Firebird
Projects
Lot#4
This section is a place for individuals to showcase their projects. Be it
converting a regular
car to full race trim, a restoration, or a restification you'll find
them all here.
If you have a project in process you'd like to have
featured here goto the GALLERY
FAQ
for details on how to do it.
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Frank Azotini owns this rare bird called the "Comanche". A set of three
dealerships in Quebec Canada got together and offered this package on an
otherwise factory original '69 Firebird. The package included a special
paint scheme, unqiue badging, leather interior and a host of extra options
such as special driving lights, chrome hood louvers, HD radatior,
Pirelli tires and a lot more. Frank writes: "The Comanche's were loaded up Firebirds with gold leather interiors, "Gold was the only color available in leather for a 1969 Firebird". And then the dealership re-painted the cars a non-Firebird gold color, with white accents ,and then they did so much more !! Read the brochure!! These cars were all done in Quebec and only about 30 cars were transformed . I was told by the woman who originally bought the car in Montreal that Paul Newman bought a Comanche when he was filming in Montreal. I have two mailing addresses for Paul Newman and will be writing him to see what he may have done with his car, if in fact he did buy a Comanche. I bought the car from Al Adams of Toronto in 2001, he had the car plated over the last 20 years that he owned it, and when I bought it, I got a trip permit and drove it home to Welland, some 90 miles away and the car drove great !! When I bought the car, Al said that the car only had 56000 original miles, and that he put on less than 500 miles since he owned the car back in 1981 and that he drove the car every year for 20 years but only to the locale cruise nights behind his house. The car retains most of it's original paint but Al put a little filler and spray paint along the bottom were rust was rearing it's ugly head, as well as adding some cheap body side moldings "to protect the car". As soon as I paid Al for the car, I ripped the moldings off right in his drive way and threw them in his garbage, "to his amazement". Then it was off to the QEW Highway where the car easily hit and exceeded 100 miles an hour, and it was then that I believed Al and the car's odometer: 56000 original miles. Well Jimmy as you can see this is a rare bird and is in need of a complete restoration. It's really a solid car with a strong drive train, and Al was the owner of a company called FireArrow ,which dealt in older Firebirds and Camaros and had stockpiled a garage full of NOS and reproduction parts to Restore his Comanche before he Retired, but his friend in the body shop trade passed on and Al never got around to restoring the car, and now that Al was in his 70's he decided to sell the car. So I bought the car and two truck loads of parts and promised Al that the car would be returned to it's former glory." To see more pics of this incredibly rare Firebird hop over to the Custom Dealer Installed Packages Lot#1. Frank recently sent us some new pics of the restoration progress of this rare bird. The first row of pics is of the bird shortly after he purchased it. Next 2 rows show all the updated pics and great work that's being performed. The 3rd and 4th rows show even more recent pics of the car shortly after paintwork. |
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Once in while someone sends in an entry for the Project Lots (such as this)
and you just have to shake your head and wonder how in the world did this
car get this bad. Then again you really have to commend the guy that would
take on the task of bringing it back from what would assuredly be a trip to
the crusher. Randy Penderdraft has taken on this task. Randy writes: "This is my '85 TA project as you can see it needs a lot of work but you can't argue when I got it for free!!" I'd have to agree. Free is always good and once again my motto stands, "Any Firebird is worth saving". Randy also owns a much nicer '68 Firebird that can be seen at the '68 Firebirds Lot#2. Randy recently provided a few more pics. What a challenge.... |
