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1967 Firebird Convertible - Project "LEGACY"
First off: title/name explanation:
I am a 34 year old IT Manager (Computer guy)... hence the "Geek" title... I have always loved cars and dream of building one that I can enjoy with the family and then passing it on to my kids some day. Project: 1967 Firebird convertible Back around 2000 I searched high and low to find a Firebird convertible. I respect and like all the Camaro's out there, but thought it would be fun to be just a bit different, and go with something a little less seen. Being that the car was to be build for fun... the wife and I decided a convertible would be best. I ended up placing an ad on a website looking for a "rust free"as possible car... not caring what drivetrain it had, for I wanted to choose that for myself. Ended up finding a car on the Idaho/Nevada border. (figuring it was at least not in the rust belt where I live... South Dakota) story on this... to follow! The trip to get the car was a story of it's own...trailering it home through a blizzard. Flash forward 11 years and I am just now starting my project. Thanks to the bank (loan) I now have a place to build it... and thanks to my family... I have been able to squeeze some time in lately to get it started. Between me being a bit of a perfectionist... and having a family (2 teenage stepdaughters and a 6-year-old son with high functioning autism)... I expect work on the car to be a bit slow.. but hopefully steady! I have not gone to school for this, nor have I ever done a complete car before. I will be doing most of the work myself, due to budget and the satisfaction of doing it myself. I was raised on a farm and can thank my dad for teaching me to weld/fabricate... I hope to share the little I can and get advice and tips from all of you that have already been down this road... there are some AWESOME cars on this site that I have been drooling over for months! Here we go: Ideas: (as of now.. I seem to change my mind after seeing some of the awesome stuff some of you guys are doing) Engine: LQ9 408 Stroker. (was going to do a LS3... but wanted something different) Trans: 4l80e (I know "NOT AN AUTOMATIC" but I have a wife and step-daughters that will want to drive it. Plus, they are damn near indestructible) Suspension (front): Speedtech full subframe (Bang for the buck... can't beat it... Plus, these guys are AWESOME to deal with! THANKS Roger) Suspension (rear): Speedtech torque arm (compared all the competitors... easy decision... GREAT PRODUCT!) A/C: Restomod A/C - Haymaker System (There stuff is AWESOME... quality - look - design) PLUS.. then some GEEK stuff... on-board computer... etc... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S...%252520021.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...%252520022.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...%252520024.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c...%252520014.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...2525202011.jpg |
The previous owners added some "NICE" touches...:goofy:
they removed the fan shroud so I am guessing it didn't cool enough... SOLUTION: add a custom electric fan! (notice the wiring... it actually looped back directly to the battery. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-T...430_123810.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...%252520Fan.jpg] https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...430_123422.jpg |
The next "upgrade" the car had in the past was the stereo guy... need to add some speakers... NO PROBLEM... I'll get my torch!
He actually torched the GM doors... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w...52520Doors.jpg cut and bent in the inner rocker panel braces to fit some speakers (I already bent it back)... https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...707_204347.jpg cut (by drilling hundreds of little holes) the back seat panel. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-J...430_130556.jpg |
Man, sweet ride. Nothing beats a convertable. After the few fixes from the speaker damage and your finishing touches, she'll be a beauty.
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Looks like a fun project. Good to see another Bird. :thumbsup:
Keep the pics rolling. |
Sweet car! If I were going to have a convertible, this would be the car to have!
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. |
cool project! Have fun! :thumbsup:
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awesome project! I am starting on a 68 vert so stoked to see another one on the block. I gotta get off my but and update my stuff...
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gOOd luck!!! Thats an awesome project... :thumbsup:
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Thought I would share the banks and my "Shop" where we will be bringing this thing back to life...have been working 7 years (just on the building) to get to this stage... (I will need to work until I am about 95 years old to pay this all off it seems)....
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...rge%252529.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2...2520Garage.jpg Yes... there is a HUGE mess on my benches... https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-v...rge%252529.jpg I was able to get the lift used from the dealership I work at (came out of another dealership we purchased)... It is AWESOME addition... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...rge%252529.jpg |
Here is my helping crew... :)
My son... and stepdaughters... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-b...2525202011.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...s640/Girls.jpg |
Tear down begins... have been working the last few months on getting it down to the skeleton. Mostly new parts going back on... so most of these will never see the car again!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...rge%252529.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...rge%252529.jpg Tired old 350 getting ready to be pulled out... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...rge%252529.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...rge%252529.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...rge%252529.jpg This old subframe will not be coming back... decided on a Speedtech complete replacement... Roger and the crew over at Speedtech have been WONDERFUL to work with. They take the time to actually help you decide on what you need and offer tips and advice were they can. Customer service is #1!!! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...rge%252529.jpg subframe is in bare steel... so I just rattle canned it silver to see what it would look like until I get it powder coated. It is amazing to see the welding and fabrication difference between the stock subframe and the Speedtech... WOW. |
Awesome project!
