E2 69 Trans Am convertible restoration at home in a 2 car garage
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- E2 69 Trans Am Convertible restomod Restoring your dream car, in a two car garage can be done.
Pontiac only produced 8 of these cars from the factory!! This is not one of them but to us it's the next best thing and we drive this car everywhere.
If you would like to view this car in person it will be at
-Firebirdfest St Louis May 2022
-Trans Am nationals Dayton Ohio August 2022
Hope to see you there
Join us on a journey of a car left for dead brought back to life in a two car garage. Unfortunately 80% of the original metal rotted away over the years. The only part that is original metal is windshield frame, upper cowl and dash, the rear seat back and rear inner quarter panel bracing. The goal with this build was to make it look like Pontiac assembled it using only factory GM parts from any year, while keeping it simple and looking clean and make you second guess as if it could have been bought new in this configuration. We hope this inspires you to finish building your dreams knowing it can be done at home in your garage, so get out there and make it happen. Check it out and enjoy the show!
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#Firebird #TransAm #Pontiac #Transmaroado #LSX
Absolutely beautiful car.
Thank you. It is my favorite build so far. Still going strong and looking good. Right at 8,000 miles on it now.
Probably watched that 10 times, but never get tired of it! Really well produced vid, kudos to all the crew!
This is an oldie but goodie for sure I was still learning the video and editing process still not bad
Thanks!!!
Welcome
My first car a in highschool a 1969 FIREBIRD in the mid 80s still my favorite car!! The first year 1969 1/2 Trans Am was IMO the most stellar of the series and the only year for that body style for Firebird and Camaro. To this day many moons latter I miss that Firebird to this day too bad I sold it needed money for school. Your Trans Am would be how I would build one today with a modern engine and upgrades..great job and a beutiful Firebird!! 😎👍
Huge thanks to you. Wish you still had your bird but the memories are forever no matter what! Appreciate you loving these birds especially the 1969 I love them all but they are my favorite as well
Spectacular my friend, spectacular. My, "I had a ..." story is/was a 1967 Firebird Convertible i bought in 1981 for $2750.00. A 326, great car that i put a new top on and a new Pioneer casette stereo (w/speakers) but used same holes for stereo and speakers for no damage. We had a halloween party in 1982 and while my girlfriend and i slept after the party my roomate borrowed the car to take a friend home... wrecked the car, totaled. End of Firebird story until now, looking for another (convertible or not) that i can buy for Sunday afternoons :) Love the TA invention of yours, absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the incentive!!!
Wow thanks i love my birds, that’s unfortunate about your bird, hope you find another one for evening cruises. They are out there a few deals still Exocet so keep looking.
Had 69' in highschool. 79'yr..
Me too but it was 97. I bet yours was in much better condition.
Looks awesome, nice job
Thank you much appreciated, it was a bit of a big project but another bird saved from the scrap pile.
Do you own a bird?
Did had a 69 drove it before I had children, my son has a 95 but it's not a 69
Right on! I had a fourth gen at one time nice car but prefer first gen. you know what it’s like to drive one. Any chance you see yourself getting another one?
Some day, my son and I are looking just not in the right place at the right time yet.
Right on, good luck on your search whenever it works out for you.
Looks good
Thanks! A lot work and creative repairs as you well know from you experience dissecting an entire car body.
You sir are a superstar ✨️
You found my pride and joy. Well until I get my high school car done then it’s a definite toss up.
@VVG Firebird Restoration Station you can't go wrong either way my friend
I'm all fired up and ready to start working on my 68 Firebird now. I pulled mine out of a field, but it's in slightly better shape than yours was when you first started. I definitely like the attention to detail that you put into this, and also LOVE the fact that you made this your own creation. That's really cool.
Great news you are ready to save your bird. That is music to my ears. I have put 10,000 miles on this car and still working great. 1969 Trans am is my dream machine, the odds of me owning an original one are slim so I made my own. Now you can do up your dream machine because it can be done all of it at home just some time, creatively, and of course a few bucks helps too. Good luck and best wishes on your project. Gotta save them birds!
