Stupid Firebird questions.

[og556]

Since we dont have a classic car forum right now I wasn't sure where to post this stuff. I have been working on a 1977 Firebird with an early 80's possibly late 70's Buick 350 w/ 4bbl Q-Jet Carb. Right now I'm just removing all the quarter panels, stripping, fixing up old Bondo, and priming. I have been starting on the engine compartment and will soon be removing and replacing hoses and lines up there. I will be removing the engine in the near future to re-seal the motor and possibly installing a new intake manifold (edelbrock victor) and installing a new carb (Carter AFB 750 cfm) and have noticed this car has some emissions equipment including vacuum hoses. Is there any way to get rid of ALL the emissions equipment with out screwing up the engine performance ? I will be installing an MSD Distributor and Control Box as well. Any advice ?

[Chevyguy]

Actually there is no way to hook up the emmissions without screwing up the performance :D

New generic aftermarket carb, new non EGR intake, MSD distributor etc.. All will work fine without all the horrible mid 70's emmission stuff.

Hmmm should be fun trying to hook up an exhaust on that car, maybe some Apollo or 75 up Skylark parts would work?? Actually a real Buick 350 is a pretty good motor and weighs less than a Small block Chevy. The distributor is in teh front yes??

[og556]

Yes it is in the front kind of slanted. What MSD parts would work well for this car ? Thanks for your helpful response. I take it i should just replace the vacuum hoses and what not along with the charcoal can and leave the emissions stuff alone ?

[Stryfe]

sweet! haven't seen one of those buicks around for a while. I used to have firebirds. lemme know if you need something specific, i probably have a source.

[og556]

The only part I need to replace for sure at this point is the front clip/nose part. I was wondering what other years would mate up with the 77 ? I was hoping to put something older on. I don't particularly like smokey and the bandit haha.

[mrbear3800]

Did Buick motors come with Firebirds at any point?

[og556]

Not the original motor. Im not even exactly sure what this motor is from. I need to find out what MSD parts, Carb, headers, and Intake manifold will work with this thing. It is definately a carb control motor hence the vacuum hoses and what not. I dont even know where to begin. I aslo might build a custom fiberglass dash in the near future for this thing. I'll be resuming body work on monday.

[mrbear3800]

Not the original motor. Im not even exactly sure what this motor is from. I need to find out what MSD parts, Carb, headers, and Intake manifold will work with this thing. It is definately a carb control motor hence the vacuum hoses and what not. I dont even know where to begin. I aslo might build a custom fiberglass dash in the near future for this thing. I'll be resuming body work on monday.

Its almost certainly from the 70's or 1980 at the most. I don't think Buick V-8's were made after 1980. Olds 307's, Pontiac 301's and I think some Chevy 305's were used in all V-8 powered Buicks after 1980.

What kind of choke mechanisim does it have? Is it electrical, mechanical, or mechanical/hot air powered(tube from manifold brings up heat to open choke).

[og556]

I'm almost certain its mechanical/hot air powered. Infact I broke the choke pull thingy (circular plastic thing attached to the q-jet carb choke which has a spring and rubber o-ring inside it as well as a vacuum hose which is connected to it from outside the plastic case. I'll need to take pictures either tomorrow or monday depending on the weather. I am worried about the quarter panel I'm working on at the moment because I got most of the rust off but it was previously bondo'd. My friend told me not to take all the bondo off because theres no point if its in good shape. I am also worried about some of the pit's that have rust in them but people keep telling me all I have to do is use that Right Stuff (green liquid from Advanced Auto) and then prime it and it will be ok. Any advice ?

[mrbear3800]

There could be rust behind the bondo. It will bleed through eventually. If it were my car, I'd take it all off and redo it. Don't leave even one speck of rust, if possible. Zinc based primer works well for keeping rust from spreading.

[og556]

yea I'm going to do my best to get all this rust off. Sometimes I wish there was a better way than to take a die grinder to those tiny crevices but its the only way.

[starshooter10]

lets see some pics!!!

im going to be ripping my 70 bird apart pretty soon here....

[TJ_DUDE]

I have an 80 Trans Am, you can install any front end clip with those fenders, BUT if you go with a nose from 76-earlier, you will need a new hood, if you need any help with other question, just let me know.:up:

[og556]

Thanks man.

[GM Guy]

If it was a Canadian firebird, it could well have had a buick 350 in it from the factory. The buick 350 found its way into a few non-buicks.

Alex.

[og556]

It might have been because the owner lived in washington state.

[TJ_DUDE]

Here, these sites have helped me a LOT with my T/A, : www.firebirdgallery.com (http://www.firebirdgallery.com) , www.classicalpontiac.com (http://www.classicalpontiac.com) , they should be able to give you LOTS of info on that car, and from my knowledge, there were no Buick powered Firebirds from the factory, there were Oldsmobile powered(403) and Chevy powered (305, from 80-on), now i forgot to tell you before, if its legal, take ALL emission equipment out, these cars are not like the Late-Models that can be affected if you take something out, get a good intake, a set of headers(i reccomend Summit Racing) and a nice cam, and you should be able to have a GREAT cruiser, let me know if theres anything i can do for you on this subject(i really dont know much about new cars, ha ha ha)