Yes, I'm Young, My Car is Old, and Yes That's an Automatic

"matthewklein220" (matthewklein220) 08/05/2013 at 07:26 • Filed to: Autocross

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This is my 1969 Pontiac Firebird, she is my baby. She's been in the family 37.5 years. She's big-ish, heavy, moved around by her original so-tired-I'm-suprised-it-isn't-dead-yet HO 350 , and that 350 puts its power to the rear wheels through (as the title implies) a 4-speed overdrive automatic out of a Grand National. Despite all these "flaws", as some people call them, I take my Firebird autocrossing. This year is my first autocross season, and this post is about my third autocross ever, it will make you laugh and cry and everything in between!

Now, not being my first time, I had some goals other than just "Don't hit every cone on the course". I run slower than everyone else with similar performance (I can't say "similar cars", since the only other car out there that was built before 1980 was a mid-60's Austin-Healy) so my goal was to just reduce the gap between myself and those guys. It was also a priority to observe how the recently installed rear-sway bar affected handling. As I had found out before, having a 760 pound cast-iron anchor in the nose of a car seems to make it want to plow through every corner so you can see the tree that kills you. With these things in mind, I loaded up the car and prepared to head out.

But before I even pull out of the driveway, disaster strikes! My father, who is also crew chief and photographer, cannot attend! Something about "wedding anniversary" and "keeping your mother happy." None of my car-loving friends can come with me, so I'm now effectively on my own, and likely not going to get pictures of the car to visibly see if the sway bar is helping.

Now extremely nervous, I head out on my own and arrive at the fairgrounds where the course has been erected. Within 5 minutes of pulling up, I've already made a new friend. (I average about 2 per autocross) He had owned several Firebirds in his time and was there running his Ford Lightning. He would end up being one of the people I would compare times with to see if I met my goal.

After chatting with my new friend, I head over to registration and get the first comment on my age. "Already an SCCA member at such a young age!" I didn't realize 18 was such a young age to be doing autocross! I just grin and repeat a line I have to say every time I go racing anywhere and put on my wristbands.

With registration out of the way, I now have nothing else to do but wait. My run group was the fourth, and would be at the end of the day, with me working the run group immediately before it. I had arrived half-way through the first run group, meaning I still had several hours to talk to people and watch Miatas spin like pinwheels.

Early into my hours as a spectator, something truly fantastic happens: A friend I made at my first autocross shows up and has his ridiculously amazing camera in tow! After mentioning my plight, he instantly agrees to photograph my runs and send me the photos, which is why I can show you my fantastic driving instead of just posting a giant wall of text.

As the day slowly progressed on, and my tan lines became even more defined, I was finally up for my work group. I was working Station 4, by myself, which left me rather worried. Station 4 was located inside of a double-apex corner with a rather large bump at its entrance and a rather tight exit. In other words: it was where the majority of spinning out and cone-murder was happening. And I was afraid I would be spending the entire time chasing cones and dodging Corvettes (who, like New York taxis, don't slow for pedestrians). It turned out all my worry was rather misplaced, since the majority of cone hits were on the opposite end of the course and there was only one spin in my little part of the course (and he spun away from me).

Having managed to not get sun-burnt to the point where I couldn't wear my helmet (I've seen it happen) and not getting mowed down by an out of control competitor, I finally climbed into my Firebird and took my spot on the grid. Now, out in the pit area, no one except the people who had parked next to me noticed my car. Hidden under a tree, it wasn't noticeable. But out on the grid, a bright gold car in the sunlight tends to draw attention no matter what it is. During my local SCCA's autocross's, the grid and tech turns into a mini car show before the next group of runs start. The spectators walk amongst the cars and see what's about to put on a show. And four cars always seem to draw people: An Austin-Healy so modified the only Austin-Healy part on the car is the badge, a B Prepared class Corvette, the earlier mention Austin-Healy (which is not modded beyond recognition), and my Firebird. I lost count of how many people came up to me and said "Good to see people still running the old school!", "Fantastic piece of Detroit muscle!", or some variation of those. Those comments were also occasionally followed by a comment about my age, and how good it was to see young people out and running. After getting teched, cars started filing out of the grid and up to the line. I put on my old motorcross helmet, Ryan-Gosling-style driving gloves, and followed suit.

