend we'll be busy, so it'll be another couple of weeks before I can resume again.

[waynieZ]

It looks good in there.

[geberhard]

Brendon, loving the the progress man, keep it coming!!

[Tuske427]

Thank you, will do my best to!

[Tuske427]

I had to work this weekend, so I took on a small project with the spare time I had- I modified the rear seat brace. Since I'm not going to have a back seat in this, I'd like to have a flat panel in its place. The OEM design is angled, so I trimmed it back to mount higher up/ be in line with the axle tunnel, pie cut it and put it back together. This way when (one day) I put an interior in this I can make a flat panel and use some removable attachments for it. It'll likely be covered in either the floor carpet or whatever I used for the package shelf. Not sure yet..

These pics came out blurrier than usual so it's not anyone else's eyes (just mine). I also got distracted with a side project. I was given a prototype (sales model) of an old Tomy "Monster Machines" truck the other week. It's a hand built sample (cast resin, hand painted, etc) and too cool to just let sit and rot in my attic so I built a little shelf for it in my garage along with some other toys I have on display.

I really need so start spending some money. It's high time I get the brakes and wheel rims so I can start some other projects like my inner fender mods, reinstalling the quarter panels, outer inner fenders, remainder truck extensions, etc. Oh, I also need to get hold of a tubing bender so I can build that cage I was thinking about.

[19,69camaro]

Love all the fab work you putting into the car. It looks great. I read how you centered your rear axle within a 1/16th of an inch. Im trying to do that right now do you have any pointers that could help me out? I tried looking but couldnt find much

[Tuske427]

Love all the fab work you putting into the car. It looks great. I read how you centered your rear axle within a 1/16th of an inch. Im trying to do that right now do you have any pointers that could help me out? I tried looking but couldnt find much

Thank you! I must admit I had some help. Brett over at www.fab53.com gave me a hand with it. With the car level we used long square tubing to extend outward over each axle and made sure each were perpendicular to the car. we checked against reference points on the body that had not been removed. from that we were able to measure the bars front to back, then side to side and diagonally across. We also used "plumb bobs" (a string with a weight) to measure against. be sure they aren't swinging!

It was a lot of measuring, re measuring, then measuring again later. The numbers were consistent. (unless we were consistently wrong??) The nice thing about the DSE rear is I can still make adjustments to the axle location by adjusting the thread depth on the tubular links. I hope this is helpful.

-Brendon

[Tuske427]

I got a day or so in on my car last Labor Day weekend- most of it was spent painting the trim on my house.

My project was to add the DSE brake bracket to my car. I thought it would be easy, but I had issue after issue adding it. We all have those days, I suppose. I did fill in the old holes to help smooth out the firewall. I eventually got it attached, and added some metal underneath it, too.

Then I went to mock up my Hydratech brake unit, which for some reason doesn't align with the bolt holes. So I'm working with the folks at Hydratech and it's looking like I'll need to modify the DSE braket to make it fit.

On another note I did order my brakes through Kore 3 and I'm looking forward for those to arrive.

[Tuske427]

This weekend I made a little progress. Following up from last weekend I got that DSE plate welded in, only to realize two things: 1- my Hydratech brake unit wasn't fitting, and 2- I didn't like the angle the clutch hydraulic cylinder was at. There's an old saying about measuring twice, cut once. I need to learn that.

I had a little guidance from the folks at Hydratech, so that is all taken care of. Good customer service there, btw. As for the clutch cylinder, I cut back out the metal I put in and made a groove in the bracket so I could bend it to the angle I wanted. I located a hole on the clutch pedal 3" down from the pivot point to reduce the pedal travel and help firm up the clutch feel a little. I also welded the foot plates onto the levers better. I didn't like how little the factory attached them.

After being temporarily side tracked with putting the column and wheel in, I also wanted to add a clutch pedal stopper as I don't want to bottom out the hydraulic cylinder. Raiding my scrap metal bucket I pirated a piece of scrap 2" square tubing and welded it onto the side of the pedal bracket. I originally was thinking about installing a rubber plug on the end of it, but then changed my mind to make an adjustable stopper. So I welded on a nut, and have a bolt with a second jam nut on there for adjustment.

I ran out of time today so it'll have to be assembled next weekend. I also shortened the pushrod extension so that is aligned to fit. Next weekend I'll also replace the metal on the firewall I had removed.

[67zo6Camaro]

As usual Brendon, you have done an excellent job getting it done. Thanks for the plug.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, Brett!

I put in some time this weekend on my front fenders. Well, one of them, and only half of it. And I started it last weekend. I'm rebuilding them to accommodate the larger wheels I plan to use. I really had to get old school on these as I don't have an english wheel, a shrinker/ stretcher, or a gas welder. I don't even have a pellet bag. So I wrapped up an old bed sheet and got the hammers out. I started to build it in one piece, but that wasn't working so I cut it into sections and was able to rebuild the inner half. I may have to notch it to make more room for my master cylinder, but I'll deal with that when I have to. I'm now starting to build the outer half. I've made a template and cut the metal, but will have to wait until next weekend to fab that, and the fender itself. My plan is to relocate the fender attachments upwards so this will still connect to one another.

I also recessed an area in the bottom corner to make room for the hoop supports that will eventually find its way in the car.

