New member from North Haven, CT

New member from North Haven, CT · by Greenbird76 on Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:38 pm

I just joined this site and just finished 16 months of resto work on my 1976 Firebird Esprit. It still carries its metalime green paint and original white vinyl interior with balck accents. The car has been on the road for ab out 2 weeks. I am interested in joining cruises and sharing thoughts and ideas with other Firebird owners. Here are a few pics of the resto as well as the way the car looks today. All suspension, steering, and drivetrain components are refurbished or new. The car has a 300hp sbc, th700r4 conversion and 4:10 posi rear. The original interior is in great shape and only needed minor attention. The original Rally IIs have been sandblasted and repainted- Beauty rings and centercaps are original. I hope I am posting these pictures in the right place.

New tail panel; donor inner valence; right and left inner and outer rear quarter extensions.

Replaced rusted rear portions on frame rails with donor pieces.

These pics were taken last week.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by rkellerjr on Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:15 am

Great Esprit and welcome to the site.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by **69_RAG_TOP** on Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:23 am

Welcome to the Charter Oak Birds site.

Sounds like a good performance set up if you are running 300HP and a 4:10 posi rear.

The 700R4 transmission is one of the best automatics that GM ever manufactured.

Do you have any photos of the engine compartment?

The interior and body looks very straight and has been done very well.

Good to have you here.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by hdebo on Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:18 pm

Glad to see you made it over here. Another member and myself will be going to Beacon Falls show this Sunday if you are interested in taking a ride. Also we may be going to cruise night in West Haven at Savin Rock. Give me a shout if interested. You have my number from Firebird Nation.

Car looks great.

by Greenbird76 on Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:33 pm

the condition I got the engine compartment in

This is a 400 pontiac with pink rods, ram air VI cam and mildly worked 6x heads. The codes read it as out of a 77. I bought it with little miles on a rebuild from a guy in the early 1990s for $500 lol. He used it to race in the trans am series and hit the wall with this motor at 100mph totaling the car. The motor has gobs of torque and after a rebuild, will go into this car. The motor has been sitting for over 12 years.

All four corners look like this. I stripped, primed, painted or replaced everything.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by **69_RAG_TOP** on Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:26 am

Very nice. Looks like you replaced or upgraded everything...the engine compartment, motor, top end, valve covers, booster, master cylinder, front end, brakes, shocks, rear end, differential, suspension, undercarriage components, etc.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by **mr71transam** on Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:13 pm

If you can make it there will be a few Firebirds at this cruise. Would be Great to see you and your Esprit.

Sophia's Restaurant (former Harbour Seal Family Restaurant ) Cruise Nights 2011, Route 1, Boston Post Road, Westbrook, CT, Hosted by the Shoreline Recycled Teenage Cruisers, every Wednesday night May 18 thru September, 5:30pm - 8:30pm, awards every week, Open Show Street Rods, Customs, Classics and Antiques, call (203) 457-0789, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is a Dairy Queen across the street.

This is another nice cruise. about 30 - 40 cars. I try to make this cruise at least twice a year.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by Greenbird76 on Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:24 am

Here are some pictures of her at the car show at Cheshire day yesterday. Cell phone pics but not bad.

Here are some other new pics from this week.

Re: New member from North Haven, CT · by rkellerjr on Mon Sep 12, 2011 12:37 pm

Great job, looks spiffy!!