Rebuidling Cars

[dizzbizz]

So my dad had this completely bad ass car, 1980 Pontiac Firebird, its a V8, turbo, babe magnet. Nice blue with the gold phoenix on the hood. And right before I was legally allowed to drive he gave it to my uncle so I wouldn't kill myself. So long story short, my uncle parted the interior out and whatever else. I want to buy it off of him and build it back up. I'm not too mechanically savvy. I know the basics but not enough to do this on my own. Should I hire a mechanic to help me out or just take some auto mechanics class ad learn? I guess I'm just looking for some guidance to get this thing started. Any input would be appreciated.

[Venger]

I would download the manual and rebuild it myself. Hit all the salvage yards and see if there is anyplace that loans tools. Here in Knoxville O'Rielly's loans all kinds of tools. Make it a project you can be proud of.
Ray

[joytron]

yeah i rebuilt a 1963 356b Porsche with my dad, older cars are pretty easy to work on

[cotsi95]

find a firebird forum they will help you out a TON!


Projects like these are not really that hard they just seem daunting just remember one thing at a time and you will be fine.

[dizzbizz]

Thanks guys. Yeah older cars seem more basic, so I'm gonna get a hold of his car, get a Haynes manual, and see how it goes.

[Skoozle]

If you are going to hire a mechanic, why not just buy a new car? If you have some space to keep the car while you work on it you can do the project by yourself with the occasional help from your buddys when you need an extra set of hands. Body work and paint you want to hire a professional for, everything else is just nuts and bolts. Enjoy the build, you will end up with a car set up exactly the way you like it and you will know the car like the back of your hand.

[Synesthesia]

my dad also rebuilt a firebird when i was little. it was the most pimp car ever, cherry red and white, and i asked him when i was old enough to drive if he would give it to me and he said yes. of course, i was about 6 at the time and he ended up selling it to buy a stupid harley that he barely ever rides

it was awesome tho, im not sure what year it was but he kept it all original and that meant no seatbelts and just an AM radio, so im thinking it was somewhere between a 1950 to a 1960 (im not very car savvy so who knows)

i'd say grab a buddy or two and rebuild it yourself. my dad says it was the most rewarding thing he's ever done

[Synesthesia]

oh wait nevermind, his was a thunderbird...see! shows you how much i know about cars. all i know is it was cool

[dizzbizz]

Well I blew my current car's head gasket and now Im forced to work on this Trans Am. I talked to my uncle and he has most of the interior in storage and he says it runs. Ill post some pics and keep you guys updated on the progress.

[dingo1799]

doesnt make much sense. why would you spend a bunch of time and money putting a car back together instead of fixing the one that you know works (beside the head gasket) speaking from experience, you're FAR better off to have 2 cars if your planning on restoring/reworking one. its twice the pain in the ass to have to take something apart, fix it, and get it back together because you have to drive it to work tomorrow.

and if its a 80s model, its 30 years old, and chances are anything rubber, tires, belts, hoses, brake hoses, etc etc is gonna be dry rotted, and suspect to break at any given moment.

[dizzbizz]

[quote name='dingo1799' date='16 May 2010 - 06:15 PM' timestamp='1274058928' post='468356']
doesnt make much sense. why would you spend a bunch of time and money putting a car back together instead of fixing the one that you know works (beside the head gasket) speaking from experience, you're FAR better off to have 2 cars if your planning on restoring/reworking one. its twice the pain in the ass to have to take something apart, fix it, and get it back together because you have to drive it to work tomorrow.

and if its a 80s model, its 30 years old, and chances are anything rubber, tires, belts, hoses, brake hoses, etc etc is gonna be dry rotted, and suspect to break at any given moment.
[/quote]

I know. But the situation is a little more complicated than that. I drove to El Paso, Texas this weekend and thats when my head gasket blew. I live in Tucson, Arizona, which is 5 hours away. It would have cost me 300-400 dollars to tow it back to Tucson on top of the 2000 to fix or the 1000 for a new engine, not to mention my Honda has 239,000 miles on it, so is it really worth all this time and money? I don't think so, it had a good run. The Trans Am runs and is capable to getting me around if I put a lot of time into. So the trade off is I put a lot of time into the Trans Am and not as much money or a ton of money into the Honda without as much time. I don't have much money, but I have enough to replace all the rubber parts you mentioned, on top of new fluids, tires, ect. I also have a few days off consecutively this week and plan on crunching out most of the important stuff then.
Anyway, I also have a back up shitty car that runs and can get me around, so if I can't get the Trans Am running at the end of my days off, I'll have to use the crappy car in the mean time.

