[77 TRASHCAN]

I had a 70 parts car firebird, 350, AT, AC, manual disc. Captain obvious, all 70 up were, thankfully disc.

[kingbuzzo]

sounds great

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

My father bought the 1970 Esprit new in May of 1970 when I was 15.

Do you or your father remember whether he special ordered the car himself , or if it was already in stock on the dealers lot ?

AC with manual brakes - not seen every day.

A friend of mine is fixxer-uppering a 70 Formula that is AC ,
no Pwr Steering
no Pwr Brakes
And is a 3spd Stick
Some real oddballs out there

[srmmmm]

It was a special order through Stupka Pontiac in Sharon, PA. Delivery was delayed because of the Camaro quarter panel crack issues which interrupted production at Norwood. Finger pointing went to the UAW strike, but it was really metal stamping problems that held up the 1970 model release, thus creating the 1970 1/2 model year.

[cpu]

It's great that you've been able to keep your car in the family. I salute your long term commitment.

[srmmmm]

Some good progress has been made on the car the last few months and the upholstery shop is nearly finished with the interior. All that is left are the sail panels and passenger door hard trim. The rear glass has to be redone though as the installer set it too deep in the channel and the sail panels aren't fitting right. The glass installer sent the wrong tech out for the job. He had no experience on "vintage" cars.

Once done though, the exhaust system gets fitted up, the hood put on, shaker scoop assembled and then it's road test time.

[johnta1]

NICE!



Originally a custom interior?

[srmmmm]

Yes, it's the Esprit model car, equipped with the rally gauge package. I've restored it with 1976 TA suspension and will use a TA shaker hood.

[BDHABT]

What an awesome story.

My parents bought the `70 Esprit that I have today.

It was my moms daily from `70-`87.

350 2bbl,nothing special.

[napster]

Love the build. Curious if you are running headers or RAIII Exhaust manifolds?

Engine came out great!

[77 TRASHCAN]

Jon well done!!!

[Tempest]

Beautiful car,

I like that you kept it an Esprit, nicely done

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by napster

Love the build. Curious if you are running headers or RAIII Exhaust manifolds?

Engine came out great!

Using Hedman headers. Fit was very good, but I did have to go to a cable conversion on the column gearshift lever.

[srmmmm]

More visible progress! Hood is on but won't close. Snorkels will have to come off the air cleaner housing to clear the A/C compressor and a hood brace. No real issue since the scoop will be open all the time. Pypes exhaust system tucked up under the car nicely and the body is just about down to the correct ride height. The shop says one more month to go.

[mrennie]

Looks awesome and great gaps and finish!!!!

[SD455DJ]

Love the Coronado Gold and '73 SD455 Formula vibe! Great job!

Dennis

[GTOLiam]

Congrats on finishing your car, looks great! You'll have a blast driving that one around with your built 350. Much respect for sticking with the build until the end!

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

More visible progress! Hood is on but won't close.....

Is it a Firebird drop base air cleaner ?
Or the standard GTO / Gprix air cleaner ?

The drop base bird units have a big dimple hump at the rear to clear the distributor .
If you don't see that feature , its a GTO type.
Hood won't shut using those.

Car and interior look Great
Engine build is definitely impressive

[Shiny]

Truly beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos and an impressive 350.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Is it a Firebird drop base air cleaner ?
Or the standard GTO / Gprix air cleaner ?

The drop base bird units have a big dimple hump at the rear to clear the distributor .
If you don't see that feature , its a GTO type.
Hood won't shut using those.

Car and interior look Great
Engine build is definitely impressive

It is the correct drop base with the dimple in the back. They also found the electric choke conversion was interfering with the fit so they'll add a bump for that. It was a little surprising that the A/C compressor that came with the CVF serpentine kit was hitting. The distributer dimple though eliminated the ability to rotate the pan to clear the compressor. At least the Torker-I intake was not the culprit.