Having just come out on the otherside of that tunnel with our 68 Bird build....(okay - not quite there yet)... I can tell you that there is plenty of fun in store. Let me suggest you look into the Dakota Digital VHX gauge cluster. That has to be the single coolest addition to our 68. Good luck and keep the updates coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
So off comes the subframe... but I wanted a way to still be able to move the car around without re-attaching it... so I build this caster system that bolts up to the subframe mounts... out of 2" square tubing and some casters I had.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...5207-07-11.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...rge%252529.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...rge%252529.jpg Works great!! |
Looks great! The shop, lift, crew, car and new parts. It's good to see the kids involved.
What are your plans for the drivetrain? |
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So I was looking into bracing the car...
Car has SOLID: -rockers (both inner and outer are very good) -rear frame rails look to be in very good shape Jig?: I know many on this and other sites build a body jig to hold the car to factory specs while building. (I was hoping to avoid this for I don’t need to do some of the structural changes they needed, Plus… time (with a wife and kids) is hard to come by, and the jig would take more of it. That and the fact that with the cost of all the steel, I can buy more parts for the car. (Unfortunately I am under a budget) 2-post lift: I do happen to have a 2-post lift and would like to utilize it for the replacement…figuring I could get underneath easier to do the welding and adding the convertible braces back on the complete floor. PLAN: Weld 2” square tubing down the side of the rocker panels… (this way when I pick up the car with the lift it is spreading the pressure along the entire rocker, not just front and back)… then weld 1” tubing across (from the 2” tubing) to locate and lock into place the rear frame rails. Plus, possibly do the same to locate the subframe nuts so as to have a reference when the new panel is in place. (kind of a welded in place jig) Example photo: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...rge%252529.jpg Here it is: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N...rge%252529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...rge%252529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...rge%252529.JPG There is a little bump at the rear of the rockers that would not let the 2" tubing sit flat against the rockers and still sit straight on the car... solution was to weld some flat iron spacers on the rockers then mount to the 2" tubing. This way everything is level. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...rge%252529.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...rge%252529.JPG I used some tubing and a flat washer and centered the subframe bolts into the existing floor location then welded 1" tubing to attach these to the 2" side tubing... this way I should be able to lay the new floor in and if I can thread the bolts... I should be in the exact same location as the old floor. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...rge%252529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...rge%252529.JPG Next welded 1" tubing to the frame rails to keep them in place during the floor removal and replacement. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...rge%252529.JPG In the rear I bolted on some casters that allow me to still move the car... plus, I added some tubing up to the rear frame rails just to make sure they don't move during the trunk floor removal. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...rge%252529.JPG |
It has been awhile... figured I would get my thread a bit more up to date...
Well with everything braced up... it was time to start cutting things off... I originally didn't think I would be cutting that much off the car... but it seems the more I tried to remove rust from here and there, the more panels started to come off. I knew I wanted to go with a complete floor pan, but figured I would only use a partial trunk pan. But the more I looked at the back seat brace in the car... the more I feared how much rust was sitting underneath that thing... if you look at the photos... it didn't look that bad... but wait until later... there was some seriously hidden "rot" https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...rge%252529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...rge%252529.JPG Doesn't look like anything bad... but wait until later, and see what was under this section... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...rge%252529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...rge%252529.JPG |
Out comes the plasma cutter... I am sure there may be better ways to get this rear seat brace out... but this is what I did.
