1971 Firebird Build ("The Other Woman", a.k.a. Project "T.O.W.")

[carbuff]

On other fronts... I placed a few orders this week. First, I ordered my gauges for the car. I decided on the Speedhut Revolution gauges. I'm using the 4.5" speedo and tach, and the 2 1/16" gauges for the rest.



I may reverse the 2 and 3 rows such that the 3 gauges are on top. I was trying to squeeze in another AC vent, but that's not going to fit.

I've also decided on my wheels... I'm surprised how hard this was, given how long I've been thinking about it. I went back and forth between the Forgeline RB3C, the GA3, the GZ3, and the GA1R. In the end, I decided on the GA3 as shown below. Satin Gunmetal center, exposed hardware, polished outers. The exposed hardware option finally put me over the top with this choice:



(that's a Forgeline picture for a set they just did for another car. the only difference on mine is I'm going for a black inner...)

I'm waiting on the finalized invoice to get the order moving forward, but that should happen Monday.

On the car itself, we are still having clearance issues around the rear suspension. The driver's side coilover and Watt's Link mount have been all sorts of problematic for us. If it had been located just 1/2" further inboard, all would be fine. But the spring collar hits at one point, then when we get past that, the shock body itself helps. Right now, that is our limiting point of rear suspension compression. We're going to see what happens when I get my wheels/tires, but I may have to purchase a different set of coilovers which use a narrower shock body and spring to clear.

This week the front end will come back apart for the last time. The inner fenders and radiator support are going off for powder coating, and the firewall will be painted. Then the real assembly will begin. I can't wait!