1971 Firebird Formula 455 Project Started
 

It was a good day picked up my 455 HO from the engine shop today. Looking forward to starting body work on the firebird it has been sitting way too long. My first job will be to remove the fender flares that were brazed on to the quarter panels in the 70's. A prior owner added hurst t-tops and hooker side pipes around the same time.

Those flairs are Groovy as Hell!
LOL.

It must have taken hours to put on the flares with brazing rod and bondo, The D80 spoiler was also added and mudded to the trunk lid it is so heavy it will not stay up without putting a stick in the trunk to hold it up.

Funny...in the late 70s, I had dreams of making all of those "enhancements" to an early 2nd gen Bird, too. Good thing I didn't have the means, and had gotten past that by the time I did ;) .

Looks like you've got a great project!

The car received some of the modifications pulled from Hot Rod magazines of that ERA.

Cool car. How about some more info on it, such as the options, colors, etc....

The firebird has the original 455ho engine and M22 transmission, quezal gold exterior color, sandalwood std. interior, deluxe wheel, N98 rally II wheels with P06 trim rings, dual mirrors and very few options other than power steering & brakes, AM radio and standard gauge cluster non ram air. I have the GM Canada vintage vehicle services buildsheet and the PHS documents as well. The car was sold new in Alberta and has been off the road for many years in storage with no rust.

Pretty cool you sticking w the original color? Any drivetrain mods?

I am keeping same color also keeping power train stock as everything was with the car including the carb and exhaust manifolds the only major part missing was the ignition but I purchased one on ebay that came from Norway of all places. I do have a ram air set up so it is tempting to go that way.

Cool car!

What is the rear axle option code listed on the GM of Canada Vintage Vehicle Services paperwork, and does it have safe-t-track listed also?

I'm assuming the N98 rally II wheels are 15 inch, is there a tire option listed?

Canadian buildsheet shows 3.42 axle ratio GU6 and 15 inch tires PM7 does not show safety track option but my PHS documents do confirm safety track differential. Does anyone know what is change alert code 802 on phs documents?

My 71 Formula 455HO was built in Norwood, and sold new in Toronto Canada. My PHS also shows Change Alert 802. I have no idea what it's for. However, I did a search, and it looks like this has been discussed here before, so I've attached the links below.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ange+alert+802

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ange+alert+802

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ange+alert+802

What color is your formula? Do you have a number of options?

wow!!

I haven't seen this car in ages!!!

I'm glad to see it's going to get fixed;
I hope the T-roof will be fixed... err, replaced with a correct solid roof.

How long ago did you purchase it?
I'm going to guess I saw it in the very late 1990's.
I can't recall why I was at the owners house at the time, but I am confident I was buying something from him for my '70 Formula.

Do you have paperwork which shows the original selling dealer?

I found years ago a different '71 455HO Formula that was a McKay Pontiac showroom car IIRC.

Are you in any local club?
I used to be quite active in the Calgary Firebird Club, but these days I am only associated with them through their facebook page (because my car is off the road).

I purchased the formula in April 2017 although I did try to buy the car years earlier just did not give up on it. The roof will need to be replaced for certain. I was once a member of the Calgary Camaro Club as far back as 1995 but not a member of any current clubs. The car was sold new at Southpark Motors in Edmonton AB.

Thank for the reply!

I am glad to hear the car has found a good home - I seem to recall the last owner talking about restoring it.

I was quite shocked to hear of the Calgary Camaro Club dissolving, and even more shocked to hear of the circumstance.
I have many CCC S&S magnets from having my car there - I could probably dig up several pictures of my car at their show's over the years.

Thanks for sharing where the car was originally sold from!

I look forward to hearing more about your progress!

Nice car!

I like the flares.

It's actually interesting to gauge the man hours that were involved to install. I would also imagine there were some extensions on the front fenders and maybe a front spoiler

Cool - must have been a pretty car when it rolled into the dealership!

Thx for posting the GM Canada doc. Any chance you also have the PHS invoice? Would be interesting to see if the trim rings listed on the GM Canada doc were an extra cost option, or just part of the Rally II wheel option/charge.

I checked the PHS invoice the rally II wheels and the tires are individual items on the invoice but no the trim rings are not on the invoice. Interesting.

since your car came standard with steel wheels, the optional Rally II wheels came with trim rings.
Your tires dictated what size wheels you had.
So if you had on the PHS:
- raised white letter F70-14
- Rally II wheels options
That would have netted you the 14"(x7") Rally II wheels with those tires, and n/c trim rings.

If your car had not tire option, and the Rally II wheels; you would have netted 14"(x7") Rally II wheels with F70-14 blackwall tires, and n/c trim rings.

If you had trim rings shown, then you had the standard steel wheels with trim rings.

Make sense?

