The Premier Firebird Trans Am Gallery

Firebird Projects
Lot#5

                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.

 

















 Michael Monette owns this red 1978 Trans Am. He writes:

     "My name is Michael Monette. I was married on March 4th 2006 to a wonderful woman with whom to spend the rest of my days. For the wedding we were given several gifts of all shapes and sizes. Most of which was on our registries. However, while my dad was here visiting a week before the wedding, he teased me on how I should give up my poor excuse for a car and get some "Real American Muscle". I just thought he was trying to just get under my skin a bit by teasing me about his 1978 Gold Edition T/A. What I didn't expect was for him to give me my very own red 1978 T/A!!! Needless to say I was a bit floored. I have always held my dads passion for the "real American cars" while secretly wishing I could get the funds needed and one day have one of my own.

My father and I went on a stubborn 9 year hiatus of not speaking. Both thinking the other was mad at the other and they would simply call when the other got over it. Well... problem was, neither of us "WAS" mad at the other and since last year, when we were reunited again, I have done everything to get those 9 years back. This car holds a special place in my heart as I feel it's a piece of my dad I will have forever.

I would love to say she's all original but the years have not been real kind and previous owners have saw fit to give her a few changes over the years. My dad has told me that the original color might be silver and that she was painted over with the red shown in the pictures. The rims have been changed for some aftermarket and the original motor came blown when my dad acquired it. The plans are for a 350 V8 to provide the power and give me something affordable to maintain, either way, you wont see me complain. It was originally going to be a donor for my dads 78 T/A, but I'm glad that didn't come to pass. The good news?? She has no rust on the body at all! No major defects in body structure if any. All in all the T/A is pretty sound. From what I'm told the windshield needs to be fixed, due to a small crack and my dad is leaving most of the interior face lifts up to me.

Although the T/A isn't here yet, plans for some reconstruction are in the works. I'm aware the original route is pretty much a money guzzler, so I'm leaning towards just making her look beautiful and taking her to shows the rest of her days and there's a garage space waiting for her arrival. Sorry only 3 pictures but I will send more when able to do so."

 

 









 Steve Delgado owns this 1967 Firebird. Steve writes:

     "These are pictures of my rare bird. She's a 1967 "Sprint" OHC in-line six with the Rochester 4 barrel carb. I've owned this car sense I was 15 years old and am currently restoring her. The previously own purchased this car for his then 16 yr old daughter. I've had many good years in this car, but she has sat in my garage for the better part of 10 years. Now it is time for her re-birth. Although I have safely kept the original straight 6, I do not wish to use this at this time. I am looking for a quality 326 or perhaps I may go to a crate Chevy 350. "Bessy", (my car) was factory equipped with loads of extras:"

AC
A-track player
Factory trackion bars
Factory front sway bar
3-spd stick (very beefy)
Very rare bench seat (unfortunately, in my youth I traded it out for some buckets)

Thanks
Steve D.
 

 

 











 Timothy Brinner owns this hopped up 1968 Firebird. Tim writes:

     "I bought this car in August of '05. The car was sitting for 7 years before I bought it. I finished the motor, installed a driveshaft, adjusted the rear suspension, replaced the spool with a cone posi, installed Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R tires in place of the slicks, finished most of the wiring, installed a sway bar, new springs, plumbed the entire brake system, made a custom 3" exhaust, made a new tranny crossmember to accommodate the exhaust, and installed a 1050 dominator. The car was originally built as a drag car, since I don't live close enough to a strip to be competitive, I am in the progress of putting it on the street."

Engine: Chevy 454ci, GM Performance parts heads (ported), victor intake, 1050 dominator, .685" Lunati roller, 12.5 hollow pop-up pistons, stock crank, stock rods, MSD ignition system.

Trans: Th400 reverse valve body, ratchet shifter

Rear end: Mopar 8 3/4", reinforced, 4.30 gears, cone posi, 742 center, Moser axles

Brakes: Wilwood all around

Interior: stock except for cage, tubs, no rear seat

Exterior: black with silver-raspberry flames

Wheels: 15x7" Pontiac (front), 15x14" Centerline Warriors (rear)

Tires: 215/65R15 MasterCraft (front), 29x18R15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R

I will race my car at Lebanon Valley Raceway in West Lebanon, NY for the Muscle Palooza III in May 2006.
 

 

 











 First and Second gen owners aren't the only ones that have to deal with rusty floor pans!! Mike Browning is attempting to make this bird fly again. Mike writes:

     "Hey. Names Mike. Great website. I've been looking at it for over 2 years, and finally decided to post my project! I am only 17 years old and I have been working for the past 2 years paying for this car, I bought it and I wanted it to be perfect, so I decided to go all the way and restore it.
As of right now the whole body has been restored to mint condition, new floors, panels, etc... The most recent picture I sent you is a couple months old, but I will take some more this week. Currently the Car has all new windows in it and the wiring for the car has been put back in and complete (with minor things still to go) and I am lucky to have my dad help with the work.
The car will not be getting much done for a while now is money has just gotten a little tight, paying for my other car and all, but I have just been hired for an apprenticeship and hope to be able to complete this car in the next year! I have always wanted a trans am since I was a kid (and still am one) and now I got one, and I am working on it to completely restore it and have it the way it was meant to be! Thanks for the awesome website."

