by "The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
Published 11/20/2017 at 15:28
by "The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
Published 11/20/2017 at 15:28
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STARS: 17
Hello Oppo, I haven’t done much posting in the last 3-4 years. That is because i’ve been very busy working most of that time (and that I haven’t really felt I’d have anything to write about).
Anyways I am super drunk and it’s late (shut up it’s late over in Sweden atm!) and I wanted to tell you how knowing how to turn a wrench got me a job and not some super-fancy education.
The year is 2012, and I’m working some odd jobs wherever I can get a hold of them. Doesn’t matter how bad they are, always say yes to them, experience is key. A neighbour to my parents works a this really cool tech company that builds laser-scanners for wood working facilitets. At this moment they’re having some production shortages and need to hire an extra set of hands in order to keep up with demand. My parents neighbour knew that I knew that I had had a fairly good grasp of the technical stuff since he had seen my Firebird which I stored at my parents house at the time.
Long story short; I get to come in, work for 2 weeks, do a good job get to work for more 2 weeks. This continues for another 5 months or so when I finally get full time employed. From there I then move up in the company from production to service and then to project engineer. I now make a decent living travelling all over the world installing and working on these scanners.
As such, I’ve moved from living in a small crappy apartment to a decent house with a fairly big 2 - car garage and owning more cars than I can fit in it :/
After just finishing up having spent the last year or so renovating/building said garage (it was originally a horse stable/outhouse built over 100 years ago) I am now starting something I have wanted to to for a really long time; rebuilding my firebird, the right way.
I now have my own place and all the time in the world to do this the way I’ve always wanted to build it, which honestly is one of the greatest feelings ever.
So to finish of... erh, where was I... Investing in an old crappy car that needs a ton of work doesn’t need to be a bad thing as it can also be sent as a living proof of your technical skills.
SKÅL!
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
11/20/2017 at 15:34, STARS: 5
Whoa, we’re like Firebird Twins
I bet yours gets done before mine :D
"lone_liberal" (token-liberal)
11/20/2017 at 15:39, STARS: 0
Good story, complete with a happy ending! It’s interesting for me to see the difference between your Firebird and my Camaro, like where the front fenders bolt on is different. On my Camaro there isn’t a “lip” there and its painted body color. That’s one way I knew the original color was gold and not the red it was painted later.
"KnowsAboutCars" (knowsaboutcars)
11/20/2017 at 15:43, STARS: 1
That’s awesome! Bra jobbat!
"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
11/20/2017 at 15:43, STARS: 0
I am pleased at the quantity of second-gen firebird oppos.
now if we could all just get our cars working.
Also, damn. Did they sell pontiacs in europe? That must be very rare over there.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 15:47, STARS: 1
Damn!, we’re like at the exact same point in our restoration, how creepy is that?!
Now let’s race to see who finishes first :)
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 15:48, STARS: 0
Tack så mycket! :)
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 15:52, STARS: 2
Yeah, quantity over quality right?
Pontiacs or any other muscle car for that matter is not too rare over here. During the 70's and 80's there weren’t really any heavy import tax on cars so a lot of american cars got imported to Sweden. Since most people take somewhat good care of their cars, many if not most of these are still around today.
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
11/20/2017 at 15:56, STARS: 0
You’re on!
Just need to find a motor, transmission, money, time.....
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 15:59, STARS: 2
Thanks!
Didn’t know that that lip was different between the firebirds and camaros. However the reason mine isn’t painted body color is that most of the cars imported to Sweden got sprayed with the protecting underbody coating all over. Problem is that this would let go in certain places and instead of keeping dirt and grime out it would trap it inside instead, only accelerating the corrosion process instead :P
One of the things I will do during the restoration is to grind all of this coating away and paint the whole undercarriage in some black paint and primer instead.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 16:06, STARS: 0
Great!, loser has to by the other one a case of beer.
My new motor is almost done now, just need to make one more trip to the states to pick up the last set of parts.
On the other hand I need to buy/fabricate a ton of sheet metal parts and I also want to do something about the suspension now that I think about it.
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
11/20/2017 at 16:08, STARS: 0
Tell you what, I’ll trade you a case of Wisconsin’s finest brew for your old engine and trans just to give me a chance of getting it back on the road this decade. ;)
"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
11/20/2017 at 16:11, STARS: 1
That’s good to hear. Chevys and Fords don’t really surprise me much but I love when I see pictures of Plymouths and Pontiacs overseas because I’m just not expecting it. You don’t hear about exporting much in the states.
"S65" (granthp)
11/20/2017 at 16:16, STARS: 0
Oh, I didn’t know they sold them I’m Sweden, I thought you would have to get one imported. Neat
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 16:22, STARS: 0
The pontiac 350 engine in the background has probably thrown a crank bearing or two and the trans is pissing fluid like a waterfall so I would probably get the better deal there :D
If you’re from Wisconsin why not just head up to Elmer’s Auto muesum along the Missisippi. Semed like they were pretty overstocked on Firebird when I was there about a month ago.
(A bit hard to tell but that is about 1/4 mile of second gen firebirds just sitting in a line slowly reuniting with the ground)
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 16:27, STARS: 1
Yeah it is quite unique to Sweden compared to the other countries in Europe. My car was apparently bought new in the 70's by some big shot at the SAAB fighter jet factory in Linköping which is pretty close to where I live now.
