Ben\’s 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 Rod & Restoration

My new bumper bushings didn’t get here, but I really didn’t expect them to, so I guess I’m not putting the bumper back together this weekend. That’s fine since I just had a new inspiration about the front park/turn lights. If I were to purchase original versions of them, it would cost around $80 a piece. Pretty damn pricey. I had originally thought of putting on some kind of rally light bar or something, but when I drafted it up in Photoshop, it looked pretty bad.

Just out of sheer coincidence, I ordered a first gen Camaro catalog a while back, since most of the parts are the same, and it would give me more options. I look at the cover and see that the valance is pretty much the same, but it has round driving lamps in it, and they look great! pretty much what I wanted to do, but couldn’t figure out. It also looks like I can do a custom driving lamp set for about $50. Done and done.

Now, for this weekend, I need to do a few things before putting the bumper back on anyway. Chores include:

1) drill new hole to tighten driver side sheet metal, and re-bolt it together.

2) measure and research new driving light scenario.

3) change oil with Valvoline 10w30 Max Life oil – OR – get oil from Dianne’s company if not insanely expensive.  With a special at AutoZone I can get for $16 (TC – $9038)

4) research and try to reconnect gauges.

5) Study the interior – sound system, what needs repair, replaced, dash, etc. Use the car codes I found online to learn what the original interior package was. (The more I investigate, the more I learn that this car was fully loaded.)

My most important recently learned rules to remember are these :

Lesson #6 – Finish one project before starting another. Otherwise, I’ll have a car that I can’t drive for months and months and never enjoy.

Lesson #7 – It’s not a race to finish the damn car. Relax. If I buy all the parts I need now, I’ll go broke and be single, homeless and still not be able to finish it. Parts take time to get here, and it’s not like I’m going to be taking it out in the snow. Quit obsessing about wheels. They won’t be touching pavement until March anyway. But them then and call it a birthday present.

Lesson #8 – Good enough is good enough. I want a daily driver. Eventually someone is going to ding it in a parking lot. If I get a $5000 paint job, that’s truly going to suck, which is why only show cars spend the big bucks. I’m doing fun custom stuff for the same reason they did it originally – it cheaper to tinker than to replace.

So this weekend will be done before it’s begun, but at least I can play some racing games and not feel guilty.

P.S. I got the matchbox version of my car in the mail today and it rocks. Best $10 yet spent on Kabong. It’s also a handy tool to guess-timate what I want to do and what I don’t.