"The 14 Car" Performance therapy project

Thanks Rick! I read a lot of the engine stuff Grumpy covers to learn more. I've spent a lot of time working in a machine shop the past few years and found that the more I learn about engines I realize how much more there is I don't know. Went through a whole discussion there today figuring out what's needed on a Saturn V6 head job a family member called me about. Learned the engine's a 3.0 DOHC made by...... OPEL!

The early 2nd gen Trans Ams had cool looking front air dam fender flares from the factory. Most got smashed eventually on tall curbs, steep driveways and other road hazards so they usually need some repair and both of my front wheel flares were cracked in the usual locations. They were cracked when I got them 20+ years ago and I used some type of epoxy to "fix" them as well as I could with what was available to me at the time. They lasted probably 10 or so years before the cracks reappeared. Now we have other methods available so here's my 21st century repair.

Sanded the flares down to plastic. Hot stapled the cracked areas. Clipped staples off and ground down the stubs below finish level. Applied adhesion promoter and then 3M hard plastic repair material and let cure 24 hours. Sand plastic repair material and prime, fill nicks, then sand/prime till ready for sealer.

















 
I love the convenience of hot staples used in SMC ,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELUXE-Hot-Stap ... 5702&rt=nc
street price on the tools about $200 staples go for 25-30 cents each
K,g!~~60_12.JPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXeacki20Qc
http://www.urethanesupply.com/Staples-1/
(corvettes use this rather than true fiber glass in many years)
but Ive had a few rare times when they failed to provide enough structural rigidity
( YEAH..I WAS PROBABLY USING THEM INCORRECTLY)
I borrowed the tool from a friend, who had one and raves about it recently, I don,t own one yet!
I've usually gone old school and grind and fill the area with screen. in the past

008X008S0280W36T.jpg

shop carefully it comes in 10ft and 100 ft long rolls and in 24"-36"-and 48" wide rolls the larger rolls cost nearly $200 the smaller 24" and 10 ft long rolls are far more reasonably priced and its also good for shrapnel screens in lifter gallerys
Jackson Wire11061715 Redi-Roll Hardware Cloth,on EBAY 1/8" x 48" x 10' $32 a roll, easily enough to do a dozen engines, shrapnel screens ,plus a few fiber glass repairs
faceshielddf.jpg

repmask.png

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Paint-Pro ... /100195886
remaskq.png

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-Safet ... /202220499
at times when repairing fiber glass cutting a 1.5" wide strip of #8 hardware cloth screen thats an inch longer than the crack your repairing so the reinforcing screen extends 3/4" past the crack, on all sides, to allow that screen acting like re-bar in concrete, a firm anchor into the surrounding material,and epoxying it below the surrounding surface, on both sides of a crack and then covering it with chopped mat and resin can add a great deal of additional strength if you find the area repeatedly gets cracked helps a great deal, yeah, it takes a bit of belt sander or die grinder time, too lower the surface enough to allow the screen to be place and held below the surface so its properly epoxied in place below the surrounding area, and youll need a face mask, and face shield, and dust mask,and goggles, you don,t want to breath fine ground glass dust, or get it in your eyes
tools like this make grinding out fiber glass fairly fast and easy in experienced hands
5diegr.png

http://www.homedepot.com/s/4.5+grinder?NCNI-5
the fact that you place the screen embedded and epoxied on both sides , of the crack prevents it from easily flexing, and adds a great deal more strength in areas you can access to do this.
Don,t be afraid to grind out SMC or fiberglass its very easy to work with and very strong when properly worked and layered, your local professional auto body supply's will have both materials and tools and advice.
http://fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Cat ... evlar.html

http://www.fibreglast.com/category/Epox ... 7AodkGYANw
 
The grid screen works well for certain things, especially if there's room on the backside to build up. It's hard to heat up a curved piece of screen and get it to melt into the plastic below final finish level evenly. The problem with these fender flares is that the end of the center section of the front spoiler has to fit snug on the inside of the flare and the very end of the flare material is kinda thin. The hot staples also work like rebar embedded in the plastic but aren't as strong as a screen repair. I've seen funny looking spoiler/flare joints on TA's when people try to bond/glass screen behind the crack on the backside and it usually hinges enough to crack the paint eventually.

You can see how the end of the center section fits inside the flare in the pic below.

 
NOT A TA said:
Sanded the flares down to plastic. Hot stapled the cracked areas. Clipped staples off and ground down the stubs below finish level. Applied adhesion promoter and then 3M hard plastic repair material and let cure 24 hours. Sand plastic repair material and prime, fill nicks, then sand/prime till ready for sealer.

