Ben\’s 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 Rod & Restoration

 OW!  Fucking pulled muscles.  Good thing I’ve got a muscle car to pick up the slack.

I changed the oil & filter this morning. Took me about 20 minutes to find where the oil filter plugged in. It’s behind the engine, wedged way the hell up above the headers. (Note to self – the engine holds 6.5 quarts of oil, not 5. It’s a big freakin’ mug.) I also tightened up the valance with a new bolt and pulled the shit out of a muscle in my neck. I was done with my list by 10:30 a.m., except for the interior stuff I want to look through, but it’s only 4 and I have all day tomorrow. I also put together the light frames and the grill after painting it. It looks brand new (from 5 feet away). Now all I need is to buy some new bulbs and wait for the damn bolts to get here. Wait, wait, wait. If Mandy gets her car on the road before me, I’ll be sad.

Tomorrow, I guess I’ll take a nap and nurse my shoulder. Lesson #9 – The best cure for a pulled muscle is Tylenol and Alcohol.

Lesson #10 – In the words of Mike Ditka, “Cars and Women, the best things in life wear a bra.”

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.

Here’s the story – I need new tires. The current ones on my car are seconds away from explosion. There is zero tread on the insides of the front tires, and the rear tires scare me a bit. I can either choose what I should get to replace them, or be stuck with a serious blowout, and be forced to tow it to a place where I’ll have to pay through the nose. In addition, the wheels currently on the car are ridiculously big. Comical, even. I want something that looks more stock. I know the sizes, too – front: 5 x 4.75 – 15″ rim, 7″ wide, rear 5×4.75 – 15″ rim, 8″ wide. Option #1 is to get the wheels I really want. That’s $1000 I should be spending on getting the damn car back on the road safely instead of new wheels. Option #2 is get new tires for my existing wheels, but since I want to replace them, that’s just throwing money away. Option #3 is to get cheaper wheels for the meantime that are the same size as my dream wheels, put good new tires on them, and get the Torq-Thrust wheels later. Best prices I’ve found are from Summit Racing and they ship free.

So, that’s decided. Now, to pick the cheaper wheels for the meantime. I think I should set a budget of $50 a wheel for the new set and here’s what I came up with.

#1) Cragar Nomad II Wheels: front – $45.95 rear – $47.95

#2) U.S. Wheel 94 Series Black Modular: front – $48.95 rear – $49.95

#3) Cragar 441 Wheels: front – $59.95   rear – $62.95

#4) Cragar Quick Trick Wheels:  front – $55.69 rear – $59.69

#5)  U.S. Wheel 37 Series Chrome Star Wheels: front – $55.88 rear – $57.88

Just wanted to add, before I forget, that I ordered 12 new bumper bolts (w/ nuts) and 2 new frame-to-bumper bushings.  Price was $42, which put me just over the $9000 mark (TC – $9022)

I didn’t get to put another coat of paint on the bumper frame since I had to get new tires for my truck tonight.  I hate spending $140 on my work truck, and not on my fun boy.  Oh well.  At least it’s got a working heater.