notnilc20's Mercy4 build

[notnilc20]

Why does the guy who wrecked his merci grille's under the taillights look smaller then yours?

Can't really tell in the pics. Must just be an optical illusion or something.

[madmods]

Why does the guy who wrecked his merci grille's under the taillights look smaller then yours?

[madmods]

Gloss black with a white stripe would be hot.

[lambobuilder]

Congratulations, you have done a fabulous job. Very innovative.

[notnilc20]

Thanks again guys,

Mrlndsey, the front shocks i converted to airbags from airbagit.com  they are custom length. Shock body in order to allow it to be lowered enough. I think it was 15"-21" is the range of the shock with the airbag lowest to highest. However i think 17"-23 would be good enough. I mocked it up only using measuring tape which was a little difficult and if i had to do it again i would invest in these http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Coil-Over-Shock-Mock-up-Tool,57416.html
Also you will need fully adjustable upper and lower control arms to adjust your camber. Of course all this is only if you plan on cutting the fenders down like i did. If you lower it this way without cutting the fenders, you will have way too much wheel tuck and not be able to steer. Good luck.

Madmods, thank you for the compliment. I thought about black and maybe in the future i will go that route. I will also check out the motorcycle stripes you are talking about as well

Since my thread got brought back up here is a pic from a couple weeks ago after i just finished wetsanding/buffing and polishing. I used Nortons liquid ice system (not to be confused with Turtle wax's Ice Liquid).  Very happy with the results. Thanks again.

[madmods]

You did an awesome job and the fron fender cut down was genius. Paint your rims black and put white stripes on them. Use the motorcycle stripes sold on ebay. Hows the interior?

[mr.lndsy]

Hey everyone,

I've been a member here from the beginning and I've always been quiet about my build and even just said that I was doing a Mercy2 build because I did not want any negative feedback on my build during the process.  Since it is a Mercy4 build it is not one of the popular Lambo builds b/c of the pregnant look that a typical Mercy4 will have.   

I knew from the start it will not be 100% replica, but I was fine with this.  I was mainly looking for a nice looking car that didn't look like it was homemade.

Well, this was my first build ever and thought that the Mercy4 was within my skill set so I went with it.  I knew going in I would modify the body (the fenders) in order for it to have a better appearance and not so pregnant.  Also, the stance would have to be corrected after the fender modification.  If you look at Jackies demo car Mercy4 the front looks like it is pointing upwards because they did not lower the car in the front enough but instead added more material to the wheel well area on the fender to compensate.  I felt that this is what gave it that pregnant look and I wanted to eliminate this as much as possible.  I think I succeeded for the most part.   

My Journey began in the fall of 2011 and well, I finally painted it over this summer a mere 3 years later.  It has been a long and difficult journey indeed.  I did not meet my 6 month goal to completion as originally thought of and yes my budget has been overshot by thousands. hehe.  Still I'm not finished as I'm working on my door cards now and seats.  Rather than post a bunch of pics here I made a video that is about 12 mins long on the build.  It is a collection of photos I took from day 1.   

of course many details were left from the video (how can you fit 3 years of building into 12 mins) but here is a list of what the car features.

2001 Pontiac Firebird Formula  5.7liter LS1 V8
front air bag/shocks suspension system
full adjustable upper control arms
full adjustable lower control arms
factory 12" front disc brakes
18x8.5 wheels front
18x13" wheels rear
working electrical windows (this took forever)
windshield wiper
rear view camera
finished headlights (No tint)
lambo oem grilles front and back

link to video
http://youtu.be/LxfwxNkCPmc

I am proud of my car because I built it from the cutting, fabbing, and painting so if you have any comments or criticism please do so in a constructive manner.  Also, any questions are welcome of course.  Thank you and Hope you enjoy!!

By far the best Mercy-4 I've seen. I'm curious about the air shocks you put on. The video said they were custom- what brand? What was custom. 

[notnilc20]

Very nice!  Thanks for the link, it will come in very useful as I need to start doing some muffler work also. How's the sound of that Magnaflow muffler?

Thanks a lot. The magnaflow is just a bit louder than stock at idle. Under acceleration it sounds great. I'm very happy with the sound. Having a 5.7 liter v8 i was a little concerned that it would sound too choppy more like a cammed out muscle car but it doesn't at all and has a nice crisp sound. I made a video of it but the mic on my iphone bites balls so i'll try again sooner than later.
Good luck with your project.

[autopro]

Very nice!  Thanks for the link, it will come in very useful as I need to start doing some muffler work also. How's the sound of that Magnaflow muffler?

[Havemurci]

Nice! Very well done. Most shops don't understand what we do anyway.

[notnilc20]

Toook my car to a local muffler shop to get my muffler installed and the custom pipe routed out the center. However the main man there was being an A-Hole and wouldn't work with me. He basically didn't want to do any custom work. So i decided to do it myself. I ordered two mandrel bend tubes from ebay. first pic. I installed a Magnaflow muffler with one 2.5" inlet and two 2.25" outlets leading to two 4" slashed double walled polished tips. Sorry i did not do any vids of this process but here is a link to a youtube video that shows the tedious process of fabbing your own exhaust that i found quite helpful. Sorry the pics ended up upsidedown on here.  Also i painted it black with high temp black paint after it was all said and done. I am happy with it for sure. I hope you like it to. Let me know if you have any questions.
https://youtu.be/WxkvidIf7HQ

[autopro]

Note to self; NEVER WELDING UPSIDE DOWN AGAIN!!!!

LOL yes it sucks!  Good job, it looks great!

[Purple LP670 SV]

Nice work Sir!

[notnilc20]

Got my 3 point subframe connectors welded in today to stiffen up the frame a bit. Looks good, plenty of clearance. 
Note to self; NEVER WELDING UPSIDE DOWN AGAIN!!!!

[notnilc20]

just a quick walk around exterior of my car test vid with my sj5000 camera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qukOUFZdIG8