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Got another project. 91 Formula 305 TPI auto that I will make into a Firehawk tribute car, my rendition of the Firehawk if it had been built in, say, 2013-ish. Firehawks were supposed to be mandatory red, and I am thinking of painting the car "Infrared" from the 2019 Lexus, but it is a pretty expensive paint and I am really not a fan of red cars. Alternatively I am thinking of using the red that is on the newer Mazda cars. Outside of those two choices I am thinking one of the other 92 only colors, but I can't decide on the blue or green. Paint will be later anyway, I want to build the car first so the fab work is all done then take it back apart, do all the body work, and paint it, then put it back together. So I have time to decide.
The plan for now is a 5.3 L33, T56, 3rd gen D44 rear axle. I already have the L33 sitting around, going to put a cam in with some ported heads, link bar style lifters. Will also get a Holley HP. I also have the Stainless Works headers, but I don't have an exhaust to put on it. I am liking the Hooker Blackheart dual setup, but from the negative support for dual exhaust here and from my Holley dealer, I am not sure whether I should use it. All the Y pipes for long tubes have left me less than impressed, and I like that the Hooker dual setup should be easy to adapt to my SW headers without too much effort.
I know I don't need to, but I also plan on running a full dry sump on this car as I will actually be taking it on the road course. I also want to use the turn signal area for a brake duct, not sure what to do to accomplish that right now. Might be easier to incorporate a scoop in the lower air damn instead.
The car will get big brakes and those Forgeline version of the R15 wheel, I have some second production run R15's I will put on the car right now. I like the DSE catalog, so I will put the DSE front package on, but I am not sure what to do for the rear suspension. I am not sold on the Quadralink, and I don't really want to cut up a 3rd gen D44 to do it.
Also have some minor details to change. Since this car will not see much road duty, nor in cold weather I will swap out the rear hatch for a non-defrost and one of the fiberglass replacement spoilers. Interior will also get changed for black instead of tan.
All these things listed will be the first stage of the cars transformation. I actually have greater plans for the car that will be more in the spirit of Firehawk, but I have a lot of parts lying around that will get the car on the road until I can buy all the expensive parts.
Which green is it right now? I used to consider the green Firebirds to be kind of unusual, but lately it seems like there are a lot of them around. Good start for a project.
Which green is it right now? I used to consider the green Firebirds to be kind of unusual, but lately it seems like there are a lot of them around. Good start for a project.
I thought there was only one green for 91? I forgot to look for the SPID, but I think it is there. I could get the code off it, it's not at my house right now though
My friends call me Bear or PolarBear and I want to put my personal touch on the car. I had someone make vector images of the Firehawk logo with and without the Firehawk script, but he also made a custom one. I plan on having this made without the script and I will put that on the tail light filler panel over the Pontiac bird. I may or may not get the actual Firehawk "bird" put in the jewels for the wheels, but it may be this one
Here is the "real" Firehawk logo without the script
I'm liking this project! I have had 2 green cars both 69 rs z28 Camaro I dark Fathom green and 400 firebird in light green metallic so let me ask, why not green?
Great car and cool project. I have a plan to do it too, but first I have to finnish my blue v6 Firebird and 89 Formula which I will completely restore. Then I will try to find formula for make a Firehawk clone, probbably red or green, but we'll see. Subrscribed!
Which green is it right now? I used to consider the green Firebirds to be kind of unusual, but lately it seems like there are a lot of them around. Good start for a project.
I thought the same when I bought mine Drew. It looked black in pictures of for sale ad and when I got there in person it was green so I jumped on it. Had seen many at the time but now they are coming out the woodwork lol
I like the green, but I think it's kind of bland on it's own. I have a 91 GTA that I am planning on rebuilding. it's white, but I am thinking of painting that a different color too. The green is one of the colors on the table for that car, I LOVE the green and gold contrast. That car will get the Hawks 17" Crosslace wheels, or maybe the 18" G Body Parts crosslace if they come out with the F-body offsets. With the gold wheels and green I think it looks really good.
For this car I want a color that will stand out from all the other cars.
I'm sure you know how much extra work it is to do a color change, even to keep the same color involves ridiculous amounts of prep. What if you kept the same color and add flake to the clear?
I don't know why people are coming in to try to change my mind on not green. It's not the color I want for this car. I like green, I plan on painting my 71 Camaro Green and my 69 Suburban green, it's just not what I want for this car. I got the car for a very good price from a friend, otherwise I would have waited to get a 92 Formula in, potentially, a different color.
