67 Firebird - Project start date 1981

[CanyonRider]

Yes, it was May 1981. I was 16yrs old - car shopping with $500 in my pocket. I found a early 70s Torino with a 351, 4-spd that had been hit in the front and needed a grill and fender. The guy wanted $500 – I passed – I would live to regret that decision. Then I found a 67 Firebird that a father/son team had started restoring. They got as far as taking it apart. It didn’t run, the interior was in boxes, it was multi-color primer. They assured me it was all there, the engine ran and it was a solid car – they wanted $300 – delivered. I bought it. I have been known to say MANY times since that fateful day that I had over paid for the car. Haha!

It took me most of that summer to put it back together and get it running, but by the first day of my senior year of HS, here it was!





Notice the sheepskin on the rear package tray and the black euro side mirror my girlfriend bought for me.

After 20 years of use, abuse, autocrossing, breaking and fixing, I parked it where it sat another 20yrs – until last week. I dragged it out of the barn and pushed it up onto the lift. So here she is – needing A LOT of attention.




I don’t have a long build sheet that I’ve been dreaming up for years. I don’t really have much of a plan nor a set budget. Almost certainly the worst possible way to start a project - but have built a few cars and I know myself pretty well and I know what keeps me motivated. I like to get a car running, drive it, maybe track it, then work on it for a couple months, then drive it some more – rinse and repeat. This is clearly not the most efficient way to get to the final destination, but I know I can’t spend years working on a project without driving and enjoying it. Driving the car and taking it to the track motivates me to keep working on it and inspires me with new ideas. So I’ll preface this build with – You probably shouldn’t do it this way, but we’re gonna have a good time!

The first order of business is to drop the tank, rearend and rear suspension. We have some structural issues to address.



Stay tuned!
CR