[geberhard]

Brendon! Wow, very nicelly done!!

Gui

[waynieZ]

Damm that looks good! Nice work, its going to be Sweet when its all painted.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, guys!

This weekend I was able to finish up the driver's side front wheel well. I built the outer half, as well as made the fender modifications to attach it. I removed most of the original mounting flange, added a double wall along the outside edge to restore strength, then made a new flange welded to the inside of the fender in a higher location.

Next I added some material to reduce the large opening the oem design had. I left some room in case I use the other DSE supplied bushings for the upper control arms.

Now the real trick will be to make the passenger side look the same. I'll do my best to follow my method of building the driver side to come up with an approximate close shape. I've just started to rough out the middle shape.

I won't be working on this next weekend so it'll be a couple of weeks before I get back to this.

[waynieZ]

Dam that looks good! Nice work.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne. It sure takes a long time, though...

[cencalc6]

very nice work on those fenders :cheers:

[Tuske427]

Thank you!

Quick progress update- still building the passenger inner fender. Making it symmetrical, by hand, is time consuming. It's still not symmetrical. I can see major differences. The only comforting fact is that these parts were never truly symmetrical from the factory. Since I'll have things like the master cylinder and steering components on one side it'll help hide this. I still have a lot of work to do....

[67rstbkt]

Wow, nice detail work. I would have never thought about doing that with the fenderwells. :hail:

[geberhard]

Thank you!

Quick progress update- still building the passenger inner fender. Making it symmetrical, by hand, is time consuming. It's still not symmetrical. I can see major differences. The only comforting fact is that these parts were never truly symmetrical from the factory. Since I'll have things like the master cylinder and steering components on one side it'll help hide this. I still have a lot of work to do....

They look very asymetrical, completely distorted will make your car run slower and spend more gas with all the extra weight and bigger tires that will fit. I think you need to ship them to Northern Cal :D JK killer work!!

[Tuske427]

Cool, thanks!

I got a day in this weekend to work on refining the inner half of my passenger wheel well. It took some pounding, some slicing, more pounding, etc. I also made the recessed area in front for the hoop supports. It's starting to look reasonably close. I'll be in Vegas next week/ weekend for SEMA so this will get a little break. Then I'll get back to building the outer half.

[waynieZ]

Its looking good!

[Tuske427]

Thanks again, Wayne!

Wow, finally got back into the garage this weekend, even though it was only a few hours. Last weekend I stayed the weekend in Vegas after SEMA as my folks flew into town to visit...

This weekend I was able to cut the flange off the passenger fender and weld up the inner wall, as well as cut out a new flange and get that tacked into place. I made a template off the driver side so I could reasonably match it up. I'll then build the outer half of the inner fender to match it.

[Tuske427]

Got a little more done this weekend- finished up the inner passenger fender.
I also started on those inner fender brackets. Fortunately, those don't need a lot of fabricating. I'll be removing the pressed in nuts on the brackets and relocating them to the flange on the firewall as the bracket will be located on the inner side of that now. Also, only 2 of the bolt holes line up now so I'll turn it into an opportunity to trim them down.

[Tuske427]

Some weekends even though I spend full two days in the garage it still doesn't seem like I accomplished much. I finished up the inner fender brackets, sand blasted them (as well as a few other parts) and painted them, installed my doors, added more braces up front to the chassis (something I was thinking about that I should have done sooner) I like the result of adding these as it'll help support the lower control arm, but, as my neighbor pointed out this is smack dab in the way of where my anti sway bar will go. I'll have to ditch the one from my DSE kit and go with a different style that locates lower. I also spent some time thinking about my cage and exhaust and made a couple of rough sketches. Too rough to post, so I'll make new (presentable) ones and post them later.

[Tuske427]

A while back I bought the Eastwood tube bender so I could fabricate my cage. I'm finally to a point to start using it. The instructions say to mount it down for safe operation. Since I'm working out of my garage I don't have the space to permanently locate it so I thought I'd build a base for it on casters so I could move it around when needed and easily store it. I used leftover square tubing I had and cobbled something together. Pics are attached.

Today I decided to try it out and build something simple like the hoop support tubes for the front end. First tube bent no problem. On the second tube- snap- was the sound of the die splitting in two. @#$%^!! And this was before 11am. Way too early to call it a day.

My first Macguyver attempt to keep it going involved some vise grips on the die in an attempt to keep it together. This didn't work as the force of bending the tube exceeded the strength of the grips. The flattened tube was the result and is now scrap.

The second Macguyver attempt involved drilling some holes and bolting the die back together. This seemed to work. I was able to make my second tube and resume working.

I also made some plates to level out the area on the frame where I'll be welding them in, as well as on the firewall. They're welded in, but I need to clean these up then I can trim the tubes down and weld them in. I'll have to buy more tubing to make the rest of the cage- which will be some time next year as the remainder of my weekends this year are booked for the holidays.

As for the tube bender- hopefully I can get a replacement, and then I'll see about buying some steel dies...

[Tuske427]

more pics from this weekend...

[geberhard]

ouch on the die...bythe way how were you bending it without securing the bender to the floor?

[Tuske427]

ouch on the die...bythe way how were you bending it without securing the bender to the floor?

It's quite possible I'm doing it wrong, but so far (other than the die snapping) it seems to be working.

