[Bet Winner]

Originally Posted by pmdclassics

Unexpected purchase, the 400 cars are so hard to come by.

It looks like a good car. I did not understand how hard an original 400 Bird with its original engine is to find until I looked. Most of the "400" Birds for sale are not original 400 cars and then most of the original 400 cars don't have the original drive train.

[1PROGTO]

The short story on the car: It appears it was built in the late 70's and early 80's to run SCCA events. The only evidence left is the 1987 SCCA plaque that was left in the console for a race in July, 1987 at Boeing lot that was used for SCCA/ SOLO II NW events.



It was based out of Seattle (Ballard) area and had work done on it by a local garage there called Spirit Service. The old FEARWAGON personalized WA license plates were last tabbed in 1993 and story goes that the car was being worked on at the station and the owner couldn't pay the bill. So, eventually the owner of the shop took the car on a mechanics lein. It stayed there in Ballard through the 90's before being sold to an employee. Somehow it ended up in Tonasket, WA where it was discovered under a carport with a car cover/tarp half blow off in 2006. Previous owner got the car running and drove the car occasionally.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/VKP1gYxOKVk

Day 1 - was uncovering all the little tricks this car had under it's sleeves to make it run like it did. The car featured a well messaged '69 400, stroked with a 455 crank, forged rods, pistons, full windage tray & baffled pan. High compression heads (62's), along with 1.65 Gold race roller rockers & a genuine '70 Ram Air IV intake & worked Quadrajet sat up top the mill. The car also features twin remote filter setup, oil cooler, and a full race oil accumulator to keep the engine pressurized with oil under hard cornering. As I was trying to get to the distributor, discovered that the engine had been setback almost 4". That accounted for the '67 GTO Ram Air exhaust manifolds fitting, as well as the tight fit to the modified firewall. The Herb Adams support bars were an indication this car was built to handle. And, it does - like a new Corvette. Quick ratio power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes, lowered suspension and race springs do the job perfect. Subframe connectors have been added along with solid body mounts to keep things tight. Suspension is all bushed for grease fittings. The trans turns out to be an iron case Saginaw (1968 Camaro), a great choice for road racing as it gives alot of gear ratio variations. The crossmember has been modified for the engine setback and flipped/reversed. The rear end is a 1967 Camaro 12 bolt, multi-leaf with '79-'81 Firebird discs. The Ram Air manifolds flow nicely into 3" flowmasters that dump at the rear for a great tone.





Inside the interior is nice with full deluxe comfort weave seating. The seats, which at first appear stock, are actually a race seats (1980's GTI Recarro) with full bolsters to keep you firmly planted in the seats during hard exercise. The back seat is a rare option fold down. Other features include tilt wood wheel & console with ITM shifter with a cool arm configuration I had never seen before. Outside the car was built as cool '69 Trans Am clone racer with glass hood, front & rear spoilers and side scoops. (It also came with a mint steel T/A hood as well) The car has alot of cool and functional "swiss cheese" alterations to both the core support and front bumper to lighten some weight off the front end. The fender lips have all been nicely rolled for maximum clearance with the wide and lowered suspension. Rear fenders have also been slightly flared for extra clearance - almost like Smokey Yunick had done them. Wheels are Enkei 92 mesh wheels, 16x8 rolling on performance treads, 245-50-16. Studs are upgraded long 1/2" wheels studs on all 4 corners with open end lug nuts. I recently added 16x8 Vintage Wheel Works V40 with flat caps for the vintage Trans Am Racer look.
Over the next month or so I drove out to Speedsville and friend Mike and I removed the engine, trans, and emptied the engine compartment for full detailing.









Mike has some great resources and we had parts tanked, then I beadblasted, before sending out for powdercoating. His shop is setup perfect with heat, two post lift, compressor, beadblast cabinet, and every tool you could imagine. He's even got TV and laptop with internet so we could search for parts, watch NASCAR, and listen to tunes. Meanwhile, I cleaned and prepped the engine bay for a fresh coating of satin black.





New parts were ordered, small stuff refinished and engine was partially disassembled for inspection. New water pump, carb, gaskets, mini starter, radiator recored, and alot of cleaning and detailing. Mike buttoned up the engine, and I applied fresh coats of primer and Pontiac metallic blue paint really made it come to life again.





















