1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby SOLSAKS » Mon Jan 02, 2017 2:50 pm

Human Determination at its best.....dang i admire the effort.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Jan 08, 2017 11:03 pm

Another day, another round of sand blasting and grinding.

Picked up some glass bead from Harbor Freight for $32 for 25lbs. It worked OK. I tried some other blasting media from Rural King that seems to work pretty good at a lot less price; $7 for 50lbs. Still working at it day by day.

engine bay-blasting.JPG


I will need to blast some of the inside firewall and work to replace part of this sheet metal where the AC mounts. The fresh air intake is completely rotted off the car so I'll be fabricating a new one.

engine bay-blasting2.JPG
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Monza Harry » Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:53 pm

Kevin that is looking good, but I want to caution you to cover that wind shield as even the "overspray" from blasting will pit that glass real fast and that doesn't polish out easily if at all. Every pit will act like a "Star Filter" on a camera you will see a star at each one in the light. The finer the media when blasting [say that "glass bead"] the less stress it will add to the sheet metal but as you see slow cutting, whereas the coarser [like the low cost beach sand and Aluminum Oxide variants] will actually stretch the metal if you have enough air to really make it cut, but it cleans her right down and fast, so try and find something in the middle and keep up the beautiful work! I would try and find an industrial supplier as they will be able to give you some guidance beyond the "Farm Store" and myself I usually choose by price and that is proven method to cost more and take longer with lesser results, but my wallet is more powerful than my brain! :dunce: Harry
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:04 pm

Thanks, Harry! Yes, probably good advice on the windshield. I need to wrap it up or put it in the house and out of harms way.

I finally got a response from a blasting company. They charge $120 per hour. I need to talk to them on how long it would take to blast the quarters, rear, roof, a-pillars, rockers, and front end. It can't take too long to blast those bits. I really think that would be the best approach to getting the metal work started. I will call them this afternoon.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:59 am

Another day of blasting and scraping.

Worked on scraping the undercoating off of the left front wheel well area. It came off pretty easily. Once the wheels are off it will be easier to get in there to get the rest.

Inner Fender.jpg


I'm about 90-95% done blasting and stripping the engine compartment. I took Harry's advice and covered the windshield too. :D Just have the front two corners and the bottom of the radiator support section. This will need some patching but not horrible. The K-member will get pulled and either fixed (see the chunk cut out?), replaced from another car, or replaced with a tubular option.

Getting there.jpg
Rad support.jpg


I was able to pull the battery tray out and it is in pretty good condition. The only reason I pulled it was to get at the metal below it. It is pretty crusty and it will need to be trimmed out and replaced.

Evicted Battery Tray.jpg


I need to get a tank for the MIG and get to patching soon. I don't want the bare metal to start rusting so I need to get to welding and then priming.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby 283vega » Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:12 am

Prime the bare metal with an epoxy primer except the areas needing welding. In those ares use weld thru primer otherwise your newly blasted metal will start rusting before you know it!
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Thu Jan 19, 2017 11:52 pm

Been a week since I've been able to touch the car. I'm an outside sales guy and now that they holidays are over I'm back on the road. Home Friday night at 9pm but I hope to get out into the garage over the weekend.

I managed to blow up my new compressor last week which was a surprise. It was less than 90 days old so I simply exchanged it at Home Depot. I hope this one lasts longer than 6 weeks. I also learned that I need to build a water trap system. I have a couple water filters on my manifold but the tank is plumbed directly into them. This results in the air being warm and full of moisture after it passes the water trap. If I run the cutoff wheel for long periods it starts puking water everywhere. I plan to build a PVC water trap with 40 ft of pipe and a few valves. Google is a wonderful thing.
tanks.JPG

Current status:
status.JPG

I hope to start welding up some stuff in the engine compartment this weekend. The concern is leaving it as bare metal too long will result in rust returning. Progress is sloooooowww....
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:21 pm

Out of town all last week for work and family time most of the weekend. I did manage some Formula time but only to roll it outside to clean up the garage a bit. Couldn't pass up the opportunity since it was in the 60's in NE Ohio!

