Thanks to all for help and advice...

Tone.... Mechanical
Grandpa..Funding
Wes,Pat,.Stuff Tone and I couldn't do.
Mullin's Race And Machine shop. Carbeuator.
Tim..... Tierods and more
MAMA, for those 8:55pm runs to O'reileys (they close at 9:00)
and Dad, For that cash you refuse to take from your '79 Riv.
(It will be missed)

*After doing some math, i found that my car is about #6636 of the original 13,670 formulas made in 1975.

It was manufactured in Norwood,Ohio.
(6636)
2U87S5N534xxx

2--MAKE---PONTIAC
U--MODEL--FIREBIRD FOUMULA
87-BODY---TYPE-2-DR HARD TOP
S--ENGINE-400 V-8,4bbl.
5--YEAR---1975
N--ORIGIN-NORWOOD,OHIO
534xxx----SEQUITIAL PRODUCTION NUMBER.(SPC)

RESTORING

A picture before restoration

This is after the new floor pans were put in. we used caulk to fill in some of the gaps.

This is the passenger side .

Heres the Driver's side .

The 400 (or is it 455?) CU.IN. V-8. Only God knows where that air cleaner cover went.

9-11-07 update! a friend of my grandpa's found me two seats out of a 77 camaro. i'll get some pics soon!

9-22-07 update.
we began to put the seats in today. below, you can see the new seat and the old passenger seat ready to be installed.

here, my uncle is aligning the passenger side.

as we started to put the new seat in, we noticed that there was a piece of the last car's floor still attached. it wouldn't come off, so we have to put that aside.

here are some pics of the interior as it is now.

below, my uncle and grandpa look under the hood.

here, is my fuel line that has been leaking, we gotta fix that.

UH-OH! what's this?

it's the air cleaner cover!
it was hiding in the back window.

9-25-07?
new seats are in. the seat covers look much better.

9-27-07
As my uncle was driving it home, the transmission seal gave out and tranny fluid went everywhere. it sat a couple of days, leaving a large red stain in his driveway. we then towed it to a carwash on october 2nd and degreased the bottom of the car. this should make the repair alot easier without all of the remnants of that tranny fluid explosion.

10/5 to 10/10/07 update.

here' the seats with covers. i think they look great.

The shifter (yes, it's automatic) without a center console.

we need a tray for the back window still....

no radio.

the 400(455?) now. and my fuel line that's been fixed.

the CLEAN tach.

1/2/08

Since it's been moved beside my garage, there's been about 6 people wanting to buy it or my bug. Why? I really don't know.
Gas is supposed to hit $4.00 this week, and people still want a big 'ol V-8. (1/5/08)

2/9/08 I flooded it on one of those -5 degree days, I put new spark plugs in a week later. Later that day, I discovered how bad my carb really is. Just pushing down on the accelerator a little causes gas to spew all over my intake. The carb really needs to be re-built ALSO! when reving a bit, I found that I have a horrible oil leak and I need some valve cover gaskets.

2/11/08
I got the gaskets, I plan to put them on and take my carb off when it warms up.

2/17/08 got the carb off as well as the valve covers. i'm thinking about painting them.

2/22/08 The carb was taken to Mullin's race and machine shop. We'll get it back in a few weeks.

3/24?/08
The carb is back! Valve covers are now primered

3/26/08
Valve covers have been painted

3/29/08 Valve cover pics and carb installation.
I think they look ok for a quick spray down, it's not like it's going to Barrett-Jackson or anything. I think the breather makes them look great.

The carb is in working condition,usually it would stick open.

But, the studs to hold it on are worn (they're 33 years old!)and i stripped and pulled one out. I swear, it turned into a bolt.

So, i went to Advance and bought some new studs.

The new gasket is much better. The last ones just crumbled.

I took a closer look at the engine today. I don't think this was standard equpiment.

4/1/08? The valve covers were ready to go, but O'reily's sold me the wrong size of T-handles. Bastards. The return springs on my carb are complete crap, I'm gettin' some of those too. The car's original color was red, apparently.

4/5/08? Mullins Race & Machine shop to the rescue. The
t-handles will be in on the 8th.

4/6/08 Remember that flat tire from page one? Well, it's still flat. I took it off today.

4/7/08 After a long struggle, the tire went on. This car had some odd lugnuts. The studs don't even poke out, so the lugs have to go in deep. The holes were elongated, like a toilet bowl, so the tire had to be PERFECTLY CENTERED or else the lug wouldn't even start.

4/8/08 T-handles are here.

New return springs

4/9/08
New return springs and T-handles are on, along with the valve covers. There's still a vacum leak, but we'll have it looked at.

4/16/08 It's back from Odell's. the car is running great. The front brakes are bad, it pulls to the right when braking.
Today, I found my ashtray, a passenger window, and a door handle in my trunk. The hinges are rusted badly and the trunk looks like it collects water. The weather stripping is there, but it's rusted around it.

4/17/08 I came to the garage after school and my uncle had a surprise for me. He had painted the red spots under my hood white and painted the other parts black.

4/18/08 Finished painting the black parts and taped off the generic, chipped away chrome stuff around the back windows.
We took the tires off today so brakes could be put on. My uncle sprayer the wheelwells with rubber undercoat.

