Project Tomahawk: 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400

[atomicjoe23]

Hi all. . .thought I would introduce myself and my car (again). . .I've been visiting the website for a while now (just reading never posting) and have only made two post so far (one asking for people's opinions of the truckarm style rear suspension the other trying to introduce my project but I messed it up so here's the real deal this time).

I'm in San Diego, CA and I will be getting out of the military late this summer so I will finally be able to start work on my own Pro-Touring project. . .a 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400. I've owned the car for 7 years now and I haven't been able to do anything with it in that time because I've been Hawaii for the last 5 years (was in school in South Carolina for the two years previous HI) and the car has been in my dad's garage in Illinois. Now that I'm getting out and I have a good job that pays well lined up I will finally have the time and finances to start work on the car.

Problem Child Kustoms is currently working on a front and rear 3/4 views drawing of the car as it should look when completed. . .the car is going to be a modern pro-touring vehicle but it's going to place a lot of emphasis on the vintage SCCA TransAm racing cars of the late '60's and early '70's as well. . .here are my plans:

Color: Black (possibly graphite or charcoal instead though) is going to be the main color with some graphics reminiscent of the old shcool musclecar graphics. . .I haven't decided on the secondary color yet but Brian's going to be helping me out with that. . .possibly red or silver. . .and possibly the use of matte-finished black-out areas on the hood

Body Mods: stock Firebird 400 hood with scoops, SCCA TransAm racing style front air dam, '69 Firebird TA decklid spoiler, possibility of rear window louvers, and side exit exhaust just in front of either rear wheel (exit through the rear rockers/quarters not below the rocker panels), relocated gas fill neck to a racing style quick fill gas cap ala the Dodge Chargers, shaved door handles and drip rails and flush mounted glass, there will be different mirrors on the car also but I don't know what style as of yet. The front and rear wheel wells will have accentuated (exaggerated) flares also. The chrome will be sent out to be black chromed so that it will still be shiny like most chrome you see but it will have a smoked out appearance along with a blacked out grille. I wanted to use the Hella Black Magic lights as headlights, but they aren't the right size. . .I'm going to be looking to see if I can find a way to have the headlights blacked out though. I will also be using the Modo Innovations remote trunk release and the billet hood hinges and hood pins from Ring Brothers.

Interior: Gonna be mostly black and pretty much all custom. No rear seat. . .a race style spare wheel/tire carrier will be in it's place and there will be a 8-10 pt. rollcage installed as well (the door bars will be bent in such a way as to not interfere with getting into or out of the car and the roll cage will tie into the front subframe through the firewall as well). Racing harness with re-covered aftermarket seats will be installed. I will have a custom made pistol grip shifter for the T-56 as well. Custom center console with a center storage unit will hold the power window and power door lock controls as well as the A/C controls more than likely; the A-pillar will hold a couple of gauges(coolant temperature, oil pressure) and I will have a central dash gauge pod (for monitoring the forced induction whenever I get the twin-turbos installed. . .fuel pressure, boost psi, and EGT) as well. Autometer gauges (speedometer, tachometer, fuel level guage, and volt/ammeter in the guage cluster) all the way around in the custom dash. . .I'm thinking a symetrical "double hump" style dash vs. the stock assymetrical dash with only a hump where the stock gauge cluster is and a Vintage Air Gen II A/C. The radio will be hidden (probably in the center console) and all the control knobs will be billet. I'm going to have a dash mounted engine "Start" button (red) and a dash mounted hazard light button as well. . .dash will also probably house a GPS unit since the radio will be in the center console and the steering wheel will be a three arm with flared holes in the arms.

Wheels: PS Engineering 5-spoke wheels (as seen on the Edelbrock-Yunick '68 "Best Damn Camaro in Town" TransAm racer; I'm thinking 17's all the way around and using mini-tubs in the rear to facilitate some really wide meats in back although I may go with Vintage Wheel Works or E Wheels of the same style due to immediate availability of the wheels vs. waiting for the PSE's to get handmade (maybe get the PSE's down the line).

Front Suspension: Campbell Auto Restoration front subframe/suspension set-up

Rear Suspension: Still undecided at this point in time. . .I'm really wrestling with this. It's between DSE Quadra-Link, Lateral Dynamics 3-Link and Watt's Linkage, 21st Century Street Machines Corvette IRS, or a truckarm set-up.

Chassis: DSE weld-in integral subframe connectors and the aforementioned 8-10 pt. roll cage which will tie into the front subframe throught the firewall.

