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!

[WSSix]

I really like how it's coming together. Wheel choice is great. Just be forewarned, cleaning around the hardware and the pocket the bolts are in is going to be a pain. I like them though.

[carbuff]

Yes, I realize cleaning is going to be painful. I just always felt that the GA3 was missing something. While not a show car, this was one place I just wanted a little nicer look. I'll probably curse myself after about 2 car washes though!

[WSSix]

possibly. Keep your eyes out for various brushes in paint sections of stores or even camera places. You're bound to find something that will get in there and make life a little easier. My first stop would be the paint store for a soft bristle paint brush. Find the cheapest one you can.

[carbuff]

More Dynamat hell... I have about 2.5 days into it so far, and I've got one more small section on the rear tunnel, then the doors. Note the plastic buckets that I siliconed into the kick panels. Those will protect the speakers that are going down there. 3 days later, and the backs of my hands are still covered in the stuff. I think it's as bad as POR-15 if you get it on your skin!

And a lot more ordering has been ongoing also! I decided to replace the side glass on the car, and both sides have scratches (the driver's much worse though). I did a lot of searching, and I couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether the Pilkington glass was really better, and who made it. So I went with Auto City Glass. Hopefully it will arrive this week, and I can install the glass this weekend. Then I can Dynamat the doors...

I'm excited that UPS is showing my Forgelines are supposed to arrive tomorrow! Now I just have to find a place to have them mounted that I can trust not to screw them up... Maybe SW will have a recommendation, he's had a set or two mounted in town.

Eric wrapped up the firewall and painted it last week. We also sent a big pile of parts to the powder coater, hopefully they are coming back this week also.

Here are a few pictures for the week:

The rearend is out as Eric touched up some spots on the bottom of the car. It's a good shot of the JRS setup I have for adjusting the pinion angle:



Some Dynamat shots:







And the firewall:

[carbuff]

And another surprise arrived today. My Speedhut Revolution gauges came in! We haven't had time to make the gauge panel which will house them yet, but hopefully we can work on that early next week. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

[Ron in SoCal]

Nice Bryan! I know you've run into a couple hurdles (don't we all), but you're powering right through it. You will have a killer car when you're done

[carbuff]

Admittedly, it's not always easy! I'm amazed how much time I spend chasing parts and answers trying to stay ahead of Eric... You'd think that by having someone else do most of the work, my job would be pretty easy. But no........

I forgot a couple of interesting pictures earlier... Eric cut out the rot on the lower cowls, a common rust problem on these cars. You can see the rot and the openings he made and is filling in below:

[RussMurco]

Love those gauges! Heck, love the project!

[carbuff]

WOO HOO! Look what showed up today. Can't wait until tonight to see them in person!