Ben\’s 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 Rod & Restoration

It seems that everyone has a different idea about how to find the right calibration for the speedo.  My favorite so far is this one:

http://chevelleengineer.home.comcast.net/~chevelleengineer/speedo.htm

The math is simple, and it’s easy to get in the right ballpark.  After pulling the gear, it’s currently a 39 tooth brown gear.  Let’s do the math:

The car says 80, but it’s more like 55.  That’s a ROUGH estimate, but with these initial facts I can deduce that I’ve got about s 45% error.  The estimate might be wrong, but the math is right.  That means that I need to add 18 teeth.  That would mean I need a 57 tooth gear, but the biggest is 45, so I guess I’ll order that and give it a whirl.  With the crazy ass tires, who knows if I’ll ever get an accurate reading.  The good news is that they’re only $6 a pop, so it’s not a big expense if I’m wrong.  However, I hate to spend 6 bucks to get hit with $8 shipping, so I need to figure out what else I should get while I’m thinking about it.

Holy crap!  I didn’t realize how long I’d had the car on stands without finishing the tank.  It did take me a while to get around to ordering the bolts and the other hardware ($60) and a few fun add-ons, but the good news is that I got them all in today.  Yay for me.  While I was under the car, I evened out the bolts under the rear springs, so we’ll see if that makes a difference.  I also installed the big rubber bumpers on the control arms, finally.  I got a new fuel door spring while I was shopping, and it installed quick, easy, and it works perfect.

I also tore into the scooter to try and fix the electrical.  What a mess.  It’s a good thing that Gick’s coming home tomorrow, so I have someone to help figure out what I fucked up.

I’m trying to figure out what I should do next before I pull the engine out.  Obviously I’m going to drive it around a little, and I think I might buy a torque wrench tomorrow if they sell it at Menard’s or somewhere else on that side of town.  Now I just need to find the proper torque for putting on the bolts to the transmission fluid pan and I’m set.  It’s still leaking like a muther.  While I’m under there, I noticed a loose nut on the front shock, so I think I’ll tighten that up.

I believe that next, I might take the wiper motor out again and pull the transmission to see if it’s just crappy and stiff.  That might be the whole problem – i.e. the pump and motor seem to work fine until they’re attached to that thing.  I guess we’ll see.  If that’s not too tough or expensive, I might look into the speedo gearing.  In fact, I might check that out first while it’s on the blocks.  I’d love to know what gearing I need, and that might take a shitload of research.  Ug.

For now, I’m going to look a few things up and then go shower and go to bed.

(T.C. – $12310)

P.S. The NPD catalog has the info on how to figure out what size speedo gear I need, I’m going to order the correct one and install before I take the car down off the stands.  That’s first.  I also forgot that I’ve got a new shifter to install, but I think I’m going to get the car driving again before I tear into that.

So for tomorrow, it’s 1) do the equation and order the speedo gear, 2)tighten the nut on the front shock, 3)try (again) to replace the gasket on the tranny pan.  That shouldn’t take me too long.  The shopping list is 1)lock-tite, 2)torque wrench, 3)gasket goo.  Okay, bedtime.

The wipers work fine on the bench, but once they get installed, they bog down and don’t do shit.  Gonna take them back out, pull out the miper transmission, clean it up, grease the hell out of it and try it again.  Oof.

I took the car into a trusted shop, where they did some diagnostics ($160) and told me that I’ve got low compression in the engine.  No surprise there.  It looks like this winter, I’m going to be pulling the motor out and having it rebuilt.  Great.  At least I’ll get the block repainted and have a chance to clean and repaint the engine compartment.  Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

I almost had the new gas tank ($200) installed last night, but got stuck when the carriage bolts for the hangers got bent and sheared.  I’ll hit the hardware store today and get some more.  Shouldn’t take but 20 minutes to bolt it back in tonight.  Yay.

(T.C. – $12250)

Figured out the  washer scenario.  Bought the parts.  $140 bucks.  Gotta go – driving to be done.

(T.C. – $11890)

I got the car back from the mechanic, and he charged me very little, even though they put a shitload of time into it, and I have to admit, I wouldn’t have gotten it done any faster.  They did a pretty decent job, and added a bunch of little touch ups, like regrounding the system under the motor for no charge.  If I need anything else, I’m pretty sure I’ll go back.

So I was in the garage yesterday, trying to figure out the wiring for the wipers, and I did something stupid.  I might have toasted the wiper motor, we’ll see.  I accidentally clamped my jumper onto the wrong connection and the jumper got red hot and started smoking.  I tried to grab it and pull it off, but the wire sliced into my finger, immediately cauterizing it.  Luckily, it burned through the wire really fast and nothing else went up in flames, but I’m telling you, I’m buying the fire extinguisher this weekend.

