I wish I had done them while I was half way already in there. I would hate to undo everything that I already did. But I might at a later date.

I guess I'm a little behind on any updates. I have not had a lot of time to work on the car over the last year so projects have been small and pretty rare.
I dropped all of the front end brackets to get powder coated that were on the last page at a good friends house.
Here they are not back at home.
Front bumper brackets.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07366.jpg
Rear bumper brackets.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07367.jpg
Seat tracks.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07359.jpg
Wiper arm assembly.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07369.jpg
Headlight assemblies.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07368.jpg

One picture of most of the parts.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07357.jpg
Rear interior arm rests.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07361.jpg
Drain plugs.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07363.jpg
Installed with black silicone.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07364.jpg
Wiper arm assembly installed.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07376.jpg

The next project took a lot of time but no money. I like those kinds of projects. I had a two speed power glide shifter that I wanted to convert into a three speed ratcheting shifter.:wow:
I took the original shifter and a early 70's shifter and combined the two together to make what I wanted. It seems that the mainbase of the shifters is the same from 68 to 81. The main difference is that the mounting brackets to the floor change from car to car and the 68 has the neutral safety switch on the shifter and not on the column.
I started with drilling out all of the brackets on the lower portion of my 68 shifter. I would need these welded onto my 71? shifter.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07375.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07370.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07371.jpg
These are the 71 brackets that I removed.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07374.jpg
Welding shifter back together.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07372.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07378.jpg
Neutral safety switch bracket.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07379.jpg
I now have a ratcheting three speed shifter that will bolt into the stock console. I can also use a push button knob or the T-handle.

Next on the list was to convert the center caps on my American Racing V500 rims to accept the stock PMD cap.
Here is the stock cap.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...07402-Copy.jpg
The backside of the PMD cap. I need to add longer studs.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07412.jpg
Centering spacer that fits into the hub of the rim in two spots.This helps keep the cap centered on the face of the rim.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07413.jpg
I don't have any pictures but I had to flatten out the dust shield caps to make a little clearancing room.
Spacer on PMD cap.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07414.jpg
Final product. Please excuse the smudged up rims.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07411.jpg

I had talked with Tobin at Kore3 several times about solving some of my brake issues. It seems that the master cylinder that I had was not a good fit for the front brakes that I wanted to upgrade to.
I have a 12" kit in the back and I wanted to upgrade the fronts to at least that size if not one size larger.
I have to say up front that Tobin knows his brakes and was very patient with all of my noobie questions.
We settled on a Wilwood master and adjustable prop valve along with a C6 brake kit.
I almost forgot about the hubs that also needed to be machined for the kit. Tobin had all of the measurements and drawings on line to help with the project.
It seems that I gave my drum brake hubs away a few years ago so I had to find some again. It ended up with me receiving two sets of hubs. I had that all machined down so I would have a extra set for who knows what.:rolleyes:
Four crusty hubs.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07393.jpg
The rotor face turned down.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07392.jpg
Bearings and seals removed, and a sand blasting to clean them up.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07395.jpg
New seals,races,bearings, and studs. They needed to be a little longer than the stock ones. Also put on a fresh coat of paint.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07398.jpg
Drivers side all mounted up.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07399.jpg

Kore3 mounting brackets for the C6 upgrade.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07406.jpg
Kore3 calipers.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07407.jpg
Wilwood master and prop valve.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07404.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07405.jpg
Rotors purchased from Jegs. Compared to the 69 front disc brakes that I had installed at a earlier point.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07403.jpg
Fill out the rim very nice.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...y/DSC07411.jpg

Looks good!:thumbsup:

Thanks Eric. I really need to get over to your place before Car Craft. I would love to see your car in person.:hail:

looking great! Glad to see this one back on track. I've been in the same mode on mine, just trying to get a lot of the smaller pieces together.

Getting closer.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps613d4330.jpg

Got the hood on today.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...psdd17dc02.jpg

Nice progress! Those rims look great

The car looks great Rob.

Thanks Brendon, I was trying to nail a some what factory look but in 17" rims. I bought these before Year One came out with the new Rally rims. I still might like mine more.:lol:

Thanks Tu, Your car is coming along great. Must be nice to have a more modern motor in there.

Thanks for the comment on the LS motor. I was at a car show last weekend, and a guy with a custom 68 Firebird stopped by. He saw my engine compartment and said " you ruined the car", then proceeded to point out all the "wrong" things on the car, then walked away in disgust. :lostmarbles:

So, he had a (custom) 68 Firebird and he made comments on your custom car.:lol: I grew up a Chevy guy, now I'm a GM guy and what ever else looks cool. Pontiac purists are everywhere and are very critical if you are not 100% stock. I feel that you should build your car the way you want to.

Yup. I did not want to get into a pissing match (LS vs Pontiac debate).

Looking forward to your next update.

Rob looking Good! looks like this is going to be a great summer coming up about july when it warms up. lol. remember this when anyone gives you any crap about any of your decisions it is not theres and it is up to you to build it the way you want it! so just do what makes you happy everyone has there own opinion of cool and that is what makes hot rodding cool if everyone liked the same thing life would be boring! keep up the great work.

I feel the exact same way.

Coming together nicely!

The PMD caps on the American Wheels are a really nice touch.
Car is turning out really nice. I had a 68 with a ram air III. It had abunch of power. Ponchos are good motors.

Good job! Excellent color choice.

Rob the car looks great. The brake work is a nice upgrade, and the wheels fit the car perfect. Nice work.

Eric, thanks for the compliments. I have to make it out to your shop before Car Craft. Your time rendering videos are great.

Thanks:)

Thanks, the center caps were a little work but worth it in the end. Now I see you can get 17" tires with Red Lines. I might have to think about that after these tires are toast.

I had a 1970 Lemans with a 350-2barrel and that car moved out pretty good. I have not been able to open this car up yet. I hope it has a little get up and go.

Thanks, I was trying to find a retro color with a little more schnaz to it.


Thanks Wayne. It has been a fun build. Can't wait to drive it this coming summer.

Car is out of paint jail.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...psd30c78d6.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps238fd3c4.jpg
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps83b09668.jpg

Looks great! Congrats on getting it out of jail.

Not much done lately. To cold and had massive rotator cuff surgery.
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps65620cc4.jpg

I have been collecting parts.
New rear view mirror
New emblems for the front fenders
New sun visors
Morris driver and passenger mirrors

Getting closer to having a complete car.

Killer
 

Nice color..really flows on the car!

Looking good Rob.

Let me know how the Morris mirrors work out. I've been eyeing a set of those for my 67.

Great Looking Bird
 

Awesome work so far!! Can't wait to see this one finished!

Tu, the car is not on the road because of weather. But I did install and lock down the drivers side. Holds in place real tight. I did have a hard time getting the mirror on the car. I ended up using the old mounting bracket and got it to fit on.

Tu, The mirrors hold rock solid on the car. They do not vibrate or move when the door is closed.
The supplied brackets did not work very well. I used my old brackets as they had a little taller lip on the opposite side of where you bolt them on. They are small mirrors but are the correct size for our cars. I'm so use to the oversize mirrors on my DD's.