My old firebird project

[jessopher]

So I sold off a couple of things (and will probably be selling more) and acquired this old project car to work on. It is a 1976 firebird formula 400 w50 that has had an interesting and hard life so far. The original 400 was blown up due to over revving while trying to evade capture by the police. The owner then decided to throw a 1971 455 pontiac engine in its place. The car also has the 4spd manual transmission, so it is actually quite a rare second gen f-body. Like most of these old cars,though, it does need a lot of work which usually equals a lot of cash. If anyone on here knows of any good old school mechanics (especially those familiar with pontiacs) who can do some decent knowledgeable work on the cheap I would certainly like to talk to them. The first thing I need to get done is to get the electrical system on it squared away. I currently build guns for a living but have a background and degree in autobody collision repair so I can handle the body and paint work myself along with minor mechanical stuff. Pics time

 

[Old_Demon]

I'm an old Pontiac guy. What type of work to be done are you looking for?

 

[jessopher]

Like I said right now I need to get the electrics worked out, the headlights and windshield wipers aren't currently working. Some of the wiring has been botched together and on top of that I am pretty certain there are some shorts. It currently has a performer intake and edlebrock 600cfm carb with no choke hooked up so later I will be changing the carb out for something a little better with an electric choke. When I do get around to getting the engine built I will just do a couple mods like good pistons, forged rods, and a little work on the #66 d port heads that are currently on it. I did get some extra parts with the car like an old 4x and 6x head, some old 455 headers and about a '73 455 intake manifold and the 1976 800cfm q-jet.

 

[Saint Peter]

Good looking car has lots of potential for the wiring save yourself some aggravation and install a new one whether its a stock or upgraded one it will make life alot easier if you do painless wiring or ron francis there are others but thats the ones I use

 

[340six]

Good looking car has lots of potential for the wiring save yourself some aggravation and install a new one whether its a stock or upgraded one it will make life alot easier if you do painless wiring or ron francis there are others but thats the ones I use

That's what I do with botched wires install a whole new harness or sub harness.
I ended up doing an engine harness with lights, along with the rear one{lights ect}
And then had to many gremlins so had to do the main one as well.
Just be lad ya dealing with a GM product where things are cheaper! I had to go to Year One who has a deal with M&H {and is the only one that makes Mopar ones}
{IE} Everyone that gets them has to pay Year One and resells them.

 

[SpeedRacer]

If you can do electrical work yourself, it's probably cheaper to replace the entire harness. If you're paying someone to do electrical work, it's DEFINITELY cheaper to replace the harness. Them gremlins add up when you're paying someone by the hour.

And nice ride.

 

[Old_Demon]

As mentioned above, replace the harness. Get a shop manual that shows the electrical hookups, I may have a Motors or Chiltons that will show it - I'll have to check. If you get it from Year One wait for one of their 30% off specials. That's what I did for my Demon and I saved a chunk. Plus the harnesses were perfect.

And you definitely need more carb for that 455, at least 750. Have the heads had any work? Do you know the compression ratio?

 

[jessopher]

I believe the heads are still stock on it but wouldn't be able to have them checked until pulling the motor apart. If they are the stock #66 heads then they will be 114cc low compression heads, and you are certainly right about the carb. I've been looking at several and am really liking the look of the new street demon 750 that is out. Seems like it would be perfect for my mild street application.

 

[ColbyLang]

Love the old Birds. My dad has a '73 Formula 455 with working ram air. Thing is a beast off the line. His car is 100% original, even has a working 8 track player

Good luck on your project. Insure that puppy through Hagerty, you'll pay less than $400 a year for full coverage.

 

[Expert684]

Love it, I had a 76 Formula, 76 Trans Am and two 78 Trans Ams. I'd put the WS6 suspension and wheels. They make the WS6 replica rims, in I think 17". I have always wanted to go back and build a bird. Good luck!!!

 

[Old_Demon]

With a stock 455 and the #66 heads you've got about 8:1 compression right now. I'm not familiar with the other heads you mentioned (4x and 6x), but I would put some heads on it with about 85 - 90 cc's that would get you to 9.5:1 compression ratio. Some #64 heads would be perfect for that if you could find some. I would seriously consider some Edelbrock's if your budget can handle it. Out of the box they probably flow better than most of the stock heads. And depending on the cam you choose you may be able to go a little higher on compression.

 

[jessopher]

Yes the edlebrock heads are quite nice but then the issue comes into play of not only cost (which that does get very pricey) but also the characteristics of how I want the engine to run. The pontiac 455 was designed to make useable hp and very decent low end torque with low compression while using low octane unleaded fuel. By bumping up the compression you have to change the other aspects of the engine like cam lift. I know the engine could be built into a 600hp monster but I'm gonna try to keep it more practical than that lol. I figure a little work on the current heads like a 3 angle valve porting to increase flow and a slight nudge in compression should be plenty for my purposes. Basically make it perform the way a decent 455 ho would.

 

[fleurdelisxliv]

Nice car man

HIT EM WIT DAT FLEX

 

[Old_Demon]

They will run really nicely at a lower compression, just make sure you match the different components - heads, cam, gear, etc.

And make sure whoever does the valve job doesn't do a Chevy 3 angle job - it doesn't work. Specify the angles you want and make sure they can and will meet your specs. Ask me how I know! If you need the correct angles PM me.

 

[MyBabyDaddy]

It is a 1976 firebird formula 400 w50 that has had an interesting and hard life so far. The original 400 was blown up due to over revving while trying to evade capture by the police.

The dude wasn't running blocker for a truck hauling bootleg Coors across the south , was he?

I might know him.

 

[Creoleman]

Great-looking car! I'd never seen a '76 with a four-speed before.And to Expert684, are the WS6 wheels the old "honeycomb" ones? I used to like those(must be a b*tch to clean, though).

 

[DAVE_M]

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/interi...duction-wiring-harness-1976-pontiac-firebird/

There are a ton of repro wiring harnesses out there. There are a ton of car guys in Covington involved in the NSRA and NHRA. The trouble is finding one of them that fools around with Pontiacs lol