The base that I made is sturdy with the strongest rated wheels I could buy. My thinking was that engine cherry pickers are on casters and they work fine, so why couldn't this. I intentionally located the bender forward on my cart to allow more leverage for the back half as this is where I'm pushing down on the jack handle. It has more than enough sturdiness and length to not tip over. The tubing is clamped down inside the unit so that isn't going anywhere, either. Also, since I'm pushing down on the jack handle slowly, it's not out of control trying to roll away on me.

Then again, I've only built the hoop supports. If it proves to be problematic, I can always remove the casters and attach it to my garage floor.

[Tuske427]

Happy 2012!

After a 3 week trip in Taiwan, I'm back now and put a little time in on the car today. I located and welded in the hoop supports as well as cut holes in my inner fenders for clearance. I've roughly shaped patch pieces for the fenders, and will weld them in as soon as I get the chance.

[waynieZ]

Happy New Year right back at ya. Its looking good.

[KPC67]

Happy new year! Great job on the inner fenders!

[Ron in SoCal]

Love your Sunday night updates Brendan! Looks great Sir...:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Thank you, everyone! Finally, I was able to get a full weekend in on my car. It's the first one of the year, and the first one within the past 2 months. I was having withdrawls...

Anyways, On Fri I was able to patch the holes I made on my inner fenders and spent yesterday and today by starting to mock up the cage in my car. Since this car will see the street I don't want the cage too close to my head, nor do I want to always wear a helmet while I drive. I know this won't pass NHRA tech because of that, and that's OK. The purpose is to provide more rigidity and a bit of safety than Pontiac provided in 1967.

My plan is to build a "6 point" style cage. I'm making my own so I can fit it where I want and how I want. I'm going to have this fit up as close as possible to the body so I can attach it to the body in various locations for additional strength.

I made some rough estimates as to where I'll be sitting and how much room I need (hence why I put the wheel and pedals back in) and determined that the main hoop can be exactly where the ashtrays used to reside on the rear seat armrests. This is cool as I can reuse the original vinyl from them. Of course, the arm rests had to be trimmed down to clear the inner wheel tubs.

I made two versions of the rear down tubes and decided on the "version 2" as it is a less severe bend and should be a little stronger for that. I'll also add gussets in critical areas as well as plates on the rockers for strength.

It seems like I don't have much to show for a full weekend's worth of work, however, one benefit to this is it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to cut and grind plastic than it is DOM steel. Plus, I can see it, and change it if I don't like it. Next weekend I'll work on the bars that run along the doors. They'll fit nicely underneath the "deluxe" armrests on the '67 Firebird.

[67zo6Camaro]

Looks good.

[KPC67]

coming along nicely.

[geberhard]

Brenden, I like teh weight savings of PVC but not sure how well it will do on a full rollover situation.





































:lol:

Kidding, great job man, I also mock suspension linkage, shocks, etc out of pvc and wood :) Add some more triangulation to the design and you should be good :D

[Tuske427]

Brenden, I like the weight savings of PVC but not sure how well it will do on a full rollover situation.

:lol:

Kidding, great job man, I also mock suspension linkage, shocks, etc out of pvc and wood :) Add some more triangulation to the design and you should be good :D

Thank you! Oh yes, I will be adding triangles. My plan for that main hoop is one large diagonal bar (creating 2 triangles in the process) as well as a horizontal bar across for seat belt mounting. I will make and trim them, but not weld these two in yet as I may still need access to the interior while I'm building the car. I'll weld these in before painting. I'll also make gusset/ triangular braces for the rear down tubes as well as the bars that run along the side.

I'll also be making the plates to distribute the surface area/ load. Just takes time. I could only imagine how little time I'd have to work on this if I had kids.

[Tuske427]

Ok, I had some time to work on my car this weekend. First pic I have is actually from last week- I had only enough time to make a mock up of the side bar that will run along the doors. The cool thing is the door panel armrests have a nice radius that will allow the tubing to tuck underneath it. The only downside is they are not truly parallel (they angle up towards the front) So, this gives me a choice of either running the bar equal to the arm rest (which would have it angle upwards toward the front) or keep it parallel to the rocker panel. I'm choosing the latter to keep more legroom for ingress/ egress.

After making this model I ordered the DOM tubing from a local metal shop (they cut down the 20' lengths for me) and picked it up after work during the week and I thought I was all set to start bending tubing on Friday. I was wrong. My economy Eastwood bender just wasn't up to the task. The u shaped bracket wasn't strong enough. It didn't even have a chance. Trying to bend the 1.75" tubing ripped it apart like aluminum foil. So I spent the rest of the day building a new one out of stronger metal only to discover that even with that, the jack wasn't strong enough to bend the metal. So now I've used the thing 2x, and it has broke 2x. not happy.

Fast forward to today (Sunday) my neighbor Brett (Fab 53) was able to save the day. He helped bend the tubing for me with the proper equipment. It looks beautiful! I also had enough time to make some base plates for the rocker panels. Next weekend I hope to work on trimming the tubing and work on getting this thing installed.

