[70 bird]

Looks great Aron! It should fly with the upgrades. Does the 4788 have a t6 flange?

[marks73ta]

The inner bracing for that God awful front nose reinforcement was HEAVY. The four pieces had to be over 80 pounds total. Core support is another 40 pounds or more. The rubber (can't spell urethane????--see!) front bumper goes at another 50 pounds. The fiberglass one piece has to save another 60 pounds or more over the metal pieces. Lots 'O poundage saved. Plus that heavy arsed turbo is back at the firewall and not hanging out in space in front of the axle line. The battery in back more than compensated for it. Ya's are doin' just fine there son. Hell. Just getting the whole car up from this lower latitude, nearer the equator, makes it lighter. Probably gained-----lets see---one, carry the two, add the four, divide the-----yeah, probably a couple of ounces. Heh. Mark L OH YEA. Don't forget pulling my sorry fat arse out of it and plunking your skinny butt in there, equals, BIG savings.

[aronhk_md]

lmao Mark. Was that heavy ass nose/bumper really only 50 lbs? They seemed heavier. lol. In your estimates there were you including the two front fenders and inner fenders? Pretty sure when you mentioned "those four pieces" you were referring to the core support heavy brackets? But theres 2 of those. Hmmm....trying to add up your tally....lol.

Thanks Mike! Yeah, the GT4788/4718 is a T6 flange.

[marks73ta]

There were four full grill surround heavy braces. The two either side of the grill/radiator area that support the front bumper/nose. There two, top and bottom, cross braces that crossed from one side brace to the other. I think there were two cross braces. Now I'm not sure, thinking the top of the radiator core was the top crossover. But it seemed like there were two???? The bottom of the cross braces fell out of the attic (it was laying across the joists) of my shop one time and dug a nice chunk of cement out of the shop floor. But any way. The front end of the '73s were damn heavy. My mention of four pieces meant the hood, two fenders, and the front bottom facia. Can't remember the actual name of the lower front pan that also carries the front spoiler. I had forgotten about the inner fenders and the front and back supports and filler panels. All that really adds up. Mark L

[aronhk_md]

If you were to add it all up Mark.....everything that was originally there frward of the firewall as far as nose and sheetmetal, core support, braces and the big nose supports.....what do you think the total was?

[marks73ta]

Everything from the firewall forward. Sheet metal, rad core, nose, and braces. I'd say an easy 225 to 250 pounds. But just a total guess. Mark L

[aronhk_md]

Hmmm....I wonder. I think even with the flares and spoiler added, the fiberglass nose weighs around 45-50 lbs. Going to have to add in the mounts and supports, but I guess there really is a savings! lol

You know....theres a bunch of people here with esoteric knowledge. Think I'll post in the 70-73 section and see if anyone knows the weights offhand. Someone who has shipped this stuff might.

[Silver Judge]

That Firebird is A BEAST and You are A MANIAC
Those polished pieces look killer and you have the patience of a saint to do that !!

I'd bet that a large percentage of us Pontiac lovers with heavy right feet would love to have such a well thought out brute-force combination like this. WOWZERS !

It's cool that some of your inspiration comes from Bigger is Better ( J. Sandhu) and Roger Bolliger's wicked ass Titus tribute T/A racecar. You'll likely have at least 200 or 300 more horsepower at the wheels than even the Bolliger car and we know from recent videos posted by RoadRage David how the Bolliger T/A does in real road races against some insanely tough road race competition over in Europe.

Keep us updated, I'm sure everybody reading here would love to see more on this as it comes together.

When do you expect to have it back on the road ?

[aronhk_md]

Silver Judge....thanks for the encouragement....nobody ever accused me of being sane...hehehe. lol. It did take a lot of patience for the polishing. I actually had someone finish them up for me after I got them a large percentage of the way there, but NOW I have all the quipment to tackle any polishing job. Picked up a big Baldor commercial polishing machine. Still takes much work though, and I almost gave up a few times.

I know I originally had hoped to have her road ready by the beginning of summer, but its looking like I MIGHT make the Ocean City Maryland car show with her in Oct

I hope. Stay tuned for more updates.....

[aronhk_md]

Havent gotten a lot more done yet, but experimented with the new polishing equipment tonight for a few minutes. Wanted to see what happens with only mildly scratched aluminum if I just polish.....no prior sanding. The result isnt bad.....much better than unpolished. But of course you can still see some of the scratches. I'll have to decide how far I want to go with this stuff. While I plan to hit the cruise nights and car shows, I'll also be racing it a bit and driving on the street. That means nicks and dirt.

So maybe I should just give parts like this a quick polish and be done with it? What do you guys think? Mirror polish which can get scratched even by a cotton cloth thats not soft enough, or quick polish to give it a bright look and make it shiny?

