[vidguy]

The Formula in VA was not the right car for me. So I'm glad I invested the money and the trip to go see it. I firmly beleive in seeing a car before buying....
But check this thing out...
wadda ya think?
I like the GREEN....
The wheels are a little too Blingy for me, but they can go:
Just Rebuilt 350...
would it be of any value on the resale? Id want to drop a 400 in there....
Auto
Standard Gauges
New GREEN paint
Looking at $7000.00
opinions please!!
How difficult is the task of putting in Ralley Gauges in a 2nd Generation Bird?

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[Squidward]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">So How difficult is the task of putting in Ralley Gauges in a 2nd Generation Bird?
New harness? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not bad. Did it with my 73. You just need the gauge cluster and PCB, and with the help of a schematic you can rearrange the wiring pins in the gauge plug. That is oversimplified, but in a nutshell it's do-able.

You'd need a rally gauge A/C dash bezel - plenty of T/A ones out there, but tough to find a wood grain one.

I like the green. A 400 wouldn't hurt value at all. The wheels - ick. Car appears to be nice & clean.

[vidguy]

So How difficult is the task of putting in Ralley Gauges in a 2nd Generation Bird?
New harness?
But how hard is it to get the stuff in and out. I have done dash and gauge R/R in my 67 GTO.. But this looks totally different..

[vidguy]

Will do! If any of these sound like something anyone is interested in, Let me know, I'll hook you up if I can.

[eaglesan13]

Hey VIDGUY, I'm near Sacramento and know of a car in your area you might be interested in. Email me direct at [email protected]

[71Firebird]

Yeah Ya gotta go see it!!

[The Boss]

If you come across a 70 Bird with a rust free body and a bright blue deluxe interior would you let me know?

Thanks!

[vidguy]

The cars I'm seeing when I go out looking...

I went and looked at 3 Firebirds this weekend.

Car 1)
Advertised as 74 Formula Good runner. $7000.00 Car plus 2 455's, 2 posi's, extra th-400 tranny.

Gold. White Vinyl Top. Looked all original except upgraded sway bars, air shocks.
Dented front right fender. Gauges were all dead, Loose steering column. Ignition switch was loose, Auto shifter sloppy.. etc,,Seats and carpets nice. No headliner. A good sized scrape in the right rear behind the wheel well. Had extra fender.
No Rust.
Guy had a Packed Garage FULL of crap with a narrow walkway to the car parts. I look the car over and its an average car at best. So I ask if I can drive it. "it's non-op" "I cant take it out". "But I have never had any trouble with it".. I tell him, "If I can't drive it, I'm not interested at that price..."
I got the guy to start it for me and as I pulled it out to drive it, it died in the street then never started up again.. No click... I felt kinda bad.. and went ahead and pushed it as he tied it up to his wifes car and finally got the thing up on the lawn. He completely tore up his lawn while I pushed it back up.. It was sad...
My wife in the Van watched the whole thing and told me I was way too helpful..His wife was gonna be pi$$ed when she sees the lawn..
I was waiting for the tow strap to snap and see his car launch into the front room of his house.......Man these cars are heavy!!!!

By the time I left he was cursing the thing, asking what I wanted to give him for all his crap..$3000.00?? $2000.00??
I told him I might call him back.. I'll let him stew for a few days..
I'm thinking of getting his 455's anyhow!!

Car 2)
Totally original good running 1973 Formula 350 2 bbl Auto. Asking $6500.00
Car looked untouched. It had the "snowflake" rims with trim rings. White Vinyl Top starting to peel off at a corner..
Original 350, Non Posi, Just Rebuilt Auto tranny(looked it) . Idled rough but ran good on the road.. no noises. I could see a missing vacumn hose..Heater core looked bypassed. (hoses were cut)
Faded Orange, no dents or rust. Wide pinstripes along the sides kinda like a Judge.
8 track, non functional Air Compressor.
Non Ram Air Hood.
Dirty but complete interior. All gauges worked Dash was perfect. Dash AC vents were kinda messed up. 8 track kinda worked. Steered nicely, drove nicely.
Original Owner (Or he says he is)

Car 3)
1970 Firbird $6900.00
Sad situation. Very nice 1970 body with no interior except floating LT1 seats and One big tach on the column. Auto with the "388 Chebby Stroker" Guy drove up with no hood.
"I left it at home, It's a lift off"
Body was near perfect in primer.
The body is worth saving..
No trim at all. Sad,,Not for me.. I watched it drive away..

The 350 Formula looked nice but.. I have a couple more nearby that I'm gonna look at this week..
The hunt goes on..

[SD73]

I've never done a gage upgrade on these cars, but removing the clusters is pretty easy with them in general. Like you say, the upgrade would probably just involve getting the appropriate wiring harnasses and converting your switches. Except for the cramped spaces, F-Bodies aren't that bad to work with.

