68' Firebird - Where to start?

I have a 1968 Firebird i picked up at the end of last year. Its in okay shape, threes a lot that dont work though. (IE Speedometer) It has a 73' Pontiac 400 in it with a lot of Edelbrock stuff like valve covers and intake. The carb is a 750 Doublepump, and the guy i bought it from was preparing it for drag, not a restore. I want a daily driver out of it, and im wondering what some more knowledgeable people think. Im in the Navy and dont have a lot of time to work on it (or see it) but when i get time id like to know where i should start! I want a full restore to like-new condition.
Heres a few of the pictures i have on my profile here to get an idea.

The VIN is:223378U614644
The numbers on the front left of the engine block are: 756495 followed by X5 under that.




 

Roux, the first place to start is to plan what you want from the car when it is finished. You said you want a daily driver so I'm going to assume you are willing to accept the occasional stone chip or parking lot rash and don't want a show quality paint job. It also means a reliable and solid drivetrain that is going to handle traffic duty without overheating or constantly spinning at the redline.
The first thing I would do is get the car inspected by a body shop you can trust and preferably one you have seen good results from. Start with getting the body done to a level you are satisfied with before doing anything else. That way you don't need to take apart stuff you just installed in order to do the body and paint. Next would be to rebuild the suspension and brakes so the car is safe. Reinstall/replace/repair interior as required. Remember, you spend more time in there than outside looking at it!
Last would be the drivetrain, simply because most people get carried away with the power and end up breaking the budget before all the other stuff gets done! The 400 you have can be built to be a strong, reliable and reasonably economical powerplant and with the right combo of gearing/trans will be fun to drive without the stress of listening to the engine spin 4000rpm all the way to work and home again. Of course there are some things you can switch around, like getting the mechanicals checked out before hand so you know what you are getting into.
The whole gang here is very knowledgeable and will help you all thru the build. All you have to do is ask and you'll have more info and opinions than you know what to do with!
Steve  
A little help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

Boy o boy, there are many ways to approach this. "Like new" takes about a year of full time labor for one man and chews up twenty grand in parts and materials easily, even if you do the work yourself and your engine is good.

A full build in a timely fashion might go like this, in a nutshell:

Remove all trim, interior, and glass. Send out interior for upholstery

Remove the bumpers and front sheetmetal, doors, and decklid.

Remove loaded subframe, send engine/trans work out

Disassemble front suspension and replace bushings, refinish subframe and components or send out for blasting and coating.

Do whatever you are gonna do underneath the car. Axle, floors, tank, etc.

Repair body shell and apply primer

Repair bolted-on parts and apply primer

Sand and paint everything including trunk and underside.

Complete subframe/engine/transmission/suspension.

Install subframe and core support, do wiring and plumbing as needed.

Install front sheetmetal, bumpers, and glass.

Buff.

Finish wiring, trim, and interior.

Enjoy!

Heres a link you can scope out, to see exactly whats involved and get some sense of what a "paint everything" job is like.

http://forums.chevyhiperformance.com/70/8606620/auto-body-work/1967-impala-ss-body-restoration/index.html  

First thing you should do is take off that clear glass fuel filter before the whole cars burns to the ground. Don't laugh i have seen it happen to 2 cars.  

To restore to like new condition, you will need to completely disassemble, referbish piece by piece, and reassemble. May take two to three years, working evenings and weekends, but will be your pride and joy when your done.....leave power train and interior for last......great project

 
I got that Tin Indian GRIN!!

+1 68bird besides those glass filters don't filter very well either.  
Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

Sell it to a former Marine shipmate! no, just kiddin sailor. make a plan and stick to it (are you going to be a lifer in the usn? if not, put it in mothballs. save all your hazardous duty pay or deployment bonus pay, and come home get yourself settled and then give us a update on your plans i:e full concourse resto, resto-mod, pro-touring, pro-street, drag car, or show-car-trailer queen.I would not dive into a project no matter how much it hurts while still enlisted, not that it could not be done, but you are at an advantage, send for a pontiac historical society packet to determine the value and rarity of your bird, then determine what course you want to take, take your time my friend and welcome aboard!!!  
Widetrack,Superduty,Ram-Air.The chief will never die!

Sorry for my Post i dident know you had to click the check box to quote people.  

Messed up posting.  

barneyformula:
Roux, the first place to start is to plan what you want from the car when it is finished. You said you want a daily driver so I'm going to assume you are willing to accept the occasional stone chip or parking lot rash and don't want a show quality paint job. It also means a reliable and solid drivetrain that is going to handle traffic duty without overheating or constantly spinning at the redline.
The first thing I would do is get the car inspected by a body shop you can trust and preferably one you have seen good results from. Start with getting the body done to a level you are satisfied with before doing anything else. That way you don't need to take apart stuff you just installed in order to do the body and paint. Next would be to rebuild the suspension and brakes so the car is safe. Reinstall/replace/repair interior as required. Remember, you spend more time in there than outside looking at it!
Last would be the drivetrain, simply because most people get carried away with the power and end up breaking the budget before all the other stuff gets done! The 400 you have can be built to be a strong, reliable and reasonably economical powerplant and with the right combo of gearing/trans will be fun to drive without the stress of listening to the engine spin 4000rpm all the way to work and home again. Of course there are some things you can switch around, like getting the mechanicals checked out before hand so you know what you are getting into.
The whole gang here is very knowledgeable and will help you all thru the build. All you have to do is ask and you'll have more info and opinions than you know what to do with!
Steve

