2nd gen Firebird

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Shadow-phoenix

i'm planning on getting it sandblasted, and fixing the body panels. It's gonna look like a chump for a while, but i don't care.

dont know what your options are, but I know goodmark has a shop in northern GA. I took my 78 camaro there back in the day, spent around $1000.00 and when I came back in a week, she had all new fenders, 1/4 panels, floor pnls, trunk pnls and a patched up firewall all primered and ready for paint.

Originally Posted by Shadow-phoenix

haven't bought it yet... the only thing keeping me from it is time, (waiting for my tax return) but i have pointed a camera at the under side of it. I'm too big to crawl under anything but trucks. (I'm not fat, i have a huge ribcage, and it makes crawling under things kinda hard...) all the rust that I've seen is just surface rust. and I think the trunk is in good shape. (I'll get the key and open it up next time i'm up there.)

If this doesn't work out, I know where there is a 78 camaro for sale, for 1500.

the rust wont be that big of a problem. before I started fixing my 78 it had a huge hole in the pass side floorboard (which is why very few people ever rode with me) but I just took some sheetmetal and used self tapping screws to cover the hole till I took it to goodmark.

[Stingr69]

Get the trunk lid open - you never know what you will find.



I can attest that this mess was not fixed in a week and it certainly cost more than $1000 to do it, not counting the labor. That part was free.

-Mark.

[Shadow-phoenix]

will do. here's a couple other questions that i have...

1. I found a set of third gen 15" T/A rims cheap (and by cheap i mean way under 100 bucks for the set) and they are in good shape. what size spacers am i gonna need (thickness) to mount the 3rd gen rims to the 73?

2. If i upgrade from a 2 barrel to a 4 barrel carb, do i have to change the intake manifold?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Stingr69

Get the trunk lid open - you never know what you will find.



I can attest that this mess was not fixed in a week and it certainly cost more than $1000 to do it, not counting the labor. That part was free.

-Mark.

where did you go to get it done at?


at least the part was free. then again it's only $130.00 from goodmark.






and to the OP
goodmark has a list of dealers in VA that you can check out for getting panels and work done. most are in Danville.

[Shadow-phoenix]

the spotsylvania dealer is closest, it's only an hour away.

will they give a free estimate?

[Stingr69]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

where did you go to get it done at?


at least the part was free. then again it's only $130.00 from goodmark.

.

I did my own work, that was the "free" part of the job.

You can add up the cost for the parts yourself if you want to. I can't bear to add up all the money I spent or I would surely need some therapy. I did both trunk dropoffs, both quarter panels, both inner wheel wells, both outer wheel wells, trunk floor, trunk floor braces, gas tank, gas tank straps, Tail panel, and about a bazillion other pieces that were required to weld that rusty car back together. All the floors too. It adds up fast. That is why I would advise anyone to look long and hard at a rusty resto and ask yourself if you have the ability and funds to complete the job. Once you are done, what can you sell it for? A rust free project is a much better deal in the long run.

Just some free advise from someone who has been there before. You pays your money, you takes your pick.

-Mark.

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Shadow-phoenix

the spotsylvania dealer is closest, it's only an hour away.

will they give a free estimate?

dunno, they should. however, depending on things like the bondo job that was already done and whether they are replacing the whole panel or just repairing spots it will leave a lot of variability out there unless you can get the car media blasted on a rotisserie. but call them up, email them with pics of what you want done and find out

[Shadow-phoenix]

whoever did the bondo job on it was obviously drunk. they didn't even sand it down or anything.

[Supercamaro64]

and make sure all the lights on it work. its not a big deal to fix, but its not fun to get pulled over 3 days after u buy the car cuz ur head/taillight is out and its not even ur fault (i shud kno. it happened to me lol)

[Shadow-phoenix]

yeah. It's gonna be weird driving at night, i don't know how bright the headlights are on the firebird... did the early 70's models have high-beams?

[Shadow-phoenix]

after being rejected twice, my tax return finally went through
The bird will be mine in less than 2 weeks thanks to the wonder that is direct deposit

[Shadow-phoenix]

just got back from looking over the rear end of the firebird again...
the underside has some surface rust, but the frame rails are the cleanest part of the underside of the car...
popped the trunk, and found some slight surface rust is a couple places, but the trunk is solid.
got two little surprises when i opened up the trunk...

1. the car has a full size spare, WITH the original spare tire... wow

2. a tiny mouse bolted past my hand when i was feeling around in the trunk... it spooked me... lol

I'm gonna go to pick up the car as soon as my taxes come in...

[Rallysport]

Mouse in the trunk? I hope they haven't made a home up inside the heat/air ducts in the dashboard. Mice chew everything up, piss and crap all over the place and that smell is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of unless you disassemble the entire interior. Trust me, I know from experience!:(

[Shadow-phoenix]

doesn't smell bad inside the car, haven't noticed anything, seats are torn up, and need replaced, but that's no big deal.