Well I am extremely glad to posting on this site. I have wanted a Firebird since I can remember. My first car was a 1971 Parisienne 2 door hardtop with a 455. Huge car but I loved it. Bought it when I was 16 off my Grandpa who bought it new. I sold it when I got engaged and bought a more "practical" car. Have regretted it ever since. Wife never liked muscle cars and barely tolerated my automotive interest. She didn't mind VW's for some reason so I managed to build/tinker with a couple of beetle projects and also managed to slip a 78 GMC Heavy Half in there (we NEED a truck dear...) To make a long story a bit shorter - the wife is now an ex and I have a Firebird in my garage.
Tried to buy a TA locally for $1500 that had been taken apart already and needed a complete rebuild but somebody beat me to it. Saw another one online 3 hours away - ad said it was an Esprit and the pictures made it look pretty rough (poor lighting, photo upside down) but it said it ran and it was also only $1500 so I called the guy and said I'm coming to get it.
Rented a car hauler and borrowed a truck from a friend and hit the road - even took the day off work - there was no way I was going to miss out on this one!
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Got to the guys house and looked at the car. He had all the interior pieces out and had been actually wet sanding the car - that's why it looked so bad. But the panels were pretty straight. There is evidence of a patch on the rear passenger quarter which may hide some surprises but seriously guys, this body wasn't terrible. Asked him if it would start (I had brought a battery) and we tried - it turned over and puked flames out the carb but wouldn't run. I was still smiling. I didn't care - I expected to have to start from scratch. I would have happy with a freely turning engine - and here I had one that actually fired up even if only for a second. We rolled it out into the street so we could winch it onto the trailer:
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Check out the passenger side - it actually doesn't look too bad:
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After we got it loaded up we headed back on the highway to home
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So I have had her home for a week and a bit. I tried to get her running with the existing setup, timing was way off, carb wouldn't idle. Took off the old Rochester and brought it to a Pontiac guy here. He showed me that the bushings were worn, vacuum leaks everywhere, carb was no good. instead of rebuilding it I ended up replacing it. Put on an Edelbrock 600. Found out a couple things as I worked on it. Since I was told it had a 350 in it I assumed it was a pontiac 350. But when I changed out the thermostat housing the pontiac one did not fit and an SBC one did, so I checked my VIN number and it turns out this car is not an Esprit as I was told - it's a base model Firebird and it came with the 305. So then I assumed I had a 305 and not a 350 and checked the block casting number. Nope - block casting by the firewall is 3970010 and the casting behind the alternator is V0611CLU with no partial VIN. Looking those up tells me I have a Chevy 350 from 1973.
So I have a plain jane Firebird with a SBC 350. So the plan is definitely to build a driver, not restore to stock.
With the new Edelbrock on it she fires up and runs fine. Plan is to set the timing, change fluids and filters, check and replace brake components as necessary then drive it as I fix/change cosmetic issues. Once The cosmetics are somewhat more presentable, I will add more upgrades - cam, intake, ignition, headers, exhaust, suspension, brakes, transmission. But I want to do it a little at a time and drive it in between so I don't have it out of commission for months at a time.
I am going to go with a retro-rod-racer kind of look. These are my ideas for the appearance side of things:
- Wrap the dash bezel in carbon fibre vinyl and put in new gauges with beefy aluminum rings
- Refresh most of the camel interior, but add some black by putting in black carpet and painting the dash black
- I already have a line on some original snowflake rims, so those will go on - probably sandblasted to bare metal then clearcoated. Raised white letter tires of course
- change the steering wheel for a trans am wheel
- I want to change the shifter too - thinking of a B&M super shift - anybody have experience with those? I know it's just going to be bolted to an old TH350 tranny right now, but I want to upgrade that down the road too.
- I want to add some toggle switches like from a plane - with the red cover that flips up. Put them in the console and use them for things like a fuel shut off, footwell lighting, under hood lighting and driving lights
- I actually want to paint it "Hot rod black" (ie. Matte Black) and then use vinyl stickers to add a carbon fiber wide double stripe down the center of the hood all the way to the back.
- I think I will leave off the spoiler cause I kind of like the look.
