My sons and I started with two 78 Corvettes. After working on one we were going to install the motor, but a few months later they lost interest since we all could not drive in it together. So, I sold them and bought my childhood dream muscle car, a '67 Firebird. I made the classic mistake and bought a car online without looking at it in person. The car was really bad with rust everywhere, non-matching '76 400 motor, not running. For the last 5 years, the sheet metal, frame rails, and subframe have been replaced. The only original metal left is the dash, inner quarters, door jambs and the two interior roof supports; everything else is new. We drove to Virginia from NJ to pick up a '68 400 block, then drove to Maryland to pick up heads. Motor is now rebuilt with Howard cam, roller rockers, aluminum Edelbrock intake, Edelbrock carb, and MSD distributor. It's pushing around 375 hp. We added new rear suspension and tubular control arms and converted to Wilwood brakes on all four corners. We also replaced the steering column and added an aftermarket wood steering wheel. Then, we took the new steering wheel horn button and the original and modified both so I could still use the original horn cap. Car is currently in primer and will be painted within the next year. The interior is mismatched; will do the upholstery while the car is getting painted. We are converting the standard interior to the deluxe interior. The wheels are 18" Ridler's off a C10. I created a 69 Trans Am front spoiler drawing in CAD, had it fabricated out of aluminum, and made modifications to the air baffle so the air dam could be mounted to it. After it was finished, my boys decided to add all the stickers to the air dam that we collected at shows or from parts we have purchased for the car; you will not see this on any other car. After 5 years of work and sweat with my boys, we took her to our first cars and coffee meet this summer.