Wow one of the coolest 69 Transams out there! My father had (now my sisters car) a 67 Pontiac Firebird Convertible 326 HO with 39K miles on it. Silver with Red interior and black top. I love these birds! I had a 67 Firebird convertible in High School early 80's (I wish I still had it). I am now building a 67 Firebird the way I want it.
Thanks! Had fun building it and 10,000 miles later still love driving it. Congrats on your 67 bird project That is the best part make it your way and how you want it.
All I can say is very nice job love the attention to detail
Thanks for noticing, I feel the details is what sets a car apart from being nice to amazing and it doesn’t take that much more time. I love driving that car. 7,000 miles on the odometer and many road trips later and still doing great. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and let us know how we are doing
That is super impressive!!! I wonder how many people never notice that it says RA VI instead of RA IV.
thanks Ronnie! it was a blast to build and even more fun to take the family on cruise with the top down. Pontiac did propose the Ram air 6 but never produced it so I did my version. you are the first to even mention it, good eye!! I appreciate the feedback
I noticed that as well... was wondering if you had written that right to left rather than vice versa.... but i knew better inside :-)
Again, GREAT job! The attention and reverance given to the Trans Am namesake almost makes me cry, there are no suitable words... and I'm a writer! Cheers to you and thank you for involving the entire family, quite a father!
I noticed it watching this video for the first time today and thought maybe the video was somehow mirroring the Roman numerals. But the Ram Air was running correctly so I figured there was a reason behind the Roman numeral for 6 instead of 4.
The car is sweet Jon. White and blue just like I like.
1969 trans am is my dream machine so this is the next beat thing and I love it.
Very nicely done!!! Very sharp detail.
I am about to finish my paint restoration on my 81 TA . Oh yes doing it in my two car garage. 👍
Awesome!! I need to come up with a Vinyl village garage certification for people like you making it happen in a garage. You don’t need a big fancy building or a huge budget to make your dreams come true. Good job and gotta save them birds!
Any chance you are going to Firebird fest in StLouis in May?
@@VinylVillageGarage Thanks and a VVG certificate would be cool. There are a lot guys doing out of there own garages. Me and my brother are going to try and attend more firebird events this year. Hopefully we can make that one. If we go I will let you know. My brother has one of the baddest 76 TAs out there check it out if you get time.
He did all the work himself except the roll cage.
Heck yeah I would love to check it out home grown bird and 1976! First year you could get t-tops and my favorite 2nd gen. Hope to see you guys there and keep me posted. I will be there this year with the Transmaroado.
@@VinylVillageGarage sounds good brother 👍
Would like to see your 69 bird. !! My brother did a 6.0 LS in the 76 with a power adder 💪🏻.
That makes a lot more power then mine. Nice choice.
That bird came out beautiful i hope my paint job comes out like yours! Just awesome and you painted it in your garage I see. I always wondered about that your the man that's for sure brother👍
Thanks. This is definitely the cleanest paint job i have done to date. It’s all in the prep work and quality paint products. This car still looks great, even after getting flooded out at FirebirdFest this year. I know it’s possible for you to get similar results at home. Of course respiratory protection is a must especially with the clear coat. That stuff is very bad.
Gorgeous car, and phenomenal attention to detail my friend! Well done!!
Thank you, it’s clean and built to drive. I am going to Pennsylvania tomorrow in it to visit my friend Luis to go play cars on his birds.
Love the work you do !!!
Much appreciated!! it was a fun project and brought another one back from the dead to.
Wow!
thank you had a blast building it and even more fun to drive.
Bad ass! I am building the same tribute car! Amazing work!!
Right on! I am doing another one right now but it’s Pontiac 400 powered with functional ram air
I'm a bit late watching this episode, but after seeing this video pop up on my feed I had to watch it. Absolutely remarkable work you are doing here and it looks even better in person (FF23). Hope to see it again, or the Great Pumpkin in other Firebird/TA events in the future!
Thanks for checking this video out and appreciate the compliments
On the old transmaroado. Back on the road over 4 years and 10,000 miles and still looking good. I hope to have the
Great pumpkin at some future bird shows too. Hope to see you there
Awesome work John. Attention to detail is incredible.
Thanks!!!, super glad you took the time to check it out much appreciated, My family loves this car and we wanted to share it and hope it motivates others to do the same .