I got a real shock at our local cars and coffee meet when people started coming up to me and telling me that they recognized my car from many years ago even though it has been all over Sweden since it was first sold here.
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
11/20/2017 at 16:30, STARS: 0
Damn! I was just out that way a few months ago.
I’ve really got my heart set on finding a LS motor though, for simplicity and reliability’s sake.
its the more expensive route, but I bought the car as a blank canvas to do it how I want... though the longer it sits the more I just want to throw it back together with any old V8 and just DRIVE IT.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 16:45, STARS: 0
I hear yeah. Honestly doing the LS conversion is probably cheaper as well, building pontiac engines apparently gets expensive real fast :(
Wouldn’t the easiest thing be to find a salvage 4th gen camaro/firebird and then yank all the running gear out of it? That way you’d have pretty much all the parts you need except for the odd mount you might need to buy/fabricate. As a bonus you would also get a pretty good suspension setup you could install if you really wanted to.
"lone_liberal" (token-liberal)
11/20/2017 at 16:46, STARS: 1
And now I realize I was wrong, those lips are there. They just look strange being coated like that. Another brilliant idea from GM! (Picture not my crappy Camaro, but same early 2nd gen)
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
11/20/2017 at 16:57, STARS: 1
That might be one plan, or finding a wrecked GTO because I want a 6.0L. The good thing is there are tons of salvage yards on eBay that will sell complete ‘drop out’ engines and transmissions.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/20/2017 at 17:05, STARS: 1
There you go, sounds like you know what you need to do then.
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
11/20/2017 at 19:32, STARS: 0
I wish my dad still had his ‘73.
"Your boy, BJR" (jerseyshoreben)
11/20/2017 at 20:37, STARS: 0
Let’s up the stakes, loser pays for the winner’s restoration.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
11/20/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 0
Knowing how to turn a wrench got me a wife. The girl I was dating in grad school had an early ‘90s sunbird which had a habit of eating alternators. When it went out, her dad was planning to make the five-hour trip to come fix it. I stepped in and offered to fix it for free if they just paid for the parts. They took me up on the offer.
A couple of months later, they came for a visit. When we were introduced, her dad shook my hand and said thanks. I later learned he had never shaken hands with anyou of her previous boyfriends. That was when she knew I was the one. We married about a year and a half later.
"Spoon II" (Spoon_II)
11/20/2017 at 21:56, STARS: 0
Congrats! I can only hope that my job hunt goes half as well! P.s. That garage and car are amazing!
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 22:14, STARS: 1
That’s fantastic!
"Tapas" (tapas)
11/20/2017 at 23:16, STARS: 0
Way to go dude!
I’d love to see the restoration process on the Firebird!
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 01:42, STARS: 1
Great story!, just goes to show that having some mechanical skills can be good for more than just fixing a car.
Haven’t managed to find a girl because of my love for cars yet, but I am optimistic it’ll happen at some point...
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 01:43, STARS: 0
Nice!, Formula 400?
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 1
I’ll probably do a build thread once I start getting a little deeper into it. It will help me with motivation as well so should be a win-win.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 01:46, STARS: 1
Thanks! The garage looks a bit of a mess in the pictures but I am currently organizing it with tool cabinets and shelves. It also has an upper floor which is great for storage.
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
11/21/2017 at 05:29, STARS: 0
Espirit with the hood swapped on and a 400 dropped in.
"Bandit" (2bandit)
11/21/2017 at 09:09, STARS: 0
About time! Welcome back.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 16:15, STARS: 0
Thanks!, I’ve been wanting to start posting again for quite some time now and those beers pushed me over the edge ;P
Haven’t seen much in a while from you either, still running your bird?
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/21/2017 at 16:17, STARS: 0
So basically a Formula 400 minus some emblems then :P
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
11/21/2017 at 23:38, STARS: 0
I don’t know. Did the Formulas have Posi-Traction? Or was that an option. Dad had to sell his before he could put a posi in it.
EDIT: Okay, there *was* a Formula handling package, but even on the Formula it was optional. So, yeah, basically a Formula 400 with a couple emblems missing.
EDIT 2: I forgot Pontiac called their limited slips Safe-T-Track, not posi. Whoops. Either way, Dad’s car didn’t have it.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/22/2017 at 02:25, STARS: 1
Amazing how back in the day a higher trim level could just be some more emblems/decals and nothing that actually improved the way the car drove. I think it was the same deal with the 71-73 Mach-1 mustang, just a decal package +another good.
Also I installed a limited slip in my bird a couple of years ago. Wouldn’t really say that the car felt more “safe” after it...
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
11/22/2017 at 04:38, STARS: 1
Pretty much.
Honestly, I know I’m going to sound like a hooligan, but the only reason for getting a limited slip is, to me, to destroy tires. Which is why if I ever throw a V8 into my truck, I’m certainly going to find a Sure-Grip for it.
"Bandit" (2bandit)
11/22/2017 at 12:26, STARS: 0
Just got it back from the bodyshop after I lost a rear wheel while driving.
"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
11/22/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0
Aah shit, I just saw your posts about this, that sucks :(
Good thing that you had insurance that took care of it at least even though it took some time. Really hope you have some chance to enjoy it before winter comes.