68 Firebird Ongoing Projects Thread
 

I’m the one who bought the Keith K’s 68 Firebird 400 convertible. It was listed in the “For Sale” section back in March. I posted a recent photo below in case you missed it.

I was looking for a classic Pontiac that my wife would feel comfortable driving—something smaller and easier to manage than my GTO, a restored HO 4-speed car. I showed my wife the photos Keith posted, and she fell in love with it. I thought it would work well for us, and it has. The car is a great driver--reliable, rust free, highly optioned, complete, and original looking. It’s been great to see my wife jump in “her” Pontiac with her friends to go out somewhere. I like driving it too (more so that I thought I would being a GTO guy)!

In any case, I thought I’d start a thread. Although it’s in nice shape, there are many projects that I’ll be tackling myself or farming out to folks with knowledge, skills, and abilities that I lack. The car is very original with 70k miles, so my hope is that the photos I post will be helpful.

First project: Replace the cracked deluxe steering wheel.

As the photo below shows, it’s cracked all the way around the hub. This is unfortunate because the wheel is perfect otherwise, and I love how it looks and feels. My first inclination was to repair it, but I’m skeptical that a repair will last--especially given that the car will spend time in the blistering sun here (it got up to 115 today). Also, the PHS indicates that the car came with a custom wood wheel. That’s what I decided to go with.

I picked up a correct 68 wood wheel from a forum member, cleaned up the spokes, and shipped it off to our host for remolding/refinishing. See photo. Hopefully it will be back in a few weeks. I purchased the collar and horn pieces from our host. The brushed finish on the plastic collar looks funky—I’ll look for an original piece to use.

All this leads me to the following question. Why was this Deluxe wheel on the car in the first place? I recall reading that there was a problem with the wood wheels when they were first introduced and they were replaced under warranty. This could have happened to my car since it’s a fairly early build (October 67). This also leads me to wonder whether GM/dealers substituted Deluxe wheels for wood wheels or whether this was the owner’s choice? Anyone recall how this went?

I would imagine that if the original wood wheel was defective, the dealer and the owner could come to any agreement that they wanted. If the owner was ok with replacing it with a Deluxe wheel, then I would guess that the dealer could do that. Just a guess though...
Nice car. Is it Meridian Turquoise?

Thanks Greg. It's Alpine Blue...which to me looks slightly brighter than Tyrol.

Just curious. I thought it could be blue since Alpine and Meridian really can look very much alike in photos.

Steering wheel components
 

Here are the reproduction pieces I purchased. I'm wondering how well the finish on these compares to original pieces. In particular, I'm curious about the collar, since it looks so different than the horn base. Does anyone have a close up photo of original pieces?

I ll see if I can get you a couple of pics
mine was perfect until someone dropped the horn button and it cracked.
It does look like the repros are a little bit shinier

I say restore the deluxe wheel. It really isn't that bad. Seriously. Mine was busted up in the hub and was missing pieces about the size of a quarter. Had over 50 cracks in the rim. Dremel tool to notch the cracks, kitty hair for strength, then body filler and spot putty. Mine has held up in my 95 plus heat for almost a year now and there is nothing like that wheel anywhere.

I really love the Deluxe wheels...they are rare as hen's teeth in decent condition. I would be surprised if one even exists in perfect, unrestored, condition. In other words, I think you could open the box on a NOS one buried in a warehouse somewhere and it'd be cracked.

Hey Jeff,
Attached picture is of an original '68 Bird wood wheel (low mileage car from Rob Lozins' collection). The cap and collar do have a different finish.

I started looking into this when I got the PHS and realized that "custom sport wheel" was supposed to be a wood wheel... not deluxe. But ultimately, my gut just told me that wheel had been on the car its whole life... and I couldn't bring myself to take it off. Plus I feel sort of like Greg and Bill... just something about the deluxe I liked. And I'm also with Greg on the cracked hub thing - I've never seen an original that DIDN'T have a cracked hub. Not sure what was up with that...

Anyway, glad the car went to you. It seems to be in good hands :)

I think Ive already mentioned that..
passed on a few NOS ones many many years ago because they came out of the box cracked.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember another thread on Deluxe wheels and I do recall that.

I appreciate the photo, Keith. It helps. We'll certainly take good care of the old girl. By the way, I couldn't imagine having a more positive experience buying a car from a distance. Thanks!

Pillar molding
 

The trim on my car is in great shape. The only piece in need of repair is the driver's side pillar molding. As the attached photo shows, it's buckled towards the bottom. It's misshapen slightly near the top as well.

Am wondering what's involved in removing the piece?

Anyone have a nice used one available? I'd like to have one on hand before I start this project.

I see that they're reproduced. Does anyone have any feedback as to how well they fit and look?

I want to try this kind of repair on my 68 Deluxe steering wheel. Where can I get the procedure for removing the wheel (so I don't ruin it in the process)?

I used Jim Richardson's automotive restoration book. Basicaly create a V-notch at each and every crack. I then applied the kitty hair all around the spaces. Sanded it then went with Body filler, sanding and them glazing putty and sanding. Primer then sanding, then color coat.

I did the body work on my car and it was wierd having to go in the circular patterns of the wheel. It has been holding up pretty well for the year in notheing less than 80-90 degree heat. Winter is a week in the 50's, so I don't know how it will hold up in the cold.

I have repro's on mine and they look and fit fine.

Swapping them out however is a small project. Gotta remove the rear view mirror, sun visor brackets and the chrome header moldings (hardest part to do). Remove pillar rubber strip to access the screws underneath holding the the pillar molding and remove it.

If it is the original part, it is also sealed underneath with dum-dum putty to the windshield frame so you will have to really pry on it to free it. I used a heat gun to soften the old putty while removing. I still ended up ruining/bending the original pieces trying to remove them (stuck on pretty good, needed replacement anyhow).

I haven't removed this particular wheel before, but I'm assuming it's similar to others: Pry the horn cap off, remove the nut and washer, use a puller to remove the wheel.

Thanks! You confirmed my intuition that the piece would likely become more misshapen upon removal (and thus reduce the likelihood that I'd be able to straighten it out). This is why I thought it would be a good idea to have a replacement piece on hand.

Am I correct to assume that the reproduction pieces are chrome rather than stainless? I'm concerned about a difference in finish as compared to the original piece since I only have to replace one side. Is there a dramatic difference?

just pull on the center cap,loosen the nut that holds wheel on by several turns,install steering wheel puller,pull until its up against the nut,unscrew nut,remove wheel

The repros are polished stainless like original. If your original on the other side is heavily scratched/dull you can use stainless polish on them and get them mirror-like again.

I have used Meguiars metal polish by hand with great results.