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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:53 pm 
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Big Block

Joined:Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:48 pm
Posts:493
Car Details:68 pontiac firebird coupe project car,my aim is a street friendly,lightly modified pro.touring style.
Lowered ,mild body mods,400 cu in SBC engine, Muncie 4speed, 10 bolt posi axle,disc front drum rear.
68 firebird convertible ( long term project) Stock resto/mod style ,400 pontiac th350
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I also insist on keeping my front inner wheel wells that some owners junk
good to hear :thumbup:

Nige and Martin on here will tell you that the inner wheel housing is structural and when removed and on a jack, you can see the door gaps reduce more-so than normally. I've recently been working on the fenders on mine and the fenders did become more solid when bolted into the wheel well housing.

p.s great to see these racecars :D
Nige and Martin both understand the importance of bracing the sheet metal parts of the body parts to form an integrated structure. Important in circuit racing as stiff cars are more able to hold a tight line or make swift changes of direction than something that flexes...
Unfortunately drag racing practices are copied just to shed a few pounds often with unintended results by some who don't see the full picture ;)


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Re: '68 Firebird

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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:16 pm 
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Small Block

Joined:Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:47 pm
Posts:28
Car Details:Pontiac Firebird 1968
Poor pic sorry, but we finally got the lower windscreen chrome trim fitted! Needed new clips from the US, but it looks much better now.

Image

We've done a bunch of other little jobs such as:

- fit rear window winder
- use chrome polish to remove rust stains on front bumper (this stuff works wonders!)
- fixed the passenger side air vent so it now longer springs open when you put your foot on the gas!
- cleaned and polished up bits of trim inside and out.

I finally now have the speed nuts to mount the Pontiac badge in the front grill and to replace the 350 hood badges with 400 ones.

The bad news is that the car failed the MOT on two things: front headlight switch (full/dipped) - replaced by NAPS in Northampton, and front ball joints. Apparently the wheels were in danger of falling off when they jacked the car up! Replacements were shipped in, only to find when the guys took the front suspension apart that the control arms were worn. New control arms list at £300+ VAT each, so we are going to try oversize balljoints instead (apparently this works OK with worn controls arms!). Just waiting on more parts from the USA and then she will have an MOT.

We picked up a correct original cigarette lighter at a show the other week, so we now just need the housing and other bits.

Other jobs to do include fitting a phenolic spacer on the carb, fitting the rear shock brace and replacing the fire extinguisher that expired in 2008...


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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:43 pm 
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Big Block

Joined:Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:48 pm
Posts:493
Car Details:68 pontiac firebird coupe project car,my aim is a street friendly,lightly modified pro.touring style.
Lowered ,mild body mods,400 cu in SBC engine, Muncie 4speed, 10 bolt posi axle,disc front drum rear.
68 firebird convertible ( long term project) Stock resto/mod style ,400 pontiac th350
Nice work :thumbup:
It's always the small details that take the time to finish, but in the end those details make a huge difference...


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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:47 am 
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Big Block
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Joined:Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:41 pm
Posts:2451
As has been said, it's important to keep the inner fenders if you want to retain the rigidity of the car. Without them the door to wing gap can change dramatically when jacking the car up, so you can imagine what it would be doing on uneven road surfaces. My car has aluminium bushes between the subframe & the body which in themselves stiffen the front end sheet metal,(as opposed to the factory rubber type) Even with those bushes, without the inner fenders, when jacked up, the door gaps would close, to the point of almost touching the front wings. :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

It's possible to lower the first gen cars quite a bit. I've gone about as low as you can sensibly go with mine, with 4" of ground clearance between the front cross member & the road. The car runs lowered front springs & the rears are re arched, so that the car sits pretty level ( I don't like the jacked up arse look as it doesn't help the handling at all). It runs 225-60-15 Avon ZZ3's all around. Sure you could fit bigger tyres, but then you're into the American brands which again are pretty abysmal for performance handling & grip. hth


As you can see the tyres fit well in the arches

Image

Love your car by the way, it looks good in white :thumbup:

cheers...Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!


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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:54 pm 
Offline
Small Block

Joined:Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:47 pm
Posts:28
Car Details:Pontiac Firebird 1968
So earlier this year we got the new wheels on. North Hants supplied some rather nice Rocket Racing Fuel Polished 17" wheels and tyres. Managed to stick with the same 275 width rears.

Image

Old wheels are for sale in the Parts section of this site. :)

Thanks


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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:36 pm 
Offline
Small Block

Joined:Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:47 pm
Posts:28
Car Details:Pontiac Firebird 1968
A quick look around the car at idle



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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Sun Nov 29, 2015 6:52 pm 
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Big Block
User avatar

Joined:Fri Mar 19, 2010 1:35 am
Posts:2566
Car Details:79' camaro road & track day toy. 383 stroker, 5 speed TKO trans, lots of suspension stuff, 13" Vette brakes, 18" wheels.
Location:Luton
Nice ... :thumbup:

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”


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 Post subject: Re: '68 Firebird
PostPosted:Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:30 am 
Offline
Small Block

Joined:Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:47 pm
Posts:28
Car Details:Pontiac Firebird 1968
Thanks! I will try some with a few revs next time...:)


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