You're right about that.
I mounted my worn out Pirelli'* on the front wheels.....still 25% tread left and just bought a set of 275/50 BFG drag radials for the rear. They get mounted on Monday. :P

The tires that came with the car were completely bald.

I am going to rebuild it myself. Just picked up the new Hooker headers and full gasket kit for the engine. I have all the spare parts I need from my other Firebird from when I rebuilt it. It'* a real easy engine to work on.

A rebuilt crate engine is about $1500. Doing it myself will cost about half that at most.
A heck of a lot cheaper than rebuilding a Bonne trani. :?

1500 might get you everything from the heads up on a bonnie.

A bit more progress.









The Rare Rear Disc Brakes.



Scored a few more goodies at the local scrap yard today.
Original space saver tire. Original trunk mat. New door pull arm rests. Window trim set. Lots of misc fasteners. All for $30.

Those pics remind me of a country song.... "Lifestyles of the Not-So-Rich and Famous," or something like that.... Lookin' good!

whats with the baby blue in the engine?


Lets see some more shots of that monster V8!

That'* the original GM engine corporate blue for that era.

The engine in my Formula is the same colour.

Surprised you can see the colour with all the grease and dirt.

More shots to come, as I tear it apart, clean it up and build it back as good as new if not better.

By the way, I didn't mean this as an insult..... there was a line in the song about a "Fairlane up on blocks," and your Firebird on blocks made me think of the tune. I didn't mean to insinuate that you're a bum or anything like that. Sorry for any confusion

No problem Ben. I didn't take it that way.

When I come in from working on the old Bird, I walk by my Bonne other Bird and it makes me feel better again knowing that soon the old gal will be pounding the tarmac again in all its original glory.

......still having a hard time getting my son interested in my hobby. The computer games are a hard habit to kick. :?
Maybe it'* just too soon for him. He only just turned 14. :(

Who said Firebirds are compact cars........

With the rad out of the way, I can stand inside the engine bay to work on the engine.

There is plenty of room between the front control arms too because the Oldsmobile 6.6 Liter engine is actually just a small block 350 (they actually call it a Low Block) because it has the same stroke, as the 350 but it is overbored to 403 c.i.

Bore and stroke comparison:
1969 350 - (10.5:1 compression) - 3.88 x 3.75 - 330 hp & 380 ft-lbs
1979 350 - (8.5:1) - 4.0 x 3.48 - 160 hp & 260 ft-lbs
1979 400 (big block Pontiac) (8.1:1) - 4.12 x 3.75 - 220 hp & 320 ft-lbs
1979 403 - (8.0:1) - 4.35 x 3.4 - 185 hp & 320 ft-lbs - don't worry, mine will be making a bit more than that

1971 455 HO - (8.1:1) - 4.15 x 4.21 - 335 hp & 480 ft-lbs uncorking this engine will produce gobs more power - easy 500 hp

As you can imagine, with such a big bore in the 403, it does not like to rev. Too much reciprocating mass. It generally revs about 500 rpm lower than an equivalent 350.
But it make waaaay more torque.
....and torque is ....as we L67 owners know......is KING.

Just got the 275 BFG Drag Radials mounted today.
Wow the rubber is as sticky as slicks.
I can hardly wait to try them out.