new father/son project
 

My soon to be 15 year old just bought his first car for us to fix up.He used his own money he saved up from cutting lawns and birthdays,so Im pretty proud of him.It's a '79 Formula with almost no rust,needs some dents and dings fixed but a great body.It has a really tired Olds 402 that will be replaced with a good Pontiac 350 I have in the garage,(he doesnt need a 455 yet!)Looks to be a pretty easy project,we should have it done in time for his 16th Bday.

Thats great Mark!
Maybe I should start mowing lawns too.

Post some pics when you get a chance

Congrats on the Father and Son project. I know that 350s love 670 heads. I was able to get my 67 to run 13.32s @ 106 with 4.10s and a 28" BFG radial ta. Not even the drag radials. I definately like the 350 pontiacs, but have gone to bigger motors.

Good luck and have fun.

Robert

Mark, best of luck to you and your son on the car project. It can be one of the most rewarding things that a father and son do together. It was Jan. 1999, just after his 16th b'day when Curtis and I found the 69 Bird that became 'our project' and we had it ready to go buy August when school started back. I wouldn't trade those days together for anything. Anyway, it sounds like the 79 will be alot of fun and I will be interested to see how the 350 performs as I have one on the engine stand right now that I am thinking about building-up.

good luck that sounds like a nice project

That sounds like a lot of fun. Wise decision to hold off on the horsepower for now. Plenty of time for that later ;). Enjoy.

Mark O.

good luck with the father son project.

hey everyone
 

Hey guys its Jackson Mark's son. I was just putting on a few pictures of the car i just bought. Its just like he described. I'm gonna try to get some better pictures when we pull it out in the sun. Hopefully this weekend. I'm going to put in all new interior and give it a good paint job. I want to get the firebird decal on the hood and get the wheel flares too!!! I think its going to be a lot of fun.:D

Jackson and Mark: that is a great looking car - man, are you going to have fun with it.
I think I met you at Lakeland drag strip one time with your Dad Mark.
My son Rob and I did most of the work on our Catalina and those will be memories that I will cherish forever. So make your Dad happy by having a lot of fun together on your 'Bird.
Jim

Jackson: "Hey Dad, you know that old racing motor you got laying in the garage ? I bet it would fit in my 'Bird."

Mark: Well, uh, you see, maybe, but, uh.

Jackson: You're just afraid I'll beat you at the strip.

Mark: Get the wrenches !!


Yuk, yuk, it'll happen Mark, I know, been there, done that.

Have fun, Jim

PS: We've got to get Jackson a Poncho Posse shirt.

looks like a great project. Enjoy!
I bet Mark is happy you didn't choose to build a Honda!!
Just don't get any tickets.

Mark,

That's awesome! I can tell you that when my father and I bought my 69 bird (current car) when I was 16. It keep me out of trouble...till I started street racing. LOL Only got caught once. Now I'm older, wiser, and only race at the track. It kept me busy between school, sports, and the car, I had no time to be "hanging-out". Good luck with your project!:)

Father and son........Nothing better. But, I have all daughters. They all seem to like the cars but texting and "hanging out" have seem to become the more popular choice of activities. One of them will end up doing the driving for a while and if she stays enthused then she will become full time.

That car is in great shape. Infact, a 79' Formula was my first car too, of course I am only 21 and still have the car. I originally just wanted it for a regular driver car for high school with a little beef, but then we saw our good friend who got us into pontiacs take his 77 T/A race car to the track. At that moment both my dad and I were pretty hooked. From then on it progressively developed into the car it is today, a race car. "Well maybe we need better heads", "maybe a little bit stronger cam..", "Don't tell your mom I bought you this stuff.." LoL!

Both my dad and I have put a fair amount of money into it sliding it in here in there. My dad is just as addicted as I am, but needless to say it was and still is a good way to bond. Good luck with your build!

Thanks guys,were both looking forward to turning some wrenches on it.It is a really solid car for $1200!

Jim,thats funny,and I can see it happening.Were going to pull the 350 in the garage apart and check everything,it was rebuilt a few years ago so hopefully all will be ok.It's a 1970 350 with an 068 cam,it had some grunt when it was in my Lemans.I'm sure it will make a 1/4 mile run shortly after he gets his license.

I bought a brand new 79 WS6 Formula in high school, was one of the cars that got me hooked on Pontiacs! Sweet find! Have fun with the kid, makes for life-long memories! Doing the Cutlass/442 clone with my daughter now, though my son (17) isn't yet interested enough to build one. The girl is already talking about spray though! Uh-oh!

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