4/19/08 We got new rotors and pads for the brakes, but the caliper on the driver's side was toasted. a new one had to be purchased. The project had been delayed. The rotors are rough, kind of "squared off" in some places.

4/21/08 My uncle finished the brakes when i was gone, i came back the next day to find them completed. My car had been sent to BY-PASS autobody next door for a crack on the right quarter panel.

4/25/08 The car came back with a black pinstripe. it sounded gay at first, but it really looks nice. Got the rear-view mirror installed today too.

 

                                 

 

5/14/08
Tie rods and swaybar are off. They were pretty bad. sitting stil on jackstands, the tire would wiggle horribly. We're going to try to get the parts and have it ready for the cruise-in on the 17th.

5/19/08
Got the new parts. $300 special order.
we couldn't get them on!

5/21/08
My stepdad tried to put the rods on the opposite direction. It's not his fault, He didn't take 'em off. We found out from a long time family friend, also a lifetime mechanic, that we tried to put them on the wrong way. Well, they're on now.

New front sway-bar bushings.
new pitman*(how do 'ya spell it?) arms

My car still moves when the brake pedal is to the floor.
We're going to try a new master cylinder or power booster.

6/3?/08 Master cylinder is new, we need a caliper for the right front. The back brakes are poo, and my door might as well be a fish tank.

6/25/08 My car, decided to magically 'un-align' itself. We towed it(oh, it still runs) to the lot and it lost the insert that goes around the right headlight. When we drove it to the gas station, we noticed mold on the passenger floorboard. I don't even get to drive it with good carpet! It collects lots of moisture. I scrubbed id a bit too hard and my carpet looks a little like a shag rug....

Later that day, we took it to O'Dells for ball joints and proper alignment.

                             

7/7/08
Still waiting for the ball joints.
License tomorrow, hopefully.

7/16/08
My uncle put a stud to hold the air cleaner on. I closed the hood and it poked through.... So we plugged it with duct tape and caulk.

7/17/08
Scratched the driver's side with the bushes, it was either lose some paint or fall iff the canyon I call a driveway.

7/19/08
First show today. I met some people who said they were the previous owners. They said a 455 was put in the car about nine years ago. I guess it's not there now, because I order engine parts for the 400 and they work fine. Another guy recomended J.C. Witney (I think) for weather stripping. One man asked how much I'd take for it and I said 50,000. I vowed to be the last car to leave, but four outlasted me. Gas was $3.89 on the way home!

7/20/08
Using some info from YearOne, I found that 400 engines and 455s have interchangeable heads. That got me thinking, maybe I DO have a 455. I looked on my block and found the YW markings. That's a 455 code for generation 1, and 455 code for some gen 2 vehicles (automatic). I'll hopefully be taking it to an 'expert' tomorrow to find out for sure.

7/22/08
I ate my first bowl of rice today. 1994 civic Si(or whatever the 2 door sedan is called) with a muffler tip. You know it sucks to lose to a 16 year old kid and his mom(that actually had fun doing it)! I didn't even want to race, gas is too expensive! But come on, you can't turn down a challenge!

8/16/08

Washed the car up today for the show at Hardees. While making a right turn on the way home, I felt little response in the wheel. It went right but I kept moving straight before coming to a near stop.  Everytime there's a show, there's bound to be EPIC FAIL. Luckily, I was close to home and made it back. I called Tone a few times before I found the problem. The centerlink was separated from the idler arm on the right side.

                          

 I took mom's '96 Sable wagon out to Tone's and he found some crown nuts and cotter pins for me. He let me use the old floor jack from the garage to raise the car. When I got home, the nuts didn't fit right, so I ran to O'Reilys for one. It was the last one, and it was a freebie. Unfortuneately, it failed. Disappointed, I tried the nut I got from Tone again. It was kinda stripped so it went on partially. I got a call from my grandpa several minutes later. He said Tone was coming to help me.Tone arrived and rigged my car with a hose clamp to hold everything together.

I ended up making the show on time.

                                 

 I pulled out my joke 'parking brake', a rock labeled "parking brake" and placed it by my tire. The quart of oil on my dash was labeled 'breakfast'. Many people got a few laughs out of that. The day wasn't a complete FAIL, I won a doorprize, A chamois/window cleaner plus a Free buffet and game card for the arcade. I was one of the few 'daily drivers' out there. With my rust and 'fresh'bird poo, you could tell.

 

                             

Oh yeah, I spotted another Formula too!

 

 

8/18/08

Fixed yesterday's problem. No cotter pin though.

EPIC FAIL! I backed into a wooden post today. It left a small dent and a doo doo mark on the driver's side. The tire actually stopped from going down the car. I actually thought I hit it with the bumper....

                              

The white window tray's reflection along with m y dirty window made it hard to see. A stupid move backing up blindly.

8/19/08

Tone helped me get most of the dent out. I didn't even think of opening the trunk to punch it out!

I used some rubbing compound to remove some doo-doo marks.

8/22/08

Tone found the block casting number. The one thing I didn't manage to find. 485428 It is a 455 Pontiac from a 1976 Firebird.