Light Em Up - Fall Out Boy: Ford Rally Car

Ok, so it's a Rally Car.  It's still pretty badass!  These Rally guys are absolutely nuts in my opinion, racing on dirt with nothing between you and the trees you're blasting by.  Not thanks man, think I'll pass.

Placed an order with Jeg's, hope to get my Camaro back together soon.

Placed a small order with Jeg's, just some fuel line clamps, AN caps, and leaf spring isolators.  I hope to get the rear end back in the car over the next week or two.  I still haven't heard from my friend back home, so don't know whether or not he's started on the center section.  Truth be told, our baby will be here in a few weeks, and I'm not too confident that I'll make a car show prior to that.  Especially when you consider I need a custom drive shaft made too.  I still hope to hit some shows later this summer, including Woodward, and make it to the drag strip as well.

In the mean time, I will be getting in one last Friday working on our 1968 Firebird this week.  Then, probably take a few months off once the new baby arrives, then hope to get back at it by late summer/early fall.

Racing my 1969 Camaro at Mid Michigan Motorplex - Spring 2000

Here is video from back in spring 2000.  I was in my final year at Central Michigan University and racing nearly every opportunity I got at nearby Mid Michigan Motorplex.  This combo ran a best of 11.76 in the 1/4 mile, and when I lined up against a dragster.  Only recently had I got around to converting the tape over to a digital format.

I believe this was also the one and only time I have ever lined up against my dad.  He owns the 1995 Pontiac Formula - Forest Green, racing at about the 8:20 mark.  We line up against each other at the 11:20 mark, where I proceed to spank him.

At the 13:10 mark my dad wins the "run the numbers" race, running dead nuts what I dialed his car in at.  I can't recall for sure, but I think it was around $125, which he split with me.  I changed the dial in he had at the last minute, and that's exactly what he ran.

1968 Pontiac Firebird - Video 5/17/2013

Here is a walk around of our 1968 Pontiac Firebird, our future drag car.  Ideas are always changing, and we are already leaning towards a minimal investment Big Block Chevy, as opposed to the numbers matching Pontiac 350.  Look for more videos in the future.

1968 Pontiac Firebird - Drag Car 5/17/2013

Spent some time this past Friday working on the car again.  Spent most of the day digging deeper, seeking out any areas of surprise.  Thankfully, the car is still as expected, with no real shockers.  I am a slight bit concerned about the rear frame rail where the leaf spring mounts, but until it's disassembled and wire wheeled, I can't really see if the rust is simply on the surface, or a problem.  They make frame rails, so worst case, we could always patch in what we need, as the only portion that looks like it may be rusted is the very rear.

Only other somewhat of a surprise was the roof support structure in the interior.  I can only assume that a mouse or rat packing whatever in the roof may have caused moisture to be trapped.  I don't believe the rust is enough to be concerned about, but was a little surprised to see it all the same.  If I was really concerned, I would probably simply patch in new metal in the small area that rusted.  It's hardly worth buying a new roof support, even if we were doing a frame up restoration.

Here is the gas tank, which I removed.  It has seen better days.  Not that its rusted up, it's simply all dinged and smashed up.  We will likely go the route of a fuel cell any way, so we won't be reusing the tank.

This was somewhat of a surprise.  It appears that the car came this way from factory, with a u-bolt holding the axle on just one side.  The inside was held in place by bolts that simply went through the leaf spring mounting plate on the axle.  The downside, as apparent in our case, both inner bolts rusted through and snapped.  In addition, it looks like somebody used some cut up spare tire for their rubber mounting pad.

Here you can see the passenger side, bolted up the way it should be, with bolts intact.

Here is the removed tank, which will be replaced, likely with a fuel cell.

Here is a rear shot with the gas tank removed.  We also plan on replacing the rear end, as it's not worth putting the money into the Pontiac 10 bolt when it would be better spent on a much stronger 9".

Rear interior door panel removed.

This was a comical surprise.  The front passenger fender, which looked rough, and was already on the list for replacement or patch panel repair.  I can't say I expected to find a Bud Light can repair riveted patch in place.  This was discovered upon removing the interior kick panels.

There exterior shot of their fabulous body work.