My car is a 'no tire', 'no wheel' option car;
So I had black wall tires on 14x7" 'CL' steel wheels.

I have actually found the minutia of these details to be quite fascinating to unravel.

That's what I expected would be the case.

Rally II wheels, regardless of size, generally included trim rings. They only came without them on special models like the Judge and Trans Am. So on a Formula with Rally IIs, the trim rings would show up on the build sheet, but not the invoice (since they weren't priced separately, but included with the wheel).

GM Canada docs generally read more like a build sheet than an invoice.

absolutely correct;
The GM Canada has options, and some of the standard equipment shown, so you have to be able to know how to read the difference.
I am not certain on the criteria the Mr Zappora uses when he lists items for the vehicle he is working on at any time.
I do like how he includes the number of like vehicles.

It's a neat extra level of documentation available to the Canada-sold cars.

BTW, my blue/blue TA was delivered originally in Calgary. It says hello to its former neighbors :)

It was originally Lucern blue with deluxe black interior and Honeycomb rims, but the car was painted a darker blue by a prior owner. If you do a search on this site, there is a thread on the car which lists the options, but I have not posted on that thread in quite a while.

Formula Project Started
 

Well it has been a while since my last reply I have been busy with other projects but now it's time to work on the formula. I started in early October and so far have removed the windshield and rear glass. I then cut off the rear wheel flares that were braze welded in place solidly. The car only had rust on rear wheel lips and outer rear wheel houses. I have removed the passenger side rear quarter and outer wheel house. The Norwood plant used ample red primer.

They dipped those Norwood bodies in tanks of primer after they were jigged up.
Firewall back, no doors or trunklids installed.

I can't remember now if they used electro-static/electro-magnetic or some other special method to enhance the results. Someone else here will remember more details.

Would be a pure ungodly mess of excess puddles runs sags drips if we dipped one into a tank ourselves.

That makes sense I didn't realize the car was dipped but the backside of the quarter panels are red so now I understand. The factory did a poor job applying the rubberized texture on the backside of quarters and crudely applied the trunk spatter over top.

Sorry to disagree here, but the Fisher body Camaros and Firebirds made in Norwood were completely submerged on a assy line in the primer Bay. The bodies ALL had DOORS and Deck lid INSTALLED. Door latches, trunk latches installed as well. Doors and deck lid were propped open. Sometime during 71 the bodies and paint got charged, and the lacquer became a partial e dip .
I have parted plenty with the drips still in the primer underbody area, especially trunk as it was last out if the tank.

Appreciate the reply I see evidence of what your saying over the entire car the more I look. The door striker plate is completely red I have not removed the door panels to fully examine the doors. The donor roof I have for the car is also completely red on the underside. One of the prior owners installed hurst T-Tops so I have to replace the roof.

There is a famous picture of the assembly line bodies going through the primer tank.
It was during the strike/shutdown and the line was stopped dead.
Some car(s) were partially going into the drink, some stuck in the drink, and some partially coming out.
They sat that way until the strike was over.
We suspect those bodies were scrapped.

Been so long since i have viewed that picture i didn't remember them having any bolt-on panels installed.

Just a shame they didn't use a zinc based primer instead of the red lacquer base primer.

Here is one of a few that are out there. This has the trunk lid shut, but I have other going with it open. Note doors are ajar.
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...8&d=1635664895

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...2&d=1635556549

man oh man, I wish my car was that solid.

Mine is currently in a similar state (and has been for a couple months) but I popped off the drivers side quarter.

Deja Vu, I've had to rebuild the back end of one of these cars before and it's a lot of work, but if your inner structure isn't rotted, that should make the repairs a little easier.

If you need some reference pictures showing how the factory applied the sound deadener to the inside of the quarter panels, I can post some for you.

Do you know what size of front and rear sway bars you have?

Elkykid? Is that a reference to El Camino's?

Yes Elky Kid pertains to a large number of el caminos i have owned mostly 1970 super sports. My dream car would be 1970 LS6 Elky. I have just missed a number of times acquire one.

When I purchased the Formula the gentleman that sold me the car had purchased full quarter panels from Desert Valley in Arizona and had the quarters sent by air freight to Canada. Both quarters were complete with inner and outer wheel houses. I have since dismantled the components. I have a nice passenger side frame rail I do not need. My car only had rear wheel lip rust damage.

I recently inherited my father-in-law's 1970 El Camino. He bought it used in 1972, so it's been in the family for almost 50 years. It's in very nice original condition, but unfortunately it's not a Super Sport or big block car.

I asked about your sway bar size because your (Canadian) PHS shows your car was built with 15 inch tires. My 71 HO car was also built with 15 inch tires (with honeycombs). My car has the trans am sway bars even though there is no suspension option listed on the PHS. Your PHS does not show a suspension option either, (hence my question about your sway bars).

