1997 Pontiac Firebird

[TireSmoker]

I admit, I wasnt quite seeing it in the prototype pic, but the end result looks really cool! Gonna look even better once painted.

-Dave

[Fred32v]

Beautiful day for a ride into the country.
Just driving the TrackBird is it's own entertainment.

Track Bird @ Nelson Ledges

Gates were open, but I thought better of taking a lap.

Just like TRP, Nelson Ledges can be fun.

[Basement Paul]

Probably best to not catch a charge. The car looks great. Can't wait to actually do some hot laps there.

-BP

[MostMint]

I could have arranged to get you some parade laps - or even go in and find Fred and ask.

[Basement Paul]

Thanks to some 4th gen forum, we fixed the daytime running light issue which is to say the DRL control module is bypassed, at least as far as the front directionals are concerned. So that all works correctly and there will be no DRL on this car anymore.
We also changed the rear diff fluid to synthetic, which got the break in oil and crap out of it.
And last but not least the new PCV was installed.

I bought paint and supplies for the hood, and that will happen with better weather.

Almost completely done. Now all we need is some track time!

- BP

[Fred32v]

The nice weather allowed me to work on the TrackBird's louvered hood.
First thing was to go underneath and make the vents Red.
I brushed on some '05 Silverado Red that I had after I prepped and sanded.
To my surprise, the right vent had fish-eyed badly. I put on 2 more coats,
looks not good, but under there it doesn't matter.
I then turned the hood over and much more thoroughly cleaned and
hand sanded the new louvers. Then I DAed the rest of the hood with 320.
Lastly, I put several coats of primer on the new louvers and no sign of fish-eye.

Under hood - before

under hood after

ready for paint

It was just like I was back at Ralph's Forbes Rd. Auto body, 60 years ago.

A strange kind of fun, can't wait to see that hood in Firebird Red.

[Basement Paul]

Looking good! It will look really cool all red with the louvers.

-BP

[Fred32v]

Today I did the final primer coat on the hood and painted the simulated vents black.

vents are black

hood ready for paint

Ready for color after a light sanding.

[Fred32v]

After 11 good passes at the test n tune, TrackBird was not able make it home from Dragway 42.
The rear end has issues, we'll have a look at it soon.

Bob Fade

Our old friend Bob Fade brought the 'Bird home.

We plan to have the car ready for June 8th.

[wxo]

What a typically good Cossick adventure. Can't wait for the next episode.

[MostMint]

Boba Fade with the Millennium Flatbed to the rescue. hope it didn't blow up the gears but i am not optimistic

[Basement Paul]

At those speeds, I'm figuring anything that rotates is junk at this point. Worst case scenario is JD Race (assuming this wasn't his fault) has a completely rebuilt 3.73 sitting there ready to go for under $1100 that would bolt in...

-BP

[Basement Paul]

There is also the possibility that the rear u-joint let loose somehow... The more I thought and talked about it, there is a definite chance this happened. I'm not sure if that's better or worse at this point. I know everything is still in place for the most part under the car. More to come.

-BP

[TireSmoker]

You know, I thought I saw a u-joint cap on the ground, as we were pulling away from our 2nd inspection, on the right berm of the road. I wasn't sure if thats what i saw, because I only caught a glimpse.

[MostMint]

a driveshaft, u-joints and a new yoke seems like a better deal than replacing the housing inners.