1971 - No idea where to begin - STUMPED!

[Cptmoney]

Hello all -

I'm new around these parts, but have great success using forums with a few other projects - so I've discovered you all.

Long story short, I've just been handed the keys to an old 2nd gen car. She's been out in a field for 5+ years....and frankly, I have no idea where to begin. There is so much potential, but I'm pretty intimated at this point.

I grew up driving a 1st gen Firebird, but it was light years ahead of this car. I really have no idea where to start.

From some very quick and dirty research, it looks to have been a 6-cyl car that's been converted to a small block with a 3 speed. Additionally, it looks to have been a standard package car, but now has some of the RS fittings up front, but not all.

The body looks to have been patched up with some interesting welding/panel work - but it's held for a good while. Paint is rough of course, and most of the interior is as well. The seats are/have been refinished in white/sandalwood, so that's a bonus.

To the point: what do we do with this? I'm not interested in a restored 6-cylinder, honestly, so that's out. What next? A souped-up driver? A solid driver would be GREAT, but that's going require some serious dough. Do we just get her running and dump it, and look for a car that's more solid from the beginning? In regards to the body, I'm guessing that there's no real way to determine just how serious things are until we start removing some of the paint - am I correct here?

So many questions!

The good news is the price was right, so we're sitting well in that regard. The bad news is we have very limited resources (it's just me a few middle school boys, working on this thing in the summer and after school). We can't afford to spend $10k bringing her around - not all at once, at least. Over time, we could do it....just taking baby steps and all.

We've done a few other cars before, but nothing with this potential. This is a REAL car. With sexy lines and a small block - the dream car for these boys (ok, me too!).

Take a look at the pics and tell me what you think. You can be honest - you're not going to hurt our feelings one bit. We're just looking for a bit of "jumping off" advice...

I'm going to post similar inquiries in another forum or two as well, looking for some input.

Here she is:

[nasty73lt]

Wow nice camaro id just fix the problem areas prime it with 2k block it out, put a nice small block in it and have fun.But from where im sitting it looks really good alot better then my 73 lt i bought for $2500 lol.

[Rene Melten]

So good so far, nice find!

[grzewnicki]

Looks nice. Safety first though, if it drives, I would go over brakes, steering, suspension components first. It is probably gonna need something, and if you go with mostly stock components and can do the work yourself you won't be shelling out a bunch of money to make it safe to drive.

[bnelson]

How come I never get the "get it outa my field" price? You have a nice looking find there!

I've done this a couple of times and I always started out with the mechanical aspect first.

What is it going to take to get it road ready. Engine, trans, suspension, electrical and the like.

I've done this because no matter what I finally decide do with a car it needs to run and drive with everything working. Then you can take some time to think about the body and all the visual stuff.

[Cptmoney]

We are SUPER fortunate to have come across it, and consider ourselves blessed to have the chance. We're definitely going to appreciate this one. It really is a great place to start - and the boys (and I) will learn TONS while we're in there.

Mechanically, I think we'll start with brakes. I learned this one the hard way! Once we get a project running, the urge to take her for a spin is simply too strong to resist - and we had a near-death experience the last time we tried it. Chalk that up to a lesson learned.

OK then - brakes....here we come!

[NorCal_71]

That looks like a great project car!
The first thing that caught my attention was the grill, someone did some custom sheetmetal work to give it rallysport turn signals and a standard non rallysport grill.

And as soon as your done with the brakes, your next priority should be to get rid of those chrome mirrors!!! Get a set of the stock bullet style and you will be good to go

[Cptmoney]

Good eye - the grill appears to be a standard grill, complete with hood latch/pull coming right out the front.

What else do you see? Is there an extension piece missing from this nose - something else that an authentic RS would have had?

[NorCal_71]

Originally Posted by Cptmoney

Good eye - the grill appears to be a standard grill, complete with hood latch/pull coming right out the front.

What else do you see? Is there an extension piece missing from this nose - something else that an authentic RS would have had?

It looks like it is using the RS upper and lower valances, but the flat flange that the RS grill extension would bolt to has been smoothed out to look like the standard non RS style.

You can now put a one piece bumper on it and have a one of a kind non split bumper Rallysport

[POS71RS]

Originally Posted by NorCal_71

It looks like it is using the RS upper and lower valances, but the flat flange that the RS grill extension would bolt to has been smoothed out to look like the standard non RS style.

You can now put a one piece bumper on it and have a one of a kind non split bumper Rallysport

Actually, it's the opposite. You can make out where the lower turn signals used to be. So it's got the standard front clip, but with RS lights cut/molded into the upper valance.

From the pics... the grill actually looks pretty good for a fab job! I'd consider keeping it that way.

As for what you should do.. well, you gotta figure that out. Looks like a prime candidate for a modified cruiser. And it looks fairly decent to start with.. hard to say about hidden body work.. but most are going to have a considerable amount of body work done after 40 years on the road.

[Matt Treck]

Very nice ride.

Making me jealous!

[bfmgoalie]

This is a great sight to be on to seek direction. A lot of these folks are very knowledgeable and will give you great advice. There were a lot of things I thought I knew about cars. Just to be on the safe side before I made a decision, I'd fire out a question (actually lots). As it turns out, I really didn't know crap. By the time I'm done with my car, I might be qualified for another BS degree because of the education I received here!

Don't be withdrawn; ask any questions you need help with.

Good luck!!

[Rene Melten]

They sure did a good job of hiding the seam on the urethane nose... interesting.

[BowHunter]

He Callsthat rough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He sure has not been around much has he??

Nice find!!

[KickinSomeA]

Originally Posted by BowHunter

He Callsthat rough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He sure has not been around much has he??

Nice find!!

yea you should see my car the advertisted ''no rust'' yea right... anyway that is an amazing find and im jealous. My personal starting point would be to get the engine running leak free(I'm having troubles with that )