Engine/Drivetrain: Sticking with traditional Pontiac power here. . .will start out with re-building the stock 400 punched out to 467 using a Butler Performance rotating assembly (internally balanced 4.25" forged crankshaft w/3.00" mains motivating SCAT or Eagle 6.800" forged 4340 con-rods and 4.181" forged aluminum Ross pistons w/Total Seal gapless piston rings. . .only change could be an upgrade to forged Oliver con-rods but I'm thinking not since I will be upgrading to a larger bore aluminum block built for twin-turbos as soon as I can get it built. . .$$$ will be the limiting factor the twin-turbo package) and aluminum Edelbrock Performer cylinder heads (unless the heads on the block now are worth using for a while to save myself some money and get the car up and running more quickly) with a Kinsler EFI intake (will look similar to Mark Steilow's original Mule set-up with the individual intake trumpets) if I can afford it or with an Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum intake manifold and Holley DP carb if I can't initially afford the EFI set-up. The engine will initially be backed by a 4-speed to save money and get the car on the road that much faster initially, but I'll be upgrading both the engine and the tranny while I'm still driving with the punched out 400 and Muncie. I'll be looking to put 400+ horsepower/lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels with the 467. Future engine will remain a Pontiac block but will use one of the new aluminum aftermarket blocks of fairly large displacement. . .initally will be running with the same Kinsler fuel injection set-up and heads as with the 467 but backed by a T56 6-speed (500+), but I won't be happy until I have a set of twin-turbo's pressurizing a custom intake manifold (who knows how much power this will put out. . .depends on how much psi I end up running but it will still have to be pump gas friendly and have acceptable street driving manners. . .acceptable to me at least.).

Fuel System: Will use a custom made Rick's Hot Rod shop fuel cell and the fuel delivery will be all be from Aeromotive built to support the twin turbos from the very beginning.

Brakes: Gonna be Baer brakes all the way around. . .the biggest that I can fit inside the wheels and will probably end up using the Hydraboost along with an in-cab adjustable proportioning valve to make sure they always feel just right.


There's a lot of stuff that I still haven't decided on but I've got the basics decided and Brian's drawing is going to help make sure that I've got a very clear picture of where I want to end up. Since the car is in Illinois right now I don't have any pictures of the car to post right now. . .I will post one as soon as I can find the couple of pictures that I do have buried away somwhere and when I get the completed drawing from Problem Child Customs I will add it to the post as well. Will probably take me a couple of years to finish this one off but I don't ever plan on getting rid of this car (my first muscle car and the first car I ever bought and paid for on my own) so I'll be patient and do it the way I want it done the first time.

Any of you out there with any suggestions (especially those of you with first gen F-birds) feel free to send the suggestions my way. . .any and all input would be appreciated.

[MrPushrod]

Pics?
Here's mine.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a143/BadBird67/cars/DSC01484.jpg

[XcYZ]

Joe, I missed this thread. Sounds like a cool plan. Definitely keep us posted. :thumbsup:

We need more Firebirds.

[projectile]

sounds cool. I like the part about the turbos.

[MrPushrod]

Joe, I missed this thread. Sounds like a cool plan. Definitely keep us posted. :thumbsup:

We need more Firebirds.
The better version of a camaro. ;)

[atomicjoe23]

I've gotten a couple of drawing from ProblemChild Kustoms now (3 to be exact). . .we're ironing out all the little details as they come up. . .it's starting to come together though. I will post up the final version.

[Hammered]

I'm anxious to see your plan - good choice on a car.

John

[Speedster]

Hey Joe -
Welcome to the site. Sound like a great plan you have for your Bird. I answered your post on the '69 lower valence with a couple of pics. Can't wait to see the renderings of your car. If you ever have any questions during your build, feel free to ask. Keep us posted and get us those pics...

[atomicjoe23]

Time to post up some more updates on the Tomahawk!!! I've been working a lot with Brian from Problem Child Kustoms and I decided to make some last minute changes in the plan right before Brian finished the final drawing so he's working on the revisions. . .it will be a bit longer before a finalized concept drawing is complete and I can share it with you all. . .be patient. . .I'm sure it will be worth it.

I can provide some of the details on some of the changes that I've decided on though:
-Spott's Performance Super 400 hood
-'68 Firebird door windows (cleaner appearance without the vent windows that the '67's have)
-'68 Firebird rear side marker lights
-'69 Camaro front valance panel/foglights grafted into the '67 front valance panel (the '67 front valance panel will be filled in some as well. . .the '67 Firebird foglights/front marker lights will go away and that area will be filled in with metal. . .I've still got to figure out what I'm gonna do for front turn signals now though)
-'69 Firebird/TransAm tail lights
-hidden antennae
-gas cap door will be filled/smoothed into the rear tail light panel since the gas filler neck/cap are going to be relocated to the driver's side C-pillar
-Hurst pistol grip shifter with black pakkawood handle

That's the majority of what I've come up with so far. . .the item that is causing the most rework for Brian though is changing the front/rear fender flares. . .I'm going with some pretty radical flares. . .if you've seen the DynoWest Camaro you will know where I'm going. . .if you haven't seen this car do a search and you will find photo's on this website.

Let me know what you think and if anyone has suggestions on what to do about the front turn signals, a suggestion for more aerodynamic/attractive mirrors and door handles let me know (I've decided against the shaved door handles with poppers because a lot of tracks won't let you run with them).

[atomicjoe23]

OK, some more updates:

-Brian is working on the last revision to the concept drawing so I should be able to post that pic up soon.

-I've decided to go with a quick change Tiger Rearend. . .saw it on Musclecar where Lou is using one on his '65 Mustang fastback which he will be competing with in the NASA road racing circuit so I know it will stand up to the use (abuse???) that I will put it through

-Also decided to try a second thing that I saw Lou using on Musclecar. . .the AFCO three link kit. . .should be considerably cheaper than any of the ready made kits out there. . .will be lighter than the truckarm suspension and I get the overall impression that a three link rear suspension with a Watt's link is the preferred rear suspension for the type of use that I am most interested in.