Surprisingly the car idles pretty well as of right now, the guy who had it before me really wanted to drag race it and i have no clue what all he did to it before i got it. I know on the interstate driving it from Charleston SC to Rome GA (around 400 miles) after i bought it it idled around 3500 RPM at 80 MPH the car only gave me problems for about the first 100 miles of the drive, i stopped and changed out some coolant after it chilled a bit and the temp maintained itself around 180*F for the rest of the trip. Ate through 4 tanks of gas and afterwards still cranked and drove fine. At 55 MPH it keeps a cool 2300 RPMs give or take. My goal is to have something that can handle LONG road trips due to my lifestyle but still can stomp cars at red lights. Im not .... TOO concerned about EPA, as long as i get 10-15 MPG (which i is better than i think it gets now with its set up haha)  

mb68bird:
First thing you should do is take off that clear glass fuel filter before the whole cars burns to the ground. Don't laugh i have seen it happen to 2 cars.

Is there a particular reason for this happening? Just for my own knowledge.  

RumRunner1:
Sell it to a former Marine shipmate! no, just kiddin sailor. make a plan and stick to it (are you going to be a lifer in the usn? if not, put it in mothballs. save all your hazardous duty pay or deployment bonus pay, and come home get yourself settled and then give us a update on your plans i:e full concourse resto, resto-mod, pro-touring, pro-street, drag car, or show-car-trailer queen.I would not dive into a project no matter how much it hurts while still enlisted, not that it could not be done, but you are at an advantage, send for a pontiac historical society packet to determine the value and rarity of your bird, then determine what course you want to take, take your time my friend and welcome aboard!!!

Haha well ill keep you in mind if i ever do decide to sell. I dont really know right now what i want to do with my career with the Navy. I been in a little over a year and have been E-4 for most of it. Im a nuclear mechanic drop (just couldent get through all the schools) and now going for Information Technology Specialist on submarines which is something im actually good at. I just want a good solid daily driver that can hold its own against the JDM crowd. My goal is 500 usable horsepower in a clean car. As for the rarity of the car, sadly its not too special. Ran all the VIN's on it and the original car had a V-6 and was one of the entry packages for trim level. The 400 is out of a 73 something pontiac. I havent researched its VIN yet, or the transmission =/ Im going up for advancement here in the Fall due to the programs i just got into, so im hoping in between deployments to actually get some work done on it. My wife knows how to work on them too and i may have her tend while im away haha.  

v6?????? maybe a sprint 6 bud!(no v6 in a bird in 68) and a sprint 6 is kinda special in it's own right. so, hate to burst the bubble, but a sprint 6 is kind of a rarity to build in the pontiac crowd.hmmmm. like I said sit back and toss around the ideas with friends and us (especially us) it's your car, but a TREMENDOUS investment of time and money will be neessary to do it right... but that's why we do what we do because it's freaking cool! keep us posted!  
Widetrack,Superduty,Ram-Air.The chief will never die!

barneyformula:
Roux, the first place to start is to plan what you want from the car when it is finished. You said you want a daily driver so I'm going to assume you are willing to accept the occasional stone chip or parking lot rash and don't want a show quality paint job. It also means a reliable and solid drivetrain that is going to handle traffic duty without overheating or constantly spinning at the redline.
The first thing I would do is get the car inspected by a body shop you can trust and preferably one you have seen good results from. Start with getting the body done to a level you are satisfied with before doing anything else. That way you don't need to take apart stuff you just installed in order to do the body and paint. Next would be to rebuild the suspension and brakes so the car is safe. Reinstall/replace/repair interior as required. Remember, you spend more time in there than outside looking at it!
Last would be the drivetrain, simply because most people get carried away with the power and end up breaking the budget before all the other stuff gets done! The 400 you have can be built to be a strong, reliable and reasonably economical powerplant and with the right combo of gearing/trans will be fun to drive without the stress of listening to the engine spin 4000rpm all the way to work and home again. Of course there are some things you can switch around, like getting the mechanicals checked out before hand so you know what you are getting into.
The whole gang here is very knowledgeable and will help you all thru the build. All you have to do is ask and you'll have more info and opinions than you know what to do with!
Steve

ALSO i foudn the numbers on the engine block and from what i could make out was 756495 followed by X5 under that.  

RumRunner1:
v6?????? maybe a sprint 6 bud!(no v6 in a bird in 68) and a sprint 6 is kinda special in it's own right. so, hate to burst the bubble, but a sprint 6 is kind of a rarity to build in the pontiac crowd.hmmmm. like I said sit back and toss around the ideas with friends and us (especially us) it's your car, but a TREMENDOUS investment of time and money will be neessary to do it right... but that's why we do what we do because it's freaking cool! keep us posted!

Im looking for the VIN again and ill post it on here

223378U614644 is what i got!