2 strangers revive a project car in a third strangers driveway and win most roadkill award at the hot rod 70th anniversary event before roadtripping it 2,000 miles across the usa.
Hi! Great lowbuck troubleshooting on the fly! You got nerves of steel to make that road trip! Congrats on the award. I am the Cali guy who supplied the heatercore.
Thanks a ton Jerry! I'll be shooting a video of that install at some point- can't decide whether heat or a 4 barrel swap is more important to me right now...
@@MadScientistGarage c'mon man, be responsible, no brainer...is a clear windshield more important than big smokey burnouts? Shit no....ROFLMFAO...I know what I would pick...I'm 53 going on 17...love Ponchos...a 6.6 liter 455 and a TH400, Gear Vendors u/o drive, and a Ford 9" w/3.73s...happy motoring! ďã wõõķįęę
This is what good old hot rodding is about. Tinkering with stuff often taking on other's frustrations and getting it going. We used to do this a lot in high school and I probably enjoy it even more today. These 2nd gen F bodies used to be everywhere.
Great video, as usual, Vlad. I always love them! You have, in my opinion, one of the best channels on RU-vid. I am always very impressed by your skills, and your attitude toward both your work, and family.
I bought a '75 Firebird back in the spring of '86 from a lady who thought the motor was dying. She said it turned over slowly and wouldn't start. I ended up getting the car for $50...thats right, $50...I put MY fresh battery in it and it spun over just fine. It wouldn't run due to no gas, as in bone dry. The fuel line under the car was rusted out. It was an Eastern car so it was rusted. It needed rear quarters and door skins but it ran perfect. I turned it into a stock car and had a great time with it. Sad though that the white interior was mint but I couldn't find anyone who wanted it so it went to the junk yard. 350 2 bbl with the automatic. Just like yours.
November 2015 I just got my license straightened out and I was looking for a car for less than 500 bucks to road trip from Omaha to Nashville to see my kids because I hate flying and I hate riding the bus. I bought an 87 olds custom Cruiser with way more Rust than wood grain from the second owner who bought it from the original owners kids after he passed away. The second owner had a little bit of money and wanted to relive his youth a riding in the back of one of these things but he couldn't get it running they put in a tank a filter a pump a carburetor and couldn't get any fuel pressure and gave up and it said until I bought it for 375 including the tow just like the car you're talking about it turned out the whole six foot of fuel line tucked up into the frame rail I had more holes in it than an underground sprinkler system after I replace that and some mystery old on the cylinders she fired right up and I put Just a Touch over 40,000 miles over it since then
Awesome video guys. I'm from Australia and love Firebirds. This is a gem of a find. I found a pace car numbers matching here in Oz . Did a whole video series on it Keep it up guys
Great video loved it! Wished I would have seen you at ziptie drags! It was a blast! Jon killed it there. He stepped right in and killed it on the mustang swap!!
Yeah, been running on fumes lately so it's extremely important that i don't sidetrack from what I'm trying to finish now. Jon is pretty cool. We're planning some more fun with him as soon as we can.
Someday my man. Go check out my Instagram or facebook page for this channel and you'll get the backstory about what happened to us. Spent 8 months in the hospital last year with our baby. Still trying to recover financially from that.
...and the headliner sags just like my mom's, too! Man, you're Datsun build was epic...you bringing back this Firebird Esprit back to life is the another epic experience! :)
I know this is an old video but I have to put my two cents in! I have rebuilt tons of those 2/CG carbs and every time almost on the first fire the float sticks, I would always take a good sized screw driver and hold it from the "wrong" end and tap on the carb right at the inlet and it would ''unstick'' the float and work perfectly after that. I paid for my house and filled it with new appliances by scouting the streets of mine and neighboring towns for broken down Pontiac's to get running and resell back in the 70's Back then there were so many cool cars to be had for next to nothing that you young guys would flip out if you could go back to that era! Another thing I would have told you if was there would have been to look up inside the timing chain cover and check out the timing chain to see if it was loose and to make sure it had a steel gear on the cam and not the plastic toothed one that would break apart and let the chain spin! That gear failing is what was wrong with 75% of the Pontiacs I bought back then!
I just bought a 75 Camaro. I am in the process of getting it going. It was a base model with the 250 Inline 6. I am converting to a 5.7L (converting to Carb) out of a 97 Chevy Silverado with a 700r4 behind it. Good to see these mid 70's cars coming back to life.
