Firebird Nation Car Club

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard!

Brandon Durgin, Mike Krzesowiak, Frank Urso, John Smith, Steve Monk

More bird work, more test n tune, more tire spin......

Ok everyone, spring is here in some places. Let's see some pics of those birds.

A 1979 Trans Am leads the way for this Car And Driver road test. They were looking to find the best handling car in America. The competitors were the Trans Am, Camaro Z28, Chevrolet Corvette, Mercury Capri, and Pontiac Phoenix SJ. When the smoke cleared, the Corvette was on top, but mostly due to its larger wheels and tires over the Trans Am. The test was slightly corrupted when the Corvette blew up its engine and Chevrolet sent a replacement Corvette that had some special suspension tuning and some 1980 spec parts. The Trans Am was the best handling car and most driveable, where the Corvette edged it out only in the g-force category on the skid pad.

1974 Trans Am SD-455 in Cameo White with a red vinyl interior. The 1974 Trans Am was offered in Admiralty Blue, Buccaneer Red, or Cameo White. This one has the optional honeycomb wheels.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/pontiac-trans-am-sd-455-did-pontiac-save-its-best-muscle-car-for-last/ar-BBBj6n1?li=BBnb4R5

Pontiac Trans Am SD-455: Did Pontiac Save its Best Muscle Car for Last? It was over, Johnny. The muscle car thing had run its fun, psychedelic course by the early 1970s.

1973 Trans Am SD-455 with factory GR70x15 whitewall radial tires. Radial tires were available on earlier Firebirds dating back to 1967, but it wasn't until 1973 that Pontiac introduced a performance radial tire large enough to offer on the Formula and Trans Am models. Handling and ride quality were leaps and bounds ahead over previous bias-ply tires, but unfortunately white lettered radial tires were not yet available, leaving white pinstripes as the only choice.

1969 Firebird 400 in Midnight Green with a black vinyl top, and optional Rally II Wheels. This particular car was ordered with a boatload of factory options.

1973 Firebird custom. The owner of this Firebird added spoilers and wheelwell flares, sidepipes, Hurricane wheels, L88 style hood scoop, sun roof, and a heavy dose of metalflake paint.

1977 Trans Am from "Smokey And The Bandit", this was the camera car used in the movie.

1973 Trans Am 455 on the prowl. 1973 was the first year Pontiac offered the Trans Am without a full body stripe over the hood, roof, and trunk. It was also the first year for the optional giant hood bird. The 1973 Trans Am was available in Cameo White, Buccaneer Red, or Brewster Green. The full front spoiler on the Trans Am gave them the most aggressive stance of any muscle car at the time, and they still look mean today.

The Bandit Trans Am’s No. 1 Fan A huge aficionado of the Burt Reynolds/Sally Field movies is now on her third Pontiac Firebird.

Trans Am !!!!!

Pontiac Firebird Trans AM !!!!

The real Bandit !!!

The cover of this Feb 1970 Hot Rod Magazine is a great example of a pre-production car. This one has a 1969 style chrome side view mirror, 1969 door handles, and a hood tach (not available on the 1970 Firebirds).

1972 Trans Am in Lucerne Blue. Considering how famous the Trans Am shaker hood scoop was (in production from 1970-1981), only the 1970-1972 models were functional. Beginning in 1973 the Trans Am shaker scoops were closed off due to noise regulations and would remain sealed up through 1981. But if an owner desired the extra performance of allowing cool air to be sucked into the carb rather than hot underhood air, all they had to do was cut out the back of the shaker scoop. Owners that did this will tell you how great that engine roar was when you go full throttle!

1968 Camaro SS396 hardtop and 1968 Firebird 400 convertible. You can see a significant difference in hood designs between these two cars. Pontiac used an "ironing board" or spear shaped raised portion in the middle of the hood with two widely spaced hood scoops, and a hood tach. Chevrolet went for a simulated injector stacks look that was popular on Can-Am and Indy car engines at the time.

Another great photo from the late 1970's! Here's a 1967 Firebird with what appears to be a 1968 nose, and some typical back in the day custom touches. The owner added a black stripe on the body and stripes on the hood, the car is raised about 2" from stock height, and notice the FIREBIRD sun visor applied across the top of the windshield, a very popular add-on back in the day.

This Pontiac is… (fill in the blank)

1968 Firebirds in a promotional photo for their advertising campaign "The Magnificent Five". Pontiac marketed 5 distinct levels of Firebird trim, from an economical sporty car up to a tire shredding muscle car.