Once again. . .let me know what you all think!

[Speedster]

Sounds good so far with the aforementioned changes. Yes, if you plan on racing in sanctioned events most will not let you run without exterior door handles for safety. For mirrors, there are so many to choose from and easy to find, just depends on what look you want. As far as turn signals, that again is a preference thing. There are many choices. If you need a '69 T/A wing, I have a brand new aftermarket one sitting in my garage. Will give you a good deal on it if you want it. Just PM me.

[Speedster]

The Spotts hood gives you extra clearance, but be ready to spend either a boatload of hours trueing it up, or having someone else do it.

[atomicjoe23]

I got the go ahead from Brian to post up the renderings so I will post them as soon as I get home from work this afternoon!

[atomicjoe23]

The Spotts hood gives you extra clearance, but be ready to spend either a boatload of hours trueing it up, or having someone else do it.

Thanks for the heads up. . .I may do it myself just based on the amount of bodywork that is going to be done to the 'Bird that I will not be able to do myself. . .the fender flares are going to cost a pretty penny I'm sure. . .I'm keeping my fingers crossed that when it gets blasted the body is not full of holes. . .I don't think that it will be based on what I have looked at but you never know the whole story until the metal's bare!

[atomicjoe23]

Here are the renderings begining to end. Hope you all enjoy!!!

First one--67 F-bird red stripes--no spoiler or louvers

First revision--added 69 TransAm spoiler and rear window louvers

Second revision--added hood pins and rear window retainers

Third revisiion--added 69 Camaro foglights

Fourth revision--added fender flares. . .see next post

Final Revision--revised fender flares and front spoiler (previous front spoiler was too 70's/80's-ish for my taste). . .see next post

[atomicjoe23]

Here are the renderings with the initial addition of the fender flares and the revised fender flares to my liking.

[Hdesign]

Looks awesome! The one's with the red stripe have a real "A-Team" look to them.

Great job Brian!:thumbsup: :bow:

[HRBS]

The one's with the red stripe have a real "A-Team" look to them.

Whatcha talkin 'bout sucka ?

Joe... I love the graphite with silver/grey stripe.... the subtle, faint stripe adds the right amount of "flash" !
IMO, the red is a little too over powering for me.

[Speedster]

Nice Joe.

Like the two tone grey. Personal preference, I would definitely leave the rear window louvers off. I assume the fender flares are body color, not stripe color. They are big, but there is an awesome 64 GTO out there with big 'ol fender flares too. Just fill them up with the right wheel/tire combo.

[atomicjoe23]

Whatcha talkin 'bout sucka ?

Joe... I love the graphite with silver/grey stripe.... the subtle, faint stripe adds the right amount of "flash" !
IMO, the red is a little too over powering for me.

Brian used the red in the first couple of drawings to make it easier to see the stripe since the graphite on black is very subtle and would not be as easy to see. . .once he got the go ahead from me on that particular stripe he switched over to the graphite so that I could see the black on black look that I wanted.

Like the two tone grey. Personal preference, I would definitely leave the rear window louvers off. I assume the fender flares are body color, not stripe color. They are big, but there is an awesome 64 GTO out there with big 'ol fender flares too. Just fill them up with the right wheel/tire combo.

Brian and I talked about the louvers as well. . .I initially thought I was going to go with louvers. . .they work really well on the Mustang Boss 302 which looks very "racy" in my opinion. . .but the Firebird's rear window just doesn't have the rake that the Boss does and Brian thought that they would probably bulk the rear end up to much. . .so we decided against them and Brian suggested the rear window retainer/support bars which would also give the car a bit more of a race-oriented//industrial feel to it. . .so he put them on their and I liked them so they stayed and the louvers went.
That '64 GTO that you are talking about (I'm assuming it's the same one that they use in SPEC clutch adds) was one of the influences for the fender flares and the overall feel that I wanted to achieve. . .also the Dynowest Camaro as well. . .if you look earlier in the thread I have a couple of pictures of both the '64 GTO and the '69 Dynowest Camaro.

[atomicjoe23]

I was able to attend the Del Mar Goodguys show this weekend (got to see Steve Rupp's '68 Camaro "Bad Penny" as well. . .I hope that my car turns out as clean as his!!!) and I was able to get a few more ideas and make up my mind for some areas where I was still indecisive.

I have decided for sure to go with a 3-link rear suspension vs. a 4-link or the truckarm suspension (I will probably end up coughing up the cash and going with the Lateral Dynamics 3-link vs. using parts and fabbing my own version. . .I have had no luck in getting response from AFCO Racing concerning the parts I would need from them to make my own 3-link. . .and I was able to talk with Steve about the Lateral Dynamics piece so I made up my mind on that one) and I will be using a Watt's link instead of a panhard bar. The more that I have read about the differences between the different rear suspensions and the more I have been able to talk with others I believe that the 3-link and the Watt's link have distinct advantages over the other types of rear suspension. . .and although most of us may not be able to tell the difference between a good 4-link with a panhard bar and a good 3-link with Watt's link (either due to our own inexperience or because the car is not driven hard enough in the right environment. . .I hope not to be in the latter group) I would still know in my head. . .so I will go ahead with the slightly more expensive 3-link with a Watt's in the rear.

