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!
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.
Here's a quick update from the spray booth as bodyman Nathan sprays the first of several coats of Standox Sprayable Polyester filler on our 1969 Firebird "Routy". The Spray Poly is nice because it uniformly fills all the little sanding scratches, and being a spray product, it goes on quickly.
There has been a lot of progress on project "Routy", our 1969 Firebird. This time, body tech Nathan is getting ready to drill holes in the decklid he just straightened to install the Trans Am wing.
Our 1969 Pontiac Firebird project "Routy" was a pretty clean car to start with, but we wanted to improve upon some previous repairs in the floor and trunk floor area. In this installment, we replace the driver's side floor pan with a 1-piece replacement from Classic Industries. There are tips in this video that apply to any musclecar restoration.
Our 1969 Pontiac Firebird project "Routy" is going through the early phases of its transformation, with many small detail items being checked off the list as we go. In this installment, we fix rusty bodymounts and straighten some slightly damaged supports on the subframe. Then we're repairing rust holes in the radiator core support, inner fenders, and small holes in the body. We uncovered a patch in the fender we didn't like, so we replaced it with new steel using some cool butt-welding panel clamps from Eastwood. A quick spray with Standox SprayMAX 2K Epoxy Primer keeps the part protected until the bodywork phase. This stuff is cool.. it's a Standox 2k epoxy primer in an aerosol can.
That means it's got a primer and a catalyst in one container... you
break the seal on the can, and the two components mix inside the can.
You have to spray it out within about 1 week or it will harden in the
can. It's really tough stuff that sprays great over little repair
areas like this where you don't want to mix a whole gun full of
material. The firewall was welded up in anticipation of a Vintage Air air conditioning unit. The subframe and front sheetmetal parts were sprayed with Eastwood Epoxy Primer and Extreme Ceramic Chassis Black paint for long lasting protection and a factory-like satin appearance. Finally, we installed some Global West Del-A-Lum bushings in the front suspension pieces. Next phase... floor and trunk floor repairs! Click Read More for video!
The moment of truth...our project 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" came home from the media blaster. We had the interior, underside, trunk, and firewall of the body tub blasted, along with stacks of smaller parts like the inner fender wells, the radiator core support, and all the bumper brackets. We also had the complete subframe and suspension parts blasted, but that's a different story. This time, we're taking a closer look at the condition of the body. This car had many previous repairs, and it's not really fair for us to point out the details of previous work, but we think it's important to illustrate what we found and to make some observations on what we're starting with.
Be sure to click "Read More" and check out the photos!
Tearing down musclecars to their bare bones can be a big mess. Luckily for us, this phase of our project 1969 Pontiac Firebird named "Routy" went pretty well. Since the car was already mostly disassembled, it came apart fast, and we didn't have to change the name to "Rusty". Now that the car is blown apart and on the Autotwirler rotisserie, it's next stop is the media blaster where the piece-parts and underside will all be stripped of the flaky paint and undercoating residue. Then we'll know the real truth.. if this car is as clean as it claims to be, or if there are any secrets hiding under the primer. Be sure to click "Read More" for project photos!
Our latest project car - a 1969 Pontiac Firebird named "Routy" - has finally entered the building. It has been patiently waiting in storage in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, and owner Steve Prouty finally got a break in the weather and hauled it to the V8TV shop. The car is in pretty good shape, we don't anticipate any major panel replacement or real surprises, but we'll see when we get into the project. Here's the intro video with the car, and the other "goodies" Steve brought down from America's Dairyland. Be sure to click "Read More" for project photos!
"Routy" is the name given to this 1969 Pontiac Firebird project. It's a play on the last name of the owner, and the car's demeanor and looks are designed to cause a stir on the streets. We're starting with a 1969 Firebird that was originally a 350 2-barrel car, and adding a full Trans Am body package, upgraded interior featuring late model Trans Am seats, and 17" and 18" Boyd Junk Yard Dog wheels. The new engine is a 400-based Pontiac with lots of performance tricks. The design came from the creative mind of Ben Hermance at Hermance Design and highlights the car's original lines with a bright red scheme and subtle charcoal stripes. The stripe treatment suggests other Pontiac themes, like the 1969 GTO Judge. Below are the initial photos of the project before we started on it, and we'll post video and photo updates of every step of the restoration process.