💘😎
Thanks! This car put me back on track to building cars. It had been several years and i almost gave up on them.
@VVG Firebird Restoration Station you are doing a heck of a job man. I'm so glad you didn't give up. Your work is impeccable.
Me too friend, my wife is super supportive which helps immensely.
@VVG Firebird Restoration Station I can see that see really is, and that is so awesome.
Hi Jon… I commented last night about about the 68 firebirds . Just watched your vid on the 69 ram air… WOW😂… I’ve seen those cars (rarely) pass over the block at Barrett/Jackson . The way you rebuilt this one is way over the way the original ones were built as you know . But WOW… what a beautiful car . You are lucky . Thanks again
Yes the two 1968 birds in the family, yeah I built my dream car here and went over the top thinking this was going to be my last car I restored. Little did I know I was going to do several more and a UA-cam channle
@@VinylVillageGarage I’m really glad that you decided that . I like the ‘extra mile’ that you put into your build . I’m up in Canada in Ontario 21/2hr west of Toronto . We have similar weather here . I had an 85 Eldorado convertible a few years ago . Problem with that car . Mint , it wasn’t worth more than $20,000 . I’d put about 1/2 that into it . Then the rust had to be dealt with . I’ve a 2004 Audi cabriolet now . That car is way over what that Cadillac was . Don’t stop doing, you have a great talent plus you are quite entertaining as well
@@patrickjohnson600 brings up a good point, how much should you spend on a car overhaul? If I was doing it to turn a profit I am loosing money. I don’t do my builds with resale in mind I do it for the love of the car. I appreciate your positive feedback thanks again!
That laugh when she pulls the throttle cable hard is priceless.
I agree that will always be forever in my mind and love it.
Man, that's one hell of a transformation! I hope mine comes out half as nice as that one!
hey I believe it’s possible! just stick with it and keeping it fun I feel is the secret to success on a any car build.
I plan to use the steering wheel for this car BTW. Just Incase you where wondering which one
Man I wish I was your neighbor! Lol. That car is amazing! It has the perfect stance! Overall perfection!Makes the Camaro look like %=÷@. I'm sure that car will pull some #s. As for the Camero out pricing the firebird. Still don't get it. Maybe some day they will get the respect they deserve. Until then I will continue to work on mine like I have for the past 30yrs. Keep up the good work. You really have helped me with mine. Thank You! Brent!
Hey I would love to have more car building neighbors for sure. The current Pontiac trend on prices might finally put the Firebird above the Camaro. Thanks for your support and glad to hear that I might have helped get another dream back on the Road!
I need help trying to get my 69 firebird started. Thank you
Welcome
Hi John, first Im awed by your skill and results! Do you have videos of the ls installed from before the beast??? Im building a 67 LS swap Camaro and could you use any tips you have thanks!
Unfortunately no. I just finished this car and then decided to do UA-cam. This would have been an amazing build to follow. I can still answer questions as you go of course
Howdy John! I’m LS swapping my 68 and I have a couple questions. I am putting in the electric radiator fans and need a key on 12v power source for the relays. Can you share what you ran that side of the relay to? Also need a 12v when on and cranking to run my ECU so any advice for what to run that to would be awesome as well.
Hello again! I used the ignition coil wire after replacing it from the bulk head connector. The factory had a resistor wire that would have reduced the voltage on that circuit.
The real McCoys ’s are absurd overpriced IMO and drive it is out of the question almost too, so they’re really Not practical, They’re too precious to risk, this setup Is something that anyone can have and actually enjoy it ..
I can’t agree more, the goal is just as you said the real ones can’t afford and would be afraid to drive, but I love TransAm so we built this to enjoy them and share with those that might have never seen one.