Mike fabbed up alot of stuff along the way such as a brace for the Lakewood scattershield which featured an open access bottom end to make clutch changes at the track easier.



Brakes came next and had rotors turned, we replaced the two fronts and replaced the front calipers with ones I had on the shelf that were new. Rebuilt the one rear caliper that was leaking.









The new restored carb was dialed in, brakes bled, and we were ready for fire up! The beast roared to life again but the road test would have to wait for mother nature to cooperate. Another day and we finalized tuning and took it for a couple drives. YeeHaw....what a fun car this should be.













A little Road testing........

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KWOH8ZQz480

http://www.youtube.com/embed/PYsjgO7G6lc

I've been scheming on wheels for the car for quite awhile and kept coming back to the look as I remember seeing these early Trans Am racers - The Torq Thrust with flat caps. I was tempted to go 15 inchers but know what works on this car as far as width and backspace so went with a great wheel - Vintage Wheel Works V40, sharp spoke in 16x8, that fit perfect and I can use the nearly new rubber that was on the car to boot.

[muscle_collector]

Originally Posted by 1PROGTO

The short story on the car: It appears it was built in the late 70's and early 80's to run SCCA events. The only evidence left is the 1987 SCCA plaque that was left in the console for a race in July, 1987 at Boeing lot that was used for SCCA/ SOLO II NW events.



It was based out of Seattle (Ballard) area and had work done on it by a local garage there called Spirit Service. The old FEARWAGON personalized WA license plates were last tabbed in 1993 and story goes that the car was being worked on at the station and the owner couldn't pay the bill. So, eventually the owner of the shop took the car on a mechanics lein. It stayed there in Ballard through the 90's before being sold to an employee. Somehow it ended up in Tonasket, WA where it was discovered under a carport with a car cover/tarp half blow off in 2006. Previous owner got the car running and drove the car occasionally.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/VKP1gYxOKVk

Day 1 - was uncovering all the little tricks this car had under it's sleeves to make it run like it did. The car featured a well messaged '69 400, stroked with a 455 crank, forged rods, pistons, full windage tray & baffled pan. High compression heads (62's), along with 1.65 Gold race roller rockers & a genuine '70 Ram Air IV intake & worked Quadrajet sat up top the mill. The car also features twin remote filter setup, oil cooler, and a full race oil accumulator to keep the engine pressurized with oil under hard cornering. As I was trying to get to the distributor, discovered that the engine had been setback almost 4". That accounted for the '67 GTO Ram Air exhaust manifolds fitting, as well as the tight fit to the modified firewall. The Herb Adams support bars were an indication this car was built to handle. And, it does - like a new Corvette. Quick ratio power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes, lowered suspension and race springs do the job perfect. Subframe connectors have been added along with solid body mounts to keep things tight. Suspension is all bushed for grease fittings. The trans turns out to be an iron case Saginaw (1968 Camaro), a great choice for road racing as it gives alot of gear ratio variations. The crossmember has been modified for the engine setback and flipped/reversed. The rear end is a 1967 Camaro 12 bolt, multi-leaf with '79-'81 Firebird discs. The Ram Air manifolds flow nicely into 3" flowmasters that dump at the rear for a great tone.





Inside the interior is nice with full deluxe comfort weave seating. The seats, which at first appear stock, are actually a race seats (1980's GTI Recarro) with full bolsters to keep you firmly planted in the seats during hard exercise. The back seat is a rare option fold down. Other features include tilt wood wheel & console with ITM shifter with a cool arm configuration I had never seen before. Outside the car was built as cool '69 Trans Am clone racer with glass hood, front & rear spoilers and side scoops. (It also came with a mint steel T/A hood as well) The car has alot of cool and functional "swiss cheese" alterations to both the core support and front bumper to lighten some weight off the front end. The fender lips have all been nicely rolled for maximum clearance with the wide and lowered suspension. Rear fenders have also been slightly flared for extra clearance - almost like Smokey Yunick had done them. Wheels are Enkei 92 mesh wheels, 16x8 rolling on performance treads, 245-50-16. Studs are upgraded long 1/2" wheels studs on all 4 corners with open end lug nuts. I recently added 16x8 Vintage Wheel Works V40 with flat caps for the vintage Trans Am Racer look.
Over the next month or so I drove out to Speedsville and friend Mike and I removed the engine, trans, and emptied the engine compartment for full detailing.