[Ron in SoCal]

Pretty cool neighborhood...:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

I got a little work done on the car- I was able to weld some of the cage in. Using my cardboard panel template I trimmed the main hoop down, and then cut each down tube in back to fit. They were not easy, lots of complex angles, trimming, more trimming, etc. After getting the down tubes tacked in place I had to cut away the rocker panels to allow the cage to move forward so I could complete the welding. Then put them back together, weld in the plates along the rocker panels and weld the cage to the car. I added a couple of small gussets at the bottom of the main hoop for additional strength. I also had enough time to cut the door bars and fit them- they required a tricky cut in front to go around the bend. I have them mostly welding in, but I'll have to cut the sheet metal away behind the doors to gain enough access to fully weld them in. Then I can add more gussets/ braces for support and triangulation of the bars for increased strength. Until the next weekend...

[waynieZ]

Nice progress. It looks like it fits good.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, Wayne!

This weekend I was able to get some additional time on the 'cage. The weekend started out with one of the wheels breaking on my dolly- meaning I've exceeded the weight capacity of them and need to lighten the car up. So I got a little side tracked and took the engine & trans back out as I don't have to have those in right now. (After the cage build I'll be needing to install my brakes- more weight- so I can determine the rear wheel offset, which, when delivered, will tell me just how much I need to push out my qtr panels and then I can install those.) The car is now easier to move in/ out of my garage again...

I was able to add the gussets to the down tubes from the main hoop, as well as to the suspension crossmember. I also added a few bars under the door bars and a few plates to tie the car body to the cage.

I don't have a main diagonal cross brace in yet. My plan is to make this one removable, so I need to order some of those fancy "cage connector" pieces. This way I can add this in for an open track day, and save a few pounds when not needed.

[waynieZ]

Your progress looks good. Did you call AAA to get that flat fixed lol :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Yes, and I was on hold for only 3 hours....

During the week I got a little credit card happy and ordered some fancy "cage connectors", as well as more KBS paint for my car. I was able to add in my diagonal brace and make it bolt in/ removable so I can access the back and save a a few pounds while not at the track. I also cleaned my hubs- only to realize I don't have a matched set. D'oh! One has factory casting #'s, the other doesn't and is an obviously aftermarket turd. So I'll have to step up and get some better hubs, but these will have to do for now. I still cleaned them up, painted them, even baked them on my grille "carbeque", and threw in new Timken bearings/ races and placed it on my car so I could sethte rotors on (driver side only) and now I'll be able to calculate the offset for the wheels. Next week. I hope.

[geberhard]

That is HUGE progress! Looking awesome, and coming out great! Where did you get the connectors from and $$? The cage looks awesome, looks stouter than a tiger cage!

[Tuske427]

That is HUGE progress! Looking awesome, and coming out great! Where did you get the connectors from and $$? The cage looks awesome, looks stouter than a tiger cage!

Thank you!

While searching online I stumbled on this forum which shows several brands:

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7265

and chose the Ballistic Fabrication.

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/ID-Tube-Clamp_p_1467.html

prices are dependant on size. I used the 1.75" OD / 1.5" ID

I hope this is helpful

[syborg tt]

Cage looks awesome

So what seats are you using

[Tuske427]

Cage looks awesome

So what seats are you using

Thank you!

Good question- haven't decided yet. Currently, I'm leaning towards a street/ track seat like a Corbeau A4, etc. I have yet to sit in one though. I want something light, has good side support and won't take 20 minutes to get in or out of. Whatever it is it'll be black cloth. I have never liked leather. I need it to breathe.

[Tuske427]

I was able to squeeze in a few hours this weekend between dodging the rain we've had, servicing both my motorcycle and truck, taking time out to celebrate the St. Patrick's day, and helping a friend install a hood tach on his #'s matching '68 Firebird 400.

I was able to install the top of the dashboard on my car. I also filled in the speaker holes in the middle. Unfortunately, my camera was charging while I did that so the pics are limited this weekend.

[67rstbkt]

I was able to squeeze in a few hours this weekend between dodging the rain we've had, servicing both my motorcycle and truck, taking time out to celebrate the St. Patrick's day, and helping a friend install a hood tach on his #'s matching '68 Firebird 400.

I was able to install the top of the dashboard on my car. I also filled in the speaker holes in the middle. Unfortunately, my camera was charging while I did that so the pics are limited this weekend.

Looks great! I like the idea of filling in that hole in the dash, why didn't I think of that:cheering:

[Tuske427]

Looks great! I like the idea of filling in that hole in the dash, why didn't I think of that:cheering:

Thank you! You know, it's not too late...

[67rstbkt]

Thank you! You know, it's not too late...

It might be.....already painted my dash, lol

[Tuske427]

Wow, feels like it's been forever since I've posted an update. This weekend I installed my (new to me) repro '69 T/A spoiler, installed (also new to me) some '69 Camaro Z-28 "short" steering arms (pic shows the one I had with the new, shorter one), played around with mocking up wheel sizes and installed the driver side quarter panel.

It looks like I'll be using 18x10 in front and 18x 12 in back and should have most, if not all complete suspension and steering travel. I ordered a set of Kore 3 billet hubs and will confirm final wheels measurements after installing those. I'm going to need to trim my wheel openings more to keep from hitting.

