TWO LANE BLACK TOP

From the point where the pic was taken from (downtown Winston Salem)...High Point is about a 20 minute ride...Depending on the traffic..East South east..US route 311/I-74.. I -74 is a newly constructed Interstate highway a few years ago ( Still new to me)...Splits off from US 311 goes around...The city. Runs into I- 85 just to the south of Greensboro....US 311 is Main street right thru the middle of High Point..Used to go cruising down there all the time..Until the cops started harassing everyone a few years ago.... Sure that if I look hard enough..Have areial pics taken from some towers in High Point too.....,

Winston Salem N.C

Firebird Have not been ignoring you...Just been really busy the last few weeks...If I look real hard I'm 95% sure that I have that issue of Road and Track...You are referring to.. Thank you for your input and interest in my Formula.. I'm no expert.. but am well versed on F bodies all generations..If can be any help let me know..

Have found someone to repaint my Firebird...(Local shop with an excellent reputation) They Will give me a lifetime guarantee...(As long as I own the car) Although it is kind of pricey...I think it will be worth it in the long run..Car is not.. nor will it be for sale... In my lifetime anyway...Just want her to look good for the next 20 years of her life..As of today.. She will be able get into the shop last week of May...They figure the turn around will be three to four weeks... Will try to document the transformation as much as possible.....

Have a thing for basic stripper cars.... It's about man and machine interacting in unison....A well tuned engine of anykind...Is almost like a Stradivariuos Violin.....In some sort of Zen kinda way or something......

Times have changed...21 years ago when I special ordered my 1LE Firebird..The option was so obscure and unknown that all the Pontiac dealers within 50 miles of here...Had no Idea that such a package even existed....They didn't even to bother look..Wanted to sell me loaded Ws6 TAs that were on the lot...Finally went thru a friend of a friend of a friend who owned a Pontiac dealership Who also had never heard of it either...But sorted thru all there literature and talked to someone (maybe a GM executive??)..Was able and did order it for me...with all the deleted creature comforts..(Was forced to have A.C. couldn't be deleted after 1996) and the added performance enhancements..mostly suspension and brakes...Was 5 grand less than the price of a loaded TA...Although it does have a very Harsh and unpleasant ride..Especially now that I am not 35 anymore..It is definitely a blast to drive...Even though it is outdated...Can still hold it's own against almost anything (Porsche..NSX..Corvette..Jaguar..Mustang Cobra R..LS1 cars etc..) On a nice curvy road like the Blue Ridge Pkwy...Or the Tail of the Dragon..Among others...Where the extra horsepower is not as big an advantage.. Can only carry so much speed thru the tight curves and survive it..(Knowing how to drive helps too) Like it is stoplight to stoplight or on long straight stretches... If GM would offer a "heritage" version 1LE as a stripper package with no unnecessary creature comforts and electronic gadgetry to help knock the price down to an acceptable level..With a V8...They might actually sell thousands of them.. 1LE 20 years ago..Economically Viable and obscure.... 1LE Today... Heavily promoted and Economically Unviable....

So sexy......Even better if it has a good personality to go with it, and performs like it should.....

Frosty , Indian , Firebird, (In no particular order) Thanks for y'alls input, opinions and advice.. Pretty much knew in the back of mind that I would have to do the whole car...Now I am moving on to find someone I can trust to redo the car..That's the hard part..They're alot of hacks and Self proclaimed experts out there.. So I will be extra super thorough in my screening process.... Also found the chemistry class insightful and interesting....

Indian,Frosty, Thank y'all for the input..Going to have Someone look at my car this weekend...Will make a decision on how I'm going to proceed then...Will keep posted if interested..... There is one thing I'm curious about...My 96 Firebird (bright blue metalic color) Have owned since 1998 has been exposed to the same conditions and environment as my red one for just as long..The paint on it is in really good shape pretty much no issues at all other than needs a wash right now..Was wondering if the color could possibly could have in some way contributed to the demise of the clear coat ??? As far as the wrap have had a couple of race cars done (NASCR Modified) So I'm somewhat familiar with it... Do know that the quality of the material used and the finished results can vary widely...Can also be a real pain the ass to remove....

Last Indian More than likely will go the route that you suggest..Not expecting show car results anyway..Have comunicated with a couple paint guys..They seem to agree too..Might be able to paint just the affected panels that need it..

Firebird ,Indian, Thank y'all for your input..As far as value of the car I know that the paint condition hurts it..But it is still a 1LE ..and it is ultra RARE..28 produced in 1997 according to PHS..14 of them were actually titled.. the rest went straight to the track..Realistically...rare means Unpopular..Will Probably never have alot value except to me..Most of the people That see it Don't have a clue what they're looking at...To them it's just a V6 firebird with an after market hood Someone stuck on it..That being said.. Am not looking to sell it anyway.. Have had a few different paint guys look at it..General consesous is Like Indian said Where the clear has come off.. the base coat is salvagable...accept for maybe the hood... Then again one says it can be saved..Another one says it can't..Personally I think it can..The clear on the doors.. fenders..Quarters is in good shape no signs of flaking..crazing or having an opaque look to it..Worst part is the hood and the front bumper cover as indicated in the pics..When the weather clears here in the next couple days will take some really detailed photos of the rest of the car .. Then will go from there Last Indian... pinion seal replacement went really well..No issues.. Used the Lucus oils...

