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Alright, I know I have talked about getting the 'bird back on the road several times in the past, mentioned dreams of buying tons of parts and finally getting the car into decent shape, all of which fell flat on their faces. Now, I'm going to take a different route with my "build" (if you can call it that), and only divulge the plans that are already in the works.
First of all, my car is in need of some work. That's undeniable. There are a few spots where rust has taken over, and they are my #1 priority once I have the money to get the job done right. I've been talking with some local shops to see what it will cost, and I'm planning on right around $500 to finally remediate the rust damage. That's on the way, I'm just waiting on funds to become available at this point.
In the meantime, however, I have decided to take a minimalist approach as far as the exterior goes. For appearance, the plan is to keep the current ride height (car has Eibach Pro-Kit coils all around), ditch the 'vette wheels in favor of the simplest rims available: Stock steelies. I wanted to go with some aftermarket steel wheels in 17x8 and 17x9, but I can't seem to find any with the correct backspace, so my options are limited. I will be looking into having the rear rims widened to 9". If I can't go that route, then I will be looking at other options. Either way, the rims will be low-key, simple designs, and likely in all black. I will be removing all exterior indications that my car is a V8 (Formula V8 decal on back bumper, grid taillights, etc.) and replacing with corresponding V6 parts (plain V6 tails, non-tinted stock corners).
As far as performance goes, I've already picked up a set of decent stock heads, and I'm on the waiting list to have them ported by a local machine shop in the fall. I also have a set of 1.6 rockers to install, and I'll be ordering some new valve springs when the time comes.
I'm ditching the Flowmaster 80 catback in favor of an SLP 2OTL that is waiting patiently in the garage. I will be replacing about 90% of the stock suspension with aftermarket tubular parts that are also waiting in the garage. This includes: Front upper and lower a-arms, rear LCA's w/ relocation brackets, BMR Torque Arm w/ D/S Safety Loop, Spohn STB, KYB AGX adjustable shocks (have fronts, need to order rears still), BMR adj. Panhard Bar, and I would like to replace the k-member with a tubular piece from BMR or Spohn, but that all depends on if I'm able to get a good deal on one. I'm also planning to pick up a set of bolt-in SFC's when I come across a good deal, but that's going to be down the road a bit.
As far as interior goes, I'm going to keep it relatively stock. Probably go with a small (10") sub in a stealth box in the back, small amp (500-700w) mounted somewhere out-of-sight, and a decent single-DIN stereo w/ all the goodies (bluetooth, HD radio, USB-input, etc.) I'd like to replace the seats with some aftermarket racing buckets, mostly because I slide around like mad in the Z28 leather seats that are currently in the car, and I'd like something with a little more support for those "spirited drives".
I want to say I'm planning a cam swap, but it's not financially possible right now. I'll be looking into it a little further on down the road, but for right now, I'm going to be sticking with the stock cam, at least until I have some more disposable income. I installed an aluminum intake elbow the other day, it needs some tweaking to get it right, but it's already 10x better than the broken stock one.
Beyond all that, the plan is just to make it a fun driver, make repairs/upgrades to bring it back to life, and maybe hit the track with it once or twice a year. It's going to mostly be a weekend driver, maybe take it to work every now and then, but I'm looking at a max of about 3-5,000 miles annually. I love driving it, but it's not practical as a DD anymore (I average 500+ miles/week), and I would rather have the Firebird to look forward to driving on the weekends than constantly be wrenching on it to fix the problems that pop up while using a high mileage F-Body for DD duty.
I know I talk a lot on here about things I want to do, things I wish I could do, and in the past, have never really followed through with any of those "plans." This time, things are different. I have 90% of the parts I mentioned above, and I'm working on getting rid of some unneeded spare parts that are laying around in favor of picking up those last few items I need. I will be starting to work on the car in the next week or so, installing the suspension bits, replacing shocks, etc., and spending the rest of my free time trying to sell the spare parts and getting everything else ordered. This is a short-term project, I would like to see the car on the road, and able to be driven to the August 5th MIFC meet at Bakers. It won't be pretty, but it will be there.
If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to toss them up, I'm looking for constructive criticism here. Everyone has shiny wheels and nice paint, it's pretty rare to see someone taking things the other way, and I think that alone is going to be enough to set my car apart from the crowd. Add a few go-fast goodies, and I've got a sleeper. Well, as much of a sleeper as a Firebird can be, anyway.
