Project Frankenbird - 1968 Pontiac Firebird

[Tuske427]

Originally Posted by bdahlg68

So when I was removing the drivers quarter I absolutely destroyed the brace that the door striker threads into. I will NEVER make that mistake again. First, because you can't just buy a new one. And second, because these things are a nightmare to extract from another car.....

I did eventually win though...



I will hopefully be able to have the rear of the car welded back together by thanksgiving and start roughing in the rear suspension. The replacement panels aren't perfect, but the quarters don't seem too bad. The tail panel might be a different story, but we'll see as it is really only near the bottom. I'm less concerned there as I may do something unique back there anyway. Any 1st gen experts want to lend a hand? I pay in really good beer and food!

How about recessing the tail panel???

[bdahlg68]

Originally Posted by Tuske427

How about recessing the tail panel???

I like the way it looks, but also looks like lots of work!

I was starting to wonder if I'd ever be able to get this thing to start going back together - and finally it seems to be starting.... Pretty happy with the alignment so far. Still deciding if I want to play with it some more while I figure out everywhere that needs to be welded! The only area I'm currently concerned about is the sail panel area. It seems to be a bit wiggly near the bottom of the drip rail and I don't like the way it meets the roof panel. Outer wheelhouse is also mocked in and seems to be fitting ok. Still need to finalize the passenger side and then it's on to welding!

[bdahlg68]

Now I just need to fab this in.... simple, right?

[bonecrrusher]

What is that rear end/chassis part out of?

[badmatt]

Looks to be GTO? or 5th gen Camaro.

scratch that its BMW..

[bdahlg68]

Originally Posted by badmatt

Looks to be GTO? or 5th gen Camaro.

scratch that its BMW..

Correct - E9x 3-series rear suspension. Very curious to see how difficult this is going to be to fab in....

[LSfan70s]

Originally Posted by bdahlg68

Correct - E9x 3-series rear suspension. Very curious to see how difficult this is going to be to fab in....

Please post tons of pics. Subscribing with "instant notification by email". Good luck with it

[Rick D]

Brain just a thought here but are you using the front suspension from the BMW?? If you plan on using the whole setup I would find a donor car and cut out the whole floor and work back from there? Not sure if the wheel base or track width lines up? Even if the the firebird is wider it would be easier to split the BMW setup down the middle and build a tunnel for trans and drive shaft?? Just been thinking of some of the ways I would start.

[bdahlg68]

Originally Posted by Rick D

Brain just a thought here but are you using the front suspension from the BMW?? If you plan on using the whole setup I would find a donor car and cut out the whole floor and work back from there? Not sure if the wheel base or track width lines up? Even if the the firebird is wider it would be easier to split the BMW setup down the middle and build a tunnel for trans and drive shaft?? Just been thinking of some of the ways I would start.

This is what I want to do. The front suspension will be far more complex to integrate as it is a Mac Strut on the BMW. The line of what to steal from the BMW and what not is very fuzzy at this point. The track widths are actually within an acceptable variance that can be managed by wheel offsets. Plus I need to offload my JRS front suspension to move forward on the BMW front suspension.....

[Rick D]

Is the E9X platform the M3 series? Or just any 3 series?