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Rob Conrads is from the Netherlands and is a veteran member of The Firebird
Gallery. Rob recently showcased his 1973 Formula on the International
Firebirds Lot#8. Rob has since sold the Formula and begun the task of
restoring this 1st gen bird. Rob writes: "Hello I am Rob Conrads from Holland. My '73 Yellow Firebird Formula 455 car is gone and now I have bought a 69 firebird 400. This car is a original Dutch '69 car with matching numbers the original 400 engine is a code YT with 62 heads (330HP). The complete engine is rebuild, so also the interior, radiator, the Chrome pieces are chromed again. The front windshield is new. I only must repaint the car and I must re-assemble the car together. I think I'm going to give the car a blue Viper Color with orange stripes on it. And I want to have Centerline wheels under the car and a hood tach on the hood. I hope the car is ready end of the winter. Greetings from Holland and I send you pictures again from the restoration so soon as possible." Rob Conrads Rob recently sent several new pics, in fact Rob has been sending me these pics for a while now and I have finally been able to add them. It won't be very long at all and this car will graduate to the International Lots!! Rob sends the following: "Hey Jimmy here are a few newest pictures from my car. Tomorrow we go repaint the rear spoiler. I have build in new seats from a rally car and blue Spargo safety belts. Greetings from Holland." Rob Conrads |
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Jeff Reyers owns this 1979 Firebird. It was sitting in a barn for years and is
now running high 12s in 1/4 mile. Amazing. Jeff writes: "This is my 1979 firebird that I found in a barn and purchased for 200 dollars. This is a totally rust free car. It originally had a buick V-6 in it that was toasted. I have completly done the underneath of the car and painted everything. I built my own subframe connectors and put a 383 stroker in it, along with a disc brake rear end from a donor Formula. I have just recently found a dash for it and i hope to paint it this winter. I did take her to the strip this last summer and with a stock trans and convertor ran a best of 12:73 at 110 mph. The tranny is coming out and getting rebuilt as 3rd gear is slipping really bad, so with the right torque convertor I hope to be in the low 12's next summer." Jeffzilla The last pic in the series is an updated pic Jeff sent me recently. Jeff writes: "I recently got the bird on the road, sadly not to the track yet. I put in a 6 point roll bar and have some of the interior done and in, no paint yet but I did give her a satin black primer job." Jeff recently sent me another update on the car in March of 2006. Jeff writes: "Here are some new pics of my Firebird and the hood I'm building for it. I've also included a recent timeslip!!"
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Gordy Doyle is restoring this '73 Firebird Esprit and is doing some amazing
sheet metal work on it. Gordy writes: "This is my 73 esprit 400 car. Originally I bought this car to part out and use to put back together my basket case 73 TA. Unable to bring myself to part it out we're redoing it in my driveway on a shoestring budget. Last summer and fall we managed to get done what you see. Now we're going to work our way to finishing the front end in the spring." Gordy recently sent us some new pics of his on-going
restoration. Working towards the front of the car has been the main focus as
you can see in the pics. Gordy writes: |
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1976 is one of my favorite years of Firebirds. I own a '76 Trans Am. The '76
Formula often doesn't get very little attention at all but can provide just
as much performance as a Trans Am equipped properly. Canaan Martin owns this
particular Formula and is well on the way to putting it back on the street.
