1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby zeke » Thu May 12, 2016 2:17 pm

Option 1 for the reasons you listed.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sun May 15, 2016 9:44 am

zeke wrote:Option 1 for the reasons you listed.

I am leaning more and more that way, Zeke.

I have one spot of rust under the right rear that is pretty concerning. Depending on just how bad it is will be the deciding factor. This is the car's worst wart by far.
crusty.jpg

I'll need a new rear wheel well for sure which I am sure will be fun. The interesting part is the spare tire well has only some surface rust in spots. No holes other than the little round weep hole.

The driver's side wheel well is much, much better. I know I need some floor pan work but those are not concerning to me. The rest of the car is pretty solid.

Of course, if I go the restoration route, I'll need another for a hot rod as that is what I really want. :D
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon May 23, 2016 8:06 pm

Had a fantastic time at the 50th Anniversary GM Lordstown, OH plant. It was rainy all day but still fun.

Parked next to Marco's Giglio's Spyder (red), Bill Lynch's Spyder (Yellow), and a pair of Mirages (the far one is Ron Lee's).
lordstown Show.jpg


Turned 79,000 Miles on the way there.
79000.jpg
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Wed May 25, 2016 8:17 am

My car is missing the plastic formal window trim. Who ever repainted the car simply filled in around the window with silicone caulk. I am hunting for some good pieces but the main part is plastic. I am guessing finding a nice piece off of a car will be impossible due to degradation. Fortunately, another member, Larry Leitz, assisted in the search and found one of the NOS plastic pieces at a GM dealer.
trim111.jpg

I was able to find one of the little metal corner pieces on eBay.

I need to hunt the left hand side which is #1672971.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Wed May 25, 2016 9:41 pm

Well...Now I have two Sunbirds.

twins.jpg

New one is a 1980 with 69,500 miles. Very solid car (more so than my 76). It has a number of weird and rare options too; G80 positraction (only 1.5% of 1980's had this option), Auxiliary rear speaker (5.7%), Vista-Vent sunroof (9.4%), and it is a V6 car (16.4%).

Even found the build sheet about five minutes after I took possession. It was in the driver's side door.
build sheet.jpg


I decided that the 1976 will become my High School tribute car. Not sure if I will rebuild my HS 327 Chevy or do an LS3. Really thinking the 1976 will be some sort of Sunbird Formula clone / restomod. It would look vintage on the exterior and interior but modern under the hood with an LS3.

The 1980 I will keep as is for now. Once the 1976 project is done I may do a restoration on the 1980. It really just has a few minor spots of rust except for the front fenders. They have holes in the bottoms behind the front wheels. The car was very heavily Ziebart'ed when new and I think it had regular updates during its life. The best part of having two is that when the 1976 gets blown apart this fall I will still have one to drive on nice days! :lol:

I still cannot believe my wife let me get a second. I think the main reason is that she found the 1980 about a year ago. She followed this kid home when she saw it and made him promise to call her if he decided to sell it. He kept the number and called her first. Nice boy. He was sad to let it go but he needed a more modern car to drive to college.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Sat May 28, 2016 10:00 pm

The sisters. Can't call them twins since one is a 1976 and the other is 1980. :lol: Lola the Blue Heeler puppy is guarding them.

Both Sunbirds.jpg


The 1976 got new upper and lower radiator hoses, heater hoses, and thermostat today. I sprang a small leak when I got to Lordstown, OH on the 20th of May. Of course, I had to order the upper and lower radiator hoses and forgot to order the little bypass hose that runs between the water neck and water pump. They should have it at AutoZone tomorrow morning.

hoses.jpg
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby Vegavulture » Sun May 29, 2016 1:55 pm

Great job and a good read, pictures are excellent,.....and TWO!
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Formula V8
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Mon Jun 13, 2016 5:33 pm

Had a great time at the H-Body show on Friday night and Saturday in Salem, OH. It was hot and windy but no rain.

sun1.jpg

Finally got to see Larry's beautiful Sunbird Safari wagon too.
sun2.jpg

I ran into a severe heating issue on the way to the show. My fan shroud has been broke since I got the car. I figured I'd MacGuyver it a little to see if it would help. Unfortunately, it didn't. I over heated several times on the way home.
fan1.jpg
fan2.jpg

Sunday was a wrench session. I pulled the water pump assuming it had failed but it looked like new on the inside. Also swapped out the thermostat from a stock 195 (which was recently replaced) to a 180. Flushed the entire system and refilled. Solved? No. Still over heating badly. I am starting to think there is a blockage somewhere. I was planning to start the tear down this fall but I think its going to start sooner. I don't want to put a bunch of cash into this 231 V6 just to drive it for a few months.

I have the 1980 I can drive while this one is down. Its just not as pretty.

1980.jpg
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:19 pm

OK. I am on the hunt for some details on Sunbird Formula decals that were used on the 1977-1979 models. No one seems to make these but if I can find good details I am sure a good sign shop can print them.
77SunbirdFormulaSportCoupe.jpg
79Formula.jpg


I would really would like to find some sort of GM drawing that shows the full details of the decals and a drawing that shows the paint demarcations on the body. I know the bottom and tail panel are painted in a dark charcoal.
trans_am_decal_placement_information_3.jpg
trans_am_decal_placement_information_4.jpg

Let me know if you know where I can find these details.

thanks!
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby Vegabee » Thu Jun 16, 2016 4:55 am

Searched 'Formula' here http://phoenixgraphix.com/ and Firebird decals came up looking pretty close.Maybe painting some of it on the bottom then decals.That paint scheme looks nice.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:13 am

Vegabee wrote:Searched 'Formula' here http://phoenixgraphix.com/ and Firebird decals came up looking pretty close.Maybe painting some of it on the bottom then decals.That paint scheme looks nice.

They make good products, from what I have heard. The Firebird Formula decals are a larger scale than the Sunbird Formula ones. Depending on what I can or cannot find, they are my next option. Thanks!
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby Monza Harry » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:45 am

Hey Kevin, Try and catch up to Ron [Sunula66] and bring lots of paper a pen, pencil and scissors and copy his then you can make stencils and paint them on, that way they will, way out last the vinyl stickers. I believe he intends to be at this years "Monza'Que" send him a PM and see what you can work out. And Ron since I put you under the bus can you check out the rear brakes for me? :lol: Harry memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1935
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:46 am

Monza Harry wrote:Hey Kevin, Try and catch up to Ron [Sunula66] and bring lots of paper a pen, pencil and scissors and copy his then you can make stencils and paint them on, that way they will, way out last the vinyl stickers. I believe he intends to be at this years "Monza'Que" send him a PM and see what you can work out. And Ron since I put you under the bus can you check out the rear brakes for me? :lol: Harry memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1935

Harry, Ron has a 1980 Formula which has the smaller formula decals. I am looking for the 1977-1979 ones that are larger. Thank you though!!

I do plan on painting on the Formula on the doors. The smaller ones will probably be made in decal form.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby Vegabee » Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:53 pm

The 76 and 78 Formula door decals look like the big ones.Call Phoenix and see if they can make those at 3/4 scale and send your Sunbird pics to them.
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Re: 1976 Pontiac Sunbird TC

Postby RedFiveKBS » Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:51 pm

Vegabee wrote:The 76 and 78 Formula door decals look like the big ones.Call Phoenix and see if they can make those at 3/4 scale and send your Sunbird pics to them.

I asked them if they could make them and they said no. You're idea may be a good one. Worst case, I would probably buy a set and have them redone in a smaller scale as needed. I really want to find the official drawings or details of them. They have to exist somewhere.
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