1971 Firebird build thread

[ccm399]

Well couple quick updates....

First, I won a Corvette A6 trans off eBay for $500 shipped to my door!!!! Should be here late this week or early next.

Second is I started taking an inventory of of thins that came wit the car. I was pleasantly surprised to find the weather stripping is a complete set (Doors, Upper Rails, and Trunk) of Year One soft seals!

I also found front and rear TA wheel flairs...not in too bad of shape either. I also found the rear filler panel in the trunk so that was cool. Speaking of finding things the A-pillar covers for the interior were in there too.

I started stripping it today so we can media blast it. Not too much progress but a start none the less. Too bad I am going to be out of town most of the week....and then again over the weekend. That's gonna put a damper on the progress.

Chris

[Ron Fox]

Nice project Chris. Great to see another Bird on this site. Any reason why you chose a '71 Bird?

Keep us posted with pics please.

[ccm399]

Hi Ron,

Good question, I went with an early 70's Firebird for a couple reasons. When I first started looking for a project I was drawn to the 1969 Camaro but they are pretty popular here (everywhere I suppose) and the price is pretty much out of sight for the most part. So I started looking for a different car.

I have always liked Firebirds and Trans Ams (First car was a 1978 TA and I drag raced an 89 TA for twelve years) so I started comparing and contrasting the different years and trim packages and such and I decided I wanted to build something I did not already have at some point in my life so I decided on the early 70's Firebird. I really like the "all business" look of these cars!

I will post up some pics asap. I have not uploaded them to the PC yet and I am typing this from a hotel room in Cincinnati.

Chris

[ccm399]

Progress pics....

I finally have time to post up some pics from the other day. Not much progress but time to work on her has been tough to come by lately.

Anyway,



After a couple minutes I had this:



Which meant I found this (not unexpected):



And this:



I knew about the door jambs and the tail panel is not quite as I thought it could have been.

[ccm399]

So I picked this bad bot up today....



Oh yeah!!!!!!

I also found this on craigslist:




It's in great shape except one flaw:



It had been stored standing on end so the endura plastic (rubber?) cracked from the weight. Shouldn't be too tough to fix (I hope). For $150 I thought it was worth a gamble.

Chris

[aronhk_md]

Chris,

I believe they just started making the whole rear sheetmetal replacement. I know they now have the rear curved bottom pan...called the Valence. Check on the performanceyears.com tech board....under 70-73 birds. Also, make sure thats not a 73 nose, as they are different mounts. Theres info on that same forum about that as well. Truthfully if you are going the pro-touring route you might want to consider the fiberglass nose. Takes a bit of prep, but drops weight................and really the nice thing is the long term durability of the paint.

The stock endura noses are a PAIN. Even properly prepped professionally, the nose on my #'s matching 72 trans am cracked from the temp in the garage changing from 40 degrees in the daytime to below freezing at night, and I'm not the only one who has had that happen.

[NOT A TA]

The grills are 73 and if they fit that bumper correctly then the bumpers a 73. It can be used but there aren't any repro grills or chrome bezels available yet that I know of. The most noticable difference appearance wise is that the nose sticks out farther. I believe they changed it for 73 to meet new impact regulations. You can see the difference in the pic below of the white 73 and my 70 behind.

[aronhk_md]

The mounting brackets are completely different on the 73.....it wont bolt up to an earlier one.....there are threads on this over at PY.

[ccm399]

Thanks for the info guys (been a while since I could get online). I have not had time to look into what year nose it is for sure. I am sure the grills are 73's for sure based on the larger grid spacing. As for the nose I am not sure the "fit"....the shape of the grill does not really match up to the opening in the grill.

Thanks for the advice on the fiberglass. I was told that going that route was worse because the fiberglass noses are thin and crack prone. By prep work are you meaning adding material to the fiberglass to increase the thickness/strength? I might just go that route after all....those anvil carbon fiber noses sure are cool..... I guess I was hoping modern painting techniques could overcome the endura nose issues. Guess not though.

I will probably end up repairing the crack on selling it off to help offset the costs of a new nose.

[Ron Fox]

Chris, Classic Industries carries many of the 70's Firebird parts. Look at Year One also.

Thanks for the pics. It's cool to see a Bird in progress.