Now, the course was setup like a track, each car entering, going around twice, and then exiting at the end of the second lap. For my first run, I took the first lap nice and slow. After seeing how wide or narrow everything was from behind the dash (I don't feel like course walks give you a good enough perspective on how wide/narrow a course will feel behind the wheel), I gunned it for the second lap and finished less than a second better of the 80-second first run goal I had set for myself. After feeling out the course, and seeing what everyone else was running all day, I set a 75-second goal for my remaining three runs.

With unrestrained eagerness, I head out onto the course for the second run. After a run that was filled with more "powerslides", tire squeal, and corner-entry understeer than the first, I ran a 76.xxx. With just over a second between me and my goal, it seemed like I'd be leaving very satisfied. And, it felt like the sway bar was helping, since the car had significantly less understeer, and the previous event it couldn't even step the rear end out. But once I pulled back onto the grid and stepped out to pop the hood, I noticed a giant rust-colored puddle forming beneath the left front tire... As I pop the hood, my suspicions are confirmed as the overflow tank has...overflowed. And the coolant was apparently so hot and boil-y that the pressure blew the cap straight off the tank! Luckily it was blown just behind the tank into a nook on the fender, and not lost forever somewhere out on the course. After placing the cap back on, and feeling confident that there wasn't enough coolant (I had slightly overfilled the last time I had checked it) to cause a repeat, I was up again. This time, with things going not so well.

I take off and start my first lap, I'm hammering around the course, braking as late as I dare, getting on the throttle to bring the rear around with more vigor and aggression. This first lap is feeling quick .

But my driving was seemingly too aggressive, since as I came out of the next corner...

I spun out. Now, being my first time spinning, it was all a blur. The back end was starting to slide (as I had planned) then suddenly everything was facing the wrong way (not as I had planned). So I don't know if the back end just kept coming around until I spun, or if I over-corrected. The only two clear things I can remember are hearing the announcer say "...and we could see that coming a mile away!", and the fact that I had somehow managed to stall my car. It being an automatic, I had always thought that it wouldn't stall in the event of a spin. Now completely crimson behind my helmet, I quickly completed my second lap and shamefully accepted my 105 second timeslip.

Now feeling completely embarrassed, despite all the reassurances from those around me that I shouldn't be, I backed off slightly for the fourth and final run. But backing off actually felt good. The car felt a bit easier to control, and I felt a bit smoother with the wheel. I had thought that this run would be much slower, not slower than the first, but very off from the second. So I was extremely surprised when I pulled up for my timeslip and saw a big 77.xxx printed at the bottom!

With the day done, I tossed my gear back into the car and headed for home with some notes for next time. Hopefully I can get my tweaks done before the next autocross in two weeks, and if not then, before Goodguys!

As for my goal of closing the gap, after the last autocross I had been about 10 seconds behind comparable performers. This time, I was only 5 seconds behind, so a mixture of improved driving and small tweaks to the car managed to close the gap by 5 seconds!

Also, if you're still around and reading this, I applaud you for dealing with my long winded retelling of my Saturday. If it's not apparent, I'm new at this. And if the Jalopnik staff is reading, just send one of your West Coast guys to give me my "Longest Post on Jalopnik" award. I'll be here, waiting.

The Swedish Bandit > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 08:01

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Fantastic read! And I love your car it just looks so "composed", those rims and that color goes hand in hand. But I'm curious, have you done anything else to improve the handling other than adding the rear sway bar? Also how much thread do you got on does tires?, if you don't mind me asking.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 08:33

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Awesome post! Your Firebird looks awesome. I hope this get's put on the front page.

I've been thinking about autocrossing my '10 SHO, but maybe I should wait till I have a project car.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 08:38

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Your young and... full of AWESOME!

Love the car, great read.

Firewrx234 > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 08:42

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I appreciate this and have been becoming more and more interested in the autocross events. It's posts like these that make me want to go in person and see what it's all about.

By the way, that Firebird is fantastic.

$kaycog > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 08:52

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That.Is.Awesome!!