(T.C. – $11750)

When will I learn my lesson?  How many times am I going to take it up the cornhole before I just do the smart thing and take my shit to Greene’s (top end local mechanic).  Yeah, I’ll pay twice as much, but I’ll get it done, and done right.  So here’s the rub:

I called the shop ahead of time to schedule that I would be bringing my car in Friday morning.  Why did I do that?  So that they could get it in right away and go right to work.  They didn’t even look at it until today – 3 business days later.  When I called, their shit-for-brains receptionist (somone’s drunkard wife) has no idea what I’m talking about.

“Yeah, I’m the guy with the Firebird.”
“Huh?”
“The vintage car.  The only musclecar in the shop.”
“Huh?”
“The fucking BLUE one!”
“Huh?”
“WHY DID YOU EVEN ANSWER THE PHONE, BITCH!”
…”Um, hold on a sec.”

The only thing they did right (as far as I know) is replace the bad brake line.  I haven’t even asked them if they’ve gotten around to the transmission, and I really hope they didn’t.  This is the second shop I’ve dealt with, that I just want to cut and run.  And that’s why I’m having it towed home tomorrow.  Here’s the rest of the story.

It’s Monday.  I’m a little peeved because I made an appointment for Friday morning, and they didn’t even look at it until today.  Fine.  Business is wierd, I can understand.  I get a call telling me that there’s a little push rod missing.  I go home at lunch to search through parts, but can’t find anything, so I go over to the shop.  I talk to the guy and he looks at the booster while I push the brakes, and imagine that, the aftermarket kit doesn’t use a push rod.  It’s got a different system that works fine.  So I haul ass back to work and I’m thinking, “at least I get to pick up my car tonight and everything will be fine.”  I call at 4 to make sure.  Sure enough, the mechanic starts telling me all sorts of things that end with the fact that the master cylinder is bad.  And of course, I bought it on ebay, so it’s going to take forever to get a new one.  Damn it anyway.  So I’m cashing in my chips and towning the car home tomorrow.  If I don’t have it driving around this weekend, someone is getting a smackdown.

Car’s still at the shop.  Hopefully I’ll be picking it up today with new brake lines and a running non-leaking transmission.  I can only hope and pray.  I was so antsy about it that I called to see if they were open and working today (they are) and faked needing work done to see what their situation is.  I’m totally going over there on the scooter to check out the progress 🙂

As of 2:52 PM, I still don’t have it back!  GRR!!!  I swung by and checked in, and they hadn’t gotten around to it yet.  Suck balls!  The guys said later today or first thing Monday morning.  what a douche!

I’m thinking about putting a couch or a bed in the garage.  If I had the extra space, I would definitely do that.  I spent all weekend, all last night and tonight dicking with the bird. I’m having AAA come tow the moose to the shop in the morning so that they can replace the fucked up break line (my fault) and then I’m planning on heading from there to work.  I’ll be cutting out early to get a new plate for it.  Haven’t decided on a vanity plate or a historic.  Or I can use the plate from 1967 that I got.  I’m moving at a crazy fast pace on this fucker!  With luck, I’ll be road worthy tomorrow, Monday at the latest.

I spent approximately the same amount on bits and bobs that I should get back from the parts I’m selling on ebay, so I’m just going to call it a draw on the price.

I’m always thinking what I should do next, and one day I’ll be crapping my pants because I’ll be sending it to paint.  I just have to think small, since I’ll be driving it every day(ish), so I’m not gonna spend more than $1000 on bodywork and paint, since I know that I’ll park it at work and Flannigan will open his door right into the brand new paint and fuck it up.  Yeah, I’m going to be one of those guys who parks at the back of the parking lot to keep assholes from dinging it :).

(4 swear words so far…)

Okay, I need to process this in a way that I’m familiar with.  User Interface.  What’s the most important thing?  I guess that would be the ability to go from point a to point b.  That means drivetrain.  So, what are the essentials that need doing for that to work?? ($400 max)

1. Engine needs professional tune-up at Greenes.
2. Tranny needs inspection, fluids and to stop FOKRIN’ leaking all over my garage floor.  While it’s there, I should get the drive shaft and all the bells and whistles inspected.

Okay that’s all I can think of right now as far as the drivetrain is concerned.  So the next part would be immediate safety.

1. Gauges – Speedo.  Hook it up and pray.  I know the pod is good, so if the speedo is dancing like before, I’m guessing it’s an issue with the sender or the cable.  A bitch, but not something I can’t tackle in an afternoon with a few beers and a big ass hammer.
2. Gauges – Fuel.  I’m fairly certain that there’s a leak in the tank which kills the vacuum and has most likely fried the sending unit.  I think I’ll just buy a new one at about $70 and save myself the hassle of pulling it apart again if it doesn’t work.  New tank is around $175, but totally worth it, and I’ll definitely get the padding while I’m at it.
3. Brake lines should be good to go as of tomorrow, so I’m only adding it as a technicality.
4. Windshield wipers.  I’m sure this is going to be a bigger job than I know, since I’ll have to run a wire and tons of other shit.  Bad pump?  Bad wiring?  Who the hell knows.