Wow, that quarter panel was a lot of work. It would have been a breeze had I just put it where GM did in '67. No, I had to be different. I had to flare it out ever so slightly to give it a more aggressive look. This resulted in a lot of adjusting , measuring, making sure the body lines look right, cutting, making patch parts, recycling what was left of my original quarter panel, blending into my custom tail panel, etc. And this was the easy side. all I had to do was make it look good. The other side will be much more difficult. I'll have to do all that again, as well as mirror the driver side. cool.

I have more plans for further customization for the wheel openings and quarter panels, too. Stay tuned.

[Tuske427]

more pics from this weekend including the little pieces I had to make to help fill in the rear area to the tail panel. This isn't all of them, just two. I think I had 3 other ones I made...

I think I have one "high spot" along the edge of the quarter panel. It can only be seen from the front view. I need to check (could be a reflection) if not, then I'll need to slightly trim it. No big deal.

[Ron in SoCal]

Sick Bro. Quarter stretch in your driveway..:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Sick Bro. Quarter stretch in your driveway..:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

thanks!

[geberhard]

Brendon awesome work! really dig how it is coming along! I was debating on a 69 rear pannel for the 68, seemed like it could work to help a bit with the width, but after seeing yours I am more inspired!

Killer work, keep it coming!

Gui

[Tuske427]

Brendon awesome work! really dig how it is coming along! I was debating on a 69 rear pannel for the 68, seemed like it could work to help a bit with the width, but after seeing yours I am more inspired!

Killer work, keep it coming!

Gui

Thanks! Yeah, I prefer the earlier taillights over the '69 style. Another option is to get a second tail panel, and splice them together to make it wider. That was my alt plan to make the tail panel wider. The opportunity there is this allows you to move the taillights further apart...

[Chicken Louie]

Awsome Fab Work

I like how your quarters turned out:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Awsome Fab Work

I like how your quarters turned out:thumbsup:

Thank you! I just hope I make the other side match now....

[John510]

Wow. I really need to learn how to weld. The stretched quarters are cool

[Tuske427]

Thanks! I never even welded before having this car. There's a lot I need to learn, too. The paragraph below speaks of one such example I should know already...

This weekend I was able to start on the outer half of the inner wheel housing. Again, not able to leave it alone I had to go and modify it for more room. I trimmed it all nice to fit inside flush to the quarter panel only to weld it in and then see it shrink away. Now I have a nice gap (albeit fairly consistent) so I'll need to fill this in. Hopefully I'll get that taken care of next weekend as well as the trunk extension for the driver side.

I also got the Kore 3 hubs- they look so sweet!

[waynieZ]

Nice job, keep at it it looks good.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, Wayne!

This week I got a little work done and was able to finish up the driver quarter. I added the quarter extension in, added material to the inner bumper structure, and trimmed and added the trunk floor extension.

I used '69 trunk floor extensions thinking they would have more material to work with. I flattened the curved area to maximize material and trimmed it to fit.

On the underside of the wheel well I ended up making a few trim pieces to fill in the gap. this gave me more area to attach to the quarter to. I also added a second wall to the inside of the fender edge for more strength (which I trimmed the recessed step away- I'll be doing this to the remaining ones also)

There is quite a gap on the inside where tail pipes once went. I won't be running my exhaust past the axle so I'm thinking of closing this area off.

[waynieZ]

Its coming out nice,plus it leaves you plenty of room on the other side to recess the battery into the floor if you decide to.

[Tuske427]

Its coming out nice,plus it leaves you plenty of room on the other side to recess the battery into the floor if you decide to.

That's a cool idea! I like that. I just might have to do that now...

[waynieZ]

That's a cool idea! I like that. I just might have to do that now...
:thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

I got a little time in today to start on the pass side quarter panel installation. I spent a third of the day today just aligning my door and front fender first to get them aligned better for reference. Without it, I'd be guessing where the panel is going.

Till next weekend....

[Tuske427]

Another week, another project update. I worked on the passenger quarter today. Got a little more welding in and started on the back area. I got curious and pulled out the bumper I have. It's slightly dented, so I'll need to repair or replace it. What's interesting is it almost fits. It's very close. so, either I can modify the car to fit the bumper or the bumper to fit the car. There are advantages to both options, so I'll need to weigh them and run with one.

[waynieZ]

It looks good,nice progress. Its amazing that you spread the quarters that much and the bumper almost fits. I quess they left a lot of room to play with in them.

[Tuske427]

It looks good,nice progress. Its amazing that you spread the quarters that much and the bumper almost fits. I quess they left a lot of room to play with in them.

Yeah, I was quite surprised, too. I'm sure there's some tolerance built into them, considering the multiple plants, etc.

Part of me wants to leave the bumper alone and modify the car so, if I ever needed another bumper, I could just throw another one on. However, from the preliminary line up, it appears the angle of the bumper and panels don't align anymore- which will force me to modify the bumper instead.

[Tuske427]

OK, so I got a little time in on my car today. I was able to wrap up the back panel pieces/ installation. Next weekend I hope to get going on the wheel well assembly. June will be a non productive month for me :(

In other news I came across a local survivor '68 400 car. #'s matching, AC/ deluxe interior, black plates, etc. Very complete car. If I get it I'd tool around in it as a cruiser (roof is shot under that vinyl), but that would be $$/ time I'm not putting into my car. Decisions decisions...