Mike Browining (Niagara Falls, Ontario)
 

 

 















 I don't get many project TAs from the overseas crowd. Eric is taking on the challenge of rebuilding this 3rd Gen Trans Am. Eric writes:

     "Hi there, my name is Eric and I live in Schiedam, The Netherlands. About one year ago (Jan.2006), I bought my white 1985 Trans-Am as a project car for about $4000 which was quite a fair deal. It has 150.000 miles on the TH700 auto and a rebuilt 305 TPI engine. Actually I would just brighten up everything a little, and then have fun with the car, but it looks like he'll need more work. The t-roof is to leaky that it can't be out over night without the risk of turning the interior to a dripping jungle. The interior is pretty bad, most of the plastic parts are damaged and the left side of the driver's seat has broken to the floor. All the seats are worn out and have covers to prevent them from falling apart entirely. The airco is missing and the electric wiring is messed up. The carpet has lots of oil and grease stains and I actually wonder what the floor boards will look like when it pull it out.
I found a black '88 GTA later that year which has spent about 6 years on the same place on a parking lot. The 350 TPI fired right up in august after half a minute of cranking on a fresh battery. All the brakes are stuck so I have no idea if the tranny will still shift more than 1st and Reverse. I'm now parting out the car, underneath the birdie is so rusty that I don't think he ever could have driven again anyway. I'll clean up the interior parts (which are in pretty good shape) and use the best of both birds to make a nice combo for my 1985. I'll also take the digital dash because it looks really typical cheesy 80s and take all the (mostly factory, so less hassle) wiring, electronics and the airco from the GTA and put it in my T/A. I'll probably sell both the engines and put a new one in, but that is still to come so I'll keep you informed."

Regards, Eric

Eric recently sent me the following update:

     "It's been a year now, and my Firebird has been sanded and has epoxy primer paint. All the holes are welded shut now. Things like the t-tops, metal holding the rear light and battery-tray were rusted out. There were holes in the firewall and various other holes and rot on the bolts and the metal. The rear end and the front sub-frame are now away for sanding and powder coating. I've found a 383ci engine for the birdie too! The 9-bolt rear axle has now a 3.27 ratio, and I'm now trying to get parts in Australia to rebuild it and make it 2.77."

 

 







 Marc Green owns this 1979 Firebird. Marc writes:

     "Hi my name is Marc Green and I live in Cardiff in the united kingdom and I just got my first firebird. Parts are a little hard to get but I will source what I need over time. I have a 403 Olds in her with a TH350, the car has been converted to disc brakes all round and a limited slip diff. This is all i know at the moment. Hope to find out more soon. Thanks for looking."

Marc
 

 

 

This Firebird has been on the site before associated with a previous owner. Interestingly, a new owner bought the car, found it here in the gallery and contacted me. Mike Woelke is the new owner and here is what he had to say:

     "I’d like to give you an update on the 67 Biege 400 Firebird that was owned by Philip, you have it posted in lot #2. My name is Mike Woelke and I bought the car from Philip several months ago. He had it listed on craigslist. I bought the car for 6,000 over the phone and drove straight through from Boulder, Colorado to pick the car up in Lancaster, California where Philip lives. The car was everything that Philip represented, we loaded her up and headed home. I had been looking for a 67, matching numbers 400 bird for a year and a half. I saw Philips listing a few months earlier but passed it up because he had 326 badges and a 326 air cleaner on it. Apparently he did a little street racing and was trying to hide the cubic inches. Anyway, I’ve attached a photo of the car on the trailer where we stopped for gas in Grand Junction, Colorado.
I will post updates to you as I get the project started but I expect I’ll stay with a stock look, original paint color, vinyl top and interior but modify the suspension and brakes. Philip had pretty much reproduced the engine specs of a 69 400 RA and I will probably stay pretty true to that but will have Gregg Merrick here in Colorado do the re-build. I plan to keep the numbers matching transmission in the shop (just in case) but intend to run a Tremec 6 speed in the car. I’ll probably start the teardown to frame this winter. Watch for my updates.
I found your site yesterday and spent about three enjoyable hours just on the first gen cars. You’ve done a great job with it. You can imagine my surprise when I found my car on the site. I’m sure by now you are starting to see situations like this where the cars themselves are outliving the owners who post them. It’s also a great way to put Firebird enthusiasts together. Make sure that you let the people who post know to pass on the website to the new owners. Not only should a classic car seller pass on all the receipts but also a list of web postings. It’s great provenance. Good luck with the site, you’ve got a new fan."

 

 











 Leah Keeney is restoring this 1986 Trans Am. Leah writes:

     "I have a 1986 Trans Am project show car that has been in the makings for 8 years now. I submitted earlier my 1984 black beauty that is seen in firebird gallery. Great job by the way! I own 4 third gen. Trans Am's and can only work on one at a time. The 1986 project is going to be a serious street rod show car. It is currently in th body shop and will be painted PT cruiser electric blue. The car was a navy blue, but it seems they are all that color, so we changed color. The motor is already done and built and in the car. It runs excellent-- a built 350 TPI motor out of a 1991 Camaro IROC. Everything is powder coated candy blue , chrome, and billet aluminum pulleys, and various other parts. All the bolts, screws and other hardware are stainless. The car will have a ram air hood, Ferrari wing, Billet Specialties wheels 17", BF Goodrich GForce T/A, drilled/slotted brake system, A Sony 1,000 watt Xplod system, interior will sport flamed items, etc. It sports a dual Flowmaster exhaust system and headers- it roars! I paid $800 for this car and what a mess, t-tops leaked water, motor had no power, wrecked on passenger side. I was told this was a recovered theft. I will send a new article when she is finished, which will be this summer, funds providing."

Thank you Leah Keeney, Grants Pass, Oregon