Name:

Larry Noble

E-mail:

lanoble@us.ibm.com

Year:

1968

Make:

Firebird

Model:

Coupe

Color:

Dodge Intense(Viper)blue

Engine

1970 Pontiac 455, four bolt main block. '74 'D' port 400 ci heads, 9.5 cr, .030 over bore for 462 ci total. Comp Cams extreme energy 256 cam, Comp Magnum roller rockers, Hooker super comp headers 1.75", HiTorque starter, Aluminum milodon water pump.

Ignition

Mallory magnetic pickup series 57 distributor, Holley Annihilator system and coil.

Induction

Holley 4011 spreadbore aluminum 'top loader', annular discharge boosters, 800 cfm, vac secondaries. Currently on Edelbrock performer for shaker clearance, soon to be performer RPM.

Transmission

Richmond 5 speed w/Hurst shifter. 3.27 low gear, direct 5th gear. Hayes steel flywheel with Centerforce dual friction clutch and McLeod Hyd. throw out bearing. Feeds Ford early Mustang 9" axle housing with 2.75 tractionloc center section set up with tight clutches, 3" narrower than stock.

Exhaust

Hooker super comps, 1.75", full Flowmaster Force II 2.5" system(single dual in/dual out muffler behind the axle.

Suspension

Full urethane bushings, including subframe to body. Guldstrand spec relocation of upper front A-arms for negative camber on roll, 1 1/8 front bar, Global West 600 lb per in. springs, no rear bar, KYB Gas shocks, adjustable Cal-Tracs traction bars.

Brakes Front

Baer 12" 'Sport' 1.1" thick drilled and slotted disks, Aluminum hub, PBR/Baer caliper(ZR1 style), braided stainless lines, Manual Corvette master cyl.

Brakes Rear

Baer 12" x .810 thick drilled and slotted rotor, PBR rear caliper, Baer adj proportioning valve, braided lines.

Front Wheels and Tires

Vintage 1 piece American Racing 200S 5 spokes, 15x7.

Rear Wheels and Tires

Vintage 1 piece American Racing 200S 5 spokes, 15x8.5.

Interior

Toyota MR2 front seats, stock rear, Grant wheel, Autometer guages, stock 160 Mph speedo, shift light.

Special Thanks To

Danny's auto painting, Long Beach Ca., and my wife Sandy, who does not always appreciate the favorable psychological effect driving and working on this car affords me. And a big hello to Chris Hall in England who has a very similar setup to my car, whom I met a couple of years ago in Southern California when he was there on a visit! It's a small world!

Awards and Events

Car Craft magazine, which printed my story and pictures on installing my Cal Tracs bars in Jan 2000, allowing me to afford them. Hot Rod Power Tour, 2000, Long Haul Gang, 6,700 miles round trip with side trips, San Bernardino CA, to Panama City Beach, FL. 1st place, modified Firebird, Channel Islands POCI, 2000. Several other awards.

Other items

1970 Trans Am shaker hood scoop, open, modified for '68 flat hood. Pontiac dealer option chin spoiler and trunk spoiler( same as Z28).

Comments

The basic idea driving this particular car was to create a functional equivalent of the late sixties Trans-Am race cars using modern hi tech upgrades to make it both bullet-proof and comfortable enough to make a trip like the Power Tour without being tortured. By using a motor with over 50% more cubic inches, I was able to equal the HP, with more torque everywhere, and pull 18 MPG at 75 MPH(remember that 2.75 axle?) The Richmond 5 speed gives me drag race ratios in the first four gears with better spacing than most 4 speeds, bulletproof gears, and a loping 5th gear that would pull 150 if I dared. The Baer disks are equal to the best racing disks in 1968, but street qualified, and modern tires are at also equal to '68 race rubber, and allow for occasional rain as well. This car went 6,700 miles 10 days after it was painted, used 1 qt oil and 3 cups of water. It did run out of gas once in Oklahoma, but I guess that's not the car's fault (don't think it was mine), and survived running over a huge block of concrete on a bridge in Louisiana when I had no place to go. Got a new Canton road race pan in my garage right now, and that, along with an ACCusump and oil cooler will be added soon. Future mods planned are Jim Butler custom Edelbrock Alloy heads and a bigger cam and intake. I gotta tune the front springs a bit too, and might go with composite rear springs if it seems like it would be worth it. These things are never finished I guess.

Story

Now I gonna make you sick with envy. I bought the car, a running 400 ci with 400 turbo hydro in 1997 for $995 and drove it that way for a year most every day. Tranny died, so parked it and bought newly built, never run 455 and same condition turbo 400 tranny for $900 more from a guy leaving the country. Found the used Richmond 5 speed while having the Ford diff rebuilt at a Ford shop, probably the only GM fit piece in the shop, and bought it and the shifter for $1,250. Then sold the 400 used moter and new 400 tranny for $650, making my total investment at that time in car, motor, and tranny a grand total of $2,495. I then blew almost that same amount on the Baer Brakes. They were my biggest expenditure, and well worth it, though the Centerforce clutch and Cal-tracs bars are both