'68 Firebirds Lot#1

The 1968 Pontiac Firebird
Lot#1

A green convertible with Rally IIs a black top and a black interior. A note of interest is that the number of Firebirds sold in 1968 was not surpassed until the 1976 model year. A testament to the original styling presented by the PMD team.

A simply awesome black convertible Firebird 400 H.O. This Firebird seems to have it all; a 400 H.O. engine, black interior and black convertible top, a hood tach, the H.O. stripe package, rally IIs with trim rings and the factory correct redline tires, and a power antenna. I would definitely love to have this car gracing the ol' garage. Thanks to Kenny "G" for the pic.

Ken Pauley owns this incredible blue convertible Firebird. Ken writes:

Some information about this car:

Pontiac "YT" 400 Engine (not original to car) with "62" heads

4-Speed conversion (1968 Muncie close ratio)

3.55 Posi rear end

Tri-power carburetors from 1965 GTO

Longbranch exhaust manifolds

Front disk brake (conversion)

Power steering

New, aftermarket cloth top with glass rear window (original top color white)

Hood tachometer

Sub-frame connectors

Rebuilt suspension, front & rear

Vintage Air air conditioning

Ken Pauley
Gilroy, California

Ken hosts his own website entitled Ken's 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 Convertible.

John owns this amazing convertible Firebird. John writes:

"Hi

I have owned this car for 13 years, when I bought it, of course it looked nothing like it does now!

68 Firebird 400 Convertible
Red with Black HO Stripe, black top and Black Interior

Options include:
Power top
Power brakes
Remote mirror
Console clock
Tilt Steering
Hood Tach
Automatic transmission
3.55 posi rear

Originally came with rally wheels, and I will be adding the rally wheels soon."

Thanks,
John

Bob Dischert sends in these interesting pics of his new '68 Firebird Sprint. Bob writes:

"Here is a pic of a "just acquired" 1968 Firebird Sprint. Having the build sheet has verified that all equipment is correct as follows....1968 Firebird Sprint, solar red, black vinyl top and black custom interior. It is a 4 speed car with power steering , console, hood tach, tilt wheel, rally II wheels, am radio, 8 track (missing) kick panel speakers.
This is the second Sprint I have owned. When I returned from Vietnam in late '67 I ordered a '68 Sprint. So when I saw this vehicle on the internet for sale I did not hesitate."

thanks,
Bob Dischert

Joseph Cione is the lucky owner of this beautiful and ultra rare 1 of 12 RAI convertible Firebird. Joseph writes:

"I recently had the good fortune of being able to buy a rather rare First Generation Firebird, a 1968 Ram Air Firebird Convertible. According to Fred Simmonds, a retired and well-respected Pontiac Motor Division employee who did some 'Ram Air accounting' back in the late 80's, only 12 Ram Air convertibles (both RA I and RA II) were built in 1968. This example is a RA I. The Ram Air cars were ultra exotic BUT could be ordered by anyone willing to check off the $616 option (a lot back then!). Ram Air cars were factory built race cars, plain and simple. They came with 3.90 Safe-T-Track rear ends (hardly highway drivers!), heavy duty 4speeds or 3-speed Turbo Hydromatic transmissions, functional Ram Air induction (that actually worked!), better flowing heads with polished valves, stronger valve springs, factory built 'longbranch' factory headers and heavy duty oiling (these cars could easily rev up to 6000rpms). These cars were jokingly rated at 335Hp and 430ftlb in the firebird, but the same exact motor in the GTO was 360HP 445ftlb (Can you say insurance rating game??). RA I motors have been dyno-ed and reality is closer to the 380-400 gross Hp range. Anyway since the convertibles weigh approximately 250 lbs. more than a coupe and the RA option wasn't cheap VERY few RA convertibles were made making them incredibly rare today. (Remarkably though, 6 of the 12 1968 RA convertibles have re-surfaced at the time of writing!) As far as the history of my RA, I am the third owner. Both previous owners lived in Mansfield, PA and kept VERY nice care of this rare bird. The car has 56,600 documented miles and is in fabulous condition. All the sheet metal is original, and both owners tell me the car has NEVER seen snow and only rain a handful of times. Well not sure how to document that but I can tell you that the car has no evidence of rust anywhere! The original speckled paint in the trunk is still evident and in excellent condition while the original verdoro green paint is still on the underside of the trunk deck lid. I even have the original floor mats, 'regular 400' hood scoop inserts and chrome air cleaner. Note: All RA cars had the dealers install the open hood scoops and ram air induction setup (which was sent from the factory to the dealer in the trunk!). The car currently has its original RA induction system. (Most 1967-69 ram air cars that turn up today have lost this setup somewhere along the 30+ year journeys) The car was repainted once in late 1996 its original verdoro green and the original top was replaced in 1998 (April gold-not easy to find!). While it may be hard to believe, the Ram Air option is probably NOT the rarest option on this car. This bird was also equipped with the super rare saddle trim, a.k.a. LEATHER interior! This was a mid-year option and the car had to wait around the factory ~6weeks to get it! That fact may help explain another oddity regarding this car. It has a prototype/factory installed (test?) rear suspension on it. The setup is bizarre. I read an article dated in 1967 that stated Pontiac was planning on going to a new 'dual shock set-up' in 1968 which was in addition to the staggered shock set-up all 1968s eventually did receive. This car has two shocks specially mounted on the driver side rear along with the single standard shock on the passenger side. The car also sits lower in the rear which is presumably for improved traction for '1/4 mile launches'. I wish I had a photo of the undercarriage to send you. I will try to get one soon. Incidentally, the leather was just replaced and is identical in color, pattern and appearance to the original. The car does need some minor final detailing (engine detailing, minor repair of the driver side 'faux leather door panel', minor repair of the tan deluxe wheel, plus some other small items). I plan on working on the detailing soon. Oh yes one final thing I'd like to do is seeing how she'll do in the 1/4 mile! Yes its a super rare and low mile car BUT it was built to race (at least occasionally right)?? :> According to the two previous owners the car was NEVER run at the track (A shame...) Anyway the car has been sitting in a heated garage and has not run much over the past 5 years. With that in mind I've spent the last month or so tuning and tweaking the car, replacing all the fluids and generally 'cleaning out the cobwebs' so to speak. Currently its running VERY strong and hooks up extremely well (probably in large part due to the factory dual shock setup). In any event, the car is pretty much 1/4 mile ready and I know I'm really looking forward to seeing what it can do. I'll let you know how it runs once I get it to the track."