I was also swayed slightly more in the direction of the DSE front subframe vs. CAR subframe not because one is better than the other but due to user friendlieness. . .I can buy the DSE front subframe and install it myself whereas the CAR subframe is a completely custom job and is more oriented toward the straight-up track car vs. a dual-purpose project such as my own. . .the only thing I still have to look into now is the Art Morrison front subframe after talking with Steve Rupp this week.

I was able to look at a lot of interiors as well and it has helped me make some forward progress on what my ultimate desire for my interior to look like as well. . .I will have to wait to post further on the interior until I actually get my car out here to Cali though.

I also just checked out the Marquez Design website again for the first time in a while and saw the billet '69 front lights and I will be using these as opposed to the stock '69 Camaro foglights in my front valance panel.

Once I get the car out here though I will be taking lots of pictures of everything that I do and I will keep this thread updated with pics and info as much as I possibly can.

[Bandit Ls-1]

awsome renderings i like the 3rd one...the darker silver with the silver stripe but without the camaro foglights and the flares not so big, i think with the fog lights theirs too many lights up front and those flares r overkill, well goodluck with it dude.

[G-Body]

Dude dont touch it! that car is beautiful.
plus nothing wrong with going in a sraight line !!!

[atomicjoe23]

those flares r overkill, well goodluck with it dude.

Check out these fender flares. . .these are what the flares will look like in real life:

'69 Camaro in primer. . .rear 3/4 view right
http://www.racehome.com/images/dynowestcamaro.jpg
'69 Camaro in primer. . .rear 3/4 view left
http://www.racehome.com/images/camaros/dynowestcamaropro-touring.jpg
'69 Camaro painted. . .front 3/4 view right
http://www.racehome.com/images/camaros/dynowestcamaro1.jpg
'69 Camaro painted. . .rear 3/4 view right
http://www.racehome.com/images/camaros/dynowestcamaro2.jpg
'69 Camaro painted. . .side 3/4 view
http://www.racehome.com/images/camaros/dynowestcamaro3.jpg

[atomicjoe23]

Dude dont touch it! that car is beautiful.

Thanks for the compliment!!!

plus nothing wrong with going in a sraight line !!!

The good thing about a straight line is that it gets you to the next curve in the road!!!

[tyoneal]

That car has always looked Kick Ass.

The light blue with the orange reminds me of the Old Porsche 917's from the early 70's.

You have to have a Bad Ass car to pull it off correctly.

Ty

[atomicjoe23]

The light blue with the orange reminds me of the Old Porsche 917's from the early 70's.
Ty

Reminds me of the Gulf Ford GT40's back in the late '60's when they were schooling the Ferrari's!

[atomicjoe23]

Decided to go with the matte finish for the rendering. . .Brian says I can always get a glossy from him later if I want.

In other news I've been starting to do a bit of aerodynamics reasearch concering airflow over, under, and around the car. . .so I may be changing some things on the from the rendering.

The two areas that are going to get the most attention in my research are going to be the nose and the tail. I've wanted a front spoiler on the car from day #1. . .brings to mind the TransAm racers of the late '60's/early '70's but I would like to see if I can figure out a way to retain the look of the current style of front spoiler in the rendering and incorporate a front splitter as well (I recently saw the new MTI Racing carbon fiber C6 front splitter/brake duct housing and I loved it); the thing that is most likely going to change for sure is the rear spoiler though. . .the ducktail style spoilers are probably more effective at creating downforce than are the '69 T/A style spoiler I have on the car in the rendering. . .too bad though because I've always liked the '69 T/A spoilers on the '67-68 'Birds! The only two other places I will be looking at will be the underside of the car and possible some sort of venturi or rear splitters. . .check out this thread to see someone elses versions of the stuff I'm talking about

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sho...ont+spli tter

OK, time for some more updates because I keep getting to go to more car shows and new stuff is always coming out. . .

-I've decided on a fairly radical change in the chassis/suspension area. . .I've decided to go with an Art Morrison Profile Max-G Musclecar chassis/frame with C5 front suspension and the 3-link and Watt's linkage rear end. One of the main reasons that I wasn't completely sold on either the Art Morrison or the Schwartz Perfomance chassis/frames was that neither of them had a 3-link and Watt's linkage option which is the rear set-up that I wanted. . .AME has now made the decision easy for me. . .I don't have to decide between different subframes at all. I looked into the ast-gen/4th-gen hybrid set-up, Schwartz Extreme Performance SPC, and the AME Max-G chassis' before coming to this decision. . .the only thing that I now have to verify is that the AME Max-G chassis will accomodate the Tiger rear-end that I would like to use or if I have to use the 9" housing which they offer. I will be adding the shock tower hoops (similar to what are on the Schwartz SPC) to the AME Max-G chassis to tie into the rollcage and to use to mount an engine bay brace (also very similar to the SPC).