The clear layer has been peeling off of my 1997 Formula 1LE over the last few years...Honestly it looks terrible..My delema is...I want the car to remain as original and unmolested as possible..Pretty much the clear is peeling off the roof.. Rear bumper cover..Front bumper cover and the hood..My question is Do I redo the whole car..or just the part of it..Am afraid if I don't do it all it will never look right..At the same time I want to keep it as original as I can..As of today the only things not original..Besides the fluids are the tires the battery..serpentine belt...clutch master cylinder... rear pinion seal and the fuel pump...mechanically it is excellent...other than that is completely original Any advise or feedback would be greatly appreciated.....

I saw a half 389 or Trophy 4 cyl. In a local junkyard within the last year.. Was in a 62 or 63 Tempest..What was left of it...Was missing the cylinder head..Had probably been robbed off of it years ago..Rest of the engine...Exposed to the elements....Think the Intake and carb..was laying on the floor. On the only little non rusty solid spot inside the car... Don't know if it still had the transaxle in it or not.....

Cool car....

Have to agree with Frosty on this one...Petronix set up with the light springs for the advance is a good reliable way to go...Especially on a street engine, looks original from the outside too...Have used it many times with good results...

I too come from a long line of very highly skilled and respected tradesmen..Dating back a hundred years...Have been pretty much hands on since I was able to walk...Could go on for hours or write pages upon pages about it...Appreciate the fact.. Frosty and Last Indian that I'm not the only one that has the same insights and thoughts...The reality is times have definitely changed and it will never go back to the way it was before..... Frosty you have my vote for CEO of GM also....

Have to agree with both Frosty and Last Indian...Here's my take on things...Technology and mass media..Has in the last 30 years completely changed our society and the way people..Wheather it be individuals or giant corporations...Interact (Or should I say interface) with each other...It is happening at a faster rate than it has ever changed before..Is still changing almost on a daily basis...Next time you go to a restaurant just observe the families...Everyone of them all have their individual communication devices doing their own thing and don't even talk to each other unless it's to show each other something on their phones.. Skilled trades (welding..Machine work..ETC..) are dying a slow horrible death..Younger people are not interested in doing those kind of things anymore and look down on those of us who do..It is really hard to find anyone under the age of 45 with anykind of skills and working knowledge, Common sense...ETC..Even when I do come across a young person who really wants to learn a good trade...I will go out of my way to try and show them the ins and outs (Real world problems.... Applications and methods and thinking outside of the box) Versus what they're taught in school...just As soon as I think that they're actually making headway...Their cell phone will beep or something...It is like someone flipped a switch somewhere..Then it's back to the basics for the 20th time.... I'm coming to the harsh realization that the way I think and do things makes me pretty much like a Pontiac or a dinosaur...(Extinct)

Thank you for the kind words....Glad was able to help....

STFT= short term fuel trim LTFT= long term fuel trim OL= open loop which means that when the engine is cold the MAF (Mass Airflow sensor) and the Oxygen sensors are not talking to each other and is running on the factory cold start parameters.. (rich)..that are stored in the PCM (Power control module) As the engine warms up it goes into closed loop..Which is where the coolant temp sensor comes into the picture... When it senses the proper temp..It tells the PCM.... Then the MAF and the O2 sensors actually start communicating..Adjusting timing..fuel mixture (leaner or richer) fuel Injecter pulse width...ETC..According to the throttle position..Temp..humidity and driving conditions...ETC....That is also why a vacum leak can cause it to idle up and down..When extra air is introduced into the system between the MAF..and the O2..It sends the PCM a confusing signal so it idols up and down to try and compensate...for the extra air... Also when the check engine light is on it sends it into open loop...(rich condition)... The fuel trim is basically what the mixture of air and fuel is over different time periods....

Without actually seeing it.. Would be hard for me to say for sure about an O ring...Or where it Would go....Has been awhile..Maybe if I could see some detailed photos.. You're Welcome..No problem

Or maybe....Balance and Blueprinting the rotating assembly....and setting the valve lash....Of course won't run right unless the cam is properly degreed for max power..

I'm jealous...Thought this was a family friendly website...All this car porn has me thinking of sexually harassing Mrs. Two Lane...Which is not a problem...Until I accidentally call her Valvoline....

The only way that you can prevent your cellular phone from being tracked is to take the battery out of it... Was involved In a head on collision in 2004 that destroyed my mint condition low mileage 86 TA...Was hit by a teenaged girl who was blabbing on her phone and doing everything but driving...When she crossed the centerline in her Sunbird and hit us at 55 MPH....Happened so fast that I never saw it coming...Until it Was too late..Was EXTREMELY lucky that everyone concerned was basically able to walk away....Am still pissed about it..Personally I pretty much hate laws and regulations..but think that you should loose you drivers license If you get caught playing with your phone while driving..Just like a DWI......

Earl and Boris