This is Ruby

[Nexus]

This is Ruby, formerly known as "The Project"

2021-01-08_10-24-31 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20191209_081138 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20191209_081356 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20191209_081017 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

I picked her up in September of 2000, drove her illegally to my grandfathers place a month later and ripped her apart. I was going to restore her in less than a year, with no full time job, and done in time for my wedding (first marriage) the following August.

Yeah right!!!!

She is a 79 Firebird Esprit, featuring T-Tops, 301 V8, rear spoiler, 14" Rally's, tilt steering, wrapped in the Carmine red exterior and Carmine red interior. It had 105,000 kms on her and sitting and time killed the engine so my donor car Black Betty gave up her engine to put into Ruby.

Like a dumb a**, I pulled it apart, traded away the clean non rusty front body parts, mint 79 nose, S.Steel rocker panel trim pieces that came on this and other things like fender wheel well trim and various other parts I didn't think I would need.

The idea is to make it a T/A clone and I plan to use the nose from a 77/78 but might be using the nose from Black Betty to start with, to get me going faster as the others need a ton of work.

I fixed accident damage on the right side

It's hard to see but the firewall was pushed into the cowl area, the frame support was bent and crooked, the sheet metal toe board area was torn in one part and pushed in, plus a bunch of other stuff that I cut out and replaced. I heat shrunk the area around the blower motor hole and above the heater core hole to pull it away from the cowl, fixed straightened and reinstalled the cab mount bracket and painted the entire area in the Chassis saver paint.

P1040503 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

P1040748 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Couldn't find a better picture but its all fixed up, floor on the passenger side is buttoned up and coated in Chassis saver paint!!

2020-09-07_06-06-24 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20201003_120619 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

In the pick above, the subframe had been rebuilt, re-painted, and re-installed and now I'm working on the engine stuff

With Black Betty in the garage, I was able to fire her up and proceed with removal

2020-11-30_10-55-02 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Click on photo for sound

20201215_202638_1 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20201223_103456 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20201224_171221 by Charles Marson, on Flickr


This is where I'm at now as I tear into the engine

2021-01-13_11-15-01 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

So far I'm happily surprised by the condition of the top side but I have yet to pull the oil pan!

Ruby has survived through my first marriage, and I've had her for 20 years. She is my forever car and I told my son he could have over my dead body...he replied with " Yeah, I know dad, that's the idea!!" My current wife is supportive of the project and she help to keep me focused on getting Ruby back together and on the road.

So I have been procrastinating with the heads and block so while I do that I have been sandblasting, cleaning and painting other parts.

20210318_155837 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210318_155900 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210316_211240 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210316_211254 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

[737driver]

Looking forward to seeing more progress reports! I’m sure that will be a real good car when it is done!
Jim

[Nexus]

One thing that is rare for salt riddled winter streets is a good foundation to start with. That is the reason I picked this up instead of a trans am. The body on this car is solid with very little rust.

Lately I've been working on restoring the aluminum bolt on's for the 301 and haven't had a lot of ground breaking progress but every little bit counts!!

[5th T/A]

Charlie,

You are making good progress.  Intake, balancer and water pump look brand new.

By the way, I am just blown away by your shop!

[Nexus]

Thank you sir,

The shop is getting bigger this year with the 16' addition being put on the end of it...wall with the clock on it!!

[Nexus]

Well, since the last post, I am still working on restoring the water pump housing as the aluminum was really pitted on both units I had and I'm thinking it's from people using non aluminum friendly coolant.

I have also cleaned up all the casting flash and wire brushed all the surfaces on the block, and soon I'll notch the top of the cylinders to aid in exhaust gas removal. Everything was coated in WD40 to keep the rust at bay until I can get it cleaned and painted.

2021-04-29_10-11-11 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-04-29_10-11-01 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

DISCLAIMER!!

What I have decided to do with this build is not the most popular way to refresh an engine, and I'm sure others will shutter but with that said, too bad, get over it...lol

Also, I am not building this for maximum power, or racing of any kind. I won't be thrashing the engine so for now, this will suffice and will likely work well unitil I can do it up right.

