"jlmounce" (jlmounce)
03/14/2014 at 10:54 • Filed to: Firebird, Muscle Car, Classic Car, American Iron
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"jlmounce" (jlmounce)
03/14/2014 at 10:54 • Filed to: Firebird, Muscle Car, Classic Car, American Iron | 11
| 13 |
In April I will have had my 1969 Firebird for 15 years. Yesterday, I got one step closer to having a drivable car, instead of a garage ornament!
I've been cursing this car lately. Every time I have gone to work on it, Something else needed to be done. That usually meant opening my wallet up.
As some of you may remember, my wife and I are having a house built. As a result, the timing for opening my wallet isn't all that great. However the car had to be moved out of the condo that I am closing on today. While it's been frustrating the past month or two, hearing her come to life again and seeing her move under her own power was gratifying beyond words.
There's still work to do, but there's light at the end of the tunnel at this point. You can see that the front is sitting quite high when compared to the rear. I haven't had the chance to replace those front springs with the new Hotchkis units yet. I also need to replace the engine and forward light harness, install the glass and put the interior back together.
After that, the car is "done" aside from cool stuff that I can do here and there. I'm hoping I'll be able to drive the car into it's new home later this summer, instead of having to trailer it!
offroadkarter
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 10:55 |
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Takuro Spirit
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 10:56 |
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Everyone on Oppo is out driving their Firebirds.
I'm just sitting here waiting to go pick up parts for mine.
/spidermanmeme
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jlmounce
> Takuro Spirit
03/14/2014 at 10:58 |
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Patience young grasshopper. Your time will come!
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offroadkarter
> Takuro Spirit
03/14/2014 at 11:00 |
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Meatcoma
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 11:07 |
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That engine sounds pretty damn good to me.
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Takuro Spirit
> offroadkarter
03/14/2014 at 11:10 |
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That too.
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jlmounce
> Meatcoma
03/14/2014 at 11:25 |
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It'll still need some tuning done on it, but it's a pretty stout mill. It's all origian Pontiac goodies in it with a health cam. the 455 with #62's on top will yield a compression between 11-11.5 depending on deck height. Unfortunately I didn't build the engine, so it's kind of a mystery. To get it to live on pump gas like it does, the deck is probably set at 0 to improve quench. The Pistons have a 6cc dish in them (I was able to get part numbers with a borescope) so assuming that and 3cc's in the chamber from a valve job I should be right at 11.18:1.
The cam is large enough that at idle I have vacuum issues with the brakes. So with that little bit of information, assuming it was built like traditional Pontiacs are, it should make around 500hp and close to 600 lb. ft. of torque. That's just a guess though, it could by higher, it could be as high as 550 based on similar combinations, or as low as about 425.
desertdog5051
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 11:37 |
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Congratulations. Looks and sounds great. As a diehard Pontiac man, you made my morning.
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jlmounce
> desertdog5051
03/14/2014 at 11:43 |
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Poncho fans need to stick together! We're horribly outnumbered!
JR1
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 11:49 |
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Congrats man! Beautiful machine. I am in the first stages of this process with an old Lincoln. I'm just prying the engine block is not cracked. Always been a fan of firebirds
MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> jlmounce
03/14/2014 at 16:35 |
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Man that sounds fun.
It's always a great feeling the first time they start up after a while.
I felt the same way when I got the 68 Mercury Montego running.
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jlmounce
> MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
03/14/2014 at 17:34 |
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It's definitely a great feeling! I had a shit eating grin plastered on my face the whole time!
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MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> jlmounce
03/17/2014 at 09:24 |
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Oh yeah, I know that grin well!