My Barn-Find Firebird Wheelies at The Dragstrip! But Does It Run an 8 Second Pass?

Welcome to the 294th Episode of Mike Finnegan's Garage! I can't believe we are nearing the 300th episode we've dropped since 2016. It's been a wild ride and the pursuit to make our barn-find '67 Pontiac Firebird run an 8 second pass at the dragstrip has been just as wild. In this vid we are back at Alabama Dragway to see if recent upgrades and tuning changes results in quicker ETs. We are on on the right track and the car is improving, even doing a small wheelie in this video!
Want to help support the channel? go to www.fsmgarage.com and grab some of the new apparel. That would help immensely and so would clicking the like and subscribe button. Thanks for watching!
-Finnegan

[@Corey-xd4kx]

Blower surge is the greatest sound humans have ever created

[@MikeSmith-bb5ii]

I love that you can smile and laugh at yourself. Shows your a humble man, and thats whats missing in this world nowadays. Gob bless and take care of you and yours.

[@lanemichaelmcconnell-hand1472]

Mike. I'm a professional firefighter, amateur mechanic, but great at dropping things all the time. Get online and get yourself a set of Mcgill forceps. Whatever you drop into the carbs, those forceps are awesome at getting small things out of difficult places. I would highly recommend them, they have saved my butt so many times.

[@thagerdorn2009]

Magill is the brand...just wanted to put that here in case someone couldn't find them through a Google search. They are insanely useful and one of the best tools I've ever bought myself.

[@aboveaverage007]

checklists, checklists, checklists! Beat a good man while he is down? No. Checklists are there for a reason and when you see the successful race teams, everything is labeled with the type of part and how many in each cabinet. But, they have people hired to do that every day…….! So, most people do what they can with what they have in the time available to them. Keep rocking, you will succeed and hit that 8 second mark!!!!!

[@gizmoz]

Checklist who need that

[@vertexjeff4318]

I appreciate that you show us that you still have regular-guy problems with your cars. A lot of people in the car world with your name recognition would't show us that.

[@hydrocarbon8272]

I'd say always bring a Dragy unit and GET A WIDEBAND. You can verify individual cylinders with the spark plug, but you can't beat a wideband for the full rpm sweep and instant feedback.

[@zappy7393]

Out of all of the cars in the Finnegan fleet, this is by far my favorite. The looks alone are master class. Id put the interior back in and call it an amazing 9s streeter.

[@wackowacko8931]

Put it back on the dyno and have someone put a scope on the voltage supply to the ignition box and the voltage at the coil at 6300 rpm. If you take the time to pull the timing cover and remove the top gear, you can get the numbers off the cam and find out what the specs are.

[@Giftied]

don't give up on the duck. personally i find this content as more fun and interesting than anything else

[@Buck_Plankchest]

The senior moments are real, Mike. Embrace it, learn to love it, and chuckle with your friends when they happen.

[@garynicholson5177]

Obviously if it's a flat tappet it won't have a tie bar between the 2 so I don't know why that's not obvious. Also no roller cam unless it's a super mild cast core street deal will work with 140 lbs of spring pressure. Easy to measure lift to get an idea what it is

[@GabiWhite-qr6lz]

Was up all night getting the 72 f100 ready for Bandimere ford fest, Left the sight plugs out the floatbowls, and sent the old lady, and Ole Blue down the dragstrip pouring fuel, one end to the other. Good thing nobody got hurt.

[@HPSFRoadrunner]

NOBODY is a yellow car guy. They just end up with them.

[@holmer9413]

I love yellow cars....because the mil hates them. 😂

[@randombuilds8336]

It's funny to see the polymer handle pittsburgh ratchets in a lot of people's videos. So many people are quick to trash talk HF, but for the price some of the tools are great.

[@djk91lx28]

Agreed. I don’t make a living off my tools and they have suited my needs perfectly.

[@ClassicStreetIron]

I think it's about time to tear into this motor and find out for sure what it has.

[@charliebudden5053]

Just wanted to mention that running carbs sideways will cause a miss fire under acceleration because it will uncover a jet momentarily to the front of carbs just a thought .and changing float levels will richen or lean the carbs I've been running tunnel rams 30 years and these things do have effects on how they run I have 2 780s on my chevy luv full roller sbc street truck sideways setup and these things do change its tune.

[@az_natalie]

I'll never get tired of Finnegan content - I learn something every time I watch. Thank you for great content always. The comments section sure makes me continue to hate most people though.

