Frosty

Nice headlights, and the G8 looks great too! Yes, I a sexist pig. I admit it, but hey I am guy....and I ain't dead yet.

1.869 at Kroger this morning. Saw it for 1.779 at Mobil in Auburn Hill MI - just south of the old Pontiac Silverdome on Opdyke and South Blvd - but I think that was with a car wash and discount.

Glad I can help. I also double checked notallthere's link on the dash pad - it was to Firebird Central as well for a used dash pad. Depending on what Just Dashes charges, it might well be worth it. At least you have options now. So what is your game plan with your car at this point? Also, send us some photos of your door and rear deck lid. The more I think about the fact that someone went to the trouble of shaving the door handles makes me think they might have already installed all or part of a shaved door handle kit and either they didn't finish the job or it quit working. I can't imagine someone would be silly enough to shave the door handles and not have any way to open the them from the outside with the windows rolled up. Still stranger things have happened... One last question about your car, do you have the documentation to verify that this is a '87 Formula, like the original MSRP sticker or an original build sheet? You can verify what your car was built with by contacting Pontiac Historical Services (PHS) Online. It is the authority for all things Pontiac on how they were originally built. Just give them your VIN # and credit card. http://www.phs-online.com/ Good luck with your car.

I got gas at Kroger yesterday morning for $1.719 plus 10 cents off for fuel points. Later in the day, all the gas prices in the area jumped to $1.999 for the MLK weekend. My wife is mad because she didn't gas up in the morning like I did when gas was cheaper.

It's over already ?

How do you know he hasn't hacked your webcams???????

Me....I was watching Barrett-Jackson all night.

But....he....is....watching....you !!!! Happens every time his wife leaves him unsupervised.

Very impressive collection of Pontiacs. You don't see many '77 Lemans Sport Coupes that are not Can Ams or 4-door Catalinas these days. I had a '73 Lemans Sport Coupe in high school. Welcome to FP.

OK, here is my list of suppliers. Some are used parts / salvage yards and some sell new / OEM / OER parts. Classic Industries http://www.classicindustries.com/ East West Auto Parts Inc http://www.pontiacpart.com/ The Fbody Store http://www.fbodystore.com/servlet/StoreFront Firebird Central http://www.firebirdcentral.com/Default.asp Frank’s Pontiac Parts http://www.frankspontiacparts.com/ GM Sports Auto Salvage http://www.gmsportssalvage.com/ Hawk’s Third Gen Parts http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ Indiana Pontiacs http://www.indianapontiacs.com/ YearOne http://www.yearone.com/ Desert Valley Auto Parts http://www.dvap.com/ CTC Auto Ranch http://www.ctcautoranch.com/index.html Your '87 Firebird Formula used the same spoiler that was stock to the Trans Am in '87, so that would be aero wrap around spoiler. In '86 the third brake light was at the top of the rear window, in '87 the third brake light moved into the middle of the spoiler. In '86 the spoilers were black regardless of the color of the car and were a black leather vinyl, in '87 they are all plastic/fiberglass and painted body color. Many of the new/OER supplier have new replacement aero spoilers but they are not cheap and you will have to paint it to match your car.

True enough....I was a programmer/DBA in my youth. I don't have to do that anymore. Like the T.I. at Offutt AFB in Omaha told me decades ago....sympathy is in the dictionary - between sh*t and syphilis.

No problem, I still owe you a list of parts suppliers too. Its still on my to do list. What is the shape of your current spoiler? Or is there no spoiler?

Good for Ford, they need a halo car for the marque. No matter how much you love a fully loaded Shelby Mustang, it is does not garner halo or super car status like the Ford GT/GT40 cars do. Clearly this will give them something to compete with Corvette and Viper in that niche.

It feels.....painful to the wallet?

The the material of bodies vary with the builder. Some are fiberglass, others are metal, it just depends. Typically a custom body is made by using a wood buck and then the sheet metal or fiberglass is form fitted over the wood buck. Sadly, most of the models either got broken or thrown away over time. The nice thing is though, you can still find these model kits - they are either still available on the internet or you can find them at swap meets. Some of the Funny Cars I built

I'd guess if everything runs as it should and you have no real performance mods to the car, then I'd say you could run a 13.3 at ~106 MPH as is.

Did you check the ground where the Phoenix was parked? Any tell tale puddles of fluid? If so, it might give you idea of where to start looking for the leak. Let's hope it is something as simple as a wheel cylinder bleeder screw that needs to be tightened.