Next part would be mechanical fidelity.  If it a’int all running smooth then it’ll break soon, right? ($300)

1. It was so flipping embarrassing when I parked the car last summer and it puked coolant all over the ground when I parked it.  At the very least, I need a coolant overflow jug.  To do it properly, I want to replace the whole radiator with electric fans so I can take the extra strain off the engine.  It ain’t cheap.  But necessary to keep me from being pulled over on the side of the road or in an intersection waiting for the thing to cool down. ($250)
2. Wheel Alignment.  I’m hoping everything is perfect and I don’t need this, but chances are I will. ($50)
3. Shifter.  It’s not completely important, but damn I hate my turd bucket of a B&M poop handle.  This is another weekend job, since I’ll have to take out at least one seat and pull up the carpet.  (Already Owned)

Next it’s base comforts.  Exciting.  Expensive at around $2000

1. Heating/Cooling shall be fixed with a bitchin’ system from Vintage Air.  It shall cost a small fortune.  It shall be a while to save up for it.  It shall be a big fucking deal.
2. Radio & Sound System.  This is a biggie, since I’m going to be building a custom center console, and I’ll need to do tons of planning.  I keep going back and forth as to what I should build, and I don’t have any real direction yet.  In the meantime, I can hook up the crappy one I got from the junkyard and make sure the antenna and simple speakers are working.  Again, no expense spared here.

The home stretch is making it look as badass as it can be.  I’ll probably miss a step, but I can always go back and edit.  It’s also the most expensive part at about $3500 for everything.

1. I might do this at sometime earlier, but the engine needs to be painted, and needs fun dress-up stuff like cool new rocker covers and chrome dipstick and all that fun stuff. ($100)
2. Hood and Spoiler.  Need to buy them and install them.  Not cheap ($600).
3. I’ll need to remove all the interior stuff like carpet, seats, side panels, etc. and install sound deading pad. ($200)
4. After that’s done, the bodywork can begin.  There’s a lot of stuff to do to the interior to prime it for paint.  I’m not sure if I should do paint and body before or after the sound deadening, so I’ll need to look into that.  I’ll also have to go around and dismantle all of the trim and hardware and everything.
5. Body and Paint.  This will have to be saved up for.  I’m guessing it’ll run in the $2000 range.  Oof.
6. Interior.  Once the car is new and spiffy, the new headliner, carpet, seat covers, side panels, etc. can be installed.  Luckily, it’s not too expensive if I buy it as a kit. ($600)

I’m sure there’s a billion other little details, but I’m seeing a ending budget of $6500 – 7000 to finish the car.  That will put it at a final range of about $20,000.  But it will also be sweet.  I hope it’ll be worth it in the end.

1) Get the damn column mount correctly installed and refill and bleed power system.  Hope to god I don’t have to replace the pump, too.

2) Install the gauge cluster.  Again, hope that it works, or at least the speedo is good to go.

3) Drag the heap to the local shop and get the brake lines fixed.

4) Drag the heap to the transmission shop and get the tranny looked at and the pan sealed correctly.  (maybe get it for free with one of those shop’s “free inspection” deals.)

5) Drive it around for a few days.

5.5) Repair windshield wipers.

5.6) Replace fuel tank.

6) Replace shifter.  (Might be stalled due to building of the center console.)

7) Replace radiator.

8.0) Build Center Console.

8.5) Install Sound system.

8.6) Install a/c system.

8.7) Wrap up interior details.

9) Prep interior for paint

10) BODY WORK!!!

11) PAINT!!!  (Summer 2010)

Okay, for the love of Mike, I need 2 things.  1)  The weather needs to relax.  Either be cold or warm, but quit teasing me.  Gimme a nice sunny Sunday and all is forgiven.  and 2) I need something to fit right. I’m not going to list how much I spent on all these damn parts that just don’t fit.  As it sits, I’m most likely going to have to pull out the steering wheel and remount it from scratch to fit in the new mounting apparatus, but hell, if it works, it works.  If it doesn’t, I’ll cry.

Stuff I bought:

Brake Pedal ($40)
Brake Bracket ($30)
Hopefully the last column mount I’ll have to buy ($20)
New gauges ($115)

(T.C. – $11591)

The good news is that I got a quote from the local shop for about $150 to replace my fouled up brake lines, so I’m doing better in that case.  And if the motor fairies cut me a break, the new speedo and fuel gauge will plop right in and work perfectly.  I know it’s a long shot, but hell, I need something to work without condition right now.  I’m going to contabulate my next moves and post it subsequently.