1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby gerbsinmd » Mon Jan 15, 2018 11:07 am

Do the AJE control arms need the control arm Ferrels?
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:52 pm

gerbsinmd wrote:Do the AJE control arms need the control arm Ferrels?


Good question....I asked another guy that bought them and has them on his car so stay tuned!
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:58 pm

I have been wanting to get some Sunbird shirts made. I saw a line drawing one of a Firebird and thought it was super cool. I found a freelance site on Fivver.com and had this made. It came with high resolution raster/vector files too so I can have them reproduced on shirts and the like. Hoping to get some made soon.

logo1.jpg
logo2.jpg


Next I want to get one for Project Phoenix. The idea is it would be like the Roadkill shirts in two or three colors on the print. Like this one.

rk.jpeg


I need to get back into the garage.....dammit....
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:24 pm

RedFiveKBS wrote:
gerbsinmd wrote:Do the AJE control arms need the control arm Ferrels?


Good question....I asked another guy that bought them and has them on his car so stay tuned!


Confirmed. Nope. The AJE Arms do not need or use the ferrels.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Feb 03, 2018 9:03 am

Dropped off the K-member to get some powder this week.

Not bad for $20. Score!

K-member.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:58 pm

OMG I need to get into the GARAGE!!!!!
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby vegastre » Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:25 am

Red,
Very impressive journal. Like was mentioned a lot of work in a very short period of time. Very admirable job so far and don't you like those Pontiacs? How many have you purchased by now?

Ya, get out in that garage, the warm weather is just around the corner.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby LSnotchback » Sat Mar 17, 2018 2:11 am

RedFiveKBS wrote:Dropped off the K-member to get some powder this week.

Not bad for $20. Score!

K-member.jpg


Very intrested build here! What is the benefit of tubular k-member?
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:21 pm

LSnotchback wrote:
RedFiveKBS wrote:Dropped off the K-member to get some powder this week.

Not bad for $20. Score!

K-member.jpg


Very intrested build here! What is the benefit of tubular k-member?


Its just cool! LOL It is a lot lighter too.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:32 pm

vegastre wrote:Red,
Very impressive journal. Like was mentioned a lot of work in a very short period of time. Very admirable job so far and don't you like those Pontiacs? How many have you purchased by now?

Ya, get out in that garage, the warm weather is just around the corner.


My first car was a 76 Sunbird. My first hand-me-down daily driver was a 1980 Sunbird. Yeah...They've got a special place in my heart.

Have three at the moment. Two coupes and the Formula hatchback.

Three.jpg


Finishing up some house projects but hope to be out there soon! I have a 76 Starfire that is getting striped down too so that's the next project. Then cleaning the garage because there is literally NO room to work out there.

The Starfire was a pretty solid car but no title. I'm taking off all the usable parts except the doors and fenders. We found a guy that may be able to fabricate repair panels; floors, quarter patches, fender patches, door bottoms. He has a business that makes parts for Mavericks so these shouldn't be a problem. He needs a donor car for the project so this is it. Hope to have it over to him in the next month or so.

starfire1.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Oh!! Forgot I had my shirts made. Cost me about $100 for five shirts but where else are you going to find a Sunbird shirt?! :lol:

shirt1.jpg
shirt2.jpg
shirt3.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri May 25, 2018 7:34 am

Seems like its been forever since I've posted any progress. Now you get TWO posts for the price of ONE!!

So I decided it was time to paint the bottom of the car and move on to other areas. The last item to fix before painting was replacing one of the oval plugs in the floor. The one in the front wasn't replaced since the whole front floor pan was completely replaced from scratch. I found my old plugs but they were really crusty. The two at the top of this picture looked almost as bad as the one on the bottom. They were soaked in some phosphoric cleaner over night and came out near spotless. One was riddled with small holes and the other had just a couple of small holes. I welded up those and primed it.

plug.jpg
plug2.jpg
plug3.jpg


I reinstalled the plug with some quality seam sealer.

Next up is paint!
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Fri May 25, 2018 7:46 am

It feels good to be making some progress again! I wanted to tackle getting the bottom of the car painted this week.

The bottom, as was the entire car, was painted in epoxy. I used some red scotchbrite pads and some 120 grit paper to scuff up the bottom of the car. I worked to mask off the areas I didn't want to paint as well.

bottom1.jpg
bottom3.jpg


I bought this tintable Raptor Liner kit last year and went to the paint shop this week for the color. I only bought a quart of the factory Agate Red color since you only need to add 3-ounces of color to each liter of the Raptor Liner. The kit comes with the gun to spray the product too which was a nice bonus.

bottom2.jpg


I am pretty happy with the results. Coverage is a touch thin in some spots but its the bottom of the car and I'll hit it with a bit of regular paint before I am done. If I were going to do it again, I would buy a 6-liter kit vs the standard 4-liter kit. Just one more liter probably would have given me full coverage. Live and learn.

bottom4.jpg


One of my concerns was it matching the rest of the car even through it is on the bottom. I placed a chunk of the original car against the bottom and I think the match is pretty spot on. The original piece may be a touch darker but it also has 38-years of exposure.

bottom5.jpg
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby Bullet » Fri May 25, 2018 9:24 pm

Question on the tubular K-member. Do you still have to use a modified oil pan or is there enough clearance for a standard pan? Nice work on the 'birds.
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Re: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Formula: Project Phoenix

Postby RedFiveKBS » Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:27 pm

Bullet wrote:Question on the tubular K-member. Do you still have to use a modified oil pan or is there enough clearance for a standard pan? Nice work on the 'birds.

Honestly, I do not know yet. However keep in mind that the stock V8 Monza oil pan is dented for the steering tie rods too so I would suspect so.
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