1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby NVEGAR8D » Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:20 pm

Hi Bullet and Red, I would suspect that tube "K" or stock, the real tell is the center link height that dictates the oil pan fitment.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:52 pm

Seems like its been forever since I've posted here. Mainly post to my FB page just due to ease...

Anyways... Been working on body work. Slowly getting the shell and the fenders into shape. Hopefully I will be able to shoot more primer, 2k primer, sealer, and (fingers crossed) some color before winter.

The hood was still in bare steel and starting to form some surface rust. I ran the DA over it with some 80 grit to clean it up. The underside was mostly hand sanded. The wire wheel on the grinder cleaned out all the remaining seam sealer before it was primed with epoxy. There are a lot of low spots in the hood that will need smoothed with a touch of filler.

hood.JPG

The roof had a LOT of small pits from rust. They were cleaned out when the car was dustless blasted but i figured it needed a full skim coat to really cover them. There were also a couple dents that I pulled as best I could. The remaining low spots got a bit of filler. It feels pretty straight. I'll respray it with primer and check it again.

Roof.JPG

Both quarters had patches installed. I think I have this one mostly straightened out now. Still some sanding left to do.

Quarter.JPG

The rockers were beat up and had some patch work done. They're pretty straight now thanks to the long Dura-block sanding block. The front edge of the rocker is nice again now too.

Rocker1.JPG
Rocker2.JPG
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:28 pm

Well, I've been slacking on posting here but I have made progress.

I finished my filler work (for the most part) on the shell and fenders. Resprayed them in epoxy to seal it up again.

epoxy1.jpg

Started working on the left door (driver's side). It is a very solid door but had the inner structure rusted out a bit in both the front and rear bottom corners. I cut out the skin as small as I could so that I could rebuild the inner skin. One corner required a new piece of door skin which I made from 19ga steel. The other corner was solid so I cleaned it with ospho overnight, primed it on the inside, and welded it back into the door. The door warped in at my welds more that I cared for but I was able to pull them back out some.

door1.jpg

There were a lot of small dings all over the door. The worst was this front edge. A friend sent me his electric pin gun and I used it to pull some of the dents out. It worked pretty good.

door2.jpg

Since there were a lot of small dings, I elected to skim the whole door. The front (white) is Evercoat Rage Extreme and the back (yellow) is their Rage Gold. I used Gold on the rest of the car but ran out and decided to try to the higher rated Extreme.

door3.jpg

I sanded the bulk of the filler off of the door to get it straight. I am pretty close to as good as I am going to get it. It came out pretty good. This picture shows a few recoated areas. I am hoping to hang the door on the car tonight so I can finish sanding it out.

door4.jpg


making progress.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:25 pm

I need to get in gear and moving again.

Hung the left door on the car a couple months ago. The gap at the bottom rear isn't pretty. Needs a lot of "adjustment" in the form of beating and bending which really killed my motivation.

October Formula.jpg
door.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby 283vega » Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:36 am

You've done such a good job so far. I look forward to your posts and progress. I know finding the time and energy can be difficult but the end results are worth it. :th:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby dindin » Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:44 am

.Everything looks great don't let this bump in the road stop the great progress..you could allways come back to it or get another door and last but not lease don't forget the old saying.."perfect is the enemy of good"


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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Bullet » Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:41 pm

Go back and go through your own thread. Look at how far you've come. Grit your teeth and push through this problem, you know you have the skills, it's just another chance to prove yourself TO yourself. I had an old biker friend that was a Harley mechanic through the AMF years and when yet another ride ending break down would happen, he'd just grin and say "that's what makes this *stuff* so much fun".
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:07 pm

Thanks, Guys. I appreciate it!

You are right, looking back at the car when I got it to how it looks today is a great motivator. I dropped off the passenger door to the shop working on making the Monza floor pans. They said they could patch the bottom and fix it for me. I have done all the work myself to this to this point but I took the opportunity offered on the door. The guy making parts offered to do the door for me and I figured it was a chance to show them the other parts we need made for these cars. I'll circle back to this door soon.

I'd like to have paint on the car in the spring and then start to reassemble the suspension and interior.

I've also decided to get my 327 from my high school Sunbird rebuilt over the winter. It will go into my 1976 Sunbird which will basically recreate my high school car.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:51 pm

Its been quite a while since I posted here on the forum. I generally just post on my own Facebook page and on the Monza Madness FB page. I really should update this more than once every two years. haha...

Not that I have made a huge amount of progress. I put a second coat of color matched Raptor Liner on the bottom of the car. The first coat was a little thin in spots. If you want to do this, I would recommend the 6-liter kit at the minimum. The larger 8-liter kit would definitely give you plenty. The first pass was just with a standard 4-liter kit and it was not enough.

bottom b&a.jpg


Finished painting the engine bay.

engine bay.jpg


Installed fuel lines, brake lines, and the fuel tank. The fuel tank will need to come back out for its sender and fuel pump but its out of the way for the moment. I had four fuel tanks to pick from. The first was out of a 76 Starfire but the top had a good number of pin holes. The second was out of a 1980 Monza and it was clean but it was smashed in on the top sadly. Third was the tank out of my 76 Sunbird but it also had pinholes in the top. Fourth....was the original tank out of the Formula. It was the best overall. I had it professionally cleaned and lined for $150 and then I cleaned and painted the exterior with KBS Rust Seal paint. Looks great.

bottom lines.jpg


I have a couple of original overflow tanks but they are all pretty yellowed. I tried to clean it as best I could but it was still yellowed pretty bad. I happened to find an NOS one on eBay and bought it for about $100.

tank3.jpg


Currently, I have one of the two AJE A-Arms and springs installed. They are a nightmare to install. I still have the driver side to do. The rear end was rebuilt and is mostly installed but needs completed. I am hoping for some motivation come spring to get this damn thing off the rotisserie.

wheels.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Jan 31, 2021 1:08 pm

More details...