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 09:18

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The front of the Firebird reminded me of this:

Awesome post too!

Mosqvich > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 09:31

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Great read. I long for long write-ups, I really do and you write really well for being so young ;-) Seriously, good stuff. Your car is wonderful and you do your family proud by keeping it not only on the road, but performing in ways Pontiac hadn't planned on.

My chapter of the BMW CCA has an autocross coming up, but I've never done it. I probably won't do it this season at all. But after I fix a few more suspension issues (needs new rear shocks, I'm still recovering from the front Koni sport adjustable struts, and bushings, etc...) I may participate. Plus, the real bonus is that we do our AutoCross at Pikes Peak International Raceway, a former NASCAR track.

Keep up the driving, caretaking of a fantastic car, and writing!

daender > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 09:32

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Great write-up, hell lot better than mine. You're just starting out so don't worry about going for championship points or any of that silliness. I'm only 20 but I started autocrossing at 18 as well, I've been attending event for over 1.5 years now. Just have fun and learn how to push to your car to its limits. By the way, I love the GNX wheels.

I noticed you said it's an automatic, I used to hustle an automatic HHR (replaced with a manual 2nd gen Miata) and I found it useful to keep the transmission locked in the first 2 gears (I couldn't select between first and second, just high and low). Have you tried keeping it locked in first at the start and shifting into second if the revs got too high? It helped prevent the car from bogging down when the transmission wanted to shift gears whenever you didn't want it to.

Takuro Spirit > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 09:54

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Lovely. Just lovely.

Bandit > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 10:15

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I don't have the time to read the whole thing (I'll read the whole thing later), but I have to say Awesome car man! I'm 17 and have a 2nd gen Trans Am, I should try autocrossing it.

The Swedish Bandit > The Swedish Bandit 08/05/2013 at 10:35

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Scratch the questions about the handling. I just saw all your mods on the readers rides list ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/cc… ) and I gotta say HOLY SHIT! is that a competent machine you got there. Kudos!

GRIVLET - Proud of Cobalt > Bandit 08/05/2013 at 12:16

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do it!

GRIVLET - Proud of Cobalt > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 12:24

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Great read - I am also new to auto-crossing and I have learned this: sometimes when it feels slower you are actually faster. Finding a balance between smoothness and getting on to the power as early as possible is tricky, but rewarding. Corner exit speed is your friend and over-cooking it into a corner will lead to understeer, overcorrection and lost time.

I try to think of the corner as a whole, with the ultimate goal of coming out the other side as fast as possible and setting yourself up for the next one. This sounds obvious, but when you really give it consideration you will adjust your line accordingly. Looking as far ahead as possible helps tremendously too.

I am definitely not a professional by any means, but I have learned to seek advice not just from the pro's, but from the newbies. They are going through the learning process with you and bouncing ideas/ observations off each other makes the learning process natural rather than just being told by someone who learned 5+ years ago and will confuse you with things like "left foot braking".

Keep it up though, these cars spent a lot of time on the race tracks of America and I am positive that with some tried-and-true suspension tuning you can make it a beast out there!

matthewklein220 > The Swedish Bandit 08/05/2013 at 15:10

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Actually, I think the list on reader's rides isn't quite up to date, but yeah I spent the entire first 6 months of having my license with the car on jack-stands redoing the suspension and brakes. (No 4-wheel manual drums for me, thank you very much!)

matthewklein220 > Bandit 08/05/2013 at 15:12

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GO for it! After we finish the body work and rebuilding the engine on this, my dad and I are moving on to his '71 Trans Am so he has something to race.

matthewklein220 > daender 08/05/2013 at 15:13

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I keep it in second, like you suggested. It takes about 90% of the course like that and only downshifts to first when I punch it coming out of the slowest corners.

matthewklein220 > Mosqvich 08/05/2013 at 15:16

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I know how all important shocks are. First thing on my list of parts to buy when I win the lottery is some decent shocks to replace the old drag racing ones my dad put on there 25 years ago.

matthewklein220 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 08/05/2013 at 15:17

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Autocross the SHO while working on the project! There were guys out there in stock Mini Coopers and even a showroom-fresh Dart!

