Ben\’s 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 Rod & Restoration

I worked from home today (due to some gastro-intestinal issues which I won’t go into), so on my lunch hour I installed the rear shocks, took the car off the stands and drove it to the gas station.  Ten gallons for the economical price of $40.  Holy crap.

The rear end felt pretty solid, so the lift kit seems to have worked, except while going around a corner I heard a noise that may have been the tires hitting the body.

The speedometer worked pretty well – or as well as to be expected, it’s a little bouncy under 30 mph.

The left front brake is still too soft, and it’s veering right when I stop.  I’ll see if I can’t mess with it a bit when I replace the rear brakes, which are squeaking like hell.  What I really need is for Chris and/or Roy to ride around in it with me and help diagnose the problems with the brakes.  Of course, I know Chris will say it needs a brake booster and front discs, which is true, but I’m not gonna dump $1000 into it if I don’t have to.

The header seems to be working fine… I think.  When I started the car there was a lot of smoke that didn’t have much force to it, so I assume that it was just the gunk I’ve dripped on it burning off.  When I parked the car and let it run a bit, I didn’t see any exhaust issues, so hopefully that’s solved.  I guess I’ll find out once it cools down and I restart it.

The gas gauge still doesn’t work, and that might be due to the sending unit, or the fact that there’s a leak in the gas tank.  When I filled it up, it started dripping before I could finish, so I guess I’ll drive around until I’m low on fuel, then take the tank off to replace the sending unit, and will probably replace the tank at the same time.  Ug.

It’s loud as shit, since I’ve got the interior pretty stripped, but that pretty much expected at this point.

I still need to dink around with the wiring, to finish hooking up the gauge cluster and interior crap.  I also need to finish the front end lights and clean up the wiring in the engine compartment.  I guess I’ve got some shopping and driving to do.

The car didn’t see pavement today. Boo hoo. Apparently, shocks are not commonly carried in auto parts stores. If you need a plastic skull air freshener or a chain-link license plate border, they’re there for ya, but something as CRAZY as shocks… NOOOO!!! So fuck those guys, I bought a pair from Summit for $66. (TC – $9804) I know the hype, but for my type for driving, shocks are shocks.

On the other hand, I went to Roy’s and he welded up my headers. Right after I picked him up with his broken down scooter in front of the Speedway. Apparently he burned a hole in his piston. I didn’t realize that was possible, but sure enough it looked like someone melted a leather couch with a cigarette. However, I didn’t get them back on tonight, since it was dark when I got home, and just felt like taking a break. The shocks will be here in a few days, and I have nothing but time.

I almost forgot – My pal Chris is most likely going to buy my old wheels for $200, so I should be reducing the cost meter for the first time, shortly.

I took a few weekends off from working on El Kabong due to the horribly cold and depressing winter. It was atrocious. However, the clouds parted and I was given a wonderful 38 degree day yesterday, and today supposed to be about 50, so I’m rocking it out.

Friday, I went and got a new transmission fluid pan gasket (rubber this time) and ATF. By 10 o’clock, I had it all back together again – hopefully no leaks this time. I bought another set of jacks and put the car way up in the air to start looking at the rear suspension. The next morning, I came to the conclusion that I needed to put longer shackles on it to get enough clearance for the tires, so I spent all day doing that, and spent about $15 on a lift kit (TC – $9738). This morning, I’ve already removed the damaged header, and I’m going out to Roy’s this afternoon to weld it back into shape. I had to temporarily remove the badass starter to get it out, but no biggie. I also removed the rear shocks, and it looks like instead of being able to get them in town and back on the road this afternoon, it’s going to be a few days, dammit. 

Lesson #11 – When removing your primary header, make sure to disconnect the battery, since the starter motor is in the way. If you bump it just right, the car starts and scares you, and you smack your head on the wheel well. I think I’m going to install a kill switch.

Michelle’s not a fan of seeing the coils poke out from under the rear bumper, but I think it looks pretty aggressive. I just wish they had a better set than the cheesy steel erector-set looking ones, but oh well.