Doing the color change is not really going to be a big deal. I will have this car stripped to a shell when I get into it's final version, much like I did when I rebuilt my 92 Firebird. I had almost everything that could come off the car, off. I can do all the interior panels, under carriage and jambs myself. I will have a family member do the actual paint work though.
I could save you a lot of time if you wanted to come pickup the shell sitting in my garage. LOL
WTF?!? NOW you tell me
Since I don't have the money to do my entire plan all at once it doesn't really matter. I have so many projects going concurrently that I need to keep the first iteration relatively tame and quick to complete. I need to fix the 91 TA I bought to flip, I need to rebuild a BBC and swap that into my friends 85 C10 while also changing to an OD trans and put EFI on it and do his gauge swap. Then I have to take apart the 94 Dodge I bought for the Cummins engine to put INTO the Suburban, then I need to start working on putting my 69 pickup back together. Oh and figure out when to work on the Formula in there at some point, plus finish up the 73 Camaro in the garage and go to Iowa to pick up the 71 Camaro roller I bought Did I mention I work a Monday-Friday like all other peons?
Well, I'm tired of paying to store my Formula off site, and I'm at the point where I need to lift the hatch off the car and remove the doors so I can get at the jambs, and getting anyone over here to help a person lift a thirdgen hatch has been unsuccessful. I've got a hunch that this spring will come and go and I still won't have the shell in primer because I always get dragged into helping with everyone else's projects, and by the time I get back to mine, it's 110 degrees out, or there are bugs in the air, or leaf debris...
Been trying to get rid of the Mustang to open a spot in the driveway, and inject some cash into the project fund, but everybody wants something for nothing. If I let it sit for just one more year, it'll qualify for Kansas Antique plates, so maybe it's worth welding some patches into the floors and cleaning it up a bit...
Since I don't have the money to do my entire plan all at once it doesn't really matter. I have so many projects going concurrently that I need to keep the first iteration relatively tame and quick to complete. I need to fix the 91 TA I bought to flip, I need to rebuild a BBC and swap that into my friends 85 C10 while also changing to an OD trans and put EFI on it and do his gauge swap. Then I have to take apart the 94 Dodge I bought for the Cummins engine to put INTO the Suburban, then I need to start working on putting my 69 pickup back together. Oh and figure out when to work on the Formula in there at some point, plus finish up the 73 Camaro in the garage and go to Iowa to pick up the 71 Camaro roller I bought Did I mention I work a Monday-Friday like all other peons?
you NEED a vacation bud! One day i'll have to stop by your place and check out all of the projects and your parts collections too. It amazes me that you have time/energy to take on all these projects!
Yep, that's the same green as mine, and the 91 Formula parts car that donated parts that will be going on mine... Used to be I didn't see many of them around, but lately they're coming out of the woodwork.
Had the car towed home on Saturday. Tow truck driver didn't even get out of the truck when he dropped it. I was going to give him a tip but he just drove off.
I started taking the harness off the engine to use on another car, but I got stuck at the second ground on the passenger side head. The trans dipstick, AIR tube for the cat, heater hose and an engine lift bracket all come together there.
Also, the lock lug key is stripped. I needed to get the RF wheel off to get the harness off more. Wound up using a cold chisel and hammer to get that nut off. I'll have to get one of those lug removers for the rest of them. I have a nut extractor set, but the largest one was just a touch too small to get on the nut.
I got my Bear Head emblem artwork back. What do people think about putting the Bearhead logo on the car like a set of GTA emblems? I would have a shield on the front of the car kinda similar to the GTA emblem except it would be a clear dome over metallic gold Hawk and a gold perimeter. It would be clear so that I wouldn't need to have to match printing of the paint color. I would lay it on top of the paint and the color would show through. I am also thinking about putting on a pair of sail panel birds too.
I actually really like the green and would keep it personally. I wish I would have waited to purchase my wheels, had I known that Hawks was going to come out with an 18" wheel... Looks like you have an awesome start. I'm digging your plans and look forward to seeing it progress.
Picked up some more parts for the car. I got a Racetronix pump for the 99-02 F-body since I will be putting the plastic tank in the car. I was also able to get sstubes.com to make me a 1/2" fuel line in stainless, not that I need it right now, but I may wind up in a situation where I need more fuel than a single pump can provide, and while I know a 3/8 tube CAN be made to flow enough fuel for my future needs, I figured why not since they can make it pre-bent for me. I figure I will use the stainless 3/8 line for a return and I'll mount the regulator so it can be vacuum referenced
Got DSE SFC's since I had a 10% coupon from Summit and I was ordering other parts.
