Engine: 455 Pontiac engine. Bottom end is basically stock with exception of ARP bolts. It was balanced and assembled by Zimmerman Bros Speed Shop in Greensburg, In. Cylinder heads are 6X with a pocket port and shaved to yield a compression ratio of 9.5:1. Camshaft is a hydraulic grind from H-O racing, part number hc-02a and Lunati roller 1.65 ratio rocker arms were installed. I run a Performer RPM intake with Holley 850 on top. We dyno'd this combo with 9.0:1 comp and yielded 413 hp and 495 ft lbs torque. Shift point at 5000. According to Desktop dyno comp bump moved it up over 500 ft lbs, but the 495 was on actual dyno.

Drivetrain: Shifting duties handled by a turbo 350 trans with Trans King trans brake and a Powerglide Transmission Coan 3900 rpm stall converter. The rear end is the factory 8.5in 10 bolt unit fitted with Moser 33 spline axles and steel spool turned by Richmond 3.73 gears. Until this year suspension was leaning toward stock, Moroso trick springs up front and stock leafs in rear. CE drag shocks on all corners with CE j-hook traction bars on back. Installed new frame rails, ladder bars and coil overs.

Body & Interior: Body has been redone including new quarters, door skins, and a '81 style fiberglass front end. Interior has been removed minus factory dashboard.

Best eighth mile time: 7.09 @ 95mph (on 93 octane)

Engine: '76 .030 over, balanced 400. Equipped with a Lunati Cam, forged flat top pistons, Torker II Intake topped with an 800cfm Holley, and a set of mildly ported #13 heads.

Drivetrain: Turbo 350 complemented with a 3500 rpm stall converter. Out back is a 12-bolt rear with 4.88 gears and 29.5-10-5 Mickey Thompson's for rubber.

Body & Interior: Kept as stock as possible.

Best quarter mile time: Averages 12.80s

I always say any Firebird is worth saving and Peter Donk illustrates this perfectly. Peter writes:
                          
     "Hello, 6 or 8 years ago I sent you pictures of my 1980 Firebird I had just gotten fresh paint on and I was doing a little drag racing with it. Now she's a full-on drag car with over 500hp and 3.73 gears and fiberglass doors and lexan windows and no bumper reinforcement or proper lighting (etc., etc., etc.) and needless to say she's not street legal at all any more. Won lots of races (most recently the IHRA Division 3 Bracket Finals at Pittsburgh Raceway Park this Fall) and had lotsa fun as she's evolved into quite a good performer. Best pass to date was 11.37 @ 118.22mph about midway through the 2007 season in pretty good air. She'll be getting a 6 point roll bar and proper harness this Winter to make her class legal again. Also adding a fiberglass hood and bigger hood scoop for a little more weight advantage.
Anyway, if you want to update the info/pics on the car that would be great. It's been neat to go back and look at what she used to look like but she's come a long way. She's still my baby..."

Thanks,
Peter Donk

The bird as it was when Peter bought it:

Engine: 2-bolt 355 Chevy with 10.8:1 compression, forged pistons, GM Performance Parts aluminum Fast Burn heads, matching GMPP single-plane high-rise manifold, Holley 750 carb updated with a Proform racing main body, Holley electric fuel pump and regulator, Proform electric water pump, electric radiator fan, MSD 6AL ignition, Comp Cams 305H hydraulic cam, Crane roller rockers and Heddman Shorty D-port headers with custom collectors. According to Desktop Dyno she puts out 526hp at 6300rpm.

Drivetrain: Stock TH350 transmission with a TCI 10" 3800rpm racing converter and B&M shift improver kit, transmission cooler, TCI line lock, and RV type converter.  I upgraded the rearend with c-clip eliminators, 3.73 gears and a mini-spool to keep the power going to the ground. Centerlines all the way around with 10.0X28 Hoosier slicks in the back and DOT skinnys up front.

Body & Interior: I lightened the body with Lexan windows all the way around, fiberglass doors, removed the front bumper reinforcement and fender liners and lighting gear as well as any miscellaneous brackets and doodads I could find that serve no useful purpose and added subframe connectors. I cut the inner deck lid sheet metal out and made aluminum bracing for the front bumper facia. She has a sheet aluminum dash with only the barest of essentials for instrumentation including an Auto Meter tach with a nice bright shift light as well as a lightweight racing seat. Grant steering wheel, B&M Z-gate shifter (got sick of missing shifts), small household type fire extinguisher, and fuel line cool can. The cowl is an aftermarket piece I molded to the factory hood and the rear spoiler has been molded in as well. This Winter she's getting a fiberglass pin-on hood and larger scoop as well as a proper 8-point roll bar and legal harnesses.

Best quarter mile time: 11.37 @ 118.22mph

Engine: 422ci LS1/LQ4 built by Agostino Racing Engines. Built with Ross forged pistons, Lunati billet 6.200 Pro Mod rods, Lunati billet stroker crankshaft offset ground to 4.075 and a Lunati 590/590//242/242//114 camshaft. The 6.0 LQ4 block was bored to 4.060 creating an 11.25:1 compression ratio. Stage II heads with 2.08/1.60 valves and Comp 987-16 valvesprings were installed along with Trickflow chromoly pushrods. A Cloyes roller timing chain and ASP underdrive crank pulley were also added. Feeding air to the engine is accomplished with a ported stock throttle body modified with the throttle body coolant bypass free mod, LS6 intake with LS6 PCV system, a SLP LS6 85mm MAF w/ MAF Translator, Whisper airlid, K&N air filter, and Bosch 37 lb injectors add fuel to the mixture. Other go fast goodies include ARE PCM tuning and a Blueprinted and modified oil pump.
MSD Wires provide the spark and exhuast fumes are vented using TTS longtube headers, ARE custom 3" off road pipe with 3" Flowmaster collector and Custom dual  4" Catback with 4" Dynomax Ultra Flo welded muffler. 

Drivetrain: An FLP Level IV.2 4L60E handles the shifting duties. A Yank Thruster Pro Extreme 4400 converter, B&M 19,000 GVW transmission cooler and a Metco driveshaft loop were also added. The stock steel driveshaft was retained. A Moser nine inch rearend, with 31 spline axles, Strange nodular case, Tractech soft locker, and 4.10 gears round out the rear end. Suspension was improved for drag racing with Alston Racing lower control arms, a Random Technology torque arm, HAL 12-way adjustable shocks and springs in front and 1995 V6 springs and stock shocks in back and an Airlift airbag in right rear spring. Brakes remain stock. Creating traction is handled by Weld Pro Stars 15x3.5, 165R15 radial tires and Weld Pro Stars 15x10 (7.5 offset), 11.5x26x15 ET Streets.

Body & Interior: An Alston Racing 8 point chromoly rollcage was added to meet safety specifications for the ETs planned for this car. Other interior enhancements include an Autometer Phantom series 5" tach and shiftlite, Autometer Phantom series a/f ratio gauge in pillar pod and an Autometer Phantom series fuel pressure gauge in pillar pod. A Converter lockup switch by PureEvil Racing was also added along with an ASCD WS6 style Ram Air hood.

Best quarter mile time: 11.15 @ 120.30mph