'68 Pontiac Firebird convertible

Firebird was sold and made its way to Germany to its new owner. Bye Bye Birdie, you will be missed.

Here is the before picture of the 350 - 2BBL engine originally in my Firebird. It was tired, barely running and even a HMO wouldn't touch it. Notice the manual drum brake master cylinder. This set up would not stop a small child on a big wheel, let alone a Firebird with power. A friend offered me a free 400 and the rest is history.

Here is the after picture. 400 engine, RamAir 3 heads, Edelbrock intake and 750 carb, MSD distributor and 6A ignition box, quick ratio steering box, 1 1/4" front sway bar, 7/8" rear sway bar, complete frame off, interior completely rebuilt, frame powder coated, power front disc brakes, 4 core radiator, everything done in my garage.

Interior completely rebuilt. Seats rebuilt with Mercedes comfort foam, double dynamat, upgraded speakers and stereo that still look stock. Oh yeah, brand new convertible top. Should be ready for paint in a couple weeks.

Nicely insulated against heat and sound. Double insulated through out, front to back including behind the rear seat and around the convertible top pump.

This is how the frame looked after powder coating. A thing of pure beauty. Actually every part of the front end was powder coated, radiator support, A arms, bumper support, every bracket and fitting, wheel wells and pullys too.

Pulled the 40 year old gas tank and replaced it with a new stock replacement. Along with all the fuel lines, this bird drinks from one clean cup. Her first taste was a mix of 114 Rocket Racing gas and 93 octane. It made for a sweet drink.

The hood and fenders have been installed to align everything prior to going out for paint. Check out the chrome hood hinges.

Here is the view from the pilots seat. Notice the PONTIAC hood tach.. It took me 3 hours and a lot of measuring to cut the hole and mount it. Drilling that first hole was torture.

As you can see, the hood is not yet ready for paint. I still have to drill the holes for the 400 hood emblems. Also the doors and fenders took a beating during alignment and fitting of the doors and then the front fenders. That's okay, since it is better to scratch and scuff now than later.

That is one HUNGRY looking front end. Those open scoops look ready to devour any little Honda or Kia that gets in the way.I will be installing open hood scoops to vent more cool air to the motor while driving. I will never drive her in rainy conditions or on country back roads (Dukes of Hazard) so the open style scoops will work just fine.

Comments

dstryr on Dec 5, 2008 said:

NEED MORE PICS!! :)

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Brandon on Dec 18, 2008 said:

Beautiful car! And you did all that in your garage? Awesome!

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snakepitt1 on Dec 18, 2008 said:

I have a VERY UNDERSTANDING wife.

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Anonymous on Jan 5, 2009 said:

That looks good, change the front and put a chevy bowtie on it you got the pefect car.

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snakepitt1 on Jan 13, 2009 said:

If I put a chevy bow tie on it I would have to give a female name and take out a couple hundred HP. Anyone can build and drive a chevy, it takes a real fool to build a Pontiac.

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Anonymous on Apr 30, 2016 said:

Good answer

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Anonymous on Feb 28, 2009 said:

I am in the same situation that you were with the replacement 400 hood, with regard to the emblem placement holes. Will you share that imformation? jjmichael69@aol.com

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Anonymous on Dec 1, 2009 said:

great looking car...have a 68 ragtop too. should have kept the 350...too many 400 out there...

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snakepitt1 on Dec 16, 2009 said:

There is no replacement for displacement.

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snakepitt1 on Jan 3, 2010 said:

After much soul searching, I have decided not to sell my Firebird. It may take me another year or 2 to finish it, but I'll take my time and finish the car the right way, just like I have built it so far. Cut no corners and always go the extra mile to do real quality work.

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snakepitt1 on Aug 27, 2010 said:

Okay, It now appears that I will not be able to take this car the last mile to completion. I need to sell. It is time for someone else to finish what little remains and drive off top down into the sunset.

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Anonymous on Apr 26, 2011 said:

I used to have a 1968 Firebird 400 green in color. Sold it with 2,000 miles on it before I shipped out to Viet Nam. Sweet car fast enuff back then. Guy hit a tree a month later and totaled it. Keep up the great job. Terry

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snakepitt1 on May 2, 2011 said:

Very slow going on this restoration. First I ran out of money at the paint / body point, then life gets in the way...... I will finish this car, and I will drive it like I built it!

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nomiclas on May 16, 2011 said:

snkepitt1 i have your tilt,fm/mpx,power windows,power bucket,power trunk,power antenna,cruise all factory and all restored.i know your more of a racer but i do sell options.bill

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snakepitt1 on May 31, 2011 said:

I already have the power antenna instaled and have a trunk release set up somewhere in the garage waiting to be installed. The rest is interesting though. This car will be driven, it is not numbers matching, it is MY idea of a dream Firebird. So, little touches like power windows would be a nice addition. The seats in my car have been completely rebuilt to fit me perfectly. The rear seat and passenger seats are also rebuilt to better than the factory could ever do in 1968. This car will not be raced, that's what I have my Challenger for.

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snakepitt1 on Jun 1, 2011 said:

I have once again had to re-evaluate where I can go with this car. The money is just not there to complete it. So, I am going to sell my dream car, just short of completion. Asking price will be $17500

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Anonymous on Jun 3, 2011 said:

What's left to finish it?

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snakepitt1 on Jun 4, 2011 said:

Looks like I have a buyer already. Paint work and installing the exhaust system that is sitting in a box in my garage.

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1968 Pontiac Firebird convertible

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