[Gator67]

We finished up with the Dynamat, including taping up the seams with foil tape. Before we lay down the carpet, we'll install a layer of thin close cell foam, and mass loaded vinyl in a few areas. I did this with my '70 Formula and it really cut down road noise and gives the car a solid feel throughout.



The carpet arrived from ACC, the shade of tan is a little lighter than I thought it would be. The package tray also arrived, and it's a little darker than I thought it would be. I also had paint mixed to match the various interior shades. Looking at the pieces next to each other makes me a little concerned how it's all going to work together, but I had the same reaction to the Sandalwood interior in my '70.





One major challenge of building a car like this is figuring out where to install the various aftermarket electronic controllers and associated wiring so that everything is secure, easy to access and service, and relatively hidden. Also have to consider potential issues with RFI/EMI. My son fabricated some brackets and mounted the ECU behind the glove box door.

[Gator67]

I was going to have someone go through/refurbish the OEM steering column, but decided to go with an aftermarket tilt unit from Flaming River. I ordered the 70-78 model because I prefer a splined shaft on the column instead DD. Rather than using a microswitch and relays like Ididit, Flaming River uses an OEM style mechanical ignition switch for a more positive feel. The only odd thing about Flaming River columns is that their 1"48 splined shafts are oversized slightly, so the tried and true Borgeson u-joints won't fit without a lot of effort. I had to buy a more expensive Flaming River u-joint, which looks to be of similar quality. I had paint matched to the OEM column. We bought a Lecarra leather wrapped formula wheel in Chestnut, which matches really well.

[Skip Fix]

Nice column and steering wheel!

[Gator67]

Holley put their stainless steel long tube 1 3/4" primary LS swap headers on clearance and dropped the price by over $500, so we pulled the trigger. 1 3/4" primary should work well enough with the engine as it's currently set up. Mid length headers would have been smarter from a ground clearance standpoint, but these are supposed to tuck up nicely when used with the Holley engine swap mounts. We'll see this weekend.

[Gator67]

Installed the headers. Overall, we're happy with the fit. Needed a little adjustment on the RH side for more clearance with the subframe, but no biggie. Plenty of room to install the GM LS3 starter with heat shield attached. Factory dipstick fits as well. Steering shaft also fits, so all good.

[Gator67]

Starting to do the wiring now. Does anyone have a good picture, or can explain where I need to route the wires for dome lamp under the headliner?

[Red80TA]

Dome lights are easy, deluxe type are probably the same. Wiring retainers could be hard red or clip over clear/white and follow the roof holes. The harness runs through to the trunk where it piggybacks onto the trunk harness/main harness to dash connector.

Firebird roof dome light insulation1 by Ben, on Flickr

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by Red80TA

Dome lights are easy, deluxe type are probably the same. Wiring retainers could be hard red or clip over clear/white and follow the roof holes. The harness runs through to the trunk where it piggybacks onto the trunk harness/main harness to dash connector.

Thank you, the photo is exactly what I was looking for. I'm using an American Autowire classic update kit, and some of the harnesses are set up differently than OEM, but trying to do things correctly where I can.

[72projectbird]

Man, this car is coming out beautifully!

[triathlonx13]

That rear suspension is pretty cool.

[Gator67]

We're still a ways away from being ready to start the engine, but would really like to have as much done in the engine bay as possible prior to hanging the front sheetmetal. So we've been researching accessory drive systems for a couple weeks. We thought about cobbling one together using OEM brackets and adaptors, but prefer an engineered system that looks more finished. There are a several options out there (e.g., Vintage Air, March, Holley, CVF, Drive Junkey, Wegner), but choices are limited by several constraints that we created. The main one being we only have about about 12" from the crank centerline to the bulky Borgeson steering box, the top of which is about 1.5" above the crank centerline. It turns out there are only a couple options that were compact enough to allow us to run a power steering pump with an attached reservoir. We need to run attached because there's no room for a remote one given that the battery will be in the OEM location. In the end, we chose Wegner WAK033...it's very compact, uses off the shelf accessories, and the belt wraps around the power steering pulley (rather than just kissing the pulley). Won't ship for 2-3, but we have plenty to keep us busy in the meantime.