Got the lock lug nuts off the other wheels. This whole insane lockdown of completely healthy people has left me still waiting for the stripped nut removers to ship. I wound up finding another old key for the lock nuts and hammered that onto the nuts.
I also mounted up a nicer spoiler since the one that came on the car was junk. The one tip is broken off though so I need to get some epoxy and bond it back on. Makes a big difference in the way the car looks sitting out there, hopefully the neighbors appreciate it too
I also ordered up my emblems. I should be seeing some proofs later this week.
Been a while since update or progress. I have been buying parts for the car here and there. I really need the car to run and drive so I keep telling myself to just get the LQ9 in it and be done with it, but I keep walking past parts and thinking I should put them on. Interior swap is a no brainer since the seats are crap in the car and the headliner is falling so I'll put the black interior in. And I might as well put the DSE subframe connectors in while I have the interior out. Oh and since IROCZman15 is doing his rear gears I should put my 4.11 gears in and get that together. The interior and rear are only weekend projects, so I think I should be able get this all done in two months or less. My swap harness is almost done and my T56 is at Hanlon for rebuild. Once the trans comes back I can start the swap, well I have enough mockup parts so I can actually start whenever I have time, but I have a harness to build for garageengineer before I start on my projects
I put 4 doughnuts on it to make it easier to push. I thought this was funny looking. It was even funnier from more in front of it
Been over two years since I have owned it and first time in the garage.
you seem to be making good progress now that that Black 2nd gen is out and the green car can go in the garage. Multiple projects must be crazy to manage! Those wheel dollies look super helpful for you to move the cars around because that truck is parked for a bit. I like the Optima USCA competition number on the tailgate. The car looks too funny on all 4 doughnuts. wild!
Well, I'm not married and don't have to do married people things, but I probably won't really do anything on this car until the end of February.
One of the dollies broke with the concentrated weight of the doughnut on it. Wound up taking the dollies out of the front when that one broke. They work better when it's a wider tire on them, but they aren't really meant for this.
I put the numbers on the back of the Suburban not too long after we did that event.
Picked up my transmission from Hanlon. I didn't go crazy with upgrades since I would be close to the price of a new Magnum F and I may as well just go that route instead. I got the steel 3-4 fork and a couple other things. Should be fine for the power I will be putting down initially.
I got my Ronal spacers put back into the R15s like they came from Ronal. I didn't have the aluminum tape like they used, but I had some copper, so I used that instead. I run the spacer on the rear to move the wheels out a little so the fronts line up with the rears since the the hat from the front rotors act like a spacer and they sit out a lot more.
Put an 87(?) steering wheel in it since the airbag in mine was funky from sitting out in the sun so much. Pulled the console out in anticipation of the swap. It's hard to believe that a car with relatively low miles has so much sun damage in the interior. The front seats are trash, as are the visors and the console door is hard and warped.
I also removed the front license plate holder. unfortunately some jackass used loooog screws for the front plate and put extra holes in the bumper cover, so there are 6 or 8 holes in it now instead of just 4
I haven't worked on it much, just a little here and there since I still have some harnesses to do. I really want to tear into it though.
I also bought a CARTEK battery isolator for my rear mount battery. I don't like most of the battery disconnect switch options out there. This one lets me use momentary switches if I want. I am thinking about using a push setup with a long removable rod. If I use this, it won't be carrying the load of the battery, which I prefer.
I keep going back and forth on the Miller Built full float kit for the rear. Should I get it now? Should I get it later? I already bought the BBU C5/6 rear brake adapters for the 10 bolt though, I guess I could sell that and just put that money towards the float kit....
**EDIT** Ahh F- kit. I ordered the float kit. There have been many times where I waited to buy something and when I went back to buy it was not available anymore.
Now that I finally got garageengineers harness done I have been able to get back to working on my car. I got most of the modifications complete to mount the full float setup on my Dana rear. I thought I was done, then I tried to put the screws on for the other backing plate and it doesn't fit, it's slightly different than the one I was using to check clearances.