Click to expand...


Hot Staple, never heard of it but a very cool tool.. I could use one around the house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXeacki20Qc
 
Been a little while since I updated this so I'll play catch up on posting the next few days.

Once most of the wheel flares were in final primer I moved on to some of the (many) other exterior pieces that needed to be prepped for body color. Early 2nd gen TA's have a lot of small parts that get paint and is why shops want more to paint them than many other cars from the late 60's -early 70's. On top of that, the first time I painted a lot of the parts that were chrome from the factory and now they all needed to be strripped and prepped as well. The fiberglass rear panel needed some structural repairs as well.









 

That's a cool chamfering tool you have there. Looks like it came from someone in the family maybe.

 
Indycars said:

That's a cool chamfering tool you have there. Looks like it came from someone in the family maybe.
Click to expand...

I like to use the hand drill for plastics, composites, fiberglass, etc. because power tools are harder to keep at very slow speeds to prevent melting. I've got a lot of specialized bits I can use for weird stuff. In this case I wanted to chamfer the inside and outside of the emblem holes in the panel so panel bond would have a really good bite in an hour glass shaped hole.
 
grumpyvette said:
both the photographic skills and body working skills are damn impressive! congrats!
Click to expand...

Thanks Grumpy, being a "fabricate and make it work" kind of guy you're gonna like the frame mods I'll be posting pretty soon.
 
Although I seem to be adding more weight than I'm getting rid of during this project I keep looking for things to put on a diet. The AC equipped 2nd gens had a vacuum operated fresh air duct in the passengers kick panel. Since I blocked off the openings in the sheet metal behind the kick panels I cut out the plastic duct and eliminated it along with the vacuum diaphragm etc. then made an oval plastic block off panel similar to the factory one on the drivers side and attached it with plastic adhesive saving a couple lbs.

Next topic up, subframe modifications.





 
Strictly Attitude said:
I am really enjoying this coming together learning a few body tricks I didn't already know along the way too
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Glad you 're enjoying the thread John. Someone on another forum wanted to see what it looked like compared with the drivers side. So here's a pic with modified passengers panel on the right side and the drivers side factory stock AC panel on the left. Factory had the curved diffuser on the pass side so my new block off won't be seen when the panel's in the car anyway. They'll both get repainted before install.

 
Earlier in this thread I put the front of one bird on the unibody of another to get a subframe to replace mine. There are two basic subframes for 2nd gen F bodies, one pre and one post catalytic converter to accommodate the changes in the floor pans necessary for the different exhaust. I'm attempting to use a frame from the last year of the 2nd gen production run in a first year car so there were also several other changes made by the factory along the way including a switch to metric fasteners. The old thinking was that a late frame doesn't fit in an early car which it doesn't as built by the factory. However as parts for these cars slowly become more scarce others will find themselves in the position I did. Need a different subframe and none available locally (at the time) that are an exact replacement. Since upwards of 200,000 Firebirds were made every year near the end of the run (nevermind Camaros) the late frames are easier to come by and I suspect others will also want to use one to replace an early one so hopefully this will help some folks.

I'm going to show modifications I've made so I can use the late frame as well as some things I've done to make the frame "better" for my application in my opinion. I'll cover each area of the frame in a different post.

My first task was to be sure the used subframe was square and get some measurements to see if I could make this attempt. I used a couple different Tram Gauges to make sure the frame was square and take measurements comparing the original frame with the newer one so I would know what changes I would need to make. The body mounts for the rear of the frame are farther back in the early frames so next I marked where the frame needed to be drilled out using the Tram Gauge to transfer the measurements from the old frame.

This can all be done with my simple telescoping Tram Gauge and a ruler but I also had a new fancy shmancy really long one with measuring and level features a buddy let me try out. If anyone wants one of the basic ones like I have I can get ya one for $100.00 + shipping from a guy I know who makes them. They're powdercoated/stainless construction and function fine.





 
Thanks! Here's more.......

The first step is to drill out the new body mount holes with a 1 1/2" hole saw and then open them up a bit more to 1 5/8" with a carbide bit on a die grinder.



You can see in the pic below that a solid body mount won't sit flat inside the frame because of the sheet metal overlap where the frame is welded together. To fix that problem and strengthen the frame I modified some big washers to be welded in later. a small part of the frame end on one side also had to be trimmed out to allow the subframe connector to slide in later.