[Gator67]

Making progress with the wiring now. Tail light harness required a lot of crimping. Tail light housing are all cleaned up and ready to install. Headliner arrived yesterday, so we may tackle that this weekend.

[kingbuzzo]

Which headliner kit did u go?

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by kingbuzzo

Which headliner kit did u go?

One piece plastic with perforated vinyl attached from Classic Industries (HLB21)...not sure if it's PUI or ACME.

[Gator67]

Installed the tail lights over the weekend. I was considering a new set of lenses, but these should do.



Also pulled out the dash pad we plan to use. We set it in the car to make sure the back edge is reasonably straight. No tears and the vinyl is still supple, but we'll need to fix the radio area. I bought a 3D printed 78-81 face plate from Restore a Muscle Car that I may be able to attach somehow and use to install a RetroSound 2 post radio. I run one of these radios in my 70 Formula, which I use with an amp, quality speakers (6x9 rears and a stereo 4x10 up front), and a small sub in the trunk. Works great, but a little tough to hear over the 535 and road noise. We'll use a similar set up in this car, but will add 4x6s in the kick panels.

[kingbuzzo]

Oh I was i-balling that RAMC unit too...this is exciting

[Gator67]

Received the Wegner accessory drive. We'll need to have the machinist hone the ATI damper hub before we can start installing.



Also received the Mightymouse PCV catch can. Probably overkill, but I understand these systems work well.



We have a really nice gauge bezel but will need to make it gold. Experimented a bit and think this lacquer tint will work well.



The radio bezel from RAMC looks exactly like the OER piece, but I think it should work well enough with the RetroSound radio we plan to use.

[Gator67]

Sprayed the gauge bezel with gold tint, and painted the surround black. Just have to rivet the top plate back on. Here's a photo of it next to the original that came with the car.



We thought we might need a bit of room behind the RH side fuel rail so we went with a Raingear hidden windshield wiper set up (with the delay option). It was pretty easy to install. The only think I'm not crazy about is that we have to use their switch, which looks nothing like a factory stitch.



We also bottom mounted some nice 6x9's under the package tray. The 10" JL audio sub fits well in this spot and is out of the way. 5 channel amp will go on the other side.

[Gator67]

Installed the steering shaft this weekend. Not sure if the rubber boot on the collapsable shaft is too close to the header. Also installed the accessory drive. It fit well. Need to install the core support to see how much room we have for a radiator and fan/shroud. Would love to get brushless fans but those set-ups seem to take up a lot of space.

[Gator67]

Finished up with the fuel lines and fuel pressure regulator. Was considering a Corvette style regulator, which we could have hidden under the car, but plenty of room to install a unit that can easily handle the 340gph pump in case the VaporWorx PWM controller ever fails.



Also installed a Mightymouse PCV catch can on the plate we made to cover the wiper motor hole. Will just need to run one more line from the RH valve cover to the air intake tube (which we still need to get). The Terminator X requires a MAT sensor, so that will need to go in the intake tube as well (no accommodation for this on the intake).



We plan to run the Terminator harness through the firewall just below the RH fuel rail. There's a hole there already, but we'll need to make it a bit bigger to accommodate the connectors. With the A/C installed and engine built up, no room for a hole saw, but should be able to use a Greenlee knockout punch.

We also mocked up the core support so we could measure for the radiator and electric fan set-up. Looks like we have just enough room to run a 26" wide dual 12" brushless fan shroud set-up from Derale. It will end up being really close to the steering box. Trying to decide between a Cold Case LS swap radiator, or Griffin performance fit LS radiator. Wondering if one would be better from a fan shroud mounting standpoint?

We're running solid body & core support mounts from Speedtech...hoping we set this up correctly.