[Jovaniv92]

Hi everyone I recently bought a 1979 firebird with a 403 Oldsmobile engine and a th350 transmission, I am planning on restoring the whole thing right now I ripped out the whole interior and im planning on taking out the engine and rebuilding it as soon as I get my cherry picker as it doesn't even start up right now, I will be working on the car as much as I can and be posting progress pics any help would be appreciated thanks!

[JBL]

Welcome! Looking forward to your build!

[Greenbird76]

Welcome to the site Jovo. If you need any guidance, you came to the right place. Another 2nd Gen being saved- awesome

[Pete W]

Hey Jovo, Great to see another Firebird being restored and we are hee to help you on any way we can.
For your interior needs you won't find anyone better to deal with than Erwin from E&A's! He is a member and vendor on this site.

http://www.eagarage.ecrater.com/

:12EMOTICHEERS:

[Erwin78ta]

Welcome to FBN. We also have a 78 with the 403 but replaced the TH350 with a 2004R last Summer. Be glad to help with any questions as you work on your build. Post a few pics when you get a chance.

[Formula71]

Great to have you here, and it awesome to have another bird restored.

[Jovaniv92]

Here is when I just got it which was yesterday I still have the hood but preffered to keep it off to work easier around it

Attached File(s)

•  7_imagejpeg_2.jpg (81.24K)
  Number of downloads: 3

[Jovaniv92]

These are a few more pics of what kind of condition the bird is in.

Attached File(s)

•  2_imagejpeg_6.jpg (69.88K)
  Number of downloads: 3
•  3_imagejpeg_5.jpg (67.28K)
  Number of downloads: 3
•  2_imagejpeg_4.jpg (63.93K)
  Number of downloads: 3
•  3_imagejpeg_3.jpg (47.79K)
  Number of downloads: 4
•  7_imagejpeg_2.jpg (76.94K)
  Number of downloads: 3

[Jovaniv92]

I didn't know where to start but I started off with the interior and ripped everything out, after I took out the carpet and insulation I noticed that there was probably a squirrel living there at some point, I think im just gonna use a wire brush to scrape off all of the "dirty" or rusted metal and would using rivets with a piece of sheetmetal to patch up a square foot of the driver side floorboard be a good idea?

[Greenbird76]

find somebody with a welder or get hold of one for a good price. You should weld it man. You can teach yourself how, countless of us on here have done so. that is a project and projects can take along time to complete if your doing it yourself. i am a home mechanic and have tought my self everything. The rear of my car looked just like yours and the tail panel and surrounding panels were rotted to nothing. I only sandblasted my wheels. Everything else was done with a braided wire brush and angle grinder, smallpneumatic angle grinder, and sawzall. If you need anything let me know.

[Jovaniv92]

Greenbird76, on 06 February 2012 - 07:11 AM, said:

find somebody with a welder or get hold of one for a good price. You should weld it man. You can teach yourself how, countless of us on here have done so. that is a project and projects can take along time to complete if your doing it yourself. i am a home mechanic and have tought my self everything. The rear of my car looked just like yours and the tail panel and surrounding panels were rotted to nothing. I only sandblasted my wheels. Everything else was done with a braided wire brush and angle grinder, smallpneumatic angle grinder, and sawzall. If you need anything let me know.

yeah I think i will do that I'm gonna take the time this weekend to wire brush the crap out of the bad rust spots on the interior and possibly just put some rust proof paint over them, It wont be noticeable with the carpet over it anyway, btw the paint on your firebird looks really nice did you do that yourself? would you recommend the same? or send it to a shop?

[Greenbird76]

Use SEM rust mort. Get it from a paint supply store. It will carbonize the rust. Then primer it. Duplicolor makes a decent spray bomb rust encapsulator too. Just follow the instructions on the bottle or can to the T.

Thanks for the comment about my car. That paint job is 80% original and needs to be repainted. the car is actually in fern green where welded in the donor panels in the rear. I do all the work my self and will also strip the caar and repaint it in stages though due to my small garage. Only thing that I had done out was the driveshaft rebuild, the sandblasting if the Rally IIs and the alignment with tire mounting.

This post has been edited by Greenbird76: 07 February 2012 - 07:35 AM

[Jovaniv92]

I found a cheap 90 amp flux core welder for about 100 bucks at harbor freight it says it can weld 3/16" of metal but would that be good enough to weld a piece of sheetmetal to the floorboard?

[taman76]

In short, yes.

However there are some things to consider here. For one, welding with flux wire isn't easy. It is a mess and you must make sure you have a very good shield and welding jacket. If not that flux will burn you badly.

Next, controling the heat is an issue on that cheap welder. There is some wire speed control, but heat will be a problem. So you might experience burn through. Get the thinest best flux wire you can find. The wire at Harbor freight isn't going to do it for you. Usually Lowes or welding supply places can get you better stuff.

Lastly that welder will have a very short duty cycle. in other words it will need to rest and cool down often. That isn't all bad and forces you to take your time, but as you gain a bit of skill you will find your self waiting on the welder more than welding.

OH, make sure the metal you are welding is very clean. and practice on scrap first.

I am not a good welder by any means. But I will say this. A good welder makes it much much easier. Even a first time welder can usually get decent results.

If you can rent or borrow a welder that uses shielding gas, you might find you are further ahead. But if not, go ahead get the cheap welder and with some effort, you will be able to accomplish what you need.

[Jovaniv92]

ok sounds good I think I will just go with riveting for now to get the sheetmetal in the form of the floorboard then later before I put carpeting over it I'll get it welded with a gas mig welder so It stays, does anybody know anywhere where I can get a complete wiring diagram for my 1979 firebird?

[Jovaniv92]

what type of carburetor should I go with the one I have the vacuum ports were all taped up, I cant find the model number and I was looking up the edelbrock carbs and they come with some pretty good diagrams and instructions, I was thinking about getting this edelbrock 1403 let me know your opinions thanks. http://www.edelbrock...l/1000/1403.pdf

[firebird_madness]

Is the one on it stock or aftermarket. If it is a stock quadra-jet stay with it.

[Jovaniv92]

I think it is stock but would you have a diagram that explains the vacuum ports and stuff on it does anybody know where to find them?

[firebird_madness]

Here are 2 different ones. one is for high altitude and the other for low altitude, which ever one your car is.

 2012-02-19_21-17-27_345.jpg (883.13K)
Number of downloads: 12

 2012-02-19_21-17-43_880.jpg (950.47K)
Number of downloads: 11



Hope this helps http://www.firebirdnation.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/f_bananarockm.gif