Take care and thanks for your time,
Joe Cione

This Firebird is owned by Derek Mitchell. Derek writes:

"Hi, my name is Derek Mitchell and I love your site. I finally decided to send some pics and info. I purchased my firebird from California 22 years ago. Its original color was Verdoro Green. I have done a few changes since then. It has all original sheet metal and never had rust. Its a numbers matching 350 4-speed. I've added a 3.42 posi, Hooker headers, mildly built the 350, front manual disc brakes, Weld wheels, rechromed the bumpers, and restored the interior back to stock. The door panels and dashboard are still original. Repainted with a custom blue/purple flip flop pearl. The hood is a 400 for that tough look]. I am now installing a Tremec 600 5 speed overdrive. My tags say birdboy. I love my bird and plan on keeping her till I cannot drive any more. I Drive her mostly to cruise nights and car shows."

Thanks, Derek

Bill Schenk owns this award-winning Firebird. Love the flame job!! Bill writes:

     "Hey I had purchased this firebird 1 year ago from a guy in South Carolina. The body had no rust but the interior and engine needed a major overhaul. Since then my brother, father and I have restored it to close to original. We just finished it about a month ago. I recently won my first award at the Hatboro Moonlight Memories Car Show in PA. I know it will be the first of many. As you can tell it is not stock but we kept it moderately stock. The custom flames were done at a local body shop in Pa. We added the 400 look just because it looks meaner. The engine has been completely worked over and rebuilt."

Here is a list of Mods and performance specs.

Engine: Pontiac 350
Heads: Stock
Induction: Edelbrock Aluminum Performer Intake
Camshaft: Comp Cams solid roller 254/260 duration
Exhaust: Hooker long tube headers, Flowmaster 40 series Delta Mufflers, Gibson stainless
     3" exhaust tips
Transmission: TH350, B&M stage 2 shift kit, B&M 2900 stall converter, trans cooler,
     Hurst Promatic 2 shifter
Rear-end: Pontiac 10 bolt w/ posi 3.73:1 Auburn gears, 32 spline Mosar axles
Suspension: PSC polyurethane bushings, aftermarket coils and leaf springs
Brakes: MPB 4 wheel disc brake conversion
Wheels & Tires: Pontiac Rally II 15x7 with 215/65/R15 BFGs Front, Pontiac Rally II
    15x8 with 235/65/R15 rear
Paint & Body: PPG Cadet Blue with Custom Flames by Carlsons Depot Auto Body
Best ET: Unknown

If you have any questions contact me at BlueFire7668@netscape.net
                   -Bill Schenk

Yet another awesome convertible. The owner of this bird has blacked out the Rally IIs and painted the spokes yellow to match the paint. Pretty cool effect.