This is a super budget refresh build so I saved money where I could (like machine shop work) and purchased parts that I could find at the cheapest possible price. Also I am not replacing the rings, crank bearings, lifters and anything else that was working just fine before I pulled it apart.

So with that said, I purchased new connecting rod bearings, to install which will wear prematurely because of the scratches in the crank/bearing surface but It should hold out ok until I can rebuild this properly and at that point, I will purchase some better quality parts that were recommended to me.

Due to rusty push rods, I replaced those and also picked up a new, budget friendly timing chain set. A new pickup screen for the oil pump, frost plugs, temperature sensor, exhaust manifold studs, fresh fuel tank pickup screen, indirectly related to the engine and some shiny rocker cover tabs to spread out the tension from the bolts were also purchased.

2021-05-12_08-25-16 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Also something that excites me the most is that we decided to go ahead to to install the Atomic EFI I got for Christmas sooner than later.

2020-11-30_08-17-19 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Didn't seem to make sense to spend money on things that weren't staying with the car so with that in mind, I purchased a 7 pin electronic distributor from an 81 301, and a fuel pump and fuel filters.

2021-05-11_04-53-25 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-05-11_04-53-07 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

[ryeguy2006a]

Charlie, glad to see your car here again! That EFI install will be a fantastic edition to your motor. Just keep in mind that sometimes you have to play around with the settings to get the idle and off idle tuning right. The main fueling tables will self learn and adjust based on feedback from the wideband O2 sensor. Keep in mind that you'll need to calibrate the timing and other settings yourself. Also keep the main wiring as far from wiring for the coils, radio, and plug wires as possible. These can emit radio noise that can interfere with the sensors and cause issues.

So with the 7 pin distributor, does that allow for the ECU to control timing? If so that's a very smart move.

[5th T/A]

Charlie,

You are making great progress, looks great!

Having just gone through an engine upgrade and installing an EFI system in my car, adding EFI can be a project all by itself.

[TATurbo]

I like the budget rebuild. 
 Forgive me if I missed it, but have you decided on a final color combo?

BTW - Thanks for getting that Ram Jam song stuck in my head!
  "Whoa Black Betty bambalam...Whoa Black Betty bambalam.."

[Nexus]

I have some more studying to do and questions to ask but I have some starting point numbers I want to try for startup. The 7 pin is so that the module can control the timing during operation. MiniTA at 301 garage has gone down this route and when I get closer to startup, I will pick his brain some more.

My intention was to hide the wiring where they used to put the computers on the 81, front center console...should I consider a different location?

I am excited to have the car run on efi and making it super budget will be ok in the beginning but I do realize that it might have some longer term issues down the line due to quality but I will deal with them at that point.

"Get it on the road and get it driving for least amount of cash spent" This is what I keep repeating to myself over and over as I can always do things properly after the fact. Should allow me to enjoy the car sooner.

Colour: 2009 Yamaha Royal star metallic red / 2016 Mazda metallic red / 1980 Yamaha 650 Special metallic red...something along those lines they are all very close to what I'm after, Mazda being the only one with a red tinted clear coat under the final clear coat......at some point

It will receive a red primer sealer coat at first so I can save money for the colour and clear coats.

[MNBob]

I just got the Sniper installed and haven't done the timing control yet.  Now that I am going to BBC, I am keeping a simple distributor setup and will switch to timing control with the EFI later.  It seems like it adds another layer of complexity.  I like the EFI and think you will too.

Those aluminum water pump housings always pit and check crack.  Everyone I have had has done it.

Some say the budget timing chains are the best and less prone to stretching than the double rollers.

Getting it on the road and driving will allow you to focus on specific issues one at a time, an easier way for me at least.

[5th T/A]

Charlie, I like your color choice, I believe I have two Yamaha motorcycles that same color. I also have followed Mini TA at 301 garage and watched his you tube videos. His experience should save you a lot of headaches.

