Firebird

June 2021 I took on the challenge of  doing a body off restoration of a 67 Firebird, sort of a bucket list item I wanted to do before I lost the desire or ability.  I had been looking for the "right" firebird for about 2 years when Ted Hanson from McGrath Minnesota posted the car on marketplace which I ended up buying. Ted had recently bought the Firebird from the person who had owned the car since 1974 and lived in southern Indiana.  

I have never worked in a body shop nor taken on a project like this in the past. I have always tried fixing or making things on my own rather than hire or buy but this project was truly a challenge. Whenever I would think of taking a shortcut and be satisfied with "good enough" I would hear my brother in law John say "half measures" forcing me to do better.  Fortunately a lot of online resources exist and any questions on how to do a task has solutions, a challenge is picking out the right solution when competing ideas exist or selecting a solution that meets your skills, abilities or tools.

While looking for a project car my intentions were to do it all on my own, metal work, body work, paint, upholstery, electrical, mechanical, etc...   I also originally thought I was looking at a 5 year project, I have no idea where that number came from but I felt it was a good guess. My grandson Gage has mentioned more than once that he would like to drive the car when he turns 16 and has a license, that means my 5 year project becomes 4.

My intentions were to touch every part of this car, every nut, bolt, bracket and restore each part to the point where I was happy with the outcome, if the part was beyond repair I would try making a replacement or update the part with as close to factory original as possible.

From factory this  Firebird was built a Sprint model, inline 6 engine, turquoise color inside and out, automatic transmission, deluxe interior package.  I always planned on this car having a V8 chevy small block engine, black interior, 4 speed manual transmission.  Exterior color I was hoping to have candy apple red or dark burgundy  OR a white pearl, still haven't made a decision on color, Julie and Gage can pick the color. Wheels will be Cragar. 

While building the engine I had to get some unique parts in order to adapt the engine to work with the firebird configuration. One of the parts was the upper radiator hose which I needed the hose to be 1 1/2" ID, black, 22" total length, 45 degree bend at center point. I didn't think that hose would be hard to find but it was. I found an ebay seller that turned out to be a manufacturer in China, I emailed the seller and gave them my requirements and here's the reply I got from her.

Thank you for your interest in our product.

This is Sylvia from Passion, a professional manufacturer of Silicone Products with 17 years of experience.

We have worked with many customers in different countries, especially in the US.

After reading about your experience of a body-off restoration of the 67 Firebird on your official website, I was shocked by your energy and enthusiasm. It seems that interest is indeed a great motivation.

It surprised me that they would go to my website, find the link to my Firebird and read thru the pages to see what I was up to, it did motivate me a little with her comments.

Milestones:

09/02/2024  The Firebird has been wired and fueled up ready for its first run. Gage came over to turn the key and the car ran great!