[captainofiron]

OK, so I got a little time in on my car today. I was able to wrap up the back panel pieces/ installation. Next weekend I hope to get going on the wheel well assembly. June will be a non productive month for me :(

In other news I came across a local survivor '68 400 car. #'s matching, AC/ deluxe interior, black plates, etc. Very complete car. If I get it I'd tool around in it as a cruiser (roof is shot under that vinyl), but that would be $$/ time I'm not putting into my car. Decisions decisions...

Pretty nice car, thats exactly how my car came originally except the 400 ram air.

[waynieZ]

When I first saw the gap on the end of the tail panel I thought moving the light out was the way to go but I really like what you did, Nice Job it came out great.

[Tuske427]

When I first saw the gap on the end of the tail panel I thought moving the light out was the way to go but I really like what you did, Nice Job it came out great.

Thank you, Wayne. Yeah, if the back was flared out any more, the taillights would have had to come out some. I think I'm at the limit of pulling off what I did :)

[captainofiron]

When I first saw the gap on the end of the tail panel I thought moving the light out was the way to go but I really like what you did, Nice Job it came out great.

Now that I am looking at it closer, the way the taillights are, almost looks 67 GTO-esque

[Tuske427]

Now that I am looking at it closer, the way the taillights are, almost looks 67 GTO-esque

That's Ok, it's still a Pontiac :)

I made some progress this weekend on the inner fender. It's pretty much wrapped up, and the next project will be the trunk extension. Everything was going great until around 3 something this afternoon when a neighbor called the cops on me to complain about the noise. Apparently, there's a "no power tools" ordinance in my town- which is geared towards construction. The officer was very friendly and seemed to like my project, explained to me that a project like mine is a grey area as it's not really construction, so the complaining neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, would have to press charges and take me to court. bleech....

I also ran out of welding gas, but, at least I was able to get through the day. Coincidentally, I'll be busy the next month so they'll get their quiet, just not for the reasons they think... Pics attached.

[FETorino]

Wow getting a lot accomplished there. :thumbsup:

Did you jump on the survivor?

[Tuske427]

Wow getting a lot accomplished there. :thumbsup:

Did you jump on the survivor?

No. Not yet at least. I have been unsuccessful in convincing my wife why I need two identical cars. The good news is the car is not actually listed for sale. (It belongs to a coworker of mine who's had it for some time.) So there is no pressure of "missing out"...

[Tuske427]

Wow, it's been a month since I've posted. Where does the time go?? Oh yeah, 2 weeks overseas for work and a vacation tacked on afterwards.

Anyways, last I left off working on the trunk extension for the passenger side along with a recessed battery tray (idea courtesy of Wayne, thanks!). On the day I left for China, I started building a basic box slightly larger than the dimensions Optima has on their website. Only I didn't leave myself enough material so I had to add a bit more. (Math never was my strong suit)

I was able to get back in the garage yesterday and add the bottom to my battery tray, as well as recycle the last of my original tail panel- I saved the pieces in between the tail lights. I used these as supports for the bottom of my battery tray box. I also made a frame rail brace, and boxed in the frame in that area. I also worked on trimming the trunk extension panel to make room for the battery box.

Of course, my Eastwood welder pooped out on me (will deal with that this week), but I still have my Miller so I continued working with that for the day. Hopefully I can get more time in next weekend.

[Tuske427]

Just a quick update, I got a little work in today (This weekend was busy attending the Hot Wheels double dare loop at the X-games. BTW pretty cool if you haven't see it: http://www.youtube.com/user/HOTWHEELS/featured?v=c6PQ49B5Gpw ) by attaching the battery box and getting the truck panel welded in. I still have a bit more welding and one patch panel to add on the back side, then I can clean it up and move onto the next project...

[waynieZ]

Its looking good, a lot of nice progress sense I last checked in.

[Tuske427]

Its looking good, a lot of nice progress sense I last checked in.

Thank you. Yeah, I was given this cool idea to recess the battery into the trunk.... :)

[1transam]

Yeah i agree the bird is looking good...

[geberhard]

definitely dig the bat recess!!

[Tuske427]

Thanks!!

I had some time over the holiday weekend to work on the car, but didn't have a chance to post pics until now. I did some rudimentary work- installing the bumper braces (which didn't align anymore, so I had to cut and rebuild them) I trimmed the center panel in the trunk down to fit, as well as trimmed the brake light brackets to fit (they work now). I started to build my recessed fuel neck area. My goal is to modify this so I can use a modern fuel pump to refuel. I don't like how the fuel pumps (here in CA, anyhow) all have those "vapor recovery" devices on there and make refueling old cars a nuisance. I will build more of then when I install the tank and figure out the filler neck. I also trimmed the driver side front wheel opening, and am currently working on the inner fender. I also need to follow through on the fender extension, and then trim the passenger side.

[Tuske427]

Today I was able to finish up the driver front wheel opening revision. This included finishing up the inner fenders to align with the enlarged wheel opening, and then completely rebuild the fender extension to match. The set from my car were pretty rusty (much like the rest of the car was). Fortunately, I have an extra passenger side extra, but just one driver side so I removed the rot and replaced the metal.

Hopefully next weekend I can get started on the front pass side. Enjoy!

[captainofiron]

I wish I had at least half the fabbing skills you do. :hail:

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Captain, you're too kind.