-Due to the above change I believe I will be running with a Baer Extreme Plus kit (14" rotors/6-piston forged aluminum calipers) on the front C5 spindles and with Baer Track Plus kit (2-pc. 13" rotors/2-piston cast aluminum calipers) in the rear with a Baer adjustable proportioning valve located in the cabin (somewhere within easy reach of the driver without having to move from the normal driving position).

-I still need to figure out which shocks/springs that I will be using for this set-up. . .I'm thinking of maybe going with Penske shocks, but I still have quite a bit of research to do in that area before I go ahead and make a decision there.

-I've been working on some dash and door panel designs and I think I may have the dash roughly hammered out and ready to go to Brian to get a drawing of the interior done once I figure out the door panels. . .I'm waiting to see the Marquez Design '67 door panels first though. I did see some new billet door strikers that caught my eye when I checked out the Marquez website last though.

I think that's it for now.

[customcam]

wow cool project
Keep us posted :thumbsup:

[atomicjoe23]

I got some more interior ideas ironed out and decided on. . .going to go with the Sparco Modena seats. . .I was looking at the new Dodge Demon concept the other day and I really liked the seats in it. . .the back shells were carbon fiber and I thought they would tie in really nice with my carbon fiber, brushed satin metal, and black interior and the carbon fiber headliner I want to use. . .turns out that Sparco has some exactly as I would want them so I lucked out there.

I also liked the Demon's notched bezels for the guages. . .so I'm gonna see if I can't incorporate that into the dash guages. . .they have a modern high-tech look to them, but the notches balance it out with a nice vintage feel that I think would be right at home in a muscle car interior. . .here's the best picture of the bezel rings that I could find on the web:

http://images.leftlanenews.com/conte...on-concept.jpg

and here's a picture of the Demon's center console which is pretty similar to what I've been working on for my center console as well:

http://images.leftlanenews.com/conte...on-concept.jpg

I've also finally decided on two exterior components that were giving me a lot of problems. . .the exterior mirrors and the door handles. Initially I was going to have the door handles shaved, but I found out that most tracks won't allow you to run with door poppers because of latching issues. . .so I decided I would go with some flush mounted door handles from a modern vehicle but I was having trouble finding some that I liked. . .I know a lot of people use the C5 Vette's but I don't like how they look on a muscle car. . .the round lines just aren't right. . .so I've decided to go with the C6 Vette handles. . .I will probably have to get some donor doors from a salvage yard and cut the whole area out and graft them onto the Tomahawk's doors (same for the striker and probably the whole area on the C6's B-pillar as well) to get them to work, but I like the C6 handles more than anything else I've looked at.

I was kinda in the same boat for the mirrors. . .see lots of them with the C5 Vette mirrors which look good but it just wasn't what I had in mind. . .I've been looking at mirrors on nearly every sports car I could think of and I had pretty much decided to just go with a bullet style mirror, but then I remembered a company I was referred to for mirrors for my sportbike. . .so I'm gonna use some high end sportbike mirrors from a company called Barrac. . .they supply the mirrors for the MV Augusta F4's. . .they have two models that I'm looking at. . .the MV Augusta F4 mirrors (I'm leaning more towards this mirror) or the B1 model (I think this one might be just a little too edgy) which is very similar to the F4 model but has a vent in it. . .both models come with integrated turn signals (the B1 model has LED lamps) which will also solve one of the other things I've been trying to figure out. . .what to do about front turn signals since I'm gonna fill the front valance panel in where the original '67 turn signals and fog lights are and be grafting in parts of a '69 Camaro front valnce panel and using the Marquez Design billet fog lights.

That's it for now. . .post more when I get it. . .getting closer to the time when I'll be shipping the 'Bird out here to SoCal every day. . .I can't wait!!!

[atomicjoe23]

Interior Changes:

Decided to go with Classic Instrument gages vs. Autometer. . .either the All American series or the Silver series. I've also decided to use Ferrari F430 round air vents vs. the stock round Pontiac units. . .now I just have to find a Ferrari F430 in an exotic car salvage yard that some unfortunate soul crashed!!!

[atomicjoe23]

Been gone a long time now. . .been busy moving into a new house and getting a new job. . .and all the extraneous stuff that comes with that. . .so I haven't had a whole lot of spare time lately. . .plus I'm currently away from home in Washington state for work (at least the weather has been nice so far!!!)

Decided to do a quick update though. . .decided to change the colors (I'm sticking with the same design but different colors I think). . .I'm gonna go with the main body color being the color of the Lamborghini Reventon and the stripe/graphic color probably being a dark bronze color. . .the wheels may end up being either body color or the bronze graphic color. . .I'll have to see how it ends up looking with those colors though.

Later,

[JohnC]

I've also finally decided on two exterior components that were giving me a lot of problems. . .the exterior mirrors and the door handles. Initially I was going to have the door handles shaved, but I found out that most tracks won't allow you to run with door poppers because of latching issues. . .so I decided I would go with some flush mounted door handles from a modern vehicle but I was having trouble finding some that I liked. . .I know a lot of people use the C5 Vette's but I don't like how they look on a muscle car. . .the round lines just aren't right. . .so I've decided to go with the C6 Vette handles. . .I will probably have to get some donor doors from a salvage yard and cut the whole area out and graft them onto the Tomahawk's doors (same for the striker and probably the whole area on the C6's B-pillar as well) to get them to work, but I like the C6 handles more than anything else I've looked at.