I drilled out all the spot weld I could find that held the brace to the floor the the car.... The car had lots of undercoating in the wheelhouses... I heated and scrapped as much as I could out... I know I would not be using the inner housings, for I am going with DSE minitubs. With all the gunk in the wheelhouse, I could hardly find the spot welds... so I figured I would just plasma it out of there... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...rge%252529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...rge%252529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...rge%252529.JPG Then used a air hammer to remove the leftover wheel house skin. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...rge%252529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...rge%252529.JPG Well after all that the rear seat brace was still fighting me... so I decided to remove the rear part of the brace, so as to only have to deal with on panel at a time. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a...rge%252529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...rge%252529.JPG Finally it was out... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...rge%252529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y...rge%252529.JPG Remember what I said about hidden rot... look what was hiding behind that brace. Looks like it going to be a Full Trunk pan now! (see the list keeps growing!):rolleyes: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-T...rge%252529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W...rge%252529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-z...rge%252529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...rge%252529.JPG |
Subscribing
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Look inside... Looks like a full trunk pan was a wise choice.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...Large%2529.JPG Had to get a little crazy with the plasma cutter to get in here... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P...Large%2529.JPG |
You are a BRAVE MAN!!!
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As you can see the trunk floor was in need of replacement anyway. Original plan was to just to a partial trunk floor, but after all the rot uncovered under the seat brace... it was decided to do a FULL trunk pan.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...Large%2529.JPG And a few minutes with the plasma... look at all my trunk room now!:P https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6...Large%2529.JPG |
Next was the Tail panel... after finding these beautiful repairs under the bumper... I knew a new tail panel would be easier than to undo all the wonderful bodywork.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-m...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...Large%2529.JPG Off it comes... I must say, knowing I wasn't going to use any of the metal under the tail panel made it WAY easier to remove than if I had to hunt down all the spot welds and surgically remove it. It was a bunch of air-hammer time!:D https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u...Large%2529.JPG |
Moving on to the quarter panels... This car is one of those examples of what you can hide with paint and bondo. I started by sanding down the paint in a few test areas to see what I was dealing with.... looks like a classic quick fix. :rolleyes:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...Large%2529.JPG So I started to sand down to the metal, so the plasma cutter could ground enough to cut... DAMN this guy must have used a gallon of bondo per quarter. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...Large%2529.JPG This is a 67 Firebird... but someone sure wanted to make it a 68... look at the beautiful job they did making the Pontiac emblem cutouts in the quarters. :goofy: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...Large%2529.JPG Finally got them ready for the Plasma... I will be removing the entire quarter, but just started with the center first. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...Large%2529.JPG |
Look at the hidden treasures I found under the quarter panels,in the wheelhouse area. Looks like "more is better" was the approach to the bondo situation.:omg:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...Large%2529.JPG Looks like on the passenger side he couldn't get the bondo to even build up enough... had to use some mesh in there to hold it together! :rolleyes: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...Large%2529.JPG |
It is great to see you bringing the car back to life the right way. It looks like the previous body guy was a bit of a sculptor.
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After some real "quality time" with the air hammer... the rest of the trunk is out... down to the frame rails. Good news is the frame rails look really good... not even any rust pitting (just some surface rust). There seemed to be enough "gunk" on them from undercoating the car at some point in its life.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...Large%2529.JPG I left the front part of the door jam, and upper part in place (temporarily) to... 1: give the car some strength in the rear due to how much structure I removed. 2: give a reference for hanging the doors... should still be able to line the doors up with whats left of the door jam. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...Large%2529.JPG I also left the outer wheel housing in place for structural reasons and to be able to help locate the inner wheel housing. (With this much metal removed... need SOME reference points) :) After the trunk, main floor and inner wheel housings are in, I will then cut these out and replace them. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...Large%2529.JPG |
all that custom bondo work for nothing :( Major progress keep her coming just got my 68 vert back from paint, feel like a little kid :)
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I must say... i HATE sandblasting. After about 2 days, and about 1,000lbs of sand... I finally have a clean slate to start with. That stuff gets EVERYWHERE... took over 2 hours to blow the sand out of all the nooks and crannies.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...Large%2529.JPG The outer wheel housings, inner valance panel and main floor are still rusty, because they are only there to hold things together a bit longer. Once more more structure is added... OFF they come! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y...Large%2529.JPG |
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haha just joking looks great man. Wish my bird was that clean. When I finally start on the body, finding the sheet metal amongst the rust and bondo is gonna be like a needle in the haystack |
Sealed everything off with a few good coats of epoxy primer. Not dealing with this rust AGAIN!! Considering that GM didn't bother to coat any of the underlying metal, should be MUCH better than the factory job!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...Large%2529.JPG Like I said before, outer wheel housing, rear inner valance and complete floor are coming out, as I get more metal put into place. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P...Large%2529.JPG |
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Well... I didn't specify where all those nook and crannies were...:eek: Each night I would pick sand out of my eyes for hours. I went through about 10 screens for the sandblasting hood. |
Danng!!! I like to see that level of commitment! Keep it coming!