Martin writes: "My name is Canaan Martin, I'm 20 from Tucson Arizona and I've been working on this '76 Formula for almost a year. The car was actually a parts car a friend of mine was using, but once he sold his 79 TA he practically gave it to me for 300 bucks! Since then I've been working on it almost non-stop. It has the original Pontiac 350 from '76 in it, I just had to bore it 60 over due to it being tapered. The beast houses an Edelbrock Performer series intake and an Edelbrock 1405 carburetor, Comp Cam 265DEH, Eagle Performance crank, MSD Ignition 6A, Accel coil, flat top pistons, and the heads have been ported and polished. The interior is disgusting as is the exterior. I put the T/A fenders on because they look cooler and im planning on using those side vents for a transmission cooler and oil cooler with little fans on them (maybe...). I need to find out a good place to get restoration interior parts such as a new dash/door panels and what not FOR CHEAP!!! $5000 in debt due to engine = no good! I just upgraded to a TH-400 that needs a rebuild for 20 bucks from a guy from work haha! So I'm definitely good to go. Oh yes, I swapped out the normal one wheel wonder with a sweet positraction corporate 10 bolt, WITH A CHROME COVER! If only I had air shocks to show it off..." |
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Dave Pendergrast has undertaken the task to restore this old bird back to
life. Dave writes: "Hello. This is my new project/daily driver 1988 Pontiac Trans Am 305 T.B.I. I received the car right after my son was born on March 11, 2005. The car was given to me by a good friend that doesn't have time for it. I'm having a really hard time finding some parts for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if it's worth restoring because of the condition and this is my first Trans Am. I have been a F-body fan ever since my mother owned one. Then I owned a 1984 Z-28 Camaro that I restored and sold due to financial troubles. From what some people have told me that it is not worth restoring the T.B.I. is this true? Should I just go for the T. P. I. or should I keep it original for my son to "trick out" when he is of age to take the car over? I would really like your opinions on what to do. Thank you for your time and might I add... I love your web site!" New T/A owner, Dave Pendergast |
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Mike Bense recently bought this Formula for his 17th birthday. Mike writes: "This firebird is a '78 formula with stock rims, camel leather interior, t-tops, 400cid engine, and the original upholstery. I was given the opportunity to buy it one week after my 17th birthday and since I'm a big trans am fan, I did. This is obviously no Trans Am but was good enough for me. It was still rare to find it. I took off the original valve cover gaskets and replaced that and the fuel filter, then I replaced the carb with a 750cfm Edelbrock carb and breather. 2 days after I bought it my father had blew out my clutch, (4 speed with a Hurst shifter), so I replaced that and I plan on taking it in for a new metallic blue flake paint job. Redoing the upholstery, I'll keep the seats, there fine but it needs new carpet. The cars only had 3 owners and I plan on doing a lot with it and keeping it for my son, if I feel he's ready, that engine has a lot of power. I'm still only 17 and its a lot of power for me, too much actually. Everyone tells me but I'm not going to be the kid you read about in the news about speeding and wrapping it around a pole. I have however, given her a few runs and in a little over a quarter mile I had it at 100 mph and I've clocked in at 127 mph in third. I never had the chance to get it any further but I will.......someday! I'll update and send more pics later." thx, Mike |
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Erik Larson hopes to restore this bird back to full flight. Erik writes: "Hello all, the car is a red 1991 Pontiac Firebird. I bought it in mid 2004 from Ohio *I live in New York* and trailered the car home. I always wanted a sporty car/muscle car, and I've always been into F-Bodies. I snatched it up for only $1,300. The car's options include the Sport Appearance Package, 305 TBI V8, 5-Speed OD tranny, power everything. Currently the car sits on Cragar SS chrome rims, has been fitted with a fiberglass black cowl induction hood, straight pipe, Edelbrock open element, and Thrush Glasspack muffler. Future plans include dumping the 305 Chevy and dropping in a 455 Pontiac. With the speed-limiting chip removed, the car has buried the needle on it's 120 MPH speedo. Hope everyone likes it!" |
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Neil Thomas is putting the feathers back on this bird. I have the same TA
Neil and I'm not making as much progress on it as you are on yours!!
Neil writes: "Love the site here are the pics of my 455 Trans Am undergoing full repaint, new interior and engine detail. Can't wait to spin the wheels this summer. I bought the car 3 months ago from the 2nd owner who purchased the car 15 years ago and put it in storage, the car has 111,000 original miles on it and is rust free. The car was originally sold new in Phoenix, AZ. I decided to make a '76 gold edition clone. The car was originally black with buckskin interior, so she was stripped down taking the front end panels off, doors, remove the engine and do a nice restoration job to street show standards. I'm going to change the interior color to black and paint the engine the Pontiac metallic blue as seen on earlier cars. I'll send you more photos as the restoration progresses." Neil Thomas Los Angeles |
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