Amazing car, and you did a fantastic job. I just bought a 69 Trans Am clone and am doing similar to what you did, but not as extensive. You have inspired me to keep going! My budget after buying my car for $55k is to finish it at $80k, and in a 2-car garage too. I work on it every day. I'm curious what you estimate the project cost in parts and how many hours of labor. Forty years ago I did all of the things you show in your video, but I'm too old for that now and just hope to be able to complete my TA this year. At least I have a goal to meet with my car that will hopefully be almost as nice as yours! Thanks -
Fantastic choice for a car!!, 1969 trans am has been my dream Machine since high school. This car including purchase price of $3,000 all parts just my guess under $22,000 total invested. I didn’t keep track. Didn’t want to know. Lol. Which I was doing all the work in the garage so no monies in labor on this one. My guess today with inflation, unfortunately, it might be closer to the $30k mark. Time as for hours no clue, it did take me about 2 years of play time after work and weekends when I found time.
The car I am building now I am tracking time and parts to see what it actually costs.
Super glad this video helped boost the motivation To get your bird back together, that Is one of the big goals of this channel. Gotta save them birds!!
I need some help. I have a chattering noise on the passenger side of my 68 Firebid convertible. I pulled the valve cover off. I have oil on every rocker arm, and the springs look good. However, I have 3 loose rocker arms. Is all I have to do is just tighten these up? I put a wrench on it, the nuts are TIGHT. Thanks for any help!
Very good question! Couple things to consider here. First if it’s a factory lift cam my guess is you have wiped off cam lobes. A factory cam doesn’t have any valve adjustment just torque the rocker nut to 20lbs. Now if it’s a high lift replacement cam it should have adjustable rocker nuts installed, like poly locks and then yes you might just need a valve adjustment.
The question becomes what cam are you running?
And whichever cam you have In the future you must add zinc additive to the oil. Modern engines have gone all roller parts and they removed it from oil and you will can wipe out a cam in less then 50 miles without it.
I bought the car in 2002, in 2000 the original cam and lifters were replaced with an Edelbrock performance plus set up. I've always kept up on the oil changes, but I've never added zinc (wishing I had). It doesn't use any oil, can I keep driving it or do I need the work done now? I will have to take it somewhere, I don't think I could do it. Thanks for your help!
Old cam new lifters and no zinc additive I would almost bet my car that is has damaged lobes. The Unfortunate thing is these old cars have to have the additive. I killed the cam in my GTO thinking I would be fine. Boy I was wrong.
To say can it be driven? I suppose so. It will have some noise and not run as good as it should but it will continue to wipe more cam lobes. There is a way to test if the engine has a damaged cam but you will need a dial indicator. It will need a cam and lifter swap soon if the cam is the issue.
I wouldn’t condemn the engine this is just my best guess with the given information. A proper inspection of the valve train is the next step. If I can be any further assistance let me know
Is there an other way to open the link for the car flipper build.
I don’t have a video on assembly
Of the flipper I do however have drawings of the parts
So I was lookin at three different Real 69 TA cars and the point of concern was the steering wheel on them.
One has this same OEM stock generic type just like yours here same color too , another has one that is a Bir small Diameter looks like it's from a 70 TA car, I think the bird emblem in center, then the 3rd has a woodgrain type, like my 69 400HO RA3 car has.
So Do you have any way to verify which type Steering wheel are for a Real 69 TA?
Yes the answer is all three where possible. The 70’s style formula wheel was supposed to be the “trans am” wheel. If I remember right it was a later option but should have the first gen bird on the horn button. The wood grain sport wheel was the more common and my favorite I have since added one to my Transmaroado. It my preferred option. Last the standard three spoke wheel was used. The two spoke wheel i have never seen on a trans am
@@VinylVillageGarage
Yes I would prefer to go with the Simulated woodgrains type also, I like that the best.
Are there aftermarket ones available that are good quality look-a-likes , that might be the best route there?
I guess I could hunt for an OEM one and know they're pricy' units yet It's welcome to the game!
Another question here, I seen there are those hime- joint swivel leaf spring bushing pieces . GlobalWest makes them .
Do you have any experience if worth the time to have those VS the OEM solid bushing?
The science behind it seems superior over OEM straight bushing.
thx
I have not tried them yet. From what you say they sound more rigid and durable. The only thing I tried is polyurethane bushing and Tubular control arms on the front. Car handles amazing buy you feel every bump in the road. So what I have to say is it will change the ride depended on what you want smooth and soft or responsive with firm ride.
What wheels are those?
Year one 17” Pontiac rally. Uses the same center caps as the original rally wheels