@@johnmilner7603 the car is getting a whole suite of new poly bushings and front suspension, along with new front springs- all of that came in the trunk of the car! I have a 4BBL and TH350 for it as well now.
Nice score guys !!! ... have to say .. I AM Surprised ya'll didn't get any grief from the neighbors about ''doing auto repair in the driveway'' ... one of the guys in my neighborhood caught ALL Kinds of grief for changing a flat tire on his car ! .. I was like REALLY ? ! ? ... I WISH I could still work on my own stuff , wrecked my back years ago ... I HAVE to pay someone now ... even to change my oil ... anyway .... I'm looking forward to more videos of what else you guys do with it car and/or other cars/trucks
With a little more effort put into production (editing, maybe talk to the camera...make us viewers feel like we're there too), this could take up the slack left by the demise of Roadkill (dead to me - unsubbed when they put up the paywall)!
Awesome! Sounds like a fun trip and a great challenge! We are RVing across America and I'm pretty sure I saw you guys somewhere near Vegas pulling out of a gas station!
Old School, only way to go. Duct tape, a couple zip ties. Iowa bound. I remember driving an 83 Subaru wagon from Western, Mass to Des Moines Iowa. Loud exhaust,Fans run on a toggle switch. Could only fill the tank half way. Over 130 thousand on the car. Would fill the tank up and drive, Hoping to drive faster and futher thank the leaking tank.. Leaving a trail of gas behind me.Having to keep the windows down because of fumes. 60 bucks in fuel and 36 hours later I'm in Des Moines. After all the fun of driving I hit the mother of all floods. Des Moines river went 28 ft over it's banks. 'Summer of 93'. Can you say road trip.😎😎😎😎😎😎😎
When you actually want an engine fire to measure as a benchmark of success, you know shits getting good! Hey,i heard broom start! Yeah buddy, now we're cooking with gas!▪☆☆☆▪
Yeah, thankfully we had no real issues after we figured out why the carb was acting up. Never should have trusted that it was rebuilt right... and just done it ourselves the first time. We had fun regardless
I gave away a 79 that looked like a lot like this minor rot lost storage was moving really sucked at least my mechanic fixed my truck, still not fair exchange!
I used to have a 75 esprit just like that, with a 4speed sagnaw. that tranny put up no fight to my abusive teenage gear grabbing. I still remember the bolt sizes when swapping out transmissions in that car.
@@InvincibleExtremes yeah, back then pre-internet I had to hunt down a muncie by going to junk yards, asking mechanics, and friends of friends to finally buy one. things are so much easier now.
I like the episode and how it's going down but you can easily tell a driveway pro from some take it to the shop they can handle this guys/ just throw parts at it
Thanks. I don't know everything, not even close. But I do have an overall idea. And thankfully this firebird was in incredible shape when we showed up.
Invincible Extremes Muscle Cars Garage yea I noticed it wasn’t at all in bad shape... but still ... you did some good work got it running and out to the show 👍🏻 props
Next video will include Lucky costa saying hi, some pics elana took of us, racing, and some highlights from the show.... And then a road trip 2,000 miles to Iowa and a revival of my very own 68 firebird which hasn't been on the road in years..m
Invincible Extremes Muscle Cars Garage can’t wait ! Wanna see that firebird ! Anything on the charger ? I’m not sure if I missed something or you haven’t done a update on it ?
I bought a car with a full tank of gas that had been sitting for like 4 years . It had a v6 and it plugged the filter then I put my v8 into it and it plugged the rockchester 4barrel filter and the next fresh one seemed to last. On a side note the V6 was worse on gas than my 5L v8 I put in it . no joke
Jon bought a 4 barrel intake and carb and a th350 to replace the junk th200. All for 200 bucks. So that's coming up later. But right now I'm dropping our roadtrip video. It'll be watchable soon
super video .. i enjoyed it very much !! was it a job for you or was this a free repair for that guy ? i think there are lots of guys who are stucked with there project ... greets from Holland my wrench friend !! Piet .. owner of the Musthavestang
@@InvincibleExtremes then you are a real Hero!!! 👍 respect.. Because talking a plane a train and then work with a total stranger is taking a risk.. We all.glad you did because this is road kill show al over again..!! 👍 👍 👍 thanks man.. We loved it... Ps dont go broke on this 😂 mebe Freiburger contakt you. You never know.. 💪😋
It was a risk yes, but I made new friends, and made a positive impact on the young man's life, and we will work together in the future. So it was all worth it.
Dude your channel is coming along I have learned so much. I have a 72 buick riviera that sputters at 70mph and sometimes when hot just cuts off. I see the fuel filter is dry once it fills back up I can start the car any thoughts.