I measured for my axles for this application and Strange needs me to send in an axle(s) since they don't have application information for this rear, so my axles will be held up even longer. it's not a huge deal though, I have so much other stuff to do including installing a thick 4.1 set of gears for this go-round. I will also have to figure out what to do to make the parking brake work. The way Millerbuild designed this float setup, the parking brake lever is on top of the axle, plus it's at a very different angle than the 3/4th gen f-body. Worst case I think I just need to buy Lokar universal kit and install that. I might be able to get away with a chop and weld on the C5/6/7 cable bracket so it comes off at a different angle, or I can try my hand at fabbing some new ones. The C5/6/7 setup pulls almost parallel to the backing plate, whereas our cars pull at around 90 degrees. I think there should be enough cable pull to allow me to be able to do this with the corvette parts. Not high on the priority list, I will probably come back to that once I get my new axles and do the gear install. For right now the axle is in the way all the time and with the float setup I can install this under the car and put the wheels on with no carrier or anything else installed That will get it out of the way and hold the car up
After QwkTrip review of the PHB relocation kits I am thinking of getting the Founders kit. I want to install it, but at the same time it is more time to install
I also got my 799 heads back from F.E.D. for the L33 5.3, got my Johnsons short travel axle oiling lifters, just need a few other things to put the engine back together.
Thanks for thinking of me, but I don't have too much to update. I got the swap engine harness partly completed, old engine and trans out. and I have a huge stack(s) of parts. I was making headway, but then I went to look for my ring compressor to put the engine back together and I can't find it, so I stalled at putting the L33 back together. I looked for that MF'er for like 3 days and I couldn't find it. I know I have one, I already had this engine apart once and re-assembled it, but I wanted to put new rings in it this time.
I got the firewall cut for the clutch master, doubler plate welded in and the hole cut for the shifter. I bought a new set of the repro pedals from Hawks and since they are 4th gen pedals I am going to put in a 4th gen booster because I like the master cylinder better. I got the stainless brake line and the stainless fuel line in.
I might have completely stalled on the car. I don't know what I am going to do, I lost interest in EVERYTHING. I just got back from a 3 week "mental health" trip and I am not really doing any better. (which took me to Cali, Texas and Mississippi) I have been thinking of just giving the car away, along with my other projects and just buy a CTS V instead. @punkmaster98 said he would help me with some stuff. I think I might focus on other people's cars and see how I do in the future, I don't have to get rid of anything yet
Scooter - wish you best, we all have struggled during last year and half no one had an idea how this would be, but your not alone. Had to admit your ring compressor "misplacement" got me giggling, why? because I was assembling a 5.3 and I couldn't find mine (again) first time loaned to a friend and he never gave it back. this time I went to O'reilly's and rented one and returned it, then bought another on market place, I'll sell one when I find both again. Mines back to short block need to finish bolting together and sell it, I need to finish assembling a 383 so I can get back on my 90. I've been buying engines so many I may have a problem (6.2LS block, 2 6.2LTs a 1970 350 LT1 short block and a 69 396/375 short block) ? Ok I have a problem and engines that need assembly.
how did you cut a hole for clutch master? wonder if there's a template for that on here as I need to do that on my 90 too
I think holding off putting your car on hold is a better idea but I'm a packrat
Keep on Keepin on
Scooter - wish you best, we all have struggled during last year and half no one had an idea how this would be, but your not alone. Had to admit your ring compressor "misplacement" got me giggling, why? because I was assembling a 5.3 and I couldn't find mine (again) first time loaned to a friend and he never gave it back. this time I went to O'reilly's and rented one and returned it, then bought another on market place, I'll sell one when I find both again. Mines back to short block need to finish bolting together and sell it, I need to finish assembling a 383 so I can get back on my 90. I've been buying engines so many I may have a problem (6.2LS block, 2 6.2LTs a 1970 350 LT1 short block and a 69 396/375 short block) ? Ok I have a problem and engines that need assembly.