[@vincentfauconnier1460]

new cam and spring time + o2 sensors

[@youdan5940]

Love the duck, I could listen to it idle all day long, music to my ears. Thank you for the videos Mike!

[@pauleddy5146]

As archaic as the Duck is, it's waaaaay more modern than my 'Bird could ever have been. Late 70's, with affordable late 60s tech was the best a kid could do. Re-sleeved 428 block, Aluminum dual plane with single 850. Slightly built to increase longevity 2 speed slushbox with 2500 rpm stall converter. Basically stock 10 bolt. You run what you brung. Ran low 12s, the occasional wind assisted 11. Still fun.

[@andhotrodshop]

@5:25 I want that Pete 379 in the background 😃😃👍🏻🙌🏼👊🏼💸💸💸💸💸 that thing is beautiful ❤❤❤❤

[@mrtjbiga1784]

same

[@andhotrodshop]

@@mrtjbiga1784 if I had that rig I could bring more project cars to the shop 🔧🔧👍🏻👊🏼🙌🏼😂😂😂😂

[@tman3831]

Make a run shut it down and tow back so you actually get useful plug read. Also first instinct was valve springs 150 is pretty light for a blown big block

[@teddyjones8027]

Absolutely love the channel, Thank you for sharing and can't wait to see what's next. My father had the exact same Datsun just a uglier yellow and shared soo many memories with him going everywhere. He Absolutely loved that car and it brought him so much happiness cruising around town. Few years ago he was diagnosed with cancer and he had to sell it and it was the only time I ever seen my father cry. I love seeing it in your videos and it would be awesome to see you guys working on it. Thank you again. Everyone keep yourselves and love ones safe and healthy and remember to SMILE 😊God Bless 🙏

[@MC-cy1zi]

Hey Mike, Even though you are scratching your head, for us watching this is just 100% fun. Keep on keepin´ on and you will figure it out.

[@leftyo9589]

simply amazing to have an engine that you had a engine builder go through, and you dont even know what kind of cam is in it, or the lash specs.... wow. to me thats just mind boggling.

[@carracuda3920]

Thanks for making me feel better as I struggle to troubleshoot my own project car.

[@ImTHATguy...]

At this point I'd say just pull that cam shaft out at some point and put in one that you know the specs on. For now, consistent mid 9's for that bird is pretty sweet.

[@kolejohnson73]

Keep in mind in a boosted application you need to add 10% to the valve springs to fight the pressurized intake charge. I've seen professionally built turbo razor engines for desert racing that didn't have enough spring pressure and caused valve bounce, beating out the lock grooves. Same applies to any sustained high rpm engine, add approximately 10% over recommended pressure as the sustained high rpm will cause valve bounce and beat out the lock grooves.

[@chillville2938]

Yall keep talking about this mystery engine builder, why dont yall cam it, and put some valve springs in already,😂😂

[@CoachDanNM]

The guy went out of business and can’t be found.

[@chillville2938]

@@CoachDanNM do they not no what make the engine is? Lol I'm sure parts still exist for it

[@foreman0909]

He’s not out of business..he just moved locations

[@PHILLY214]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it

[@OutlawChevy2]

A roller cam and good springs couldn't hurt a thing!

[@MikeRoth-ex1wk]

Just admit to the fact fryburger built the engine with used chevy parts, and din't tell you.

[@ThePalikka85]

😂😂😂

[@TheMoparman94]

Legitimate question, why do the majority of carb guys not run an AFR wideband gauge? It's an extremely useful tool, especially when you're responsible for fueling, not a computer.

[@geoffreyveale7715]

AFR and maybe exhaust temps and fuel pressure. More information would stop a lot of guessing for not a lot of cost.

[@PHILLY214]

Because it’s obvious to tell when it’s not right…

[@TheMoparman94]

@@PHILLY214 apparently not too obvious as they've been fighting fueling issues for the last two episodes of this car and still don't have it dialed. A wideband is nothing more than a tuning tool.

[@chevyguy8]

If it ran fine on the dyno, the only difference in parameters is that big ass scoop changing air flow dynamics through the carbs. If possible, i would flip that scoop and remove the ram air effect.

[@GaryMathews-qk8de]

I use brass machine screws to make air bleeds .I use wire drill bits to drill out the brass screws .I start at .013 ,and open them up if needed ,using a air fuel ratio gauge

[@davidfrancies8105]

That’s the car I used to absolutely and still do love and is on my bucket list .Those are by far the coolest street car in my opinion.