The Espirit with the blue paint were targeted for women buyers. Would make a great sleeper. I had a 76 formula from Ogala Nebraska before I moved to Aspen Colo. You should have taken the 6x heads off and dropped them on a 455 block with a good cam. Those heads are excellent flowing heads, you would have to drill a hole in the rear of the exhaust area head to mount a set of exhaust manifolds/headers on it.
@@InvincibleExtremesBTW, Pontiac V8 like cams with 112 LCA. Butler performance does sell Comp Cams stuff with 110LCA. If you go the Comp Cams route, I would look at the Xtreme cam line. It their equivalent to Crane Cams stuff.
They literally had no fuel related issue in getting this car running ? The cleanup and "rebuild" of the carb would have been the same on an EFI system that sat the same amount of time. Your comment is pretty invalid.
I think it's cool how you tend to tell us what the cost of the vehicle was. The majority of youtubers out there want to be all secretive and don't want you to know what they paid. Probably cause they plan on selling it afterwards. But the thing is, it don't matter what you paid for it. All that matters is what it's worth to the next guy.
Friend of mines sister had a 75 brand new, so in 76 he figured out where she hid the keys, when she was away, which was often, car handled like it was in rails, only thing was my pal, lived to do neutral drops, you know, put it neutral, rev it to like5 grand, throw in drive, we were 15 and 16 yrs old, total idiots, well you know the rest of the story, transmission blew up, car had 15,000 miles on it, we went to the local AAMCO, and the guy tells us, II have a suspicion you've blown your transmission, 40 years later, when we talk, we always say that retarded line, he got his ass whipped from his father, nothing happened to me
Invincible Extremes Muscle Cars Garage I’m sorry to hear that. My grampa had brain cancer. It is great you got to spend time with him. It’s rough man.... all you can do is keep on keepin on like you do
@@MadScientistGarage just glad to see another firebird saved! I've got a 79 and an 80 Trans Am, would be cool to meet Vlad, been following his page for quite a while.
wait you guys are from iowa? me too. couple months ago i bought a 68 firebird. engine bay is completely stripped. i got some parts with it including the original 3 speed automatic trans. but do you guys have any tips on how i should build it up? im 19 and owning classic american muscle has been my dream for quite a long time. anyway i bought a 1980 chevy 454 engine from my buddy who runs a junkyard for 150 bucks and to be honest im not ultra car savy and would like your input. cheers from lansing
I honestly wouldn't bother with the 454... but you can use it with camaro big mounts and a speedway $39 adapter. You can always upgrade to a Pontiac motor later.
I have many many many videos about my 68 firebird. Oh and I'm not from Iowa, but Jon is. I flew in from Hawaii to help him. Find my page on Facebook or Instagram and message me. I'll see how I can help, or at least keep an eye out for parts for you.
@@InvincibleExtremes ah dude you are amazing. but im not sitting on a whole bunch of money at the moment as it goes but i really appreciate it man :D and this is the first video ive seen didnt know you had a 68 but awesome man. as fir the 454 i feel like i might stick with it for the horses my only issue is learning how to get it all setup i guess since its not a traditional pontiac motor and ill have to just see how it goes i but it shouldnt be bad.. but i thought about just looking for a pontiac engine. the guy i bought it from put the one from my car in his 1973 trans am.
@@icecreamdaycatlin8896 adapter for the Pontiac trans is cheap, I know of a 301 Olds (out of a '79) in Iowa Falls you could just about have, that's not an upgrade by any means.
There's plenty of upgrading in the works- snagged a TH350, 4 Barrel, and intake on the way home. The trunk came full of new suspension parts for it too.
@@InvincibleExtremes they can become porous and hold fuel. Only way to really test em is to dunk in a cup of gas. If it floats its good to go. And I guess if it runs thats a good sign too lol.
Physically impossible to put a fuel pump on a Pontiac on backwards. And our issue with the carb wasn't lack of rebuilding knowledge, but trusting that the previous owner had "rebuilt" it properly. Which clearly he didn't, so we wound up replacing everything he had replaced, and he even used the wrong gaskets. But regardless, I'm just your average dude who loves muscle cars and am willing to learn what I don't know and take a risk. And Jon... Jon is an accountant. And despite him not knowing older cars at all, we had a great time, and that's what it was all about. And if you have something to teach us, feel free to throw up some videos and I'll watch them.