[vidguy]

The GREEN car was not too shabby,, not too great.. Guy was pretty straight shooting. Was willing to bargain some.
Vin shows Fs87
Firebird Sports coupe? He said it was not a Formula.
He put the hood on it.
It was opened up.

Had an overspray paint job. with some areas where the paint was wrinkled in the crevices, etc,, all the rubber bumpers were sprayed over, etc..
Body looked really straight. No noticable bondo with my magnet.

Car ran really well, sounded nice, shifted tight. Suspension was pretty tight. I didnt get scratch as easuily as I could in my GTO.
Rear had the old Posi tag on it.
He said it was a 3.42 posi.

Sub Frame Bushings looked old but not gone.
Code YR block. 7H1 heads.
Headers
New exhaust looked to be put in nicely with bushings on the hangers and all.
Engine wiring was somewhat hacked up.
Dash A/C vents were busted up.
Looked like there was some cutting inside the trunk on the left side where the bolt to the floor is. but it looked good, couldnt tell.
Rustfree all over.
Had no headliner.
Sail panels inside were in good shape.
Dash had a small chunk missing from the top.
Dash bezel looked good. All electrics worked.
Standard shifter
Rebuilt (Felt tight) TH350
Door panel bottoms were crusty
Console was decent.
No Package Tray
Rear Seats were flopping around a bit but all seats were untorn.
Had AC that ran but wasnt cold.
Had an edlebock carb and intake.
Radiator looked good.
Nose already had some hairline cracks in the paint but nose was very nice.
One Grill had a minor crack.
Bumper looked good..
Spoiler looked good.
Metal trim looked decent.
Has the rally ll's also
Had a hole in the wheelwell were someone had replaced the heater hoses or core or something.

I still think I can do better. This car may not have had the pedigree of the Virginia Car (not a real Formula) but it was in overall as good shape, some things worse, some better.
Better "looking", panels were better.
A 350 instead of the 455.
Drove much better.

[vidguy]

The Formula in VA was not the right car for me. So I'm glad I invested the money and the trip to go see it. I firmly beleive in seeing a car before buying....
But check this thing out...
wadda ya think?
I like the GREEN....
The wheels are a little too Blingy for me, but they can go:
Just Rebuilt 350...
would it be of any value on the resale? Id want to drop a 400 in there....
Auto
Standard Gauges
New GREEN paint
Looking at $7000.00
opinions please!!
How difficult is the task of putting in Ralley Gauges in a 2nd Generation Bird?

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[SD73]

That seems like a pretty fair deal. Especially, if it's half as clean and nice as the pictures make it out to be. I agree with you about the rims. Is this a real formula? The engine swap would be a nice boost.

[FLYNLOW]

So what was wrong with the last Bird? Curious. And man, this thing is GREEN.

[trim]

Is it me or does it seem like the body line (crease) in the fender and door is too sharp... Maybe it is just the picture, but it looks too boxed off to me. I think mine looks more rounded than that. I would check for excessive bondo on that.

[vidguy]

OK, Im going out tomorrow as a representative of the SPCP (Society for the Prevention of Creulty to Pontiacs)
A guy near here has a 74 Firebird with a "Stroker Full Roller 388" chebby in it....
We might have to rescue this one fellas...

[vidguy]

Will do trim. Thanks for the note!

[vidguy]

I asked the Lady (yes it was a lady) if she had the VIN number.
She said "I think can get the number for the VIN in the phone book and call them on Monday if you are going to buy it."
She also said she had an "MFD or something".. that "made it go faster" under the hood...
I didnt ask anymore "technical" questions....
Might be worth the hour just drive to chat with the gal!!

[Silver Judge]

That green bird looks bad ass....let us know.
The rim style, imo, is great, it's the finish that doesn't match. What about a light grey powdercoat ??

[vidguy]

Thanks for the gauges advice guys

The GREEN is kinda scary / kinda Bad Ass... I'll have to see it.. The wheels are a statement.. Again I'll have to see them,

Flynlow-
Maybe eyou can go out and see this thing with me..
The car in VA, The engine did run very well. And it is RUST FREE with a good body.. The nose was kinda dinged and mushroomed on one rear edge, that was kinda a bummer..The paint was very badly done.. A real Earl Shieb job. But I wasn't worried about that much. Overall I just thought I could do better for the money.
There were lots of little things that were broken or in weak shape as well as the suspension being a lot worse off then I had hoped.. The car clunked a bit when shifting.. and when I stomped it on the freeway the whole car kinda lifted and twisted in the front.. I never felt that before..

If I coulda gotten it for $7000.00 I probobly would have done it. But I was looking at $8000.00 by the time it was home.. The fella wasnt budging on price.. He was a very nice guy, It was more of a project then I was hoping for..