- I am actually going to use the stickers from the upgrades I add - like Edelbrock, K&N, B&M, MSD etc. and put them on the rear window. Cause I like the look of the Roadkill car Blasphemi:
![Image]()
So like I say - the plan is to get it on the road then change things as I drive it. Drivers seat is out and new covers on the way. Car should be driveable in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned....
(Here is a picture of my shiny new edelbrock and thermostat housing
![Image]()
Tried to buy a TA locally for $1500 that had been taken apart already and needed a complete rebuild but somebody beat me to it. Saw another one online 3 hours away - ad said it was an Esprit and the pictures made it look pretty rough (poor lighting, photo upside down) but it said it ran and it was also only $1500 so I called the guy and said I'm coming to get it.
Rented a car hauler and borrowed a truck from a friend and hit the road - even took the day off work - there was no way I was going to miss out on this one!
Got to the guys house and looked at the car. He had all the interior pieces out and had been actually wet sanding the car - that's why it looked so bad. But the panels were pretty straight. There is evidence of a patch on the rear passenger quarter which may hide some surprises but seriously guys, this body wasn't terrible. Asked him if it would start (I had brought a battery) and we tried - it turned over and puked flames out the carb but wouldn't run. I was still smiling. I didn't care - I expected to have to start from scratch. I would have happy with a freely turning engine - and here I had one that actually fired up even if only for a second. We rolled it out into the street so we could winch it onto the trailer:
Check out the passenger side - it actually doesn't look too bad:
After we got it loaded up we headed back on the highway to home
So I have had her home for a week and a bit. I tried to get her running with the existing setup, timing was way off, carb wouldn't idle. Took off the old Rochester and brought it to a Pontiac guy here. He showed me that the bushings were worn, vacuum leaks everywhere, carb was no good. instead of rebuilding it I ended up replacing it. Put on an Edelbrock 600. Found out a couple things as I worked on it. Since I was told it had a 350 in it I assumed it was a pontiac 350. But when I changed out the thermostat housing the pontiac one did not fit and an SBC one did, so I checked my VIN number and it turns out this car is not an Esprit as I was told - it's a base model Firebird and it came with the 305. So then I assumed I had a 305 and not a 350 and checked the block casting number. Nope - block casting by the firewall is 3970010 and the casting behind the alternator is V0611CLU with no partial VIN. Looking those up tells me I have a Chevy 350 from 1973.
So I have a plain jane Firebird with a SBC 350. So the plan is definitely to build a driver, not restore to stock.
With the new Edelbrock on it she fires up and runs fine. Plan is to set the timing, change fluids and filters, check and replace brake components as necessary then drive it as I fix/change cosmetic issues. Once The cosmetics are somewhat more presentable, I will add more upgrades - cam, intake, ignition, headers, exhaust, suspension, brakes, transmission. But I want to do it a little at a time and drive it in between so I don't have it out of commission for months at a time.
I am going to go with a retro-rod-racer kind of look. These are my ideas for the appearance side of things:
- Wrap the dash bezel in carbon fibre vinyl and put in new gauges with beefy aluminum rings
- Refresh most of the camel interior, but add some black by putting in black carpet and painting the dash black
- I already have a line on some original snowflake rims, so those will go on - probably sandblasted to bare metal then clearcoated. Raised white letter tires of course
- change the steering wheel for a trans am wheel
- I want to change the shifter too - thinking of a B&M super shift - anybody have experience with those? I know it's just going to be bolted to an old TH350 tranny right now, but I want to upgrade that down the road too.
- I want to add some toggle switches like from a plane - with the red cover that flips up. Put them in the console and use them for things like a fuel shut off, footwell lighting, under hood lighting and driving lights
- I actually want to paint it "Hot rod black" (ie. Matte Black) and then use vinyl stickers to add a carbon fiber wide double stripe down the center of the hood all the way to the back.
- I think I will leave off the spoiler cause I kind of like the look.
- I am actually going to use the stickers from the upgrades I add - like Edelbrock, K&N, B&M, MSD etc. and put them on the rear window. Cause I like the look of the Roadkill car Blasphemi:
So like I say - the plan is to get it on the road then change things as I drive it. Drivers seat is out and new covers on the way. Car should be driveable in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned....
(Here is a picture of my shiny new edelbrock and thermostat housing
