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.