I had the rear rebuilt by H-body rear master, JD Race in Richfield, OH. He is about an hour from me which is great. The rear was rebuilt with a new posi carrier and 3.42 gears. I supplied the 28-spline S-10 axles and had Jim rebuilt all the brakes as well. Price was right at $1200 for everything.

rear.jpg
Rear2.jpg


Fuel tank. I mentioned in the previous post that I had four different tanks to choose from but the original out of the Formula was the best one. It was pretty clean inside and just had surface rust on the outside. I have an old school radiator shop literally across the street from me so I had them clean and line the tank for $150. I then painted the exterior with KBS Rust Seal paint.

Tank1.jpg
tank2.jpg


I also installed all new brake lines, brake booster, and brake master. The brake lines and fuel lines were ordered from InLine Tubes out of Detroit. They are made to order and shipped inside of a week. The fit and finish was spot on and I would HIGHLY recommend their products. I ordered their brake line kit first and was so impressed with its fit that I ordered their 3/8 inch fuel line kit too. They make a return/vent line kit but its only 1/4 inch and I will need a 3/8 line for the Holley EFI system I plan to install.

The master is a stock replacement unit. I searched on and off for two-years before one popped up as available from O'Reilly's. They quickly became unavailable after I ordered mine. The master I found on eBay at some point but, again, these seem to have become unavailable too. The prop valve is out of my 76 Sunbird and it received a good cleaning and paint. All the brake parts were painted with Eastwood's Brake Gray paint which looks awesome and is (supposedly) resistant to brake fluid. The steering box is a refurbished unit off of RockAuto.

Oh....and the battery tray is out of a 68-72 Nova. It fit pretty well with some modification. I pounded the front flange straight and trimmed one ear then bolted it into place.

Brake booster.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:47 pm

I am trying to keep moving and updating! :D

The rear end is installed. It is not torqued as the manual says to do that at ride height. I will worry about that another day.
Rear 1.jpg


What a difference between when I pulled it from the car until now.
Rear 2.jpg


The braided stainless steel hose ordered from Inline Tubes for a Monza was not 100% correct. The hose end was fine but the brass block has 7/16 fittings and the stainless steel line set I ordered from Inline Tubes has 3/8 inch fittings. It was easy enough to swap out the brass block for the correct one. If you order this hose from Inline Tubes (SH767), be sure to order one for 7/16" x 2x3/8". I used their block (TS01).
Rear 3.jpg


The hose fit well after this change.
REar 4.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Monza Harry » Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:18 pm

RedFiveKBS wrote:I am trying to keep moving and updating! :D _______________________ :th:

The rear end is installed. It is not torqued as the manual says to do that at ride height. I will worry about that another day.
A sticky note on the dash would be good insurance, we know how these projects can get sidelined! Hopefully cheap insurance that [stalled Projectitis] doesn't happen. [Our problems are usually for issues we don't think are coming/ or we aren't prepared for.]

What a difference between when I pulled it from the car until now.________________________ :th:

The braided stainless steel hose ordered from Inline Tubes for a Monza was not 100% correct. The hose end was fine but the brass block has 7/16 fittings and the stainless steel line set I ordered from Inline Tubes has 3/8 inch fittings. It was easy enough to swap out the brass block for the correct one. If you order this hose from Inline Tubes (SH767), be sure to order one for 7/16" x 2x3/8". I used their block (TS01).
Nice! Thanx for the Heads Up!

The hose fit well after this change.
That is pretty easy on the eyes!

Thanks Kevin! Harry
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:46 am

I installed the swaybar on Sunday. Then I realized it was impacting the shock brackets on the axle. After a lot of concern and thought, I realized that without the torque arm installed and attached to the transmission the pinion is rotating downward. This results in the sway bar rotating upward and into the brackets. Once I lifted the pinion the swaybar cleared fine.

Note....the car is STILL being supported by the rotisserie and NOT by the jack stands.

Rear 5.jpg
Rear 5b.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Diesel Dan » Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:51 am

Keep the pics coming.
While I see it on FB the pics are easier to view on here.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat May 22, 2021 10:14 am

Well, after being a big wus for a few months, I tackled the last spring. The standard spring compressors don't really work well here and will get stuck inside the spring. I used the lower jaw from a standard spring compressor, a piece of 1/2 inch threaded rod, two 1-3/4 inch long threaded rod coupling nuts, and greased washers. This process worked extremely well other than the spring curved outward away from the spring pocket in the lower control arm. I attached a small ratchet strap to the spring and pulled it back into place. A little up force from the jack got it fully seated and the spindle installed.

I put a piece of 2x2 angle iron under the control arm and used the same threaded rod to put some compression on the spring. Why? Well....these AJE A-Arms have no stops so with little to no weight on the car they will drop down so far that the spindle will pin itself the the spring pocket and will not turn. Once there is more weight on the car I will be able to pull the threaded rod and install the shocks.

AJE non-adjustable a-arms, MOOG 6490 springs, and Power Stop S10 brake kit.

Spring.jpg


Once that last spring was installed, the car could FINALLY be removed from the rotisserie. It was on this contraption for 3-years and 51-weeks!! Far too long but I am glad it is off of it now. I bought the rotisserie four years ago for about $1000 delivered. Same one on eBay today is selling for $1500! I debate selling it but my brother says he may need it.

rotisserie.jpg
Off.jpg


Next I will clean the rotisserie mounting locations and paint them.
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