OK - now that I know that you have shaved door handles, I know what you need. Street rodders and hot rodders have been shaving door handles for well over 50 years and they install either a mechanical or electric shaved door handle kit. You need to a couple of basic things, one is a mechanism that unlocks the door and pulls on the door latch mechanism. These days that is usually a wireless key fob. The second is a spring loaded door "popper" to push the door open enough for you to grab it and pull it open. There are lots of kits out on the market but these are generally universal kits and it will be your job to make it fit and work in the Firebird doors. There is no kit made to fit the Firebird. Another thing to consider, especially if you purchase an electric kit, is what happens if the car battery goes dead? Does the kit allow for any sort of remote manual release mechanism like a cable pull or push button (most street rodders hide something like this under the frame somewhere). So do your homework, ask questions of the companies that make these kits or who sell them. Calling hot rod shops would also be a good idea to see which kits they recommend, sell, or install themselves. Here is one such kit and the associated door popper from Summit Racing - as an example http://www.summitracing.com/parts/eli-99800 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/eli-99520 You can Google shaved door handle kit and find lots of these type of kits on the market. Here are some videos to give you an idea of what you need to do to install a kit into the doors. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECVXw3Qqe8 >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecdQEx2fAP0 >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR9OZlAtTAE Your dash pad is beyond the help of a simple Eastwood repair kit. I would contact Just Dashes and see what the cost is to have it rebuilt. http://www.justdashes.com/ Based on your picture, it looks like your window felt weatherstripping needs to be replaced. Anymore weather stripping you need to replace? Steele Rubber Products has you covered. http://www.steelerubber.com/beltline-weatherstrip-80-0687-57 What is the situation with the rear spoiler? Which one are you looking for?

Metric I believe - I think it was designed down under in Australia by Holden.

Great, I have not forgotten to post a list of links to some suppliers for you either. I have just gotten busy with work and I have Boy Scouts tonight. I promise to get you a list. I an anxious to see your pictures.

Let us know how it goes. I use to go thru a lot of AC Delco batteries in my '86 Trans Am in the days before smart battery tenders. They would die from sitting and sulfating since I didn't drive the car on a daily basis, especially in the winter. So the battery would not get exercised and charged regularly. The clock would slowly drain it, and the whammy, a 5-year warranty battery was dead after 2-3 years from sitting around too much without being sufficiently charged. Any chance you can pull the battery out of the Phoenix, put it in the barn and put it on a battery tender when you are not using it in the future? Its a pain in the butt to take it in and out, but it sure beats having to replace a battery prematurely too. A Battery Tender Junior runs about $35-40 and does not take up much room. Now days you can get them at O'Reily's and other local auto parts store directly. Small investment, in my opinion, to save having to replace a $100+ battery.before its time.

OMG Stratman - I agree with you 100%. My brother and I built model after model from Revell, AMT, and MPC as kids. Remember the Paddy Wagon, Red Baron, Boot Hill Express, Pie Wagon, Tijuana Taxi, the Tarantula, not to mention all the dragsters and Funny cars from Revell? Carl Casper grew up in Flint. My dad's barber was his uncle and he got us tickets every year to the custom car show at the old IMA Auditorium. So we got to see Carl's latest creations every year, plus some of the craziest customs of the day by other premiere builders. Sadly, Carl only does one car show a year now, in Louisville Kentucky. He left Flint back in the late 60s. Carl's uncle has been gone for nearly 30 years. I talked to Gene Winfield last winter when he was at the Detroit Autorama. He was chopping the top of a '62 Ford Starliner during the show. I first met Gene back in 2004 at Rockin' Rods on Route 66 show in Bloomington Illinois. We had breakfast with my buddy Chuck. Chuck and Gene are buddies and he introduced Gene to me years ago. In fact, it is thru Chuck that I've met George Barris, Daryl Starbird, and Trixie Roth too. I have a T-shirt with all of their autographs from the Rockin' Rods show. I have several Rat Fink T-shirts signed by Trixie too. Actually, I don't think there is anyone in the classic custom car industry that Chuck doesn't know. He knows the Alexander Brothers too. George Barris' brother Sam, "Candy Apple Red" Joe Bailon. Bill Hines are just a few others that come to mind. All I can say is that I've been very fortunate to meet this wonderful legends.

That is sad news Havoc. I am sorry to hear the Lt. Col didn't make it. What caused the plane to go down? What was the reason for the failure of the ejection seat? Poor maintenance?

Welcome to Canada, eh !