Brendon's '67 Firebird thread

[MX145]

Brendon, I went through your whole thread again. You've made a lot of great functional and aesthetic improvements. Summer of '14 is looking like a reality for you. It's a long shot for me but I'm still hoping.

[Tuske427]

Originally Posted by MX145

Brendon, I went through your whole thread again. You've made a lot of great functional and aesthetic improvements. Summer of '14 is looking like a reality for you. It's a long shot for me but I'm still hoping.

Thanks, Ryan! Yeah, I am on a home stretch so to speak. I installed the rear brakes today finally. My hold up now is buying parts & the lack of extra $$ to do so. I don't want to go into debt over this so I will buy as I can afford it. I still have some things to get including:

Wheels
tires
driveshaft
anti sway bars
wiring
radiator
brake lines
fuel lines
seats
master cylinder
exhaust/ exhaust cut outs
headlights (was thinking of upgrading over OEM)
seatbelts
battery
lots of misc items (brackets, clips, hoses, fluids, etc)

I'd also "like to" get new front and rear windows, but I could use mine in a pinch.

[Tuske427]

OK, as mentioned yesterday I was able to install my rear brakes. The hold up was replacing the rear wheel seal I mangled trying to install it. I don't have a professional wheel seal installer, so I made my own with some scrap aluminum and plastic tubing. This is ever so slightly thinner than the wheel seal itself allowing it to fit inside my axle tube and get the seal in there tight. The plastic served to hold the seal.

I also ground some notches into the axle bolts so they would fit snug and not be cockeyed during the install. I need to get a master cylinder, proportioning valve and some tubing so I can finish this part up.

I started the e-brake assembly, but there is little point in finishing this part now as I believe this needs to fit/ work around other components that are not yet in the car (not the other way around)

[Tuske427]

OK, the rate of progress is at a crawl but at least it's still moving forward. I had a few hours today so I started assembling my in tank fuel pump kit. I must first give Brett (Fab53) a shout out of great job on welding up my tank. Now that the new mounting surface is welded in place I was able to realize that the baffle tray from the kit is about 1/8" too long (it hit against the baffle plate inside the tank) So I chopped it and welded that back up. Then the height of the pump didn't fit (there is only 6" or so of room- the "minimum" adjustment of the kit). So I chopped the end of the nipple off to get it to just clear. I've since assembled the rest of the kit, but I'm not happy with how little room is between the filter and the baffle tray. The filter is virtually pressed against it. I think the next time I'm in the garage I'll cut a hole in the bottom of the baffle tray to allow a bit more room for the pump to collect fuel. The baffle tray walls will still reduce the "sloshing" and its touching the bottom of the tank anyhow so I believe it will still be effective.

[Tuske427]

Still alive. Been busy. Today I had a day to work on the car. I was able to get the fuel pump installed after 3 attempts- kept breaking bolts and making a mess of it it's installed in the tank. The tank is now loosely assembled in the car, and will be tightened in after I add some fuel lines (still need to purchase) and clamps for the filler neck (still need to purchase). I also started roughing in some front brake lines using some 9 gauge bailing wire.

My buddy Dave came by with his car fresh from the paint/ body shop. It looks better than new. It was also motivating to ride in that to keep me going on my car. The color on his car, btw, is called "Nightshade Green" It's a 1 year only color which is original to his car (a #'s matching 400 car) It's really sweet.

I'm just happy to be making a little progress again.

[waynieZ]

Looking good. Glad to see your getting some time to work on the car.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, Wayne!

Today, with 3 trips to the hardware store, I was able to finally get my tank installed. I keep ruining the stainless steel tank strap carriage bolts. They just bind up and break when trying to remove the nuts. Very frustrating. I also built a few flexible fuel lines with some goodies that arrived from Summit Racing. I ordered the PTFE lines and put a few sections together and connected them to the tank, as well as made a few of the front brake lines and installed my master cylinder. Between using the copper nickel alloy and the Eastwood brake flaring tool these were a breeze to make. Let's just hope they don't leak. I also tacked on a few brackets to the rear axle for mounting brake lines before I ran out of daylight.

[rickpaw]

Just read thru your project. Very nice work. Really liked the mods you did to the car. Wished I had done the same thing when I had my car apart.

[waynieZ]

Looking Good.

[Tuske427]

Thanks, guys!

A little more progress on the brake lines this weekend. I made the rear axle tubes, and the large one across the bottom of the car. I have it connected to the proportioning valve, but forgot to get a pic. Next week. I also made a bracket for the valve out of a scrap piece of square tube and got that mounted. I'm sure with this, and my brake lines there will be some interference with the inner fender. Oh well.

All I have left for the brake lines is the front tube, but I'll wait until after my engine is in to make that.