This 1969 Pontiac Firebird is going to be a slick machine. "Routy" is a play on it's owner's last name, and features a passionate design by Hermance Design. The bright red 'Bird boasts 400 plus cubic inches of Pontaic Power under the hood with a 4-speed manual in hand. Late model Trans Am seats hold the driver in place, while 17 an 18 inch Boyd Junk Yard Dog wheels set off the stance. Follow along as we build Routy from pile of parts to mountian of style!
Newsflash!! V8TV-built 1969 Firebird "Routy" wins Best In Class at the
2011 Chicago World Of Wheels Show! Congrats to owner Steve Prouty and
the V8TV Crew!
We've finished the '69 Firebird, and we're really happy with the way the car looks and drives! Check out the V8TV "Routy" Microsite at http://www.v8tcshow.com/routy for thousands of build photos and info on how you can get a limited edtion DVD of the entire build!
We're in the home stretch assembling Routy's interior, wheels, emblems, weatherstripping, and all the little details to make it a complete car. A final buff with 3M Perfect-It Microfinish Compound and a foam pad makes it gleam, and then a hand-buff adds sparkle. We had the wheels coated at Extreme Powdercoating to offset the colors of the paint scheme. The restoration parts from Classic Industries look like jewelery, and Routy is standing tall.
After our 1969 Pontiac Firebird was painted, we made the jump to Electronic Fuel Injection using the Holley Avenger EFI system . We were impressed with the completeness of the kit, that it came with not only the ECM, throttle body, and hand-held controller, but also the complete fuel system down to the hose clamps. We used an MSD Pro-Billet distributor for the ignition duties. After a couple hiccups along the way... mostly ground related, our Pontiac 400 came to life and the system worked perfectly. It's easy to set up, tunes itself in learning mod, offers datalogging, expandability, and more. The drivability is sweet, the power is instant, and the car exhibits refined manners. The Avenger EFI system lived up to Holley's claims and then some.
The final video covering the paint process on our 1969 Pontiac Firebird project "Routy." This time, we're laying out the stripe design and spraying the DuPont silver and Gun Metal stripes. Later, we do the initial wetsanding with the 3M Trizact system, including the new 3M Denibbing gun. Lastly, we polish the car using 3M products. Next is the final assembly and installation of Holley's Avenger EFI system.
The paint sprayout continues with our 1969 Pontiac Firebird project "Routy." This time, we're spraying DuPont Hot Hues Red Hot Meltdown color and intercoat clear in preparation for the painted stripe treatment next. We're spraying with the 3M PPS system to minimize cleanup time and solvents, and to help measure the mixture accurately. Eastwood Pour-It lids also make things easy, and SAS Safety gear keeps everyone in top shape. Once the color was applied, a 3M Sun Gun was used to check the coverage. Part 2 of the paint application series.
In this video, complete the install of our Classic Auto Glass Innovations flush glass. Next. we prep our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" with 3M wetsand paper, tape, and mask paper and bring it to the booth for final application of DuPont Hot Hues Red Hot Meltdown color. Part 1 of 3.
We wanted our 1969 Firebird to be fun to drive, and that ment keeping the interior free from unwanted noise, and climate controlled. This time, we're installing Hushmat sound deadoner and heat insulation in the cabin, then adding a Vintage Air A/C system to keep the occupants cool. Some reproduction 1969 Trans-Am style gauges and dash pieces from Classic Industries as well as a Flaming River tilt steering column complete the job.
Once we had a rolling chassis, our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" needed an engine. In this video, we install the freshly rebuilt 1973 Pontiac 400, complete with new internals, a Ram Air IV cam, cleaned-up heads, a Professional Products Crosswind intake manifold, MSD Pro-Billet distributor, Super Conductor wires, and a Blaster II coil, a Holley carburator, and long-branch exhaust manifolds coated with Eastwood coatings. The accessories include some reproduction pulleys from Classic Industries, and an air conditioning compressor and bracket from Vintage Air. A MagnaFlow exhaust and Royal Purple fluids complete the install, and the car fired up right away and runs sweet!
