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Decided that now that I had the front end back together, and since it’s a nice day, I’d take the car to the station and fill it up, run the engine a little, and burn off all those slopped fluids. I go to back it out, and there’s no fucking transmission. Nothing. I hope to god that I bumped a linkage off when I replaced the pan. I’m a little pissy.
UPDATE: I posted my problem on the forums, and they answered it pretty quick. I just didn’t have enough transmission fluid in it. Jeremiah came over and we added more fluid and took it around the block a few times. Worked like a charm.
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I was watching “Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift” and they were saying something to the effect of, “If can go over 180km (110mph) the cops won’t bother chasing you”, which makes me laugh. Maybe it’s the fact I’ve got a crazy big-moose car, or that I’m all-american, and the little nipponese buggers make me laugh, but my car did better than 115 on the way home from picking it up, with bad brakes, bad suspension, shit tires, low-grade fluids, no steering, etc. Goal speed is 135. I’m setting it now.
Christmas Eve morning, after dicking with the door locks for what seemed like a month, the remote keyless entry is working with perfectly all new door locks that match the glovebox. Now, I’ve only got to do the trunk, and run the wire for the popper.
Of course, I had Christmas obligations to attend to last night and today, so nothing today.
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Wanted to add $38 to the total. Got new flashers, shrink tubing, wire, lock ferrules, zip ties and an exhaust patch kit.
(TC – $9221)
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Installed the door locks, undid the old crap, installed the actuators. It’s tight in there, but I did it. Apparently, the last owner or 4 had installed a cheap J.C. Whitney auto-lock system in there, but it seems that they didn’t put the remote entry. Why would you go to the trouble, but not add the little extra part? I think I’m mistaken about the car having original power locks, and instead the little hole in the panel was for power windows, which were a factory extra that they didn’t opt for on mine. That’s fine with me, since if there were, I don’t know if there’d be room for the keyless entry, and I prefer that.
Also, while I was under the dash, I noticed a few things. The carpet in unfinished. That’s probably good, since I have to run wires up in there and don’t want to have to rip it up to do so. In addition, the little gauge set is completely disconnected just like the dash. Again, I’ll find out later why, but for now, I’ll think I’ll just take it out so I can put an ashtray in there.
I also don’t think the “custom” crappy door panels are going to cut it, so I’m probably going to order some, as well as kick panels and the rear panels. Classic has some decent prices, and I like seeing their catalog pics, so I know I’m getting the right parts.
Well, time for me to degrease, and go to a birthday party.
P.S. I went with this door lock kit, and it worked great – grand total of $108
The bumper is back on! I called the parts company this week wondering where my damn bushings were, and they found the paperwork sitting there and misplaced. They fast-tracked the shipping and 2 days later the parts were here (yesterday). UPS dropped them off about 10 minutes before my friend Zane got here, so I suckered him into helping me get the bumper back on. I told him it would only take ten minutes. An hour later, we had it secured.
Tonight, I went out and finished putting the bumper on, spacing the gap between it and the hood, reinforcing it, etc. I’m sure I’ll find more places that need attaching later, but the lights are working (sorta) and it’s drivable-ish.
I learned a few things while doing research – most important, the car doesn’t have factory air. Shit. The aftermarket kits are decent, so I’m not too worried, they’re just expensive. I also think that other than A/C, the car was loaded. Auto locks, remote mirror, the works.
After I got the bumper on, I started looking at the wiring. It’s really a mess. Overwhelming, even. I can’t wait to go to a car show where I can take a look at a perfectly restored Firebird and take photos, so I can see how it should look.
The next step is obviously to fix the locks. I realized that the old power locks were seizing or something, and that’s why I now can’t get the driver’s side door open. I’m not happy about having to hop my fat ass through the window every time I want to start it or get inside. With any luck, Joe can gimme a hand over the holidays. Or maybe Roy or Chris. I need to buy beer. It also shitty that the mechanisms for the lock are buried way the fuck inside the door, so I’m shredding my forearms trying to get up in there. Crap waffles. I need to buy a lot of beer.
But for today, I’m stoked.
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I didn’t get shit done on the car, since I was forced to go shopping all weekend, and I’ve been waiting on the damn bumper bushings and bolts anyway. I called the company, and sure enough, they misplaced the order and are sending it out today. Great. Maybe by Friday I can put the damn bumper back on. Of course, Michelle’s got plans for us on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, so it looks like my fun long weekend of working on the car is shot to hell. Double Great.
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Bought a set of license plate screws for $6 because they came with the nylon backings. I also got a custom Firebird fender cover so I don’t scratch the body while working on it for $30
(TC – $9183)
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After measuring, it appears that a buckle will be too big, so it’s back to the drawing board.
On the grille, there once was a Pontiac badge, but it has since been lost. Instead, I want to put a little custom emblem on there. I thought about it, and came to the realization that I could weld a screw to the back of a belt buckle, and I’d have a nice custom grille badge. So I’ve been looking around, and here’s what I’ve found so far.
If anyone has any ideas or ways to get a rocketship buckle, that’s #1
FOUND IT!
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Just to keep everything straight, I ordered the lock solenoids from A-1 for $109 yesterday. (TC – $9147)
With a little luck that my bolts get here in the next few days, I might even have the bumper back on by the weekend, and will look to start the long crazy process of figuring out where all that wiring goes. Hoo-rah.
Ben\'s 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 Rod & Restoration 