[@thagerdorn2009]

Mike, i feel your pain brother. Im having a third colon surgery done tomorrow... so im gonna completely be out of the game. I'm gonna try and catch up on all fhe Finnegan's Garage videos and order me an FSM shirt as i don't own one and i sure as shit should.

[@larryalexander4833]

Sorry to hear that prayers all goes well. I have a appointment tomorrow as well to see gi doctor to have a colonoscopy cause of colon issues from diverticulitis and ?

[@jeffmooers2174]

This is a real deal fellas! Take time to take care of yourselves! Put together your care team of specialists and Good luck to you!

[@kh40yr]

Induction Solutions has Awesome pin gauge sets that go from .011 to .250, for checking jet orifices for proper sizing, or no number stamping on your ghost jets. One of the best investments I made. You would be surprised at how many jets are stamped wrong or not even close to the size they should be, even thought they are stamped for a specific size. 1 wrong jet, could cause your stumble.

[@LilSkunkRacing]

I appreciate Fins efforts to explain things as simple as possible as often as he can

[@dwaynemurphy814]

You said yourself, you like the challenge of working on something to make it perfect, no reason to be bored with the car. Make it better.

[@charlieposey5078]

I would pull out the degree wheel and the dial indicator and find out what cam you have and figure out what valvesprings you actually need. I highly suspect the ones you have aren't adequate.

[@plants8164]

I'm thinking blower gasket, ignition coil issues or valve springs. All of the above probably lol

[@dragonoake]

Boost pressure pushes against the back side of the intake valve, so you're going to be losing roughly four pounds of effective seat pressure for every pound of boost so valve float would make sense.

[@michaelblacktree]

A car at this level really needs some data logging capability. Even something simple like lambda vs RPM would be helpful. I'd also be tempted to open up the engine and see what's going on with the "mystery meat" valvetrain. Best of luck! 👍

[@leprechaungarage]

Always love the Firebird and the content you make with it .

[@blownvnv6637]

Fuel pressure? No G load on the dyno to upset fuel flow. At the very least add a couple of O2 sensors.

[@JamesHolbrook-eh5sp]

Anybody hating on you needs to chill out. It's encouraging to see guys like you and DF and all your buddies making mistakes and misdiagnosising stuff. Gives me a sense of hope.

[@neilperry2224]

Label your cupboards with a check list Finnegan. Please !!! Hell I'll even fly out and do it for you.

[@RichardMLowe]

Mike, You have a "Subliminal" wanting Yello vehicle because in the deep recesses of your mind it's saying #Mazdaratti

[@THEREEFREPORT]

Hey Mike , I didn’t notice something on your engine camera review on the passenger side of your last pass. It looks like your blower was wisping air twice, go back and review the footage. I bet you your hunch about the blower gasket blowing was correct.

[@recoilrob324]

Clogged air bleeds can prevent fuel from discharging because the emulsion wells need the air mixed with the fuel to lighten it so the pressure differential in the boost venturi's can lift it up and into the motor. So an initial lean condition then when the pressure finally gets high enough to lift the mostly liquid fuel it's going to go rich and also not burn well because the emulsion wells start the vaporization process so the fuel will burn in the motor. Carburetors are fun things to play with! And the idle speeding up could be the plugs are cleared of fouling now...unless the blower gasket is proven to have blown that might be all it is. The jetting is sure to be off too if it was changed with the high speed bleeds clogged....so a trip back to 'square one' might be in order just so you know where you are at. The idle surge would irritate me and we'd smooth that out as it can be fixed. The idle feed restrictions dumping through the transfer slots give them way too much fuel...but you can easily tune that with the idle air bleeds being adjustable. If you can't kill the motor by turning in the idle fuel adjustment screws...it's running on the transfers and that needs to be corrected. Great set of carbs there...that need some love.

[@jamesjournell867]

& add blacked out rims & add black ⚫️ racing stripes & use the logos that are on the cylinder head manifolds 😮

[@tedzehnder961]

I`m jealous of how nice condition your Firebird is in.I had a 400 4speed in high school and after I wrapped it around a tree, a lot of rust and bondo fell out on the ground. Totaled.

[@NarwahlGaming]

Nothing a couple more buckets of Bondo couldn't fix!

[@caspar0777]

very instructive again! Thanks for sharing the work on this nice car

[@markkuahlamaa770]

Thanks , This The Great Drag Race Event ! Hello From Finland & My Car Channel ! #Retired4You All The Best to You ! 2024 !😊

[@larrythomas3624]

These last couple of videos leave me conflicted. On the one hand, they make me feel a tad less stupid that these things can happen to guys with soooooo much experience and so many connections, it’s not just me. On the other, if they have so much trouble, I don’t stand a chance and I should probably take up stamp collecting.