The next item on the agenda for this area is the subframe connector fitment. The SFC's I have are old NMW products from the early 90's and aren't nearly as nice or effective as many of the current offerings. However, I already have them and am waaay over budget so they're going back on and I'll modify things so they're as usweful as I can make them.

The SFC's have a sheet metal part that slides into the subframe as seen below. My feeling is that they could be made stiffer by adding a thick keyed washer to help stiffen them, apply even pressure over a wider surface and clamp them square to the inside of the subframe (where I put the modified washers). The subframe and connectors will be mounted to the car then the washers in the connectors will be tack welded in place. Then the connectors removed to fully weld the reinforcing washers into the connectors. The connectors will be bolted in during this build and I expect sometime later down the road I'll install more modern connectors.









Now you've probably noticed the deep keyhole in the frame that goes far enough to allow the installation of body mounts in the forward location used by the later cars. I didn't like the look of that strength wise while also thinking it would/could allow some twisting of the subframe. So I decided to add some metal to that section of the frame and kinda got carried away. I decided the whole section figuring I might as well since I had everything out to do it. Someone with a car only used on the street could just make a plate to eliminate the deep keyhole and be more than good but I'm planning on serious power later and use the car for the strip, road tracks, and hope to attempt 200 MPH at land Speed Races. So I decided overkill is better for me.



The pieces to box the frame were made with the same thickness steel as the original frame and were cut out on a band saw. Then they were drilled for plug welds in areas I knew would have good frame contact and provide strength. Once fitment was determined I removed the pieces and welded the modified washers into the frame, ground them flat, and welded the box pieces on the frame.











With the washers welded in and the frame boxed I then drilled out the new top plate where the body bushings fit. I will trim the body mount between the unibody and frame to make up for the added thickness by boxing the frame. Next topic, subframe/cowl body mounts.



 
Pretty Kool Birdman.

You have modded more than I would with my 70-1/2 T/A.

Yes the front Firebird Trans Am 1970-74-75 subframes are VERY hard to find today.

Some of the Drag Racers & Road racers in the past would weld the front F-body Subframes right to the Body cross members.
Never done it to my car.
My Suframe connectors are from Competition Engineering. Look very much like yours.
 
87vette81big said:
Pretty Kool Birdman.

You have modded more than I would with my 70-1/2 T/A.

Yes the front Firebird Trans Am 1970-74-75 subframes are VERY hard to find today.

I searched CL etc. for a while looking for an early subframe or parts car

Some of the Drag Racers & Road racers in the past would weld the front F-body Subframes right to the Body cross members.
Never done it to my car.

I've heard people did that but never saw one done.

My Suframe connectors are from Competition Engineering. Look very much like yours.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling NMW copied the Comp E design. The newer bolt/weld designs like the Global West, Hotchkis and PTFB are better than the ones I have and the ones where welding is the only way and the floor has to be channeled like the DSE connectors are even better. I'll probably go PTFB or Hotchkis sometime later. I doubt I'll want to go through all he work required for the floor channeling types once the car's fully built again.
 
The body mount brackets welded to the subframe under the cowl have gotten rusty and thin on a lot of 2nd gens over the past 35-45 years. A thick washer modified to fit in the bracket thats plug welded with a couple beads along the sides will stiffen it up. Many of the 2nd gens had no brace for the cowl mount bracket, however WS6 cars had a short brace that attaches to the frame rail and bracket adds strength and some Camaros had a bracket that went from frame rail to body mount bracket to engine crossmember. The frame I'm using was from a WS 6 car so I have the short brackets but I may try the longer Camaro brackets or make my own once the engine is in place and I can check for header clearance.

Frame on the right in the first pic below had a washer welded in previously where the bracket had rusted quite a bit. On the left is my new frame and you can see even though the frame itself has no rust the area where the original body mount was is pitted.







 
The only downfault I recall driving my TA in the past with the CCE Frame connectors was reduced ground clearance. Somtimes scraped real light bottom side up steep drivewsy inclines.
Eliminated body flex issues.
I don't true Road Race like you do. More of a Drag Racer guy.

No One Else Will Have a 1970 BIrd like Yours.
Truly Unique.
 
My sidepipes will hit way before the frame connectors. Only clearance issues I've really had on 2nd gens was with slapper bars hitting speed bumps. I took this car to the strip a bunch of times, well over 100 passes on it at Lebanon Valley, Bradenton, Silver Dollar, the old Moroso and the new PBIR. Started running 16.4 with the original 350 2V and got down to 13.9's with the 400. Will go again with the new exhaust, carb etc. and see if I can get it into the low 13's. I've had quicker cars but it's fun to take it once in a while anyway.
 
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