[79bluebird]

i am lookin for pics of a 69 ta with poverty caps and normal firebirds too.

[rdl]

Here's a shot of Tom Miller's Pure Stock '69 Firebird 350 H/O. Does this help?

[Bjorn]

I know this is not what you meant ,but this is real "poverty"...almost no cap...

[79bluebird]

can poverty caps fit a 15" steel wheel?

[RAJ7395]

Here's a friend of mines 1969 Firebird 400. This is a 17,000 mile original 400/TH400 A/C car from Southern California and it had the poverty caps from the factory.

My friends putting in a new TCI tubular front suspension and brake kit, a GTO LS1 with 4-speed auto transmission, and a 69 Z-28 12 bolt 3.73 posi. Should be a very nice car when finished.

[amcmike]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Here's a friend of mines 1969 Firebird 400. This is a 17,000 mile original 400/TH400 A/C car from Southern California and it had the poverty caps from the factory.

My friends putting in a new TCI tubular front suspension and brake kit, a GTO LS1 with 4-speed auto transmission, and a 69 Z-28 12 bolt 3.73 posi. Should be a very nice car when finished.

Wow an original 17k 400 and he's doing that to it? Have him sell it to someone who wants to restore it and find a 350 (or even better one with a SBC already swapped in). SBC swapped cars usually sell for less than a Pontiac equipped, so he would probably be ahead of the game.

Does the TCI front suspension improve the geometry? Many of the chassis being sold don't because they're hot rod based. I've heard the best are Detroit Speed Engineering and Art Morrison.

[JimFB400HO]

Originally Posted by amcmike

Wow an original 17k 400 and he's doing that to it? Have him sell it to someone who wants to restore it and find a 350 (or even better one with a SBC already swapped in).

A low-milage, numbers matching California 400 1st Gen? Oh my gosh, yes! It's certainly his car to do as he pleases, but..... And I would say that even if it's 117k.

[MikeNoun]

On the original 1969 Pontiac paint chart, they show the colors that poverty cap wheels were painted. They were only a handful of colors, and Carousel Red was not one of them, so the photo of the 350 HO car above is not correct. I believe only a handful of colors were used, and going from memory here (I don't have the chart in front of me), they were black, silver, or blue.

[rdl]

Now Mike, with talk like that all you're going to do is hurt Tom's feelings. He worked really hard to get it that nice... and it runs mid 13's!

[MikeNoun]

I believe Tom knows his wheels should be black, but I think he discovered that after the car was finished. S'ok with me, I like the wheels Carousel Red anyway, I was just pointing out that if someone were looking to do poverty caps on a 1969, they shouldn't be Carousel Red.

I always wondered how a 69 RAIV Firebird would look in black, black vinyl top, with black wheels, poverty caps, and Goodyear RWL's. Hmmmm.....I WAS thinking of repainting my car anyway

[rdl]

Mike, you're a closet F.A.S.T. candidate. (I would have said P/S, but I sense you fear the displacement pump!) Get in the game, okay! BTW, I like you're imagery... quadruple black... you should go for it.

[RAJ7395]

I know, I know. That car is a real nice survivor and an absolute pleasure to work on. Once loosened, all the bolts (even the subframe and exhaust pipe) backed out by hand. There's a couple spots of rust on the trunk floor where water got in thru a crack in the trunk lid weatherstrip the the rest of the car is absolutely rust free. Two piece disk brake rotors are still in place, build sheet atop the gas tank, space saver spare, jack and bottle still bolted to the trunk floor, and on and on.

My friend did a great deal of thinking and talked to a bunch of people before he made up his mind.

He asked my opinion and I told him that I'd stick with the original drivetrain.

His reasons were simple. He wanted to build a sleeper with excellent cornering capability a modern, very reliable, efficient, and less leaky drivetrain. He wanted the four speed auto trans for the highway and fuel economy and wanted to get the most out of his investment when he goes to sell it. The LS1 powered First gens with the upgraded brakes and suspension are going for ~$40K whereas the real nice stock 69 400 firebirds are only going for ~$20K.

I bought the engine, tranny, front suspension, and space saver spare tire stuff from the car. I've got the engine and trans for sale on e-bay right now 300146384198

[keith k]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Here's a friend of mines 1969 Firebird 400. This is a 17,000 mile original 400/TH400 A/C car from Southern California and it had the poverty caps from the factory.

My friends putting in a new TCI tubular front suspension and brake kit, a GTO LS1 with 4-speed auto transmission, and a 69 Z-28 12 bolt 3.73 posi. Should be a very nice car when finished.

Sorry, I know it's his car to do with as he pleases...

But still makes me sick. Wish I hadn't stumbled upon this thread...

[jttrettel]

Even though I am far from a "keep it original" kind of guy, it pains me to see someone splitting up an original survivor 400 car. There are still many, many, many 350 and 6 cylinder cars out there that would be better canidates for this type of resto-mod work. Plus, if your buddies' theory is correct that the car will be worth more with the mods he is performing, why not do it to a car that is less valuable in the "stock" market? From the way it looks, it is not too late for him to sell this car and pickup something else to cut up. He could make enough money on this car to finance a replacement and many of the mods he wants to install.

One question...How much did he pay for this car? Or maybe the better question, what would he sell it for?

[RAJ7395]

I thought the same thing but at least it's an ugly limelight green car instead of a more desireable color. The picture above was taken several months ago. The car now has the TCI front suspension installed and the LS1 and tranny and 12 bolt are ready to go in.

[69FIREBIRDMAN]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Here's a friend of mines 1969 Firebird 400. This is a 17,000 mile original 400/TH400 A/C car from Southern California and it had the poverty caps from the factory.

My friends putting in a new TCI tubular front suspension and brake kit, a GTO LS1 with 4-speed auto transmission, and a 69 Z-28 12 bolt 3.73 posi. Should be a very nice car when finished.

this guy should be shot.and or drawed and quartered

[BLACK SUNSHINE]

Terry I agree.
You should talk your buddy out of this!!!
Bad Voodoo man!

[jttrettel]

Limelight Green with poverty caps would be cool as h@ll.... A bad color combination is my car's original Expresso Brown with Gold interior. I couldn't stand the color combo, so I can sympathize. See pic below for the definition of ugly.

Hey, is your buddy selling the wheels and poverty caps? I would be very interested in making an offer.

[ja67bird]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Here's a friend of mines 1969 Firebird 400. This is a 17,000 mile original 400/TH400 A/C car from Southern California and it had the poverty caps from the factory.

My friends putting in a new TCI tubular front suspension and brake kit, a GTO LS1 with 4-speed auto transmission, and a 69 Z-28 12 bolt 3.73 posi. Should be a very nice car when finished.

Your signature says it all...hope he's REALLY tough!!!

[RAJ7395]

I gave him my honest opinion, his mind is made up and there's no talking him out of it.

He sold the rims and caps to a guy in northern Indiana that said that he had several 1969 TAs including a RAIV. Thats all I know.