Long Journey of 1970 Firebird Restoration
 

My father bought the 1970 Esprit new in May of 1970 when I was 15. I was able to buy it from him in 1974 and drove it until 1998. Ohio and Michigan salt ate up a lot of the body, but I was able to find a garage stored one in Texas as the new platform for restoration. Initial prep work on the body and the chassis rebuild was done in 2000-2004, then it went into storage for 14 years again. Finally locating a suitable shop in 2018, it was into paint where the Coronado Gold was nicely duplicated. A 4.25" stroker kit from Butler was ordered for the 350 block, 6X heads were added along with Comp roller rockers, Johnson Hyd roller lifters and a Comp XR276HR cam. Len Williams did the assembly work and the engine dynoed at Reher-Morrison. After Covid delays, work is finally underway again as the serpentine kit was installed and the engine/transmission put back in the car. It will be finished out as an Esprit again with a TA hood and HD suspension package for a 1976 model including the 3.23 posi rear axle. Completion hopefully in October.

Next set of photos.

Hopefully looking close to original (except for that serpentine kit, of course).

Nice work! That looks like it's going to be a blast to drive.

Congrats.....I know you are excited to get it drivable again.
Love the gold color....beautiful car!

Congratulations, nice.

Also like the gold. Nice work.

Looks great!. My only comment would be that the TORKER intake is Taller than stock. There may be some aircleaner base issues, etc if you intend to have the shaker " shake" and fit correctly. Nice project! Thanks for posting!

Looking great!
I love the Coronado Gold!


:)

I ran it under the regular hood with about 3/4" clearance above the air cleaner lid. I'm hoping the TA hood has a bit more room.

Really nice looking car! What CID is it now with the 4.25" crank in a 350 and what did it do on the dyno?

413 cu in. 9.13 to 1 comp ratio

442 lb ft @ 4300 rpm

453 hp @ 5600 rpm

Sure, the 350 block is a small bore, but the big intake valve allows for a good cylinder fill.

Very nice. I run a Torker 2 on my 76 T/A. I had to mod the air cleaner a bit to make it fit. Now that you put the T/A hood on it, I'd add the wheel and trunk spoilers for a T/A look. Just me though.

Nice build!

Thanks for posting! Are you in Oklahoma, Texas area?

Impressive results on that engine build, pretty much doubled the original hp. Should be fun on the street

DFW

My gold 1970 Firebird 350 is also AC with Manual brakes.

It's been a wait, but we finally have the engine fully installed, plumbed, wired running in the vehicle again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxDtH_76piU

We'll see if it moves once the new driveshaft arrives!

I had a 70 parts car firebird, 350, AT, AC, manual disc. Captain obvious, all 70 up were, thankfully disc.

sounds great

Do you or your father remember whether he special ordered the car himself , or if it was already in stock on the dealers lot ?


A friend of mine is fixxer-uppering a 70 Formula that is AC ,
no Pwr Steering
no Pwr Brakes
And is a 3spd Stick
Some real oddballs out there

It was a special order through Stupka Pontiac in Sharon, PA. Delivery was delayed because of the Camaro quarter panel crack issues which interrupted production at Norwood. Finger pointing went to the UAW strike, but it was really metal stamping problems that held up the 1970 model release, thus creating the 1970 1/2 model year.

It's great that you've been able to keep your car in the family. I salute your long term commitment.

Some good progress has been made on the car the last few months and the upholstery shop is nearly finished with the interior. All that is left are the sail panels and passenger door hard trim. The rear glass has to be redone though as the installer set it too deep in the channel and the sail panels aren't fitting right. The glass installer sent the wrong tech out for the job. He had no experience on "vintage" cars.

Once done though, the exhaust system gets fitted up, the hood put on, shaker scoop assembled and then it's road test time.

NICE!

:)

Originally a custom interior?

:)

Yes, it's the Esprit model car, equipped with the rally gauge package. I've restored it with 1976 TA suspension and will use a TA shaker hood.

What an awesome story.

My parents bought the `70 Esprit that I have today.

It was my moms daily from `70-`87.

350 2bbl,nothing special.

Love the build. Curious if you are running headers or RAIII Exhaust manifolds?

Engine came out great!

Jon well done!!!

Beautiful car,

I like that you kept it an Esprit, nicely done

Using Hedman headers. Fit was very good, but I did have to go to a cable conversion on the column gearshift lever.

More visible progress! Hood is on but won't close. Snorkels will have to come off the air cleaner housing to clear the A/C compressor and a hood brace. No real issue since the scoop will be open all the time. Pypes exhaust system tucked up under the car nicely and the body is just about down to the correct ride height. The shop says one more month to go.

Looks awesome and great gaps and finish!!!!

Love the Coronado Gold and '73 SD455 Formula vibe! Great job!

Dennis

Congrats on finishing your car, looks great! You'll have a blast driving that one around with your built 350. Much respect for sticking with the build until the end!

Is it a Firebird drop base air cleaner ?
Or the standard GTO / Gprix air cleaner ?

The drop base bird units have a big dimple hump at the rear to clear the distributor .
If you don't see that feature , its a GTO type.
Hood won't shut using those.

Car and interior look Great
Engine build is definitely impressive

Truly beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos and an impressive 350.

It is the correct drop base with the dimple in the back. They also found the electric choke conversion was interfering with the fit so they'll add a bump for that. It was a little surprising that the A/C compressor that came with the CVF serpentine kit was hitting. The distributer dimple though eliminated the ability to rotate the pan to clear the compressor. At least the Torker-I intake was not the culprit.

We're getting closer. The hood now closes with enough clearance for the air cleaner housing. The last three items are installation of the wood grain IP insert, front end alignment and state inspection. Then I can get plates and hit the road!

beautiful car, well done

Very nice, great work!

Got some bad news from the restoration shop after getting the front end aligned the tech took the car out for a brief test drive and discovered that the rear axle was able to travel 7 miles without any lube in it before seizing up. :doh:

I knew the first shop that started on the car 20 years ago had gone through the axle, what was supposed to be a 3.23 posi with the 30 spline axle shafts, installing a new clutch pack and seals. Everything was supposed to be ready to go. Fast forward to 2018 when the serious work starts at shop #2 and I advise them of the axle rebuild thinking "It's ready to go". None of us ever checked the rear end for oil. :(

In the long run, it will work out better because on tear down, we discovered it was a 2.41 posi with the 28 spline shafts! So a new Dana or Auburn carrier with the proper 3.23 Richmond gears and Moser 30 spline axles are going in to it now. What's another $1300 and a few more weeks to get it correct, right.

Dam, Thank Goodness that's all it was. Easy fix like you say though.