We're building this car to have awesome drivability, and we wanted to use components that could stand up to some occasional punishment. It's no secret that the Currie Enterprises 9+ rear axle systems are up to the challenge. We already had the Boyd's Junk Yard Dog wheels and Nitto 555 tires, so we worked backwards and fit the rear axle to the car and wheels. In this case, we used a custom narrowed Currie housing loaded with a Nodular iron center section, 3.25:1 gears, a Detroit Truetrac differential, and 31 spline Currie axles. The Truetrac is a nice piece because it offers smooth, quiet operation, and locks automatically when needed. Once it was painted and installed, we added a Baer Track 13" rear disc brake kit. In front, we again used a Baer Track kit with 13" rotors and dual piston calipers for awesome stopping power. An Eastwood powder coated CPP master cylinder and stainless brake lines from Classic Industries round out the system.
After completing all the bodywork on our 1969 Pontiac Firebird, we disassembled the body to paint the tub with DuPont Hot Hues Red Hot Meltdown 2-stage urethane. After the red had flashed, the crew masked off the jambs and sprayed them with DuPont Clear. Then the fenders, doors, hood, and other parts were shot red, and the jambs and backsides cleared. It looks good in red!
Click the photo or this link to check out the first 125 pages of photos on the 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" project! These photos cover everything from the day it was delivered to the V8TV shop up to the block sanding of the sprayable polyester filler, with a couple shots of the engine and Currie rear axle. There are more photos and videos to come on this project, so stay tuned!
The 1969 Firebirds have a lot of pieces that comprise the nose, and in this video, we go through the process of making them all fit on our '69 'Bird called "Routy". We mocked up the bumper using the original parts, then threw them all away in favor of a new bumper, headlight bezels, rubber fillers, and brackets from Classic Industries . Then we modified the reproduction 1969 Trans Am hood to accommodate the Ram Air Pans and scoop inserts. Finally, the car was bodyworked with 3M body fillers and Standox sprayable polyester. A lot happens here, you might want to watch it a couple times!
After the subframe was re-attached to our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy," the reassembly began. First up was the sheetmetal, nameley the doors, fenders, core support, and the reproduction steel Trans Am hood. We had to do a few tricks to make them all line up correctly, but it wasn't too bad of a project. Here's how the process went.
We reassembled our restored front suspension with some new tricks to make our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" drive and handle better. First we replaced all the stock worn-out control arm bushings with some new Global West Del-A-Lum bushings for minimal deflection and smooth articulation. Then we replaced all the loose steering components with new parts from Classic Industries , including a new steering box, tie rod ends, center link, ball joints, idler arm, and pittman arm. Once we could put the wheels back on, we rolled the subframe under the body, aligned it, and bolted it up. Out back, we added some Del-A-Lum bushings to the Detroit Speed & Engineering 3" drop leaf springs and put the rear axle assembly back in the car. Classic Industries had more hard-to-find nuts and clips for the front leaf spring mounts. Now we can hang all the sheetmetal back on the car and start the panel alignment!
After the metalwork was completed on the bottom side of our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy", we applied some Eastwood
Epoxy Primer to the underside and inside of the body shell to prevent rust and to provide a base for the next steps. We then sealed all the seams with 3M Automix Heavy Bodied Seam Sealer (8308) using their pneumatic applicator. We like to mask off the seams with 3M tape, then apply the sealer, brush it smooth, and then peel the tape before the sealer hardens. The sealer ensures no moisture will creep between the panels and start to rust. Once sealed up, we scuffed the primer and applied several coats of Eastwood 2K Ceramic Chassis Black on the bottom and inside of the body. The 2K Ceramic Chassis Black looks like the factory black used on chassis parts, but is far more durable than regular paint.
The Pontiac 400 V8 engine that we're using in our 1969 Firebird project called "Routy" came to us completely as a rebuilt log-block with all new parts inside, but we were charged with the task of doing the final assembly and detail work. This time, we're test-assembling the brackets and parts on the engine, and came across a great tip to help keep your Pontiac V8 engine running cool. By the way, here's a link to the made in USA valve covers!
The trunk floor area in our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" was looking pretty rough, so we elected to use an assortment of repair panels from Classic Industries to replace the rust and previous damage repairs. The process went pretty smoothly, and we were able to butt-weld and plug weld the new pieces in leaving a factory appearance with no evidence we were ever there. A coat of Eastwood Epoxy Primer will help keep them rust free for good.
In this quick update, poor Nathan has been working his arms to the nubs sanding the Standox Sprayable Polyester on Routy. The stuff sands easy, but it is a
lot of work regardless. Here, Kelle takes a walk around the car to
see the progress.
