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.

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.

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.

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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.

awesome! Glad you had fun dodging cones.

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.

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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!!!

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. . .

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

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

Sweet ride!

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!

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!

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. . .