I'm right there with you on the idea, but have you looked into how they work? They are an electric membrane switch connected to the computer and transmitter sensor. Sounds very complicated, but I'm all ears on how you plan to work it out....I'm still brainstorming on it.:willy:

[arrowem]

Hi, I got a quick question. How hard is it to get the 69 Camaro lower valance (the one with lights) on to a first gen bird?
Thanks, Jason

[atomicjoe23]

Arrowmen. . .I don't know yet. . .

All. . .sorry about the lack of updates. . .just wanted to say that plans are still in place to do all the work to this car, but the time line has changed. . .a divorce and a relocation have put things back quite a bit, but on the plus side these changes have also led to a change of careers and I have decided to give up work for a while and am in my 3rd quarter of welding school. . .I would say that now 99%-100% of the work will be done completely by myself. . .cutting down on expensive labor costs. . .there is one more potential move in December of this year and after that work should start on the car in the spring of '10. . .I will update as soon as I can. . .relocation has kept me from being able to work on the car, but I have not forgotten or given up on it!!! and am even more prepared now with my new welding and technical design (AutoCAD, SolidEdge, SolidWorks) education to make things happen and do this for a living!!!

[atomicjoe23]

OK. . .I'm still around. . .I still have the 'Bird. . .and I still plan to follow through on the plans. . .

I just finished my Welding ATA and I'm finishing my Technical Design ATA this summer. . .I think I finally found another job (and as a machinist. . YEAH!!!) so I will be able to move the Firebird to my location (where we should have a nice, new heated garage waiting for it) and be able to finally start work on it. . .

. . .I'm hoping to start on it by this fall.

[70rs]

Wow, it had been a while. A LONG while. Glad to hear you are getting back on track again.

[atomicjoe23]

Yeah. . .tell me about it. . .

between a divorce, leaving a job, going back to school, and now trying to find work in the current economy I'm just glad I still have the bird. . .

. . .but I'm much better equipped to work on it now than I was before. I have completed an ATA in Wedling Technology (MIG, TIG, stick, OFW, plasma cutting, etc.) and am about to complete an ATA in Technical Design (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Mechanical Drafting, etc.). . .plus I've managed to pick up a new Millermatic 211 MIG machine. . .plus I designed/built a single seat, tube frame, off-road race buggy with dual, uneqaul length front A-arm and semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension (17" travel front/15.5" travel rear) in the mean time as part of an extra curricular school activity. . .also know how to run a lathe & mill now too!

Things are on the upswing after a bit of a low spot! and I still have my 'Bird (managed to aquire a '49 Jeep Willy's too while I was at it. . .if you wanna see the build thread just email or PM and I'll send you the thread link. . .)

Can't wait to work on the 'Bird. . .it's gonna be a long, involved process cause I'm not gonna cut any corners on this build!

[Chicken Louie]

I found the thread and love the renderings!:thumbsup:

[atomicjoe23]

OK. . .this has been a long time coming, but my Firebird is now in my garage. . .the garage at the house where I actually live.

I have another project ('49 Jeep Willy's pickup truck) that I have to finish before I can start on the Firebird, but at least the car is at the same place as me instead of 1200+ miles away!

[atomicjoe23]

Quick update. . .I have actually started to work on this thing; I have replaced all the safety items (brake lines, pads, rotors, hoses, and fluids) since it has been in storage for so long; I'm hoping to actually drive this thing this spring/summer and participate in some local auto-x events so I can learn how to drive better.

Things have changed because different things are available now than when I started planning this out so I will post an update on what is going to change from my original plans (just components, not the idea of a TransAm inspired build). . .the other thing to change is this is going to be done in stages instead of all at once. By doing things in stages I will be able to minimize the down time, enjoy driving the car, and hopefully make steady progress instead of a big step in progress and then a long wait while I save for the next purchases.

The build-up stages are going to be dictated by my driving abilities/progress on the track. . .so I will start with a relatively stock car and I will leave it that way while I learn how to drive (saving money up for parts while I do this). Once my driving is improved enough that I'm being held back by the car's old suspension/brakes/drivetrain/wheels & tires (whatever it happens to be) that is when I will upgrade that part of the car.

I'm hoping to have this thing off the jacks stands and moving under it's own power again by the middle of March. . .I will post pictures of it then.

[WSSix]

Congrats on sticking with this build through all the ups and downs! That's an accomplishment in itself I think. Good luck moving forward. I think you've got a good plan laid out.

[atomicjoe23]

So I thought I would post some pictures of what I'm starting with. . .this is the '67 Firebird as it sits now; the only thing i have done to the car since I bought it is to remove the rear seat and some interior trim.

I thought I document start to finish. . .