Love those El caminos. My canadian buildsheet and phs documents don't call out suspension package. Funny the canadian documents don't call out safe t track but phs documents do call out safe t track. I think the cowl tag calls out WS6.Attachment 576884Attachment 576885Attachment 576886Attachment 576887

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for many years there was a 1969 El Camino SS396/4spd car just around the corner from my house - just off of a somewhat busy roadway;
As far as I know it was the real deal... but it was getting crusty.
This past spring it went to the lower mainland (southern B.C.), and is (apparently) being driven and enjoyed pretty much as purchased.

It had a bunch of "day 2" type modifications to it, but I think the original stuff was all there, and went with the car.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1635973532

the cowl tag shows nothing in reguard to drivetrain;

Your cowl tag will show W66 which is the code for a Formula.

Although Mr Zappora (Canadian Vintage Vehicle Services) does sometimes appear to have no rhyme or reason for the option codes he shows, I do believe that there is a pecking order of sorts that is used to determine what is shown;
You can also contact them to confirm that an option code your car has wasn't accidentally left off the invoice.

Keep in mind that on anything less than the Trans Am, a posi was an option;
So even though yours is a Formula 455, that doesn't mean it had a posi from the factory - but odds are if it was absent, it was added at a later time -like with my car.

I also believe that the suspension package would be something that George Zappora would typically show on your historical packet;
What I believe was being asked, was being asked because some cars which had stand alone optional 15" wheels didn't have the option for the upsized sway bars - and some cars with the wheel option and no suspension option appear to have been built with the larger bars.

The PHS on my 71 Formula 455HO car lists the safe-t-track, but does not list the performance axle option (3.73's). The GM of Canada docs show option H05 (3.73 gears) and G80 (safe-t-track).

Recently there was a 1971 Formula 455HO car for sale in Reno Nevada. The seller had the PHS and a broadcast sheet from the Los Angeles assembly plant. The PHS shows the car was equipped with 15 inch tires and Rally II rims, but there is no suspension option listed. However, the broadcast sheet shows "F41 Spec Perf Susp". (I've attached copies of the PHS and broadcast sheet).

I called the people at GM of Canada Vintage Vehicle Services and asked if the microfilm on my car listed F41 suspension. They said no, and that they did not even show that as an option. They said the bigger sway bars were part of the 15 inch tire option.

No doubt the PHS documents state the car was shipped with safe t track. I measured the sway bars the front was 1.25 inches believe the rear was .85 inches

I also own a 1966 Malibu SS 396 convertible it has a factory 12 bolt open rear end with 3.73 gears the code on the banjo housing confirms it was non posi.

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The GM of Canada people directed me to page 22 of the AMA Specifications Form included in the Vintage Vehicle Services package they sent to me. The footnotes at the bottom of the page state that the Formula's equipped with F60-15 tires had a front sway bar diameter of 1.250 and a rear diameter of .875.

If my memory serves me almost every 1970 Formula built sheet I have seen had the "*F41 SPC PERF SUSP" - I am guessing right now that it was there more for the assembly line guys - and they would have understood better what that was meant to imply.

A great pair of docs, that also confirm Formulas equipped with 15" Rally Wheels (JW/KR/KN) had trim rings on them.

Thanks for sharing your buildsheet my car obviously had very few options in comparison. I do not have rally gouges.

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Formula update more work has been completed
 

I have almost finished work on passenger side quarter panel installation. Overall very satisfied with fit and finish. I am still waiting on shipment of driver side trunk floor drop off should be here next week. Once the quarters are done I will melt out the led and extract the roof and replace. When the roof is completely welded in I will strip the car and mount to my rotisserie so I can completely clean the underneath as there is no other rust work on this car.

1971 Firebird Formula 455 Project Update
 

I have finished body panel replacement on the firebird. I am going focus next on stripping all paint from the body panels prior to performing any other body work. Most of my panel fitment has improved overall so far in terms of door gaps but especially the trunk lid. The factory had set the drivers side quarter panel to low in the drip rail thus the left side edge of trunk lid was higher than the quarter. Just taking my time on each step and so far I am quite happy with my progress.

Nice work!

agreed - I'm kinda jealous;
I've been so busy with family stuff, that I haven't been able to make any progress all winter.

I love the full roof on the car.
Did Don have a 1971 interior with the car - or the latter interior that I think I'm seeing?

1971 Firebird Formula 455
 

Don the prior owner did give me the original seat fabric the door panels and side panels were still in the car. A few years ago a gentlemen from Estevan reached out to me and sold me a pile of Sandlewood interior parts including headliner rods & hardware a real nice deluxe steering wheel standard gauge dash to return back to original. I located a real nice space saver spare last week interesting it looks like the factory cut brackets from the trunk floor most likely for a full spare? The trunk floor does have space saver spare brackets and space saver jack instructions on the original trunk lid.