First of all, my car is in need of some work. That's undeniable. There are a few spots where rust has taken over, and they are my #1 priority once I have the money to get the job done right. I've been talking with some local shops to see what it will cost, and I'm planning on right around $500 to finally remediate the rust damage. That's on the way, I'm just waiting on funds to become available at this point.
In the meantime, however, I have decided to take a minimalist approach as far as the exterior goes. For appearance, the plan is to keep the current ride height (car has Eibach Pro-Kit coils all around), ditch the 'vette wheels in favor of the simplest rims available: Stock steelies. I wanted to go with some aftermarket steel wheels in 17x8 and 17x9, but I can't seem to find any with the correct backspace, so my options are limited. I will be looking into having the rear rims widened to 9". If I can't go that route, then I will be looking at other options. Either way, the rims will be low-key, simple designs, and likely in all black. I will be removing all exterior indications that my car is a V8 (Formula V8 decal on back bumper, grid taillights, etc.) and replacing with corresponding V6 parts (plain V6 tails, non-tinted stock corners).
As far as performance goes, I've already picked up a set of decent stock heads, and I'm on the waiting list to have them ported by a local machine shop in the fall. I also have a set of 1.6 rockers to install, and I'll be ordering some new valve springs when the time comes.
I'm ditching the Flowmaster 80 catback in favor of an SLP 2OTL that is waiting patiently in the garage. I will be replacing about 90% of the stock suspension with aftermarket tubular parts that are also waiting in the garage. This includes: Front upper and lower a-arms, rear LCA's w/ relocation brackets, BMR Torque Arm w/ D/S Safety Loop, Spohn STB, KYB AGX adjustable shocks (have fronts, need to order rears still), BMR adj. Panhard Bar, and I would like to replace the k-member with a tubular piece from BMR or Spohn, but that all depends on if I'm able to get a good deal on one. I'm also planning to pick up a set of bolt-in SFC's when I come across a good deal, but that's going to be down the road a bit.
As far as interior goes, I'm going to keep it relatively stock. Probably go with a small (10") sub in a stealth box in the back, small amp (500-700w) mounted somewhere out-of-sight, and a decent single-DIN stereo w/ all the goodies (bluetooth, HD radio, USB-input, etc.) I'd like to replace the seats with some aftermarket racing buckets, mostly because I slide around like mad in the Z28 leather seats that are currently in the car, and I'd like something with a little more support for those "spirited drives".
I want to say I'm planning a cam swap, but it's not financially possible right now. I'll be looking into it a little further on down the road, but for right now, I'm going to be sticking with the stock cam, at least until I have some more disposable income. I installed an aluminum intake elbow the other day, it needs some tweaking to get it right, but it's already 10x better than the broken stock one.
Beyond all that, the plan is just to make it a fun driver, make repairs/upgrades to bring it back to life, and maybe hit the track with it once or twice a year. It's going to mostly be a weekend driver, maybe take it to work every now and then, but I'm looking at a max of about 3-5,000 miles annually. I love driving it, but it's not practical as a DD anymore (I average 500+ miles/week), and I would rather have the Firebird to look forward to driving on the weekends than constantly be wrenching on it to fix the problems that pop up while using a high mileage F-Body for DD duty.
I know I talk a lot on here about things I want to do, things I wish I could do, and in the past, have never really followed through with any of those "plans." This time, things are different. I have 90% of the parts I mentioned above, and I'm working on getting rid of some unneeded spare parts that are laying around in favor of picking up those last few items I need. I will be starting to work on the car in the next week or so, installing the suspension bits, replacing shocks, etc., and spending the rest of my free time trying to sell the spare parts and getting everything else ordered. This is a short-term project, I would like to see the car on the road, and able to be driven to the August 5th MIFC meet at Bakers. It won't be pretty, but it will be there.
If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to toss them up, I'm looking for constructive criticism here. Everyone has shiny wheels and nice paint, it's pretty rare to see someone taking things the other way, and I think that alone is going to be enough to set my car apart from the crowd. Add a few go-fast goodies, and I've got a sleeper. Well, as much of a sleeper as a Firebird can be, anyway.
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