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Well, it is finally time to add some parts back on. Before I go ahead and cut the main floor out, I decided to put the trunk floor in place and weld it in. This way I put some rigidity back into the car before cutting out the main floor. Otherwise with both out I run the risk of things moving around (never a good thing!! :_paranoid )
Got my new AMD full trunk floor... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...Large%2529.JPG Between the Trunk Floor and the Main Floor... there isn't anything left to change out... just a LOT of work!! :yes: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...Large%2529.JPG |
Note to self... next time measure how far back the lip of the trunk floor is... BEFORE cutting out the old one. :yes:
So I lay the new trunk floor into place... and even though these are quality parts... I see that I will be having to clamp the @#($ out of the panel to make it lay tight against the frame rails. Issue is you can move the trunk pan forwards and back a good inch. To far forward, trunk panel will sit inside of the quarter panels to far. To far back and I will be sticking out the back of the quarters. I took a photo of the gap between the rear inner valance panel and the back edge of the trunk pan.. but didn't take any reference measurements. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E...Large%2529.JPG My solution: to make sure everything squared up first... I clamped some square tubing to the back of the trunk floor, and used it as a measuring point to square the floor up with the car. (since the floor moves around a bit, you really can not just lay it in there and start welding it up). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...Large%2529.JPG I then used this bar to measure from center of remaining quarter panel front lip and a few other reference points to make sure things got squared up. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0...Large%2529.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...Large%2529.jpg a few other measurements to make sure things were where they should be. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-U...Large%2529.JPG What I finally did was to hang the passenger side quarter panel and make sure the trunk was not to far forward or to far back.. (sorry didn't get a picture of this) I also left the main floor in place to make sure I was going to have enought of an overlap to weld in the new floor. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...Large%2529.JPG NOTE: I thought I could get some measurements off of my father-in-laws 68 camaro to give me a idea of how far forward/back to place the trunk... NOT A CHANCE... these cars have WAY to much tolerance between them to take measurements off of one car and use it on another. So DO NOT USE MY MEASUREMENTS ON YOUR CAR!!! :) |
Once I had the trunk where it needed to be... I marked it with a chalk pencil and pulled it out to be drilled for the plug welds.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...Large%2529.JPG All drilled and ready to go... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...Large%2529.JPG Drilled out the front part of the frame rails where I will be welding the trunk floor from the bottom. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...Large%2529.JPG Recheck all the measurements... I was so concerned about getting this right I think I have about 6 hours in just placing the trunk in the right location.:yes: I then (again forgot to take a picture) put a screw in almost every other plug hole and clamped the trunk down to the frame rail... this worked GREAT and really tightened everything up. Then I would just remove a screw and weld the plug hole as I went. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...Large%2529.JPG Sorry forgot to take a picture after it was all welded in. PS. make sure you use enough heat to get good penetration to the frame rails (this is a major structural piece of the cars strength.) Not the most fun thing to weld in... like welding a pop can to a frame rail. I would weld in short bursts to fill the plug hole rather than one continuous weld, otherwise I would get burn through with the amount of heat I was using. |
Coming along nicely!
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Trunk Floor all welded in... Finally adding parts back ON!!! :willy:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H...Large%2529.JPG I will dress (grind down) the welds when I am ready to prime all the work. |
Now that I have some structure welded back to the frame rails... I can go ahead and start removing the main floor... Thanks to the previous owners CUSTOM work they did on the tunnel to add a 4 speed... and a leak probably due to a crack in the convertible drip rail allowing water inside the car. I decided to complete replace the main floor with a AMD complete floor.
OLD floor... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...Large%2529.JPG Previous owner did some lovely work to add a 4-speed. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...Large%2529.JPG Drivers side rear seat pan... looks like some moisture was let in. The drip rail for the convertible was cracked and probably let water in this area often. Getting close to a Flintstone mobile... :D https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u...Large%2529.JPG PLUS... that means I don't have to clean up this... it is a nice mess of oil and undercoating. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...Large%2529.JPG Needless to say... a FULL floor was PERFECT to get rid of all the past "fixes" that were done to the car. I ordered a Full AMD floor. It is a coupe floor, for it is missing the rear floor brace. But this can easily be added, to make it a convertible floor. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B...707_204830.jpg |
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