[thews]

Gonna try out this poll option and see if it works. There are a lot of common mods done to First Gen Firebirds. Some look good on some cars, while some never look good (to me anyway). It's all personal taste and whatever someone does to their car I can appreciate, as it makes it their car. In general, which one of these is your least favorite?

1) Aftermarket Wheels. (Note this doesn't include 17" Rally II's, but aftermarket rims).


2) Custom paint/graphics.


3) Aftermarket hood.


4) A Chevy engine.

5) Aftermarket steering wheel... like this one:


I realize there's a lot of variability and the pictures are just a guide. For example I had Cragars on my first GTO and I still love them, though others not so much.

[tom s]

Hate the Chevy spoilers!

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by tom s

Hate the Chevy spoilers!

X2! Camaro stripes and camaro spoiler are my two peeves...

[tr709]

X3! And please don't call it a big block

[grandam1979]

A small block Chevy yuk!

[Donovan]

3rd generation TA spoiler

2nd generation hood bird

Edelbrock performer intake

under dash gauges (cheap looking)


Honestly though I think it's more offensive that most firebird owners would rather keep the engine rusty than repaint in order to keep it original.

Or people who look down on others who have kept a car on the road with whatever means they understood rather than let it rot in a garage or barn.

The example paint scheme and the aftermarket hood are hideous though, admittedly.

[1stGenFB]

In order of least favorite up top #1 to still sucks but not as bad #4
1.Chevy motors
2.Aftermarket hoods
3.Chevy spoilers
4.ftermarket wheels

[Dick Boneske]

My least favorite are:

1. Chev motors
2. Aftermarket wheels
3. Holes in hood for carb or injectors

[teeraven]

#3, those cowl hoods look stupid on a Firebird.

I don't really care what people do with their cars though. I'm far from a purist and most will hate my 1st gens when they are done.

[RocktimusPryme]

Chevy motors. Nothing else is even close. Especially small block swaps. I can at least understand an LS motor, even if I wouldnt do it myself.

The other stuff I can take or leave....I wouldnt run stock 14-15" wheels myself outside of a concourse car. I just think 17's look better. Allow for better brakes.

I dont like the look of the cowl hoods, but I understand. Stock hoods dont have a ton of room.

I wouldnt stab someone over a camaro spoiler. And I like the front "plow" spoiler on certain cars. Im actually surprised nobody has mentioned those since they often draw derision.

The only thing I will actually get mad over is an SBC swap. First engine shop I called to have machine work done on my 400 block tried to talk me into swapping in a 383. I hung up on them.

[wovenweb]

If the hood is never opened, how do you know if there is a Chevy inside?

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by wovenweb

If then hood is never opened, how do you know if there is a Chevy inside?

My grandmother called it The Shining.

[wovenweb]

Okay, I cheated. I voted for everything. Other: Snow plows and Camaro spoilers. And personally, not really a fan of engines bigger than 400 in a First Gen. I know, I know, they are the same size but someone asked.

I know I'll regret that last statement some day...

[thews]

For me it's the hood and steering wheel. Most of the ginormous hoods don't need to be so big. It's a throwback to the 80's when dual carbs sticking out of the hood was the bomb. It's funny to see a car with a bulging hood and a 7 inch air cleaner pretending to be a velocity stack.

That wood steering wheel is ghastly to me. I see so many of them, and it's such a cheap upgrade to go with a stock steering wheel. The 69 3-spoke and the stock 67-68's are nice looking.

I love a first gen with a different color and stock appearance, but the 70's "wild" graphics are past tense.

The Chevy engine is something I understand. Price out a Pontiac rebuild and the Chevy is half that price. The LT/LS engines are cool and I agree when the hood is closed no one knows.

Lastly, just because this is my pet peeve, calling a 350 2BBL engine with a 4BBL carb an "HO" is an outright lie. A real 350HO is just that, but using a Chevy engine with the 350HO tag is a sin.

[limejudge69]

Besides a sbc hiding under the hood, the dreaded Buick red air cleaner decal sends
me over the edge. They've been around so long now, and plastered on so many Pontiacs that people think they're original.

[silverbullet07]

I hate when they add Camaro parts such as spoiler and front snow plow, then get upset because people call it a Camaro.

[Dave R]

Chevy engines are the worst. Buy a Camaro if you want a chevy. Oddly enough, I don't mind the LS engines though.
Aftermarket tachometer screwed through an otherwise perfect dash or even mounted on the steering column with a hose clamp are a pet peeve.

[thews]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Aftermarket tachometer screwed through an otherwise perfect dash or even mounted on the steering column with a hose clamp are a pet peeve.

I don't like those either, but it's worse when they're bolted to the cowl in front of the windshield. Another one I forgot is the B&M Quicksilver type shifter. I do like the his/her's dual gate shifter sold on eBay that never came on a Firebird, but it looks stock.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-69-Pont...tWeuI1&vxp=mtr

[azbirds]

Come on!! you don't need to see under the hood to hear that its not a Pontiac. the camaro spoilers do suck. I do have a big hood on one of my cars, but I needed every inch of clearance.

[teeraven]

I hate seeing a SBC in a Pontiac, but mostly because they are just a boring engine. I can tolerate a nice BBC, and I love LS engines. To each their own though, I don't tell people what they should do with their cars.

I prefer a Pontiac though, so rather than put a LS in my pro touring 67 Firebird, I'm gonna build an all aluminum Pontiac with EFI.