how did you cut a hole for clutch master? wonder if there's a template for that on here as I need to do that on my 90 too
I think holding off putting your car on hold is a better idea but I'm a packrat
Keep on Keepin on
Oh yeah, I'm a hoarder too, probably beat most people here, lol. I have 3 hoods in my bedroom right now
I also have a bunch of engines lying around including two 454's, the L33, LQ4, LQ9 a 5.9 Cummins and an LS1
Oh yeah, I'm a hoarder too, probably beat most people here, lol. I have 3 hoods in my bedroom right now
I also have a bunch of engines lying around including two 454's, the L33, LQ4, LQ9 a 5.9 Cummins and an LS1
Off the top of my mind, I got 3 Firebird spoilers, an entire interior and other parts in my room...along wit spare 2.8 gaskets I never used
1 firebird hood, a S-10 hood, an old engine oist, 4 seats downstaris...on top of other crap too lol
I don;t have lot of good parts but I hoard what i can get.....I will probably top you on the hoarder thing
then again its not hoarding..its just saving / being economical til lthe time comes when you need to use the parts, right? lol
how did you cut a hole for clutch master? wonder if there's a template for that on here as I need to do that on my 90 too
I got a cutout of a firewall from another car. I cut the section out and put it against the firewall, using the steering column holes for alignment, then use the template as a guide for the hole saw since the factory hole isn't actually round. I kinda cut one half off the egg out with the hole saw, then do the other half and then it all falls out as one piece
Originally Posted by 1989karr
Off the top of my mind, I got 3 Firebird spoilers, an entire interior and other parts in my room...along wit spare 2.8 gaskets I never used
1 firebird hood, a S-10 hood, an old engine oist, 4 seats downstaris...on top of other crap too lol
I don;t have lot of good parts but I hoard what i can get.....I will probably top you on the hoarder thing
then again its not hoarding..its just saving / being economical til lthe time comes when you need to use the parts, right? lol
He wants to get into a hoarding contest with me, lol. Bro, I have 7 projects. My WHOLE house is filled with car sh it, including the garage, my Suburban, behind the garage and the shed, I have 4 bedrooms and they ALL have car stuff in them. The only room in the house without anything car related is the bathroom
But yeah, mine is all saving stuff for each project. I plan on using ~90% of what I have lying around? Whether I actually do all them before I die is another story. Fortunately I only plan on one or two other projects and two of my current ones will be sold at some point, and one given to my nephew when he's old enough
I got a cutout of a firewall from another car. I cut the section out and put it against the firewall, using the steering column holes for alignment, then use the template as a guide for the hole saw since the factory hole isn't actually round. I kinda cut one half off the egg out with the hole saw, then do the other half and then it all falls out as one piece
He wants to get into a hoarding contest with me, lol. Bro, I have 7 projects. My WHOLE house is filled with car sh it, including the garage, my Suburban, behind the garage and the shed, I have 4 bedrooms and they ALL have car stuff in them. The only room in the house without anything car related is the bathroom
But yeah, mine is all saving stuff for each project. I plan on using ~90% of what I have lying around? Whether I actually do all them before I die is another story. Fortunately I only plan on one or two other projects and two of my current ones will be sold at some point, and one given to my nephew when he's old enough
..
Pics!! I love seeing car parts etc... interested to see how other people store theirs too.... like.... there are no storage shelves / containers designed for window regulators, dash pads, ECMs..... 3 grilles from a 1990 camry I no longer have.... its a mess no matter how much I try to sort it..... AI sometimes forget where I put stuff so I have to get another...I just orderd a S10 hood latch cause the one i had dissapeared...I found the one for the 1990 Buick Century I never owned though lol
theres a guy down the street that had to put up a fence to block his "junk yard" so nobody would get mad !
Pics!! I love seeing car parts etc... interested to see how other people store theirs too.... like.... there are no storage shelves / containers designed for window regulators, dash pads, ECMs..... 3 grilles from a 1990 camry I no longer have.... its a mess no matter how much I try to sort it..... AI sometimes forget where I put stuff so I have to get another...I just orderd a S10 hood latch cause the one i had dissapeared...I found the one for the 1990 Buick Century I never owned though lol
I find the bathroom makes excellent storage lol!
I'll take a couple pictures of my piles.
You have no idea how many times I have lost parts for a project. They are in the house SOMEWHERE and I spend hours, or days, looking for them and find 10 other parts I forgot I even had
As much of a bachelor as I am, I don't put much in my small bathroom, lol. I've never even cleaned parts in the tub
Scooter, I dont know your age but I'm getting up there and I have same cant find it issues. I'm just gonna say I built a 30x30 shop and well lets just say its full.
You have no idea how many times I have lost parts for a project. They are in the house SOMEWHERE and I spend hours, or days, looking for them and find 10 other parts I forgot I even had
As much of a bachelor as I am, I don't put much in my small bathroom, lol. I've never even cleaned parts in the tub
"cleaned parts in te tub"
I never thought of that.... PERFECT!! thanks!! lol
I starrted cleaning up yesterday actually...I had a bunch of taill ights disassembled for an old car im never gonna get going again....so I started to toss tose....
03-11-2020, 01:41 PM
IIRC there was one green Firehawk made. I'd keep it 
Did I mention I work a Monday-Friday like all other peons? 
That will get it out of the way and hold the car up