The Swedish Bandit > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 15:28

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So you're telling me that there's more things done to it? Oh lord!

With these old muscle cars I sometimes feel like in order to drive 1 hour, you first gotta fix something for at least 2 hours. But somehow, it's still all worth it in the end.

matthewklein220 > The Swedish Bandit 08/05/2013 at 15:45

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I checked, the only change that isn't reflected in the list is the addition of a radio and some 6x9's that are older than I am. But that may change very soon... *glances at 455 block sitting in the corner and laughs*

whan > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 23:06

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Hey, fantastic story.

What kind of suspension/braking mods are you running on your firebird? I'm actually thinking about buying a first-gen F-body (1969 Camaro), so just wondering how your experience has been owning one, and how much poorer it handles compared to a modern car?

matthewklein220 > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 23:27

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Well, one place I will point you to is http://pozziracing.com/ The Pozzi's have all sorts of tricks I've put into my car that also work for Camaro's! (Considering they run Camaro's, that sort of makes sense.) That website is also where the front brakes for my car came from. Now as for specifics, in the front: I'm running 700 lb. springs that are shorter than stock and have an adjustable spacer to adjust ride height, which I have set so the car sits just a bit over an inch lower than stock. The front shocks are ancient drag racing shocks that are getting pulled out the instant I've saved enough pennies for some double-adjustables. And then my father and I fabricated our own tubular upper A-arms since aftermarket A-arms cost way too much for how simple they are. In the rear, the suspension is pretty stock, just 2-inch lowering blocks to get the car lower and level front-to-rear, and the above-mentioned drag shocks. On both ends of the car I have Hellwig anti-roll/sway bars. As for brakes, I pulled out the manual drum brakes and installed what I call "Frakenbrakes". The Pozzi website describes how to put them together, but it's the drum hub, a Corvette C3 rotor, a 70's Chevy pickup ccaliper, and some super-grippy Hawk racing pads. In the back I have the complete rear brake system out of a Chevy S10 (there are plenty of places online to read on how to mod those to work on a first-gen F-body). For the brake booster and master cylinder, I have the hydroboost brake booster off a Chevy Astro van, and the master cylinder out of a 90's Buick. A word of warning if you go for this brake setup though: It is VERY potent and you should find an empty road and get used to them. Locking the front brakes is very easy and not that much pedal travel is required. As for handling now compared to then... It is 1000x better. Out of the box first-gen F-Bodies have horrific body roll and understeer. If you're going to do anything other than drag race I would suggest upgrading the suspension. One of these days (if there is enough popular demand) I can do a write-up on what I did to my car and how well it works. But for now I suggest you check Pozzi's website and do a google search for the "Plain Jane" Camaro. Also look up the Guldstrand mod and Herb Adams. If you plan on street driving your car, Adams has useful information on how to get performance at the track without giving up too much comfort. Hope this helps!

matthewklein220 > matthewklein220 08/05/2013 at 23:30

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Whoops, meant to post this in response to Whan...

matthewklein220 > whan 08/05/2013 at 23:35

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So I wrote a response for you and accidentally made it a separate comment... *headdesk*

Horkin' Up Dangle Hams > matthewklein220 08/06/2013 at 05:17

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Good job man! Reading this has filled me with insane jealousy, both of your chance to participate with such a cool car, and your writing skills. Sounds like you worked a hard to get it where it is, however, so you definitely earned it. This just reaffirms my conviction to get into autocross the second I can get my hands on a car that isn't a 1998 Mazda B2500 or a 1990 Jeep Wrangler. Keep at it, and I can't wait to read your next post.

whan > matthewklein220 08/06/2013 at 12:58

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Thanks, I really appreciate the answers. I've had a tough time getting a clear answer as to how these cars drive stock and if they would be bearable for street use. Looks as if I'll probably be buying Hotchkiss' TVS system first thing if I get a first gen. A-Arms and Shocks probably later as well

matthewklein220 > whan 08/06/2013 at 15:11

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Yeah, I probably would have gone all-Hotchkiss on this car, but being broke meant I had to get creative.

Vas > matthewklein220 08/08/2013 at 14:36

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Great job! Thanks for sharing.