[@pscgmail]

Just race for YOUR fun...as soon as you start racing for real, you will quickly be wallet racing

[@UncleManuel]

Oh man, electrical gremlins are a nightmare! You're chasing ghosts for weeks and then it is simply a switch shorting out. Racecar stuff... 😁🤟

[@chevy4life203]

I am leaning towards ignition related. Which would also explain nasty plugs. It may not be pig rich. It may just be the plugs not firing properly.

[@DeadnCold]

At what point do you just pull the motor out and pull it apart enough to find out exactly what you are working with? Seems that all you are doing is pissing in the wind because there are just too many uncertainties.

[@thatrealba]

I agree with this. But I guess he doesn't need to be serious with this car, given all the other "serious" builds he has going? Doesn't make sense to me.

[@megatronstoner]

Man oh man that car is badass!!

[@mrtjbiga1784]

"It's got safety tubes, but I ain't scared.The brakes are good, tires fair."

[@Steelythestacker]

Dude I instantly thought valve springs right before you said that after that pull at 11:35. It absolutely sounded like the valves were floating. It sounded good on the way up but then it just dropped to dog shit at the top.

[@mrb.5610]

Kinda feel you're poking and hoping while running the real risk of spraying the engine's guts all over the track. It's a pain - but I'd pull it, find out what's in it, find out what needs to be changed and add an AFR gauge before it gets *really* expensive.

[@scottimusgarrett15]

Damn, it must be nice to have that trailer to work from. Just gotta make sure it's fully stocked before you leave for the test 'n' tune sesh! Thanks, Mike and Joe for the shenanigans! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦

[@wagon1980]

That Peterbilt would sure look good pulling your trailer......just saying..LOL

[@rcadd1ct]

Again. I am betting the low spring pressure is losing control of the valves when you add the intake boost psi to the surface area on the back of the valves.

[@drdanimalsize]

absolutely love this car, glad you're finding issues and fixing things

[@stephennadworny8401]

Great episode Mike! The Rubber Duck looks and sounds great. I admire your drive to see this car in the 8's. Life is full of lessons, some of which we learn more than once. You and Joe make a great team. Don't give up!

[@JohnRoberts71]

Great content thanks for sharing

[@tompaoletti690]

The struggle is real great video! You’re so close pulling for you guys

[@DVerbe]

When the valvesprings are the issue then it will be worse with the smaller pulley for more boost.

[@obsessedracing7843]

That’s a good find. I’d do just about anything for that car lol

[@billhagerman4475]

Stuff some paper towel in each venture above the throttle plates so air bleeds doesn't drop in the carb when changing them. Dropped a few myself, until I learned. .

[@danmyers9372]

When he started pulling those out with the carbs in the engine I cringed and was totally waiting for him to drop one down into a carb.

[@cjcoleman7372]

My suggestion for you would be to devote a cabinet or however many needed to each car. That way you know you'll have what you need regardless of which car you put in the box.

[@alexcrouse]

How much heartbreak would a wideband have saved you? ha

[@craigcontofalsky4387]

Back in the 70s I raced a Super Stock Duster 340 auto. I had put a new Accel alternator on and I suddenly had a high speed miss around 6,800 rpm. It drove me crazy. I had the Mopar solid state ignition system and I went through the whole thing soldering all the connections. That didn't help. I tried the original alternator and it worked. Years later I took the Accel alternator apart and found a cold solder joint on one diode. I believe that was the whole problem. Never had the chance to try it because I had sold the car Years earlier. It was the only thing changed from 1 season to the next. Maybe try another alternator? Good luck with your car.

[@austincassell4741]

Has fender cover *Proceeds to set can on painted surface* 😂

[@ddracing2257]

No one said they were smart 😆

[@pr23t97]

Good morning!

[@apethings7671]

Detective work one this was hypnotic. The pain of goin fast is must watch

[@michaelzimmerman635]

Looking forward to a 510 giveaway. Had a modified yellow one in Redondo Beach back in the late 70s when I worked at the Datsun dealership there. Fond memories.

[@alanjanderson9789]

Mike if you have the time give the guys at RPM data loggers easy to use and doesn’t cost the world and is US made they will help you out any time of the day Cheers

[@brandongreene3213]

I know it's money, but maybe have Pete Harrell take a look at it? I hear he's real good at doing stuff.