First pic.....untouched radiator. Second pic.....about 2 minutes with the more aggressive polishing rouge.

[BruceWilkie]

Clearcoat the stuff thats likely to stain/corrode easily. Clear powdercoat where feasible.
Chrome some of that stuff too. Little bit of windex works wonders on chrome.

[aronhk_md]

LOL Bruce....I dont have the cash for having someone clearcoat or chrome stuff. Every time I get extra cash it goes to something. I'd like one of those Butler oil pumps before I button her back up, and I'm THINKING I might be able to paint her here shortly. THAT wont be cheap even though I have a friend helping me do it.

I do have my own powder coating machine that I havent used yet, and an old oven too out in the garage. But with everything else going on I havent had time to fool with it yet. I would be able to put the intake in the oven, but not the radiator. Not sure it would be wise to coat the heads.

So polishing is the best I'll be able to do for now. Going to use that old truckers formula for polish....it has turtle wax in it. Supposedly helps prevent oxidation. We shall see. If I have to polish it all twice a year it wont be so bad. With the tilt and removeable front end I will be able to just sit on a tire and polish away.

[Bl1tzw1ng]

Looking good Aron. I polished all of mine too, can't remember if I showed you those pics or not. If you do clear those parts, go with clear that is crystal clear, something like the one from POR , otherwise they kinda tint yellow. And I also polished the tranny case, so get to work :-)

[aronhk_md]

Didnt see yours Jay. I still have the intercooler, turbo housing and turbo piping to do. NOT doing the trans.......eventually its being replaced by a 4L80

I have a powder coating setup I have yet to use, but only an old oven and its not that big. Think for now I'll just polish twice a year. lol

[Wareagle]

Originally Posted by aronhk_md

Thanks wareagle! Biggerisbetter and Roger Bolliger with his 70 TA clone are big inspirations for me.

Thanks -Yes - Those guys know there stuff - myself when I can afford it - Would like to Have a Street version of Rogers Racer T/A - almost identical except run DOT tires like Bigger is Better- Who actually drives his car to the Track .

[aronhk_md]

Originally Posted by Wareagle

Thanks -Yes - Those guys know there stuff - myself when I can afford it - Would like to Have a Street version of Rogers Racer T/A - almost identical except run DOT tires like Bigger is Better- Who actually drives his car to the Track .

Me too Ken! But then again, thats sort of what I'm shooting for isnt it? lol. I was so tempted to add the white with blue stripe scheme, ALA the 70-72's. That has always been my favorite (My old 71 and 72 both were). But.....I'm thinking maybe go more custom. Like the Galaxy Grey from House of Kolors, and MAYBE ghosting in a slightly darker stripe as a tribute to those early birds. We shall see. I hope the car will be getting paint very soon...........................


Here is what I got from the guys over in the 70-73 section.....

• Nose......72 lbs
• fenders, pair....60 lbs (going with the low figure xbird provided)
• hinges and springs, pair........15 lbs
• inner fenders, pair with lower brace.......21 lbs
• shaker hood (Andres is the lowest #).....64 lbs
• core support, big brackets, battery tray...........49 lbs
• valence...........................6 lbs

Add in another 5 lbs for bolts and radiator core support hardware, and Total would appear to be...

282 lbs

Not quite as much as I thought, but its good to know

The vette brakes products front suspension loses another 40 lbs from stock, and the estimates on the switch from iron heads to aluminum is 60 lbs less. Aluminum Northwind intake is 15 lbs less, headers are 20 lbs less as a pair

That brings it to 417 lbs lost from the front. The battery switched to the trunk is probably a bit less than the weight the turbo, but the turbo is directly in front of the passenger firewall, while the battery was further forward.....so that helps, but there IS the aluminum intercooler out front. All told I think its close to even there.

I am reusing all lights, turn signals, etc.....so no change there.

Now if we add back in my guesstimate of the new tilt front end weighing in at 85 lbs by the time all is said and done (I'm hoping it might be a little less, but trying to be conservative) then I am looking at a 332 lb loss from the front end of the car. Very nice. Good think my front suspension doesnt have coil springs any longer......lol

Thanks for all your help guys!

[Wareagle]

Yes that color will look good - back aways I tried to buy a 73 Gun Metal Grey SD455 T/A from a guy and it was a 4 spd. too - looked sharp .

[Wareagle]

Heres a few pics from a hardboard dealer poster I acquired of a Gun Metal Grey 73 SD455 T/A - looks good .

[aronhk_md]

This is the Galaxy Grey. It should look a little less metallic because what they have painted is very small. On a car the particles will be much less noticeable

[Wareagle]

Looks Good !!!! .