RJMcEachern

Hello,

First post, been watching for a few days now, but will try to document what I am doing with pics and a few expletives...

So I have an 85 Firebird that I bought like literally 26 years ago with a 2.5L T5 base model that has sat outside my house since then. We bought the drive train from a 72 Chevy Truck several years ago and it also sat on an engine stand and a tranny stand in my garage since then. Well I got brave an dug the old car out and began stripping it down with the intention of getting it to run with the 4 banger in it for gas mileage. In the course of this adventure I discovered the engine in the garage is a 350 (3970010) with vette heads on it??? (3973487). It was mated to a TH400, I thought I would use this as an engine/trans combo in the old bird with the intention of 325 - 350 horse in a carbureted fashion. Nothing too loud to draw the attention of the local law enforcement official but enough to run rings around the kids here who think thier new horseturd GT is the cat's meow.

So I will post some pics (having some issues with the pics, they are 2.5MB and limit is 1MB, so trying to crop them, when I figureout how to do this they will be added) of the car as we dismantle it and pull the old 4 banger and T5 out of it and get it ready for paint and some minor body work.

I am still learning so please be kind, all information is welcome that will help me get through this...

RJMcEachern
85 Firebird
LT1 350 TH400
Not sure where to go but anywhere is better than here...

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

Welcome to TGO mate. Is there a specific question here, or is this just your build thread?

blue birdy 87

Car looks good for age. Little green.

RJMcEachern

TBH, I don't know, I like the site and I guess I just want to document from a mediocre DIY perspective what I am going through, although I have numerous questions now, I prefer to do the research and learn along the way and ask specific questions along the way as challenges present themselves that are beyond my current abilities...


P.S.
Figured out the photo issue and got a couple of em added...

Yes blue birdy 87 it is a little green stil, and this after a first pass pressure wash with a 2500PSI gas powered washer....LOL

RJMcEachern

RJMcEachern

Some more photos....

Front clip removed, now to tackle the engine/trans removal

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

You're gunna fit right in here.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

The 487 heads were so-so when they were made. The '71-'72 LT-1 was de-tuned from the '70 LT-1, primarily by dropping compression but also by taming down the cam. While they will be okay with proper pistons and cam, a set of 062 or 906 Vortec heads would put out a lot more power (and have higher compression with flat top pistons, as they are only 64cc chambers).

Are you sure the car is an '86? The last year for the L4 should have been '85. It wouldn't be the first time the factory carried over an option from the previous year that was supposed to be dropped in the current model year, though.

RJMcEachern

you are correct...just did a VIN number check and it came up an 85 not an 86, my bad. Thanks for pointing that out!

Vehicle Summary

• We found 4 records for this vehicle.

• VIN: 1G2FS8727FL201495
• Year: 1985
• Make: Pontiac

• Style / Body: Coupe 2D
• Engine: 2.5L I4 TBI
• Country of Assembly: United States

• Model: Firebird

from a free online VIN checker site...

Where would be a good place to find those heads and what vehicle should I look at for those heads?

Thanks for the info, when I checked the heads they seemed ok, my goal is moderate (325-350) horsepower but if I can find some for cheap in a junk yard I will go ahead and snag em while I am there.

RJMcEachern

RJMcEachern

we got the engine and trans out...what a PITA!!!

the interior is stripped, still need to remove the dash and the headliner and speakers...

I will need to weld in new sheet metal around the shifter housing, damn rust... anyone know where to get replacement sheet metal or should I just fab my own and weld in place? I am a decent welder but certainly not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

onto the rest of the miscellaneous crap in the engine bay now...

work is stopping today, have to go move my son into his dorm room at college and then prolly go drinking (my favorite pastime)

RJMcEachern

91phoenix

iTrader: (5)

The heads he mentioned are from 96-2000 trucks with the Vortec 350.

RJMcEachern

cool thanks alot, those will just bolt right up to my older 350 block with no mods?

RJMcEachern

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I changed the title for you. I'll let you edit your post.

The Vortec heads will bolt to the block without modification, but require a specific Vortec intake manifold. Readily available from Edelbrock, Wieand, Professional Products.

RJMcEachern

thanks again bud!

I saw it changed

RJMcEachern

RJMcEachern

So it's been a few days since I last posted... I have run into what might be an issue with the car. The VIN number plate below the front glass has rusted away, when I got the window out last night (without breaking it!) the right hand side of the VIN plate popped up a little and it is completely unrecognizable. I live in Illinois and am curious if there are any ways to get this legally corrected? I plan on calling the Sec. of State office and inquiring, but any info you can provide is greatly appreciated.

I will try to post the photos we have tonight when I get home from work, we have gotten the entire car stripped of anything bolted on or glued on and have pressure washed it again with what I think are some pretty amazing results, there is some minor rust in typical spots but doesn't seem too difficult to overcome.

I sold the T5 trans to the local garbage collector, he saw it sitting in the driveway and asked about it as he has a 85 also and is in need of a trans for it. This is great as the car has now produced money for me that I can use to put back into the vehicle for other parts I need. Now to either sell the I4 or take it to the scrap yard.

I planned on working on getting the underside of the body and engine compartment undercoated and at least primered this weekend, but Isaac will be moving through our area and painting while it is raining outside is not going to work for me (I don't have a paint booth or any way to control humidity and moisture), I am hoping to get the undercoating done and at least the few spots of rust I need to repair cut out so I can start looking for replacement pieces to weld in.

If I get enough of this done I might start working on the rear end tear down and rebuild but that is a stretch, have to drink sometime this weekend also

Sorry for the long winded post, but we have gotten alot of tear down accomplished and I wanted to get an update posted.

Photos coming soon ...Photos added...

The first one here is after we got all of the interior and engine bay miscellaneous removed and is the final pressure wash before we go to assessing the rust...

The second pic is the engine bay after pressure wash, sure is a huge change from when i pulled it into the place...

The third one is the passenger side floor pan, most of it is surface rust, however MOST of it is not all of it so I am debating now on if I need to replace the whole pan or just patch, I am leaning to just patch...
RJMcEachern

RJMcEachern

so here is a pic of the rust around the manual shifter floor area. will replace with an automatic to accommodate the THM400, seems I don't have a pic of the driver side floor pan, but it is similar maybe a little less patch area..