. . .you'll have to forgive the messy garage; my Dad passed away and I shipped two antique tractors, 3 box trucks of tools & equipment, and a box truck of tractor parts. I haven't had time to get it all put away neatly yet.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0119_zpsmvmhqfgh.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0114_zpsewmsdabh.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0118_zpsw3lybo6k.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0117_zpsenwwq3jb.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0115_zpsprjyyolb.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0116_zpsvjwgyknq.jpg

[atomicjoe23]

Just had my first Auto-X experience. . .in the rain!!! Got to take a ride in a Pontiac Solstice and a Subaru BRZ; then my buddy let me dual drive his Mitsibishi Lancer EVO IX. . .HOLY CRAP!!!! Hooked!!!

I ordered an Energy Suspension Hyperflex kit, new Moog ball joints and inner/outer tie rod ends. . .once they come in I will installed, take care of the front disc brake swap, get rid of the high-rise tunnel ram intake and hopefully have that done in time for the next Auto-X event in April.

I will keep updating progress on the project as I make progress.

[WSSix]

awesome! Glad you had fun dodging cones.

[atomicjoe23]

New parts!!!

New upper/lower control arm ball joints and Energy Suspension Hyperflex polyurethane bushing kit!!!

Gonna be a BUSY weekend. . .just waiting for the inner/outer tie rod ends to show up.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0147_zpsghgpkk77.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/atomicjoe23/IMG_0146_zpsndtw1il0.jpg

[atomicjoe23]

I've been working on disassembling the front end of the car. . .I mentioned I had the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushing kit, new Moog upper/lower front control arm ball joints, and inner/outer tie rod ends, as well as solid 7075-T6 aluminum subframe/body mounts I machined.

I now also have my front shocks (Koni Classic adjustables), front coils (722# coils), new 1.5" taller spindles (with a 2" drop) to improve the camber curve. . .waiting to get installed.

I just placed my order for Koni Classic adjustable rear shocks, and Kore 3 GM Short Spinlde C5/C6 325mm (12.8" rotor) big brake kit with Kore billet hubs (w/the 1/2"-20 ARP wheel studs) and billet grease cap, C6 calipers, Centric 120 rotors (for now), and Hawk HP Plus pads. I also have a set of Corvette ZR-1/Camaro SS 5-spoke wheels (17" x 9") with 265/40ZR17 (front) and 275/40ZR17 (rear) tires.

Once the billet hubs and brake rotors show up I will be taking measurements and machining wheel spacers so the front wheels will fit. . .probably make them out 6061-T6 aluminum initially. . .

What I have left to figure out is what rate I want for the front anti-sway bar and to save up a little more money for a DSE rear leaf spring relocation/multi-leaf conversion kit and rear mini-tubs and the rear disc brake upgrade. . .I will be running a Kore3 C5/C6 disc brake set-up on the rear as well. I plan on adding DSE subframe connectors this year as well.

I plan to run with this set-up until sometime next year when I have more driving time under my belt and some more money saved up to upgrade the front end to the ATS AFX aluminum spindles, DSE upper/lower control arms with JRi coilovers and I will have had time to design a 3-link rear with a Watt's linkage and JRi coilovers there as well.

Disassembly pictures aren't very exciting, but I should have made enough progress to start posting pictures of the new upgrades getting installed by next weekend. . .takes a while to get all these 49 year old joints/fasteners apart!!!

[atomicjoe23]

Finally got the whole front suspension apart. . .man 49 year old fasteners can be a real PITA!!!!

Now I have to clean everything up, paint or powdercoat what is going back on (upper/lower control arms, center link, and idler arms), and get ready to install the new parts and put everything back together. . .

[WSSix]

Making progress is good. Keep it up! It'll be done before you know it.

[atomicjoe23]

I'll post some pic's up once all the brake stuff shows up and I have everything else cleaned up. . .

[Tuske427]

Sweet ride!

[atomicjoe23]

Got new long pitman arm, long idler arm, inner tie rod ends, and DSE tie rod adjusting sleeves ordered today. . .list of parts still to be ordered just got VERY small; probably just a few odds and ends (hoses, hose clamps, etc.) that pop up as I'm going through stuff.

Parts should be here Wednesday and brake stuff will hopefully show up Friday from Kore3 which will make for a busy weekend for me!

[atomicjoe23]

Pretty much everything has come in. . .everything from Kore3 (GMSS Big Brake kit with 12.8" x 1.26" C6 rotors and C6 4-piston calipers, billet grease cap, SS flexible lines, caliper brackets, Hawk HP Plus pads, and ARP screw-in 1/2"-20 wheel studs) showed up on Thursday. . .I've got to say the Kore3 hubs look GREAT and were well worth the wait!!!

Right now I'm waiting for new motor mounts to show up from Jeg's and then everything I have ordered will be here. . .

. . .as soon as I finish putting the tranny back in my DD Ranger (clutch finally gave up the ghost after 190,000 miles on Sunday) I will be able to start installing the parts.

I'm planning on posting pictures of the new parts and the new parts with the old parts prior to install this weekend!

[atomicjoe23]

I've been pretty bad at posting updates to this thread. . .but working full time, running a farm, and your own hard apple cider business doesn't leave a lot of time for posting up progress. . .and I'd rather be making progress than writing about it.