I second what he said, and also, just the gasket was upside down. It happens when you change 1 every 3 years and had 2 hours of sleep. Easy mistake, easy fix. The stuff that went right on the first try isn't interesting to watch. Haha
250gb of shared footage, not including what Matt had. But Matt lost his, either way, it'll be the same story from a different snapshot and a different style of editing.
Reminds me of mine when I first bought it.. Had the 350 with 6x6 heads but wasnt fast enough actually it was pretty slow. Bought mine for 3500$ took out the whole drive train. bought a Pontiac 400 stroked it out to a 461 ci built Turbo 400 tranny new rear end everything..Haven't gotten to much body work yet Ill have to save up since I spent it all on making the bird fast, Check it out on my page I have one of the best burnouts on RU-vid. I think I have 26 views for that video and there all from me lol. Good luck with yours.
Guys GUYS GUYS.. PLEASE stop referring to BIG BLOCK...ANYTHING when your talking about Pontiac's please...I realize your not old enough to really know a whole bunch about a whole bunch but Pontiac NEVER EVER made a Big Block anything .. the 350 inch Pontiac motor is physically the exact same engine as the 455 ...Who or where you picked up the term big block small block from as far as GM is concerned apply's to Chevy ONLY ...Pontiac motor's DID NOT MAKE A BIG BLOCK ANYTHING... You can however order the HD springs that the T/A cam with I think they might be like the F41 option Big fat front T/A sway bar and all ..Do you know how I know this ...I been building Pontiac's since High school .. like the class of 76 ..But s far as rebuilding or Jiffy kitting the carb .. Unless fuel was pouring out of it or it would not idle .. I would have left it be flat out maybe ran some Lucas thru it for a while ..let it go thru a few heat cycles ..before ripping into it ....At least that's been my experience ...I'm guessing by the level of pure excitment coming from guy number 2 his Automotive skills are at best part's changer ? I happen to know for a fact your either a Born motorhead with native ability that only grows Or your a wannabe parts changer with NO clear working knowledge of how an engine operates and what make's it take's to make it run right ..nowhere is it written that every single man child standing is a Car guy... I know plenty of them I see them all the time at Auto repair shop's with there wallets hanging out ..But you guys keep after it ...I'm sure you'll get it eventually ...
Gotta love them pontiacs. And yes, well aware they only made one size Pontiac in multiple engine displacements and castings. I said as much in the video. I also said that WEIGHT wise, a Pontiac falls in between the two Chevy engines and that's something to consider when choosing suspension parts. And as far as the carb, our downfall was leaving it alone. I glanced at it and made the assumption the previous owner had rebuilt it right... when in fact he had used the wrong gasket and had blocked off the accel pump. But we had a great time over all, and drove 2,000 miles back to Iowa in the next video. After I had spent some time going through the carb yet again AFTER we had gone to the hot rod show and back. Glad you watched our video, and I wish you the best in your own Pontiac adventure.
Because that's an myth. On a Pontiac the starter is under the headers and you can't reach the solenoid contacts easily, especially once it's been running and the headers are hot. You can only do that on a ford.
And more importantly it's a young man's prized possession. Something he will spend time and money on making it better and reversing the damage time has done. Thankfully, it's got almost no damage from rust.
Get to the BONEYARD and get an LY6 6.0L LS VORTEC and a 4L80E.DO IT RIGHT WITH THE LS SWAP. ALSO MOST V8 FIREBIRDS HAD POSI IS THOSE DAYS.... I HAD A 76 WITH 350 2BBL CARB and that bitch had posi in it and it was purchased from the original owner who was a nurse so it's not like she threw a rear end in it.
I love ls engines, but it would be pointless to swap out a perfectly good running Pontiac set up. Jon is swapping in a 4 barrel intake and a th350 trans for pennies, and going to focus on tidying some parts of the car before figuring out what he wants to do with it.
Maybe. He's been pouring money into it steadily for a few years and having no luck getting it running. Thing hasn't seen the highway in almost 10 years.
@@bigredracer7848 I shudder to think what my ET might be. I may just shoot for reliable, decent gas mileage, and decent handling. I want to drive this car a ton. Fast ain't cheap, cheap ain't fast!
these guys spent days doing less than a day of work. I've been driving Pontiacs my entire life and to see people act overly dramatic about everything is just ignorant. and who on God's green earth would leave the car to where you have to raise the hood to start it?? I'm sorry but this was a useless waste of time.
People of all walks of life coming together to try their best with a classic. The next video is about the roadtrip itself and our experience. It was a good time.