Mike has some great resources and we had parts tanked, then I beadblasted, before sending out for powdercoating. His shop is setup perfect with heat, two post lift, compressor, beadblast cabinet, and every tool you could imagine. He's even got TV and laptop with internet so we could search for parts, watch NASCAR, and listen to tunes. Meanwhile, I cleaned and prepped the engine bay for a fresh coating of satin black.





New parts were ordered, small stuff refinished and engine was partially disassembled for inspection. New water pump, carb, gaskets, mini starter, radiator recored, and alot of cleaning and detailing. Mike buttoned up the engine, and I applied fresh coats of primer and Pontiac metallic blue paint really made it come to life again.





















Mike fabbed up alot of stuff along the way such as a brace for the Lakewood scattershield which featured an open access bottom end to make clutch changes at the track easier.



Brakes came next and had rotors turned, we replaced the two fronts and replaced the front calipers with ones I had on the shelf that were new. Rebuilt the one rear caliper that was leaking.









The new restored carb was dialed in, brakes bled, and we were ready for fire up! The beast roared to life again but the road test would have to wait for mother nature to cooperate. Another day and we finalized tuning and took it for a couple drives. YeeHaw....what a fun car this should be.













A little Road testing........

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KWOH8ZQz480

http://www.youtube.com/embed/PYsjgO7G6lc

I've been scheming on wheels for the car for quite awhile and kept coming back to the look as I remember seeing these early Trans Am racers - The Torq Thrust with flat caps. I was tempted to go 15 inchers but know what works on this car as far as width and backspace so went with a great wheel - Vintage Wheel Works V40, sharp spoke in 16x8, that fit perfect and I can use the nearly new rubber that was on the car to boot.

wow, cool car but what really got my attention is that sticker on the valve cover. it is the only other one i have ever seen in over 35 years of dealing with pontiacs. the other one, was on a air cleaner lid that i found in a salvage back in the 70's and i asked the owner what it came off of and he said a ra 4 formula (which they never made). any idea of anything behind it???? i still have that chrome lid with it on it. no one that has seen it knows anything about it.

[1PROGTO]

I agree...cool decal that was on the valve cover when I got the car. I've seen them on E-bay and looks like here on NPD:
http://www.npdlink.com/store/product...0964-2093.html

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by Bet Winner

It looks like a good car. I did not understand how hard an original 400 Bird with its original engine is to find until I looked. Most of the "400" Birds for sale are not original 400 cars and then most of the original 400 cars don't have the original drive train.

Amen brother! People don't realize that a 1969 Firebird 400 is MUCH rarer than a 1969 GTO (about 5 to 1), and finding one with the original 400 drivetrain is extremely difficult. I once told a fellow Pontiac enthusiast (and GTO fan) that a 1969 Firebird 400 is as rare as a 1965 GTO convertible, and he was stunned.

I'm glad mine is matching numbers down to the intake, heads, and trans. I pulled the 400 over 15 years ago to build a 455, and I stored the matching numbers engine.

Most Firebirds you see listed on E-Bay are converted cars, many owners believe that once a 400 engine is installed, that makes it a Firebird 400, but there was much more to it than that.

Cool looking car PMDCLASSICS, congrats!!!

[pmdclassics]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Amen brother! People don't realize that a 1969 Firebird 400 is MUCH rarer than a 1969 GTO (about 5 to 1), and finding one with the original 400 drivetrain is extremely difficult. I once told a fellow Pontiac enthusiast (and GTO fan) that a 1969 Firebird 400 is as rare as a 1965 GTO convertible, and he was stunned.

I'm glad mine is matching numbers down to the intake, heads, and trans. I pulled the 400 over 15 years ago to build a 455, and I stored the matching numbers engine.

Most Firebirds you see listed on E-Bay are converted cars, many owners believe that once a 400 engine is installed, that makes it a Firebird 400, but there was much more to it than that.

Cool looking car PMDCLASSICS, congrats!!!

Thanks guys,

Couple more pics...

[Tellyshavilli]

Hey Todd , looks like a nice bird . 4spd any options ?

[pmdclassics]

Here's the PHS on the car. Nicely optioned. I believe the tach must have been dealer installed. I am missing the power seat motor and switch as the previous owner ditched it years ago.