I got a few hours in this weekend, I was able to get most of the passenger side done. This went much faster (maybe because I didn't have to sandblast off some rubberize undercoating and rust) but I still need to drill holes and align the panel to fit. Next weekend, I hope.

[Tuske427]

I got another day in this weekend- I worked on improving the fit of the fender/ fender extension and lower valence panel. There are a few "before" pics where you can see poor panel alignment. I used a combination of tweaking the shapes and adding some weld on the edges to reduce the nasty gaps. It's not perfect, but, it is better than before...

[waynieZ]

It definitely looks a lot better. :thumbsup:

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Wayne!

This weekend I worked on more panel alignment/ fitting. I lost count of how many times I put the fenders on, took the fenders off, made an adjustment here and there, then put the fenders on, then took them off....

I also did numerous trimming on the inner fenders, but not enough as I need to make more. I also trimmed off one of the brackets on the underside of the fender- this allowed me to move it back farther for a nicer fit. I still have to take them off again and trim on the fender to prevent the door from scraping it. I have the gaps pretty tight, I'm hoping I'll be able to keep this, as it looks much better than I remember it being before.

I also took the time to fill in some holes on the core support (it was like it was perforated) and I widened the area for the radiator opening.

The goal now is to get the sheet metal on and aligned, as I have a few more customizing ideas I want to do, but I'll need the panels on for measuring, etc.

[firebirddady69]

you think you can build me a roll cage:unibrow:

[Tuske427]

you think you can build me a roll cage:unibrow:

I'd be happy to help however I can. Just know that the equipment I bought isn't up to building the cage I have. I had to have help with it. If you want a thinner gauge/ smaller diameter, my Eastwood bender might have a chance.

Speaking of needing help, I have been working on my car, but I have nothing good to show for it (hence no pics). I've spent 2-3 weeks now trying to align sheet metal and am not even close. Doors are OK, driver fender is ok, but I can't align the passenger fender to save my life. Right now I have 5 shims on top, 5 on the bottom and the middle of the fender still sticks out. I've Anyone have any pointers on doing this?

[Tuske427]

Well, I'm still alive. Between heading out of the country for work, and distracting myself one weekend by drilling out holes on the underside of my hood (and spraying some rust sealer), I finally got the hood and fenders decently aligned. I also worked on modifying the cowl panel to fit better- there were some excessive gaps on the sides. The middle is still a bit high, I'll have to lower that, and then onto more assembly to ultimately trim and fit the front bumper...

[firebirddady69]

nice build:thumbsup:
the holes under the hood, is that to make it lighter?

[Ron in SoCal]

Looking good Brendon. Keep going Bro :thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

Wow drilling those holes out must have been time consuming. It looks pretty good with the front end all together. Keep at it its looking good.

[Tuske427]

Thank you, everyone! Yes, the holes were an attempt to shed a few pounds, but that's all it really would be, at most. It's also an aesthetic thing I thought would be fun to do since the underside of the hood will be seen. And yes, it took most of my weekend, as well as a few drill bits and a hole saw.

[Chicken Louie]

Looking good!! I love the progress on your build :thumbsup:

[67zo6Camaro]

I little progress is good progress, and definately better than no progress. Keep it up.

:cheers:

[Tuske427]

Thanks, guys!

This weekend I made a little more progress- I was able to finish up trimming my cowl panel by lowering the middle section. It sits pretty well now, and I also installed my bottom most panel (not exactly sure of the name) I didn't like how the factory had it attach on the outside of the lower valence, so I re-engineered it to install on the inside. I also filled in the original bolt holes & redrilled them to fit, as well as widened the panel to fill in the triangular shaped gaps that were there. Then I added a flange to fit along the inner edge and finally welded some nuts on the panel for ease of installation.

I also had a little time this afternoon so I started to install more of the front end. I also got out my "stash" of front bumpers and decided that I'd try combining the two damaged ones I have to make the one I want, as opposed to cutting up a good usable one. I can always use one of them if I fail in my attempt to combine the two. 2 of them are original 400 bumpers, the other two aren't, but they are original non 400 bumpers. The one has been rechromed and has been drilled out to hold a 400 bumper. The shame is without removing the arrowhead emblem one would never know. Original 400 bumpers have two stamped holes in them for the arrowhead emblem.

I started to assemble the bumper and parts- and will need to modify the holes to make them fit further back so I can get a flush fit.

[Tuske427]

A little more progress on my bird this weekend. I chopped off the damaged area of the bumper and welded on the new section, as well as shortened my bumper brackets. I found that I couldn't move the bumper back far enough to where I want it to be, so I shortened it.

Next weekend I'll be at the Hot Wheels collectors convention- let me know if you're going.

-Brendon

[Tuske427]

Yep, still alive. Between attending/ working at the Hot wheels convention, wife's birthday and installing a stove, and general car maintenance (fuel pump replacement, oil changes, etc time sure flies)

I got a little work done today- I spent most of it trimming and adjusting trying to get the bumper to fit. I had to bend it a little, and trim it some, as well as move my hood back a little. I also need to add some material to the front passenger area, and next I will need to slice it and tweak the shape to get it more like the driver side.

Shortening the bumper brackets did help get the bumper closer.