I am hoping it did NOT see its shadow and winter will be shorter.
Outside1.jpg

Out of town again this week...and next week...and the week after... I'll have a "home office" week sometime in February and get to spend more time on it.

Finally got a return message from a dustless blasting guy so I'll follow up with them this week. I am thinking it would be best to get the car on the rotisserie and have them blast the whole damn thing. Just gotta get a price. Unless it is completely ridiculous I will probably green light that.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby TurboTre » Sun Jan 29, 2017 5:46 pm

Any progress on the IMSABIRD? :th:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:36 am

TurboTre wrote:Any progress on the IMSABIRD? :th:


Not much... :(

I did pick up some doors this past week. They are pretty solid but will still need some metal work and dents fixed. I hung this door just for fun. It is sagging about an inch at the rear edge so it will need some new bushings and some "persuasion" to fit good. There is also no latch or striker installed at the moment.

Not sure if this is a Formula Spyder or a Spyder Formula now! LOL

Spyderdoor.jpg


The left door is really solid with just a bit of fixing needed at the bottom. There are some dents in the skin but not bad.
Spyderdoor2.jpg


The right door has a bit more rust and will need some metal work. It also has dents.
Spyderdoor3.jpg


The right door also has a bit of mud in the door handle area. Hoping it isn't too bad under here. I am also considering using the original Formula door skin. The Formula's door skin is pretty solid and just the entire bottom of the door is gone.
Spyderdoor4.jpg


These doors were originally on Marco Giglio's black Spyder. He sold it to another guy that ended up scrapping it. I bought the doors from him.
Spyderdoor5.jpg


I'm out travelling for work this week and next week so little will get done. I'm planning a "home office" week and then off to Maine. Shhhh... Going to Maine for work but with every intention of visiting a yard up there to grab parts I need. :th:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby chevyart » Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:22 am

its great to see how you are bringing this nice old car back to life. i have to tip my hat to the guys that do all this hard work to restore these beautiful cars. keep up the good work. art
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:05 pm

chevyart wrote:its great to see how you are bringing this nice old car back to life. i have to tip my hat to the guys that do all this hard work to restore these beautiful cars. keep up the good work. art


Thanks, Art! It is going to be a long process. I was hoping to have much of the metal work done over the winter but I've stalled a bit. I travel for work so I'm not getting much done out in the garage. I really want to get the rotisserie in February and mount the car. I need to call some dustless blasting guys to make sure that is OK before I do it. Actually, I am still waiting on the title so I don't want to get too deep until I have that in hand. I keep getting told it will not be an issue but its also been three months now too.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Tue Feb 14, 2017 1:50 pm

I have GOT to get back into the garage and get moving on this project.

I wanted to replace the front left part of the header panel where the battery tray was. It was pretty crusty under the battery tray and I figured I'd cut it out and simply weld in new metal.
Header Panel 1.jpg


Then I stumbled onto an NOS panel for this spot. It is not exactly the same as the original but it is about 95% the same. I'll hunt up a battery tray next to weld on top of it too. Thinking a Nova or something of the era may be similar enough.
Header Panel 2.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Feb 18, 2017 11:09 am

Patching up the gaping holes the previous owner cut for speakers. Cut the patches from the Donor Monza.

The inner part was painted with oil based Rustoleum. There wasn't any heavy rust in there but there was some surface rust. Cleaned it as best I could and painted it.

hole 1.jpg


hole 2.jpg


I know once the interior is back in this won't be seen but I figured I had the donor car so why not replace with stock metal.

This is the other one I did first. I also realized I need a lot more practice welding. New-to-me welder and I haven't welded in 25 years. :( At least it will be unseen!

hole 3.JPG
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby sportriderok » Sat Feb 18, 2017 4:08 pm

Hey, if it sticks together, I consider it a victory!
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