This car was equipped with the rear window defroster. A very strange system to say the least.  I originally assumed that it was somehow connected to the heating system.  That assumption was incorrect.  It was a self contained system, one in which consisted of an irregular shaped speaker grill type vent.  The lower half was a different shape, which sealed to the underside of the package tray.  The system simply recirculated interior air.  I can't imagine it worked all that great, and in my opinion, the shape is equally a failure.

Aside from the white sealant, this appears to be how it came from factory.  We're hoping that this device is worth some serious cash, which we can put back into our car once sold.

Still not sure what route to take with the trunk.  If we go with a fuel cell, depending upon the type, we may very well cut out the majority of the trunk.  We still need a solid mounting surface, so replacement will likely still  happen, and the new pan will simply get cut up as needed.

Here is the rear window defroster once removed.  See what I mean?  Very odd design.

Here you can barely see the rust in the roof support I mentioned earlier.  It's just right of the center support.  As I said, I really don't think it's enough to be concerned about, let alone reason to buy a new roof support.  Most likely, we won't even do a thing with it aside from spray bomb it and finished removing the sound deadening material.

Here is the interior with most of the electrical removed.  Next round I will finish off removing all wiring, and likely remove the dash cluster too.

I don't have many more weeks in me as far as working on the car.  My schedule, combined with daughter #2 coming in June, leaves a very tight time frame.  I will probably only get one more day until probably this fall.  At least that will allow for lots of thought, preventing buying twice or even buying wrong the first time.  We talked a bit about the drive-train, and are both now slightly leaning towards finding a Big Block Chevy.  I still would like a Pontiac 455+ long term, but for now, we both are thinking the Pontiac 350 isn't even worth our time/effort.  Do we really want to build a drag car that initially runs probably 16-17 second 1/4 mile times?  Not much fun in that.

Metro Detroit Cruise Nights

MONDAY

Great Lakes Family Restaurant Fun Time Cruzers
South side of Lakeside Mall
Sterling Heights, MI
5-830pm
586-260-3459
586-532-6478

Motorhead Mondays
With Rochester Lions
Campus Corners
S.E. corner of Livernois/University
Rochester Hills, MI
5-8pm
248-651-4155

Bahama Breeze
19600 Haggerty Rd
Livonia, MI
5-8pm
248-767-2768

Cruisin' the Bruce
28404 Jefferson
St Clair Shores, MI
5-8pm
586-707-2100

Cruisin' the Bayou
Mainstreet Belleville
6-9pm
734-368-1110

Hooters
32976 Gratiot
Roseville, MI
586-216-1094

TUESDAY

Pampa's Lanes Cruise Night
31925 Van Dyke
Warren, MI
5pm-?
586-264-8877
 
Culvers
Lapeer Rd/Dutton
1/2 mile north of the Palace
Lake Orion, MI
5-8pm
248-276-2222

Kim's Restaurant and Talmer Bank
Kims Classic Kar Kruisers
30 E. Long Lake
Troy, MI
5-8pm
248-906-5705

Don S Hubert VFW Post 345
Kontinentals
27345 Schoolcraft
Redford, MI
6-9pm
1987 - older
734-564-2533

Ram's Horn Fraser
21917 Utica Rd
4-8pm
586-296-1744

O'Reilly's
Downriver Wanderers
23171 Allen Rd
Woodhaven, MI
5-830pm
734-558-4282

Limelight Bar & Grill
30200 Van Dyke
Warren, MI
5pm-?
586-216-1094

Comeback Inn
1451 S. Milford Rd
Milford, MI
5pm-dusk
248-887-5900

WENDESDAY

Kmart Cruise Night
16705 Fort St
Southgate, MI
5pm-?
734-675-9577

Lake Street Cruise-In
4th Wednesday of the month
Downtown South Lyon
630-930pm
248-437-3257

Mr Mike's Grill
Memories in Motion CC
6047 N. Wayne Rd
Westland, MI
530pm-dusk
313-205-0336

Cruisin' 528 VFW Post 6695
1426 S. Mill St
Plymouth, MI
5-8pm
313-600-9146

St Robert Bellarmine Parish Cruise Night
Westside Rod and Custom
27101 W. Chicago Rd
Redford, MI
734-837-3239

