1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:36 pm

Harry, Spot on! Even a heavily modified CW (which is $$$$) wouldn't have the power I'd want. I had considered doing one of those 300+ HP late model Camaro V6's but I'm still leaning on the side of the LS3.

I may be doing an IMSA version of the car too. I have a wide body kit lined up and would just need to figure out how to mix the Sunbird grills in with the Monza lower front fascia.
imsa FORMULA2.jpg


I finally got a real air compressor too. Finishing some connections but it is operational.
tank.jpg

Hoping to move the Donor Monza out and the Formula into the garage this week.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Nov 28, 2016 3:38 pm

The Formula made its way from my sister-in-law's house to mine. It was a long trip of 0.9 miles. :lol:

Formula Home.jpg

Disassembly will start tonight or tomorrow. I already pulled and tossed the nasty carpet and insulation. It was full of holes and mold and animal messes. The fenders and doors are shot. The hatch is shot. The hood is MIA. The right A-Pillar is shot. About 1/2 of the floor pans are shot. The interior is shot. Hmmm.... Maybe a list of what is good would be shorter. :shock:

Fortunately, I have a line on fenders and doors. A hood won't be hard to find. I have an excellent hatchback door. The Donor Monza has good quarters and will be donating parts of them to the Formula. Finally, it is a real Formula and I have always wanted one. My preference would have been a 77-79 but I'll take the 80. If it were more complete, I would do a restoration. Since it is so far gone and so much is missing I feel I have open license to reinterpret it as I see fit. It will be a long road but I will tackle it a bit at a time.
:dance:
Donor Monza got evicted to the side of the garage. My wife will be THRILLED when she gets home. :rolleyes:
Donor Monza2.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri Dec 02, 2016 1:06 pm

Visited Wilbert's U-Pull it in Williamson, NY again yesterday. There is not much left of the 1980 Sunbird coupe there but I did pull a few parts. I had already pulled the header panel when I took this picture.

wilberts.jpg

I needed a new/better front header panel for the Formula so I pulled the one from this car. Fortunately, it is a 1980 just like the Formula so it will have the grill mounting holes in the correct places. The only changes made from year to year on the Sunbird were the grills. Some of the grills and surrounds mount differently year to year as well.

I also grabbed the front window trim as I think I am missing all of mine. I have a buddy in Michigan that powder coats for a living and I plan to send all the trim to him to be powder coated. Probably going to be in matte black as the Formula's all had blacked out trim new. It may depend on my final paint color though.

The seat belts in this car at Wilbert's are pretty nice but I could not budge the T50 torx bolts from their mounts. :x The plastic of the dash is nice but they get $75 for a dash and I don't think it is worth that much. The dash pad is shot with a huge crack in the middle. The vinyl is very brittle and cracked when I pushed on it in other places. The taillights are complete but they have some crazing in them. The decklid was ripped open with a tow motor and the rearend was pulled a while back. Sad to see it this way.

The worst part is Marco Giglio has pictures of the car when it was first sent to Wilbert's. I would have loved to had the opportunity to pull that dash pad and other parts before they were destroyed. :cry:

1980 Sunbird.jpg
1980 Sunbird 2.jpg

If there is a positive it is that this car has donated parts to all THREE of my Sunbirds.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Vegavulture » Fri Dec 02, 2016 5:45 pm

Just have to post. Coooool project, love the photos and the write up. Nothing but inspiration for me. I found a v8, 4 speed Formula for my daughter, needs work, and I thought I lucked right out when I found another formula for parts, and it was in great shape but no registration. Soooooooooooooo things got worse. I got the parts car running with it's v8 that was installed years ago. It was originally a v6 but that engine was long gone. This engine was supposed to be toast. It ran great , sounded great , not perfect but for donor I was completely surprised. Took it for a spin, brakes work, lights work,....oh no........and the killer,.....wheel spin, lots of it. I'm hooked, how do I get this thing registered and how do I tell my daughter no way this thing can be a parts car , it has to live. Now more luck or bad luck depending on how you look at it, after many calls and inquiries I made contact with the last registered owner. Once the paper work was done I ran around this summer in her, she looked rough but she was road worthy. I will do what you are doing one day, but for now, what a fun car to drive!
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Formula V8
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Monza Harry » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:27 pm

Way to Go!!!! [Both of you] Thank you for saving anything you could, all a plus to me! And the rest of us I am quite sure! :th: It is too bad that is a Non-Gauges, Non-A/C dash That looks excellent in that shot. Harry
Harry adds and Edit's wrote: Oh Kevin save that piece on the passenger seat if it is still there, that is part of the "sound insulation group" I have only personally seen one (from my first Monza'76) [Starfire/Alan says his car has one but I didn't stick my head up his dash when drooling all over myself, and his car, clean carpet and all and me without a "Bib"! :lol: ] that is the piece that goes under the dash on the drivers side
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri Dec 02, 2016 11:41 pm

Thanks, Vegavulture and Harry!

Yeah, that dash looks NOTHING like that now. The crack I mentioned is about an inch wide all the way through the middle of the pad. I wish I found it there when it was first placed in the yard.

