[Trev]

I posted in the Lobby as well, as I need a quick response. I need an overall idea of what nasties to look for when shopping for a 69 Firebird. A friend wants me to check one out with him tomorrow. I am familiar with Second Gen. Cars, but what are the major pitfalls of the earlier cars. Thanks.

[Trev]

I posted in the Lobby as well, as I need a quick response. I need an overall idea of what nasties to look for when shopping for a 69 Firebird. A friend wants me to check one out with him tomorrow. I am familiar with Second Gen. Cars, but what are the major pitfalls of the earlier cars. Thanks.

[68CONV400]

Look for rust holes between the floor pan and the front subframe;in the lower/rear part of the fenders;in the lower/rear part of the quarter panels;under the bottom of the back seat where the floor pan mates with the rear fenderwells.

Look for a hack and splice wiring job.

Look for speaker holes cut into the door panels or kick panels.

Charlie

[jcruz]

The dash bezel -- the radio was a single-year fit and no 3rd party stereo fits the opening so you see many hacked apart.

Look for: an in-dash tach and stack gauges -- on a recent e-bay auction they went for $2,500.

A true 400 had extra stuff -- special bumper fillers, a cooling pan under the valance panel, etc. Others here can provide more specifics.

I also suggest checking the front wheel wells. The passenger side where the battery tray sits is notoriously rusted. If the one you look at is in good shape the car as probably been taken care of.

John

1969 Firebird resto...doing my part to keep PY profitable....

[hpbongers]

Rear shock tower rust. These are somtimes well covered but show if they look swollen. Rear spring mounts/frame rails. Plates cheaply replaced but rails are harder. All parts present on car. Even if not much good, if there, it's easier to rebuild. Body panels that have already been replaced. Look inside trunk trunck behind qtr pannels.Floors that old are in good shape if only show sign of holes. Holes in front dash below windshield. Commonly rust out. Costly repair. Mine was perfect. Expect to eventually replace all chrome and rubber. Also carpets and seat covers.

[mmm]

Rust where water crept under the windshield bottom and rusted out the frontmost part of the dash. Look at the back corners, well, all along for that matter, the bottom edge of the back window glass. When that rusts through, the water then leaks down and rots the quarters from the inside out. At least that is what happened to mine! $$$ to fix! Take a trip to the southwest USA for a rust free car. See the grand Canyon, have a taco, save money on ibuprophen.
Thanks, Mike

I'm right at home in a filthy garage

[steveK]

You have to remember that there was a term used on these first gen cars called "Built in product obsolescense". This equates to a car being engineered to start rusting within 4-5 years of use. This would make the owner need to purchase another vehicle. Most of the drain holes were too small in the doors and fenders to drain away water adequatly and became clogged early on. This greatly attributed to the cars demise. Basically, the cars rusted differently depending upon the area it was used. I found cars rusting on the panel directly behind the rear window were mostly from Florida by the beach whereas rusted rear quarters and fenders were from the northerly states. Convertibles usually have the floors shot and the trunk gone due to roof leakage. So the place to look for rust is everywhere. My feeling is to keep away from the ones with vital rust problems such as the rear frame, front frame, and rocker panels.
These are very costly to repair and the car may never drive the same.