Augies Bar and Grill
Food Discounts
31660 John R
Madison Hts, MI
248-588-3120

Cruising at the V VFW 1888
2763 Veterans Parkway
Trenton, MI
4-8pm
734-558-7078

Yesterday's Coney Island
37125 Grand River Ave
Farmington, MI
5pm-?
248-255-5793

Armstrong's Funland
8787 Belleville Rd
Belleville, MI
5pm-?
734-546-9565
734-699-3550

The Gathering Place
3985 John R
Troy, MI
5-8pm
248-689-2039

Airway Lanes
4825 Highland Rd
Waterford, MI
5-8pm
248-431-4036

Coachman's Lounge
5491 Auburn Rd
Shelby Twp, MI
6-9pm
586-731-0531

THURSDAY

VFW 9885
Motor City Muscle Car Club
6490 Hix Rd
Westland, MI
430pm-?
313-529-0953

Woodhaven Moose 966
Downriver Kruzers
22951 Van Horn Rd
Woodhaven, MI
734-486-1465

Blue Sky Hamburger
15155 Huron Dr
Romulus, MI
5pm-dusk
734-941-2583

Clawson A&W
303 S. Main St
Clawson, MI
6-10pm
248-588-1814

FRIDAY

Multi Lakes Cruise Nite
3860 Newton Rd
Commerce Twp, MI
4pm-sunset
248-363-7125

A&W Cruise
27293 Eureka Rd
Taylor, MI
5-8pm
734-941-7414

Sears Cruise Night
2100 Southfield, Rd
Lincoln Park, MI
5pm-?

Stilettoes Cruise Night
VFW Post 3323
1055 S. Wayne Rd
Westland, MI
5pm-dusk
734-674-6394

VFW Post 4156
321 Union Lake Rd
White Lake, MI
5-9pm
248-698-8302

Continental Lanes
Gratiot/13 Mile
Roseville, MI
4pm-?
586-293-2300

SATURDAY 

Berkley A&W
4100 W. 12 Mile Rd
Berkley, MI
6-10pm
248-547-7126

Esplindido
50285 Mound Rd
Shelby Twp, MI
4-8pm
586-739-1070

Pasteiners Auto Zone
Cars, Caffeine & Crouissants
33202 Woodward
Birmingham, MI
8-10am
248-646-2886

Woodward Warehouse
Cars, Coffee, and Donuts
4260 Edgeland
Royal Oak, MI
930am-Noon

North American Classic Cars
Bench Racing
Coffee, Bagels, and B.S.
27222 Plymouth Rd
Redford, MI
10am-2pm

SUNDAY

Rosie O'Grady's
Classic Car and Truck Cruise
14980 Dix Toledo Rd
Southgate, MI
3pm-7pm
734-281-2616

 Dream Nites at Danny's
(1st Sunday of the month)
6990 John R Rd
Troy, MI
Noon-5pm
248-496-1743
  
Baker's of Milford Sunday Cruise
Milford Rd 3 miles north of I-96
Milford, MI
330-730pm
248-685-0505

Dooley's
Gratiot/S. of 14 Mile Rd
Roseville, MI
2-8pm

1968 Firebird: Brainstorming

Now that the car has had a quick cleaning and assessment, now it's time to create a solid plan.  Ultimately, we want the car light, hopefully in the 2,700-2,800 lb range.  Being a designated race car, perhaps with limited street use, we are removing everything we can to drop weight.  Other considerations include front/rear lexan instead of glass, and possibly glass fenders and a glass hood.  The weight savings for the fenders would be minimal, and perhaps not cost effective.  A hood and the front/rear glass would offer more bang for the buck, as would switching from power to manual steering and brakes.

We are still in the very early planning stages and have yet to sit down and go over a plan, but my partner wants to push forward the timeline, hopefully making the track in 2014 now.  I don't think it's really a long shot by any means.  Next work day we will start removing more parts and digging deeper to see what we've missed. 

Roadkill: Episode 15

Episode 15 is here, and as entertaining as ever!  I only wish that the new episodes came out more often than once a month.

1968 Firebird - Clean up and initial assessment

I finally got a chance to pay a visit to Scott's shop, and take a deeper look into our 1968 Firebird.  First thing was first, I was going to empty everything out the the trunk and interior and vacuum out all the rat and dog shit, as well as demo the rat condo in the trunk.  It was a dirty/nasty job, but man, was it ever rewarding to see what we are starting with.

