[keith k]

Jeff, Congrats - that's better than how it usually goes for me the first time I turn the key after a major rebuild...

That car is very lucky to have acquired you as an owner

[Greg Reid]

Man, that car looks Meridian Turquoise...I know..It's Alpine.
Beautiful!

[Gator67]

The car came home last night. It was the first time my wife has seen the car since the front clip was removed, so she was really happy to see it all put together. She took it for a short drive and came back with a huge grin. Given how much I spent on the motor, she was afraid the car would be more of a hot rod, but it sounds and runs just like a factory stock car...just better...and that's what she wanted.

With total timing at 32 degrees, there's no sign of pinging using pump gas (91 octane), which is a relief. The vacuum advance is set-up and the vacuum retard is defeated as per the dealer technical bulletin. Cruising in stop and go traffic with A/C on and 100 degrees outside, the car ran between 190 and 200 degrees.

The change in gearing and tires is very obvious. Acceleration from a dead stop is a bit lazier with the 3.08s, but cruising is much more pleasurable.

We're going to give the car a good shakedown this weekend, and then it will go back to the shop next week for a couple days for final tweaks.

[rohrt]

sure looks nice.

You kept it a drum brake car?

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by rohrt

sure looks nice.

You kept it a drum brake car?

Thanks. We kept the drum brakes...for now. The car pulls slightly to the right when I brake. Should be able to adjust it, but if it continues to be an issue, I'll start investigating front disc swaps that will allow us to continue to run the original JC 14X6 wheels.

[Gator67]

Alternator, voltage regulator, windshield wiper switch were replaced. A loose wire on the brake switch cured the issue with the cruise control

Still have to switch out the convertible top cylinders and lines. Had an electric fan installed on the radiator to keep air blowing on the condenser--it works much better now, but will have the system emptied, cleaned and recharged again with 134 to see if we can get it even colder.

We put a spare in the trunk and went for a long drive. No problems. It just hummed along without issue. The gauges and cruise control work great! It's neat to have a highly optioned car where all the options work as intended.

Along the way we stopped and took some pictures...here are a couple.

Now it's time to turn my attention to my other projects...

[Greg Reid]

I must say, you really know how to properly photograph a car....Having a gorgeous subject helps. Looks beautiful!

[rohrt]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I must say, you really know how to properly photograph a car....Having a gorgeous subject helps. Looks beautiful!

x2 on that. Magazine quality picture to me.

[67gtojones]

Everything about it is super cool!!

You do quick work too.

[Gator67]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I surprised myself with how well the photos turned out. I saw the sun going down so I pulled off the road and took a few shots with my iPhone. It's hard to take a bad shot of this car...it looks good from every angle, and the desert landscape and the evening lighting here make it easy.

I can't believe it's been a year already since I started this thread, and 10 months since we decided to have all the "ongoing projects" done at the same time. Once we settled on a plan, it moved along quickly because we stuck to it for the most part, and more so, because we farmed out most of the work to someone I have a good working relationship with. I just do the research, buy the parts, tell him what I want done, and wrench when I have time. Staying involved like this is not only intrinsically satisfying to me, but it keeps costs down, and it helps to move things along at a steady pace.

[cscottfergus]

Originally Posted by Gator67

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.

First project: Replace the cracked deluxe steering wheel.

Also, the PHS indicates that the car came with a custom wood wheel. That’s what I decided to go with.

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?

Interesting question that I have always wondered about, my 1967 Pontiac firebird with deluxe wheel has a wheel like the black one in your picture with a bird in the center. People have suggested it is incorrect being a 67 I am not so sure.

[Gator67]

The 68 is now officially on my "finished" list. Everything functions as it should and we're completely satisfied with the way it looks and performs. It feels good. On to my 70s

[Gator67]

Spoke too soon about the car being finished.

Was driving the family back from a car show on the other side of town on Saturday night. Cruising along with the top down, "Good Times Roll" by the Cars playing on the radio, kids chilling in the back seat. Wife tells me that she loves the car and thanks me for seeing it through...2 seconds later..click click click click click click.. Immediately suspected a bad lifter...confirmed it the following morning. Thankfully nothing came apart. New lifters on the way from Comp...

While the car's out of service, I plan to replace the radiator with a direct fit aluminum unit (painted black). The car ran cool with A/C off, even in traffic--190 or so. But with the A/C on, it heated up more than I feel is ideal, especially at long lights. Cycling the A/C on and off in traffic is not a workable solution here in Arizona. The car simply won't cool down quickly enough between lights. We''ll see if an aluminum radiator give us a greater margin of safety.

Good reminder that these cars are never finished.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Gator67

Spoke too soon about the car being finished.

Good reminder that these cars are never finished.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Exactly what I was thinking.

The Firebird is running again (notice I didn't say finished this time!).

The replacement roller lifters are not only a lot more quite, but the car seems like it has more power now. I guess a couple squishy lifters can make a big difference performance wise. I would have never known had the one lifter not completely collapsed.

The aluminum radiator seems to have lowered average water temps by about 20 degrees. I took it on a cruise on the freeway, and then in stop and go traffic, and it never got above the quarter mark on the temp gauge. I let it idle for about 5 minutes afterwards and the water temp never got above 185. With the AC on it almost got to the 210 mark on the gauge in stop and go traffic. It cooled down very quickly once I got moving again. Pretty good considering it was 105 outside today. It's painted black and looks factory enough for me. I'm very pleased.

[67gtojones]

Man, you do quick work! Nice to see you got it back up, and running.

[frankyboy455]

which radiator (brand, model) did you install and how much did it cost ? Frank.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by frankyboy455

which radiator (brand, model) did you install and how much did it cost ? Frank.

It's made by Northern and I believe I paid around $300. I'm traveling and don't have access to the paperwork or box, but I can post the model number and other specifics when I get home next Wednesday if you want me to.

I was a bit skeptical that an aluminum radiator would make much of a difference, but at that price point I figured it was worth a shot, especially since I was pretty sure there were no underlying issues with the cooling system (again, it ran cool enough without A/C turned on). The car didn't overheat with the A/C on, and I'm confident things would have been fine had I left the original radiator, but now I don't have to worry about it at all...important since it's my wife's car and I'm sure she's not a vigilant gauge watcher like me.

[Gator67]

Been driving the Firebird exclusively over the last few days--back and forth to work errands, shopping, date night--and everything is good.

Here's a photo of the radiator installed and another of the box with the model number.

[Gator67]

don't know why this happens...I'll try again