Pssst : They're also in Texas now too!

oh crap....

Yes indeed! And if the cars were't enough, we had a hot water heater failure that ruined the wood floors in our home. We had to move out while they were being redone and so we decided to have some remodeling done as well. To give you an idea of how much this project has snowballed, I spent Friday afternoon with my wife picking out new hardware for the 40 or so doors in the house. We found a rental down the street, but it's going on three months now living out of suitcases. I'll take a car project over this one any day of the week :)

Oh wow!!! - I'm sorry to read about this!!

I spent a couple hours on the car this weekend removing the interior. The floors and trunk need absolutely no work. The steering wheel, gauges, switches, heater ducts, a pillar trim, and headrests look to be in great shape, seats are solid but need rebuild/recover. Will need just about everything else though.

Well, we moved back into our house last Friday and everything is about back in it's place now.

Haven't done much with the Formula except to chip away at disassembly and plan the build. At this point, I've committed to the aluminum IA II engine I mentioned previously, and also a complete subframe & suspension setup from DSE.

Still chipping away. Front sheet metal looks great except for some deterioration of the inner structure/bracing of the passenger fender, just the lower section in front of the door. It should be easy enough to repair, but I saw a set of perfect rust-free '70 fenders at a swap meet this morning, and I just couldn't help myself.

It appears the RH side lower quarter has been repaired previously--discovered nicely done & hidden lap seam about an inch above the horizontal crease that goes from the tail panel to the wheel well. It looks like an original panel was used for the repair, but since it's rusted through on the bottom, I'll have the whole thing re-done the right way...guess I'll have to look for a quarter section. I'm hesitant about using a reproduction skin because the lower section doesn't appear to have the same contour and I'm not sure if it can be worked so that it looks correct (and match the other side).

In any case, does anyone have a lead on an OE quarter section or NOS piece? I know something like this will be pricy but I've budged for these types of surprises.

The formula is now fully disassembled, but still a roller. It will be leaving my garage tomorrow to begin the odyssey of what has snowballed into a pro-touring type of build.

And so we begin! First step will be a trip to the frame shop to make sure everything's in order before the fun starts.

Deja vu!

Looking forward to seeing it come together!

Hope you and your cars were on HIGH ground last week...?

The photos, which show some of the DSE parts that were delivered this week, provide a hint that things are moving more in the direction of full blown pro-touring build.
My boundary conditions are firm though. First, it must be Pontiac powered and use a stick--and be suitable for both long cruises and the track (road/auto-cross). An aluminum IAII based 505ci (detailed to look "Pontiac"), fuel injection, and a T-56 Magnum should get me there. Second, it must use an original Formula Hood without any extra scoops or humps. I love the look of Formula hoods. But given how the engine needs to be set up to run to it's potential, a bit of engineering will be required (both in the design of the intake and how the engine is to be mounted in the car). Third, I want to maintain the same basic interior and exterior color scheme. I don't envision work starting for a couple months. I can't wait.

That's going to be one sweet Formula and a full DSE treatment is always a winner.

The engine is going to offer some serious challenges (been there and done it). while moving the motor back and down 4x2 the hood on the Formula will require you use a custom made intake.

Anvil auto offers a Carbon hood for your Formula,,, and should you decide to do a SD style Formula hood arrangement to gain extra clearance,,, Carbon Kustoms has you covered off there for the hood and fenders and widened inner fenders if interested... We even do custom built front fenders that will allow you to run 335 X 18 tires up front on that sub-frame.
http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...70-650x433.jpg

BTW for what it is worth,,,, I found the sweet spot for me on the street is 295's up front and 335's out back. The car will handle like it's on rails and not hunt as bad as when you use the the larger tires in a street application...

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a.../lightemup.jpg

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about the combos as I've walked your path more than a few times and love where you're heading with the build.

Thanks for your advise about tire sizes Albert. I already had to make a decision regarding the rear tire (I chose 335) but I was going back and forth between 275 and 295 for the fronts. I'm probably going to run Formula 43 Rad 14 wheels--right now I'm thinking all black with the body colored matched stripe (narrow) lip. Some thought and design work have already gone into the intake, but I'm not in a position right now to share any details.

That subframe is a work of art!

So true. We were joking around that maybe we should just shoot it in clear.

Actually, at some point I'm going to have to decide what colors to paint the subframe and suspension pieces. Not sure if I should give a nod to originality and approximate the factory colors or be more creative.

I just noticed this;
I was fine.
:)

Now that my TA is almost done (knock wood) this project is officially off the back burner. Thought about starting a new thread, but may as well keep this one alive...Today I dropped the car off at a unibody & frame shop.