Here she is, as delivered, in all her glory.

First thing we did was tackle the trunk and interior, both of which were packed with parts, trash, rat shit, rats nest, and dog shot.

Once cleaned out, we could FINALLY take a look at the trunk condition.  Pretty sure we will simply replace it.  For the cost and time, it's not worth fixing what we have.

While vacuuming, a little too much pressure pushed right through the trunk.  I had to laugh!  Well, that answered that question.

While other areas were nearly as bad as the "sink hole," there were other holes and soft spots.

You can see some more soft spots near the filler neck.

As you can see, we're missing the gas filler door.  Not sure if they make them or not.  If not, we may have to fabricate something.

Here is the cleaned out interior with front seats removed.  After some inspecting, they too will most likely be replaced.

Soft spot near the toe board.

Doors are solid as can be.

Passenger view.  Hard to see here, but this is the worst of the pans.

On the right, you can see the hole rusted through.  You can also see the along the rockers that was never sealed, and allowed to rust.  In addition, they were never welded in.  You can see the sheet metal screws along the transmission tunnel.  Considering this car will see a full 12 point cage, we need solid material to weld too, so all this garbage will be cut out and we will start with new pans.

Passenger door, also rock solid.

Rear view, you can see the new exhaust the previous owner had installed.  Headers and new exhaust, or even open headers, will replace this system.

Shocks are missing, but rear frame rails appear solid.

10 bolt posi, though only sporting about a 2.70 gear according to driveshaft rotation.  I'm not sure what direction we will go with the rear, but a 9" is a very distinct possibility from the get go.  I want to try and avoid buying twice during this build. To the let, you can see the new brake lines that were installed.

Driver side rear wheel.  You can see that the car has drums on the rear, but as you will see later, disc brakes on the front.

View from the rear looking towards the front.

You can see that passenger pinch weld...or lack of, is a train wreck.  All those layers, or at least the last layer, will be cut out, with new pans welded into place.

The driver side pans haven't been replaced, thus, not nearly the mess going on.

Here is a closer look at the passenger side mess.  Honestly, it's really not that bad.  It won't be that hard to fix, and hardly intimidating to me.

Pretty sure those are the original body bushing.  They will most definitely be replaced.  Frame connectors will also be installed in the early stages.

TH350 trans.  I'm not 100% sure if this is original or not, as I'm not sure the 350 was out in 1968.

The front suspension, including ball joints, bushings, tie rods, and even the steering box have all been rebuilt.  That alone is probably worth the $500 purchase price.

The radiator support is garbage and will be replaced.

The trans cooler appears to have been an after thought.

The front valance isn't installed, it was however in the trunk.  It looks like it's hit a parking stop or two, and may be worth simply starting with a new one.

Small amount of rot on the fender, with more on the inner fender.

Driver side fender extension is simply missing.

Some drag springs and shocks will be installed, and the sway bar removed.

Those Ralley wheels have seen better days, and all 4 tires were flat.  Scott had some slot wheels with some tires he thought would hold air.

Not only is it a Pontiac 350, it's the original numbers matching engine.  That said, we'll probably race it and spray it with NOS till she blows.  Yeah, that's how we roll.

Hood hinge area is solid.

Power disc brakes.

Driver side hinge area is solid too.

Here are the slots with tires that hold air.

While not the exact wheels, we plan on using slots.  Scott is going to have a set of 15x7's widened for the rear.  I convinced him to go that route, tucking them in a bit more, and making our suspension options better.  We may or may not relocation the leaf springs, shocks, and do a minitub.

I found a few nuts and half ass secured the tail lights in place.   Obviously, we need a rear bumper.  The front one seems a bit bent up too, so it will be replaced as well.

Already looking better in my opinion.

We have a ways to go, but as you can see, I think for $500 we got a great deal, and a great foundation to start with.  Many would argue that the car is worth restoring.  Neither myself, nor Scott, really needs another restored car.  It's a classic muscle car, and in both of our opinions, the perfect race car.  I look forward to building the car over the next year or two, and anxiously await the first time we take it down the track.