RESTORATION : Story By Images - Pontiac Firebird 1969 ( PART 5 )

PART >>> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

Pontiac Firebird 1969
This car is from the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where our customer once lived. He purchased the car there in the early 70s and has held on to it ever since. It is a 400, 4-speed, triple black car. He has spent the last 5 years on the restoration in his garage. The subframe and drivetrain have been restored. He has asked us to assist with completion of body work, panel gaps, painting and overall finishing of the car.

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RESTORATION : Story By Images - Pontiac Firebird 1969 ( PART 4 )

PART >>> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

Pontiac Firebird 1969
This car is from the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where our customer once lived. He purchased the car there in the early 70s and has held on to it ever since. It is a 400, 4-speed, triple black car. He has spent the last 5 years on the restoration in his garage. The subframe and drivetrain have been restored. He has asked us to assist with completion of body work, panel gaps, painting and overall finishing of the car.

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OTOCARS : FORD MUSTANG 1969

The 1969 model year restyle "added more heft to the body" with body length extended by 3.8 inches (97 mm) (the wheelbase remaining at 108 inches), width increased by almost half an inch, and the Mustang's "weight went up markedly too." 1969 was the first model to use quad headlamps placed both inside and outside the grille opening. The corralled grille pony was replaced with the pony and tribars logo, set off-center to the drivers side. The car was longer than previous models and sported convex rather than concave side panels. The fastback body version was renamed Sportsroof.

1969 saw the introduction of the Mach 1, with a variety of powerplants options and many new styling and performance features. Distinctive reflective striping was placed along the body sides, with a pop-open gas cap, dual exhausts, matte-black hood with simulated air scoop and NASCAR-style cable and pin tiedowns. It used steel wheels with bold-lettered Goodyear Polyglas tires. A functional "shaker" hood scoop - which visibly vibrated by being attached directly to the air cleaner through a hole in the hood - was available, as were tail-mounted wing and chin spoilers and rear window louvered blackout shade. The Mach 1 featured a deluxe interior with simulated wood trim, high backed seats, extra sound deadening, remote sports mirrors and other comforts. The Mach 1 proved popular with buyers with 72,458 cars sold in 1969.

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RESTORATION : Story By Images - Pontiac Firebird 1969 ( PART 3 )

PART >>> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5
Pontiac Firebird 1969
This car is from the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where our customer once lived. He purchased the car there in the early 70s and has held on to it ever since. It is a 400, 4-speed, triple black car. He has spent the last 5 years on the restoration in his garage. The subframe and drivetrain have been restored. He has asked us to assist with completion of body work, panel gaps, painting and overall finishing of the car.

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RESTORATION : Dodge Charger R/T 1969 MOPAR MUSCLE ( PART 2 )

Not wanting to compromise on the ideal gear ratio in order to maintain some sense of sanity on the highway, MCR installed an aftermarket five-speed transmission conversion. The Dana 60 now only needs to carry a set of 3.73 gears for Michael to be able to make full use of all 600 horses, and still be able to hear his sound system on road trips.

MCR restored the interior back to stock, with the help of YearOne and Auto Instruments, and the latter added a nice touch by coloring the gauge needles to match the PPG Tapestry Red Pearl paint.

So how long will Michael be satisfied with his R/T's performance this time? That's hard to say. I suppose as long as it takes him to find the limits of this one.

Fast Facts:
'69 Dodge Charger R/T Owned by: Michael Bichl, Wheeling, Illinois

Mopar Power

• Engine: The factory original 440 was stroked to 493 cubes by Mike Ware of Muscle Motors, who also added a CRE main girdle with all ARP hardware for ultimate reliability. A custom Muscle Motors magic hydraulic cam works the valves in the Indy heads that are fed by an Indy intake and an 850 Speed Demon carb. An Aeromotive pump, fuel lines, and fittings supply the fuel. Spent gasses exit via a complete TTI system with two-inch coated headers and full three-inch pipes with an X-pipe and Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers. A full BeCool system with a Marsh pulley setup and Classic Auto Air keep both the engine and the driver at their optimum performance temperatures.

• Transmission: A five-speed with a Lakewood bellhousing and a hydraulic clutch is the perfect choice to handle over 600 pounds of torque and still be able to spread it around enough to make full use of it all.
• Rearend: What could be more bulletproof than a Dana 60 with 3.73 gears?
• Horsepower and performance: Muscle Motors measured 599 hp at 5,800 and 623 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm. Michael hasn't had a chance to get his R/T to the track yet, but this should be more than enough power to keep him satisfied--at least for a little while.

Sure-Grip

• Suspension: Anything you can do to get some weight off of the front of a big-block car will improve handling. A Reilly Motorsports AlterKtion K-member does that and more, with a full power rack and adjustable coils around QA1 shocks. A Flaming River tilt column and wheel provide the directional input. In back, relocated Eaton Detroit leaf springs braced by Cal Tracs traction bars and dampened by another pair of QA1s help keep all that torque aimed in a straight line.
• Brakes: Nothing improves a guy's nerve with the power pedal like knowing that the brake pedal can bring him back to reality. Master Power Brakes and Baer teamed up here to provide full power four-wheel disc brakes that can dissipate the power as fast as Michael can turn it on.
• Wheels: American Racing Torq Thrust II wheels, 17x8 inches up front and 18x10 inches in the back present the perfect classic look.
• Rubber: Nitto Extreme Drag 305/45R18s will attempt to hold tight out back, while Michelin 245/45ZR17s will guide the way.