Here's the progress so far. . .hoping to be running for a local auto-x event on April 24th. . .

Front:
Currently I've replaced all of the front suspension bushings with polyurethane bushing from Energy Suspension and I've rebuilt/repainted/reinstalled the upper lower control arms. I've added a HUGE 1 1/8" tubular front anti-swaybar from Hellwig with Energy Suspension polyurethane end links and I'm running the 675 lb/in. coil springs recommended on the Pozzi racing website. These springs are significantly stiffer than stock (almost 3x as stiff, but they are recommended for the big block cars and auto-X cars) and they are quite a bit shorter. You don't even need a spring compressor to install them. . .unlike the stock springs which are so long my spring compressor almost wasn't up to the task. Installed Koni Classic adjustable shocks, new Moog inner/outer tie rod ends with DSE billet tie rod adjusters and I repainted my stock steering arms (couldn't find replacement units that would result in a faster steering ratio so I stuck with what I had).

The Kore 3 C6 325mm (12.8") rotors and 4-piston C6 calipers loaded with Hawk HP Plus (I think, I can't remember if they are HP Plus or HPS now that I'm writing this) pads are installed over the Kore 3 billet aluminum hub (with the billet aluminum grease cap) and mounted on a set of forged steel CPP tall spindles (can't afford the forged aluminum ATS spindles at the same time as all the other stuff) with new Moog upper/lower balljoints.

I ended up having to re-use the pitman arm that was already on the car as well because of header clearance. . .the current pitman arm is curved and snakes right around the headers perfectly, the long pitman arm that is supposed to result in a faster steering ratio would hit the headers so I couldn't use it.

Rear:
New Moser C-clip axles installed along with the Kore 3 305mm C6 rotors with 2-piston C6 calipers loaded with Hawk HP Plus (same deal as front. . .could be HPS, but I can't remember off the top of my head). I also got the Koni Classic adjustable shocks mounted in the rear.

General:
I replaced the distributor cap, rotor, points assembly (yes, still points right now), spark plugs, and plug wires. Replaced the starter with a Summit Racing high-torque gear reduction mini-starter (what a pain to check the clearance between the flexplate and the starter pinion!)

Brand new brake lines front to rear (stainless steel hardlines and Kore 3 braided stainless steel flex lines) are installed, brand new fuel lines front to rear installed.

I've got a Wilwood billet aluminum master cylinder (black) with a 7/8" bore and a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve. . .I just need to bench bleed the master before I install it. I'm running a set of 5-spoke U.S. Wheels Series 701 Retro gunmetal wheels (17" x 8" with a 4.5" backspace front/17" x 9.5" with a 5.5" backspace rear). . .due to the C6 calipers I'm running a set of hub centric/wheel centric aluminum wheel spacers from Motorsport Tech (8mm front/10mm rear) to clear the calipers mounted with 1/2"-20 ARP wheel studs. For tires I've got a set of Toyo Proxes R888's mounted up; 245/40ZR17 front and 275/40ZR17 rear. . .this wheel tire package looks great, but the R888's aren't going to be class legal once I move out of the novice class so I'm gonna have to go with some 18" wheels so I can get 200 tread wear tires wider than 245.

In-Process:
Right now I'm in the process of dropping the tranning to replace the transmission mount (Energy Suspension poly), replace the flexplate (two broken teeth), and replace the motor mounts (Butler Performance poly 2-pc. poly mounts) so I can correctly route the front hard brake line between the motor mount plates (no way to get a pre-bent line between those two plates).


Still to be done:
I still need to pull the leaf springs and either replace the bushings, etc. (I already have Energy Suspension poly stuff) or replace them with either Hotchkiss or DSE lowering springs. . .I already have the poly bushings, but that is extra time to tear them apart, but the DSE or Hotchkiss springs are $$$ I don't have to spend between now and April 24th so the springs may stay put for my first auto-X and get replaced before the next event in May.

I also have the Holley 4160 carb pulled to clean it. . .sitting for 16 years I'm pretty sure it needs it!!!

Points of Interest:
I found out there is NO WAY to run a 17 x 9.5" wheel in the front with a stock subframe and stock steering arms. . .regardless of what wheel adapter you use without getting the tire into the fender (theoretically. . .I didn't drive it to find out. . .wasn't worth shredding a tire or crumpling a fender).

I've got the upper and lower molds made to make a two-piece carbon fiber decklid I just haven't had a chance to lay the parts up yet and I'm in the process of making molds for a two-piece carbon fiber hood (construction would be similar to the hood on Steilow's '67 Camaro Mayhem.

Once I get the tranny back in and the car up and running the only thing left to be functional will be to get an alignment done. . .once it's on the ground I will snap some pictures (even though I haven't done any cosmetic work and it will still have the steel hood with the GIGANTIC hole cut in it by the previous owner for the hideous Hilborn style scoop they were running)>

I figure this will be a good starting point and will let me run the car in the local auto-x events for the summer/fall and I'll start on some more significant modifications this winter (Ford 9" rear end with offset/decoupled 3-link rear suspension and on my dreamlist is the new Speedtech Performance ExtReme front subframe).

Hope a few people are still following this thread. . .