[@ronbelanger4113]

Sweet, right up to time for turning.

[@Chrisesterly-fx2or]

The Blower is over powering the valve springs. Multiple the area of the intake by the boost, I bet it's greater than your seat psi.

[@teknoaija1762]

A racer buddy of mine had 480 bbc that was running mid nines in a 3200 lbs 55 chevy.He dynoed it with high hopes and managed to squeeze out a disappointing 776 hp.At track it went 10.20/138 which was really bad.I happened to be there with my 64 Malibu so I offered to help.First thing that I found out was,it had made this 776 hp with 88 jets.I said to him that those were way too small for twin 1050 dominators.At that point this engine was a mess with way too much carburation,tunnel ram with short runners.So we switched in 98`s all around and it went back running 9.51/146 and he was sort of happy.We had here in Finland thing called night race which was run early autumn.Many N/A cars run records and personal best in this very good air.Best airs were well over 1100 millibars.So he ran 9.49 with Weiand Team G on top of his 480 which I had suggested to him.By the way,best old school intake for BBC is Dart rect port.My 462 bbc made 740 hp with it.Only 11.65 comp,archaic Merlin cast heads,Lunati Roller 0.722 lift.1050 Holley with BG annular boosters.Malibu ran 10.14/138 @3450 lbs with that bullet.

[@demonspawnable]

You know what they say Pontiac stands for? Stands for fix it again Tony hehehe 😂

[@c0wb0yTV]

that pete behind you is sick, looks like the steer axle is on bags

[@karriefalon7779]

mike. years ago, i mean like back in the end of the 70.s and into the 80.s i got this brain wave to build a 4 wheel drive small tractor. I used the diffs out of 2, 210 datsons. and the 1800 cc motor from a toyota truck. down fall even with the gear reduction i used to gain power it still went way to fast when driving on the road. how ever in the field it still took on the power to pull a 10 foot wide deep tillage cultivator. witch my dad said it would not do. but i proved him wrong.

[@huskzx6280]

Love your vids Mike, I watched ep 23 of roadkill at 6 and was hooked on the charger and have been following you for past 11 years

[@bobqzzi]

I really like this video- adventurous day at the track chasing problems

[@KMills84]

Sweet trailer Mike, stock it up in good time. If your shows were without a fail here or there... we all love it.

[@is3180]

The Sound.....😍....pure 💪

[@davebuck3944]

It seems to me that the dyno tuner should have been able to deduce the carb high speed air bleeder problem you discovered.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Yeah, I'm gonna be rude,...but,.. WTF, the dyno guy observed it changing mixture, but didn't do anything about it? That means that whole dyno session was pretty much wasted, as any adjustments they made to 'tune' the engine are biased by it not having proper mixture and atomisation. @Finn - you need an Awl to rescue those air bleeds. (for anyone who doesn't know what an Awl is, imagine a screwdriver, but with a pointed hook on the end.)

[@pizzandoughnutspage7817]

Ya know this is a great vid, because you hardly see guys chasing gremlins to make the car faster. I personally learned a lot, you really have to look at the bigger(simpler) picture. Thanks guys

[@truaxmatthew]

Only so many cars can pull off yellow and a 60’s Firebird is on of them.

[@shawn5185]

Don't give up on the "Rubber Duck"! I think you guys should giver her more attention, she can definitely be a high 8 second car, pull ypur cam and lifters and see what you got, check blower for worn too.

[@Canadianchucknorris69]

I was going to go back and watch the old video, but didn’t you pull a bunch of timing out, maybe it’s time to verify TDC? But thanks for the entertainment Sunday morning! It’s becoming a ritual before heading out to fix my own trash!

[@Turningwrenchs]

Few very important tricks for running Carb s float bowls sock dry you need larger needle and seats .surge tank

[@castekracing]

You've got a consistent 9 second bracket car 😅 guarantee if you enter into a dyo class dial in a 9.1 it'll go 9.0. Then go for 9.0 and you'll get your 8! Always happens😂

[@DvsCxnt]

that little 510 datsun would be every datsun lovers dream. sadly not mine. but i wouldnt mind having one just to say i had one of those.

[@bobl5182]

I'm sure you realize this, but if there is no Tie Bar on the lifters, its not a Roller, It's a flat tappet cam. Old school tuning is more challenging, but rewarding. Keeps you thinking. You can see from the rear view all the sh*t coming out of the headers on the gear change, like it is breaking up.

[@slmmdgg]

that pete at 5:45 is cherry