[dingo1799]

[quote name='dizzbizz' date='16 May 2010 - 11:43 PM' timestamp='1274071430' post='468375']
[quote name='dingo1799' date='16 May 2010 - 06:15 PM' timestamp='1274058928' post='468356']
doesnt make much sense. why would you spend a bunch of time and money putting a car back together instead of fixing the one that you know works (beside the head gasket) speaking from experience, you're FAR better off to have 2 cars if your planning on restoring/reworking one. its twice the pain in the ass to have to take something apart, fix it, and get it back together because you have to drive it to work tomorrow.

and if its a 80s model, its 30 years old, and chances are anything rubber, tires, belts, hoses, brake hoses, etc etc is gonna be dry rotted, and suspect to break at any given moment.
[/quote]

I know. But the situation is a little more complicated than that. I drove to El Paso, Texas this weekend and thats when my head gasket blew. I live in Tucson, Arizona, which is 5 hours away. It would have cost me 300-400 dollars to tow it back to Tucson on top of the 2000 to fix or the 1000 for a new engine, not to mention my Honda has 239,000 miles on it, so is it really worth all this time and money? I don't think so, it had a good run. The Trans Am runs and is capable to getting me around if I put a lot of time into. So the trade off is I put a lot of time into the Trans Am and not as much money or a ton of money into the Honda without as much time. I don't have much money, but I have enough to replace all the rubber parts you mentioned, on top of new fluids, tires, ect. I also have a few days off consecutively this week and plan on crunching out most of the important stuff then.
Anyway, I also have a back up shitty car that runs and can get me around, so if I can't get the Trans Am running at the end of my days off, I'll have to use the crappy car in the mean time.
[/quote]


understood. but a blown head gasket is no reason to change an engine, unless you just kept driving it with no coolant in it, and SEVERELY overheated it, warping or cracking the head.
or it was leaking coolant into the oil, coolant kills oil's lubricity and it eats all the bearings.
239k on a honda isnt bad. i've seen lots with over 300k on them.
probably be less than $500 to fix, depending on how bad the head is.
find someone with a trailer hitch on a car or truck and rent a dolly and drag it home? lol im just tryin to help out mang. i do this shit everyday.

[dizzbizz]

[quote name='dingo1799' date='16 May 2010 - 09:58 PM' timestamp='1274072323' post='468377']
[quote name='dizzbizz' date='16 May 2010 - 11:43 PM' timestamp='1274071430' post='468375']
[quote name='dingo1799' date='16 May 2010 - 06:15 PM' timestamp='1274058928' post='468356']
doesnt make much sense. why would you spend a bunch of time and money putting a car back together instead of fixing the one that you know works (beside the head gasket) speaking from experience, you're FAR better off to have 2 cars if your planning on restoring/reworking one. its twice the pain in the ass to have to take something apart, fix it, and get it back together because you have to drive it to work tomorrow.

and if its a 80s model, its 30 years old, and chances are anything rubber, tires, belts, hoses, brake hoses, etc etc is gonna be dry rotted, and suspect to break at any given moment.
[/quote]

I know. But the situation is a little more complicated than that. I drove to El Paso, Texas this weekend and thats when my head gasket blew. I live in Tucson, Arizona, which is 5 hours away. It would have cost me 300-400 dollars to tow it back to Tucson on top of the 2000 to fix or the 1000 for a new engine, not to mention my Honda has 239,000 miles on it, so is it really worth all this time and money? I don't think so, it had a good run. The Trans Am runs and is capable to getting me around if I put a lot of time into. So the trade off is I put a lot of time into the Trans Am and not as much money or a ton of money into the Honda without as much time. I don't have much money, but I have enough to replace all the rubber parts you mentioned, on top of new fluids, tires, ect. I also have a few days off consecutively this week and plan on crunching out most of the important stuff then.
Anyway, I also have a back up shitty car that runs and can get me around, so if I can't get the Trans Am running at the end of my days off, I'll have to use the crappy car in the mean time.
[/quote]


understood. but a blown head gasket is no reason to change an engine, unless you just kept driving it with no coolant in it, and SEVERELY overheated it, warping or cracking the head.
or it was leaking coolant into the oil, coolant kills oil's lubricity and it eats all the bearings.
239k on a honda isnt bad. i've seen lots with over 300k on them.
probably be less than $500 to fix, depending on how bad the head is.
find someone with a trailer hitch on a car or truck and rent a dolly and drag it home? lol im just tryin to help out mang. i do this shit everyday.
[/quote]


No I understand. The head was shot. A radiator hose broke and leaked out all the fluid. A Pepboys was close so I drove it over, but as soon as I pulled into the lot I could hear the piston knock on the cylinder. The head was warped and even if I did get it machined theres no telling how much damage is inside the cylinder and what else will pop up in the future. But yeah My parents have a truck with a tow hitch but no trailer. Its roughly 150 to rent one from Uhaul and it'll cost about 200 or 250 in gas. I did all the math before deciding to sell it in El Paso. It was a fucking mess.

[Sam]

For me rebuilding a car is a ton of fun. But if you don't really know what you are doing you will get frustrated with the project quickly and probably give up on it. It will really help to have people close by to call on for help and keep you motivated.