High Impact

• Body: Except for the rear quarters and the trunk floor, this is an original '69 Charger unibody car. OK, the rear is mini-tubbed, but if we didn't tell you, you'd never have noticed it.
• Paint: Michael almost went back to the Charger's factory original F8 dark green, but in the end settled on PPG's Tapestry Red Pearl. The R/T stripe was painted on.
• Interior: YearOne came through with a complete original interior, this time black instead of green. Auto Instruments rebuilt the dash and even colored the gauge needles to match the paint color. MCR custom built a fairly non-invasive cage so getting in and out will not be a chore. They also fabricated a carbon fiber top console plate that replaces the factory wood grain decal.

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RESTORATION : Story By Images - Pontiac Firebird 1969 ( PART 2 )

PART >>> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

Pontiac Firebird 1969
This car is from the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where our customer once lived. He purchased the car there in the early 70s and has held on to it ever since. It is a 400, 4-speed, triple black car. He has spent the last 5 years on the restoration in his garage. The subframe and drivetrain have been restored. He has asked us to assist with completion of body work, panel gaps, painting and overall finishing of the car.

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RESTORATION : Dodge Charger R/T 1969 MOPAR MUSCLE ( PART 1 )

RESTORATION Dodge Charger R/T 1969  MOPAR MUSCLE Michael Bichl was born into a Mopar family, and, like many of us, he fell in love with what he grew up with. Granted, a Slant Six Valiant is not exactly a high school dream car, but it did give Michael an opportunity to practice some of what he was learning in shop class. He discovered that he liked working on cars, and he spent some time helping a couple of older kids in the neighborhood who were running '69 and '70 'Cudas. By his senior year, Michael was wrenching on his own '71 Road Runner that a year later yielded to a lightly modified '73 Dart. After finishing trade school, he was itching to put some of his full-time salary into an E-Body of his own, but finding one in the early-'80s in the Midwest rust belt that he could afford proved to be a challenge. Eventually, a close friend stumbled upon a Dukes of Hazzard Orange '69 Charger R/T that Michael "had to look at" and (you already know where this is going) after one look, he bought the 440-powered TorqueFlite shifted North Carolina native for just $1,600. Michael couldn't resist pulling the engine and drivetrain to give everything a good once over, and the result was six years of road trips, car shows, and low-14-second e.t.'s. But what Mopar owner is ever really satisfied with their current power level? By 1989, Michael pulled the 440 again, this time with the intention of adding some cubic inches. But he had recently purchased a home, so the engine project had to wait for the finances to catch up again.

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RESTORATION : Story By Images - Pontiac Firebird 1969 ( PART 1 )

PART >>> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

Pontiac Firebird 1969

This car is from the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where our customer once lived. He purchased the car there in the early 70s and has held on to it ever since. It is a 400, 4-speed, triple black car. He has spent the last 5 years on the restoration in his garage. The subframe and drivetrain have been restored. He has asked us to assist with completion of body work, panel gaps, painting and overall finishing of the car.

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Shelby Mustang GT500 Eleanor 1969

The 1969 G.T. 350s and 500s were largely styling modifications to a stock Mustang. By 1969 Caroll Shelby was no longer involved in the Shelby GT program, and the design was done in-house by Ford.The GTs lost their Cobra tag for 1969 and once again were marketed simply as Shelby GT 350 and Shelby GT 500. The GT 350 and GT 500 for the 1969 model year received an extensive face lift, the body alone increasing in length by 4 inches (100 mm). 

Ford was heavily involved with design and style decisions, with Shelby having very little input. The GT 350 was now equipped with a 351 cubic-inch V8. Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969.

1969 - Shelby Parts Ways: Shelby continued to produce Shelby Mustangs every model year until 1970. In the summer of 1969 Shelby terminated his partnership due to differences with Ford. 

A 1970 Shelby Mustang did make its way to buyers, although the car was actually a carry over from the previous model year, legally marked with 1970 VINs.

No production of 1970 Shelby GT 350 and 500 models was actually undertaken, however unsold 1969 models were given 1970 vehicle identification numbers under FBI supervision.The 1970 models had two changes, a front chin spoiler and two black hood stripes. A total of 789 were re- VIN'd.

Even though production of Shelby GTs had ceased, a small numbers of 1971 and 1972 models were produced on the request of BelgianShelby dealer Claude Dubois. Shelby agreed to build 14 1971/1972 Mustang based models which were marketed as the "Shelby Europa" and sold only in Europe.

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Ford Boss 429 Mustang 1969

In 1969, the NASCAR racing event had a major impact on the cars sold in the U.S. market. To the extent there are anecdotal, if a NASCAR race car wins on Monday then his car will be sold in the market.

So Ford responded to this by installing a racing engine to the Mustang Boss 429. The result is a Ford Mustang Boss 429 1969 which produced as many as 859 units. The selling price of this car is estimated at U.S. $ 220,000.

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