Let me think of all the parts I've pulled and used:
Front valance, kick panels (vented), and hood release cable are all in my 1976 Sunbird.
Fenders (with some work) will find their way onto my 1980 Sunbird coupe. Same with the lower rear interior panels.
The front header panel, hood latch, front windshield trim, and grills will make it onto my 1980 Formula.
I pulled the heater core and sent it to an H-body guy in Knoxville, TN.
The glove box compartment and door are on their way to another guy in Minnesota.

The parts from this car have been spread over five cars that I know of. Someone else pulled the steering column and seats before I got to the car. Someone pulled the rear between my visits. Who knows how many cars this one example has been spread over.

At least it wasn't crushed and turned into paperclips. :th:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:39 am

I need to get back to work on the Formula but I have been busy working on my new air compressor set up.

Built the manifold, probably way overkill, but I wanted to have plenty of control and options. The lower leg on the manifold is after the initial filter and regulator but avoids the lubricator. There is a desiccant dryer, filter, and regulator and this will be my painting circuit. The stub at the top (before the lubricator) will be a future line to a blast cabinet. The rest of the system runs through a lubricator to keep the tools healthy and happy.

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

Postby johnk » Sun Dec 04, 2016 6:00 pm

very similar to what I use :th: I like it :lol:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:11 pm

Thanks, John! Yeah, probably over kill but what the heck. I do need to change that aluminum 'manifold' block that came with the tubing. I'll turn in 90 degrees and add a 45 so that the outlet is pointing down ward.

Still working on pulling apart the Formula. I didn't get as much done this weekend as I wanted to get done. Spent too much time plumbing the air compressor and then installing new appliances in the kitchen. I did pull the dash out of it tonight. Tossed the pad, or what was left of it, and the a-pillar trim. The A-pillar trim pieces nearly disintegrated in my hand. I have others from the Monza.

I did find some tapes in the process. Who still has a tape player in their car?? :?

They actually fell out of the dash when I pulled it out.
thumbnail_WP_20161204_002.jpg


Also I am seriously considering rewiring the entire car. The harness is cut up a bit but more concerning are the connectors under the hood. The car sat outside with no hood for a long time. A lot of the connectors are full of mud from wasps and/or brittle from sun exposure. Anyone completely rewire their car?? :rolleyes:
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Kenova » Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:34 pm

:wave: :wave:
I did!
I rewired my Nova last winter. I had dreaded doing the job for over a year but once I got
into it, it wasn't that bad. Almost therapeutic.
I used an American Autowire Harness for Novas, Camaros, and Firebirds. I was very pleased
with how it turned out. Excellent instructions.
If I were to do it again though I would consider using one of their universal harnesses and
move the fuse block off of the firewall. Preferably to someplace were it is easier to get
at. They even have a harness that will let you move it to the trunk.


Ken
My other car is a Nova.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Monza Harry » Mon Dec 05, 2016 10:53 am

Kevin Nice job on the Air system the only change I would do to that is that all air "Take-off's" should be off the top so as to leave any residual water in the line to be drained off of the end with a tap. Every turn will separate water and if the lighter density air goes up the heavier density water will go straight, and with your line not set up level 1/16 > 1/8" per foot [down hill] it will run to the end, also at your connectors use a "Tee" and a short stub with a drain for more of the same, and you don't have to do it all at once as it will and up being a lot of money $1 or 2 at a time. Ken climbing in and out of the trunk to check a fuse isn't any easier than falling on the floor and looking up at the under dash arrangement, take it from a fellow not as young as we used to be club member. Harry
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Dec 05, 2016 9:00 pm

I traded some emails with Painless Performance and think I'll get their GM Column 21-circuit set. It is $400 at Summit (with a $150 mail-in rebate) or $270 on Painless' website. I think I'd rather replace all the wiring than have to worry about chasing electrical gremlins later. I know that a number of the wires have been clipped or spliced into and the connectors are sketchy at best in many places. This is down the line a bit but at least I have a semblance of a plan. :D

wire harness.jpg

This harness includes circuits for:

A/C & Heat
Accessory / Cigarette Lighter
Backup Lights
Brake Lights
Charging
Dome Light
Electric Choke
Emergency Flashers
Fan Relay Activation Power
Fused Power Source
Headlights
Horn (Relay)
Ignition Coil
Instrument Panel Lighting and Gauges*
Park Lights
Radio/Clock (Constant and Switched)
Starting
Tail Lights
Third Brake Light
Turn Signals
Wipers

* Including Wires For:
Fuel Gauge
Oil Gauge
Tachometer
Temperature Gauge
Voltmeter
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby zeke » Mon Dec 05, 2016 11:55 pm

Cool that kit comes with a couple different harmonica connectors. GM must have changed it at some point I'm guessing.

I like how the newer gm's have the fuse panel in the end of the dash now behind a pop off cover.
Chris

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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Monza Harry » Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:47 am

zeke wrote:I like how the newer gm's have the fuse panel in the end of the dash now behind a pop off cover.

Chris I agree that is a far less painful place to check, and there is a chance of natural light there too! Harry
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby sportriderok » Tue Dec 06, 2016 10:23 am

A complete rewire isn't too difficult if you are going to have the whole thing torn down anyway. I've spent hours on my Vega's harness repairing rodent damage and general hackery. If I'd replaced it, it would be running instead of buried in the corner.
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