[Nexus]

Thanks guys,

Sadly I haven't worked on Ruby for a bit as I landscape the yard, set u flower beds for the wife, and do some repairs to my Airstream but pretty soon everything else will get put on hold as I don't want to go to long not working on her.

I might have mentioned it but cylinder notching for the exhaust valves is the next job then a good cleaning before I work on the heads.

[MNBob]

Yes and all those projects, while not difficult, can eat up a lot of time.  I got back from Florida and absolutely had to redo the gutter on the south side of my house.

[Nexus]

I was able to get the cylinders notched for better flow out the exhaust valves, and I also started disassembling the heads

2021-06-25_04-02-46 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

the black marker is what needs to get removed at a 45 degree agle about half way down to the top of the piston stroke

2021-06-25_04-03-54 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-06-25_04-05-12 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

All cleaned up!

2021-06-25_04-04-51 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

[Nexus]

Finally did a bit of work on the heads

I did this work a little while ago

2021-06-26_04-05-35 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Wednesday I was able to stirp it down more, remove the casting flash, clean everything up but I still need to remove 4 broken exhaust studs

2021-09-02_10-11-14 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

[5th T/A]

Charlie,

Good to see some forward progress. I also like your setup for keeping the rockers and studs straight along with the valves and springs.

[Nexus]

Thanks, as it will certainly help with assembly!!

[Nexus]

So, I recently pressure washed the block and heads with hot water, dried them with air and heat, and coated everything in WD40 to keep the rust at bay. I then reinstalled the pistons into the block, reinstalled the crank, and when I started torqueing the connecting rod bolts, my torque wrench apparently was crapped out because I broke one of the studs. Furthermore, the gamble I took on ordering standard stock connecting rod bearings didn't pay off because the crank had already been ground once. Should've taken the 10 mins to measure but like a big dope, I didn't!!

What to do?

Well, I decided to retrieve the spare 301 that I pickled, pulled the crank and pistons from it and much to my amazement, the crank looks great. Also this crank has never been ground...I measured so the connecting rod bearing I already purchased will fit this crank. I also punched out a rod stud and replaced the broken one with one of the 16 spares I now have!

We shall see how all of this pans out!!

BTW...Torque wrench went into the scrap metal bin!!

[roadking77]

At least you have a motor to work on. Keep on keepin' on!

[5th T/A]

Charlie,

It’s great to have a spare engine to fall back on for parts. As these cars get older parts get harder to find and more expensive to buy.

My oldest ft lb torque wrench is probably 45 years old. It has been decades since I have done engine assembly on a car engine. Now it’s used mostly for lug nut torque, I do wonder about its accuracy.

[Nexus]

My dad always had is torque wrench recalibrated bi-annually to maintain accuracy but I didn't with this one because I really only used half a dozen times over the last several years. It is also a cheaper quality tool which likely has something to do with its issues. I at least have 3 or 4 other options at my disposal!!

Benefits of having a father who was an aircraft engineer/auto mechanic who is now retired!!

[Nexus]

So this finally happened!!

2022-03-22_02-05-29 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2022-03-22_02-05-39 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2022-03-22_02-05-59 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Third times the charm!!

First two sets of crank bearings did not fit when ordered them from Summit. Once was my own fault, second was theirs. MiniTA at 301 garage pointed me in the right direction!!

[5th T/A]

Looks great Charlie! I have been following your progress on 301 Garage.

I saw a comment about not much activity there. They do have lots of good information. I tried to join them a couple years ago but never got any reply, I should probably try again.

[ryeguy2006a]

Progress!! Can't wait to hear this roar to life.

[rkellerjr]

Coming right along!

[kentucky yeti]

Yay!!!  I love it when a plan comes together!

[Nexus]

Thanks guys,

I heard of a few people having issues getting set up on 301 garage but your right, there is a ton of great information over there and access to guys that know the 301 very well and what they can be pushed to do.

Progress is slow, but it is still progress. Next up will be to install the heads and try to find all the intake manifold bolts. After the engine is mostly together, I will tackle the transmission!!