So that's it. Just a little update. Hopefully more next weekend.

[geberhard]

Brendon, I love the magic you are doing with metal on the bird!! I spent a HUGE amount of time reshaping and adjusting gap, etc, so goal wa smuch better than factory, and tight gaps. I had to weld seams, move things around, then grind, then redo a bunch of things, but in the end pays of, so am sure you will be pumped when primer time comes around.

Post up pics of the finished bumper when you get a chance, I am considering chopping mine further for the other project (rear bottom section is semi beat in some areas, and makinfg it skinnier to integrate better on the custom valance (am planning to integrate a 69 maro valance).

Here is the 67 400 coupe pic form a couple weeks ago (still ways to go)

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/75734_10151186859203011_1453056926_n.jpg

and since you are into 90210 body changes, here is what I did on the 68 vert (Lolla), shaved rear gills, and incorporated 69 front fender scoop insert sections:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/geberhard/Firebird%20vert/lola17.jpg

not the best shot but close to how she sits now:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/geberhard/Firebird%20vert/lolla.jpg

[Tuske427]

Thanks, G! Yeah, I like how you made your car different with the '69 parts. It definitely stands out.

The front bumper is still a work in progress. I also had to shorten the lower bumper brackets to get the bumper to sit closer to the body. I spent most of the weekend aligning the body to the ends of the bumper. I also added flanges on the inner edge to help eliminate visible gaps and light shining through. I also had to push some of the fenders out along the bottom edge to sit closer to the bumper. I have some "before" and "after" pics. you cna see the improvements. From that I now need to reposition the header panel as it's causing interference with the hood shutting fully. It got pulled inward as I attempted to get the bumper to sit where I wanted it. After that I need to add some material along the edges of the hood itself and the bumper to get those gaps right. They just don't align to my satisfaction.

Tomorrow I'm off to SEMA, yay!!

[geberhard]

Breandon, excellengt and thankd for the shots! I think even factory never had it as close as yours :)

Gui

[Chicken Louie]

Great work on the front end!! :thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

Looking good!

[Tuske427]

Thanks, guys! I'm not done yet. It's still a work in progress until I get it right.

[bloibl]

I am not sure how to upload a picture on this site but have you seen the 68 68 conv firebird on carsbykris website? Car is cream and green really nice car.

[Tuske427]

I went to the site- lots of cool renderings for sure

I had some time on Sat to work on the front bumper fitment more. Not done yet, it still needs tweaking. Attached are images of the flanges I'm making to help the front bumper stay put and not let light through as I'm not using those rubber gaskets anymore.

[Tuske427]

got one more day in this weekend- am getting closer to getting this to fit right. I have the bumper sitting nice against the fenders, and the top view gap with the hood aligned with the bumper, but now the hood itself appears warped as there are high spots when looking at it from the front. So I have a few options. 1- leave it (yeah, right) 2- add metal to adjust the leading edge to make it appear less warped. 3- slice the under structure and bend the hood out/ re weld the underside back. I think I'll go with #2, then #3 if needed.

[blazer1970]

Nice looking Firebird...

[Tuske427]

Thank you, Blazer!

I spent some time this weekend tweaking the front bumper even more. I think I'm finally set with the front bumper. I had to add material back to my lower bumper brackets as they seemed to be torquing it funny. It kept pulling the bumper to the left which made it go off center. Of course, getting the bumper finally set meant adjusting the hood again, and then that made the cowl panel not fit anymore, so I was back to square one with that. I had to hammer down my inner cowl panel to make the outer cowl panel sit level. Also, one corner is pinching so I had to trim it back. I'll weld it later.

I also started making my rear brake vents. So far I only formed some metal, but I will need to get the actual ducting I plan to use before I go further with it.

[waynieZ]

Its looking good.

[Tuske427]

Its looking good.

Thank you, Wayne!!

[67rstbkt]

Looking pretty awesome! I've been messing with my bumper as well. Getting closer, but I still have a few issues. Mostly the gap between the "beak" and the center of the bumper.

[Tuske427]

Looking pretty awesome! I've been messing with my bumper as well. Getting closer, but I still have a few issues. Mostly the gap between the "beak" and the center of the bumper.

Thank you. Yep, I had that issue, too. To fix it I added material along the top of the bumper so I could reshape it to better match the contour of the hood.

[67rstbkt]

Thank you. Yep, I had that issue, too. To fix it I added material along the top of the bumper so I could reshape it to better match the contour of the hood.

Thanks for the tip!! I was thinking I should try adding to the hood, but I think I'll give the bumper a shot since it worked for you :hail:

[Tuske427]

Thanks for the tip!! I was thinking I should try adding to the hood, but I think I'll give the bumper a shot since it worked for you :hail:

Cool. I actually modified both parts on my car, but, at least with the bumper it's pretty easy to weld, grind, and file. the hood is more sensitive with the thin sheet metal and if you add material- it has to look good form both the top and bottom side since the front edge of the hood is lifted and seen...

[Tuske427]

I started to make my rear brake vents by welding in the scoops I made the other weekend. I used some metal rode to add thickness and strength to the quarter panel as I didn't want to leave it as a single piece of metal.

I hope to get the other side in next weekend.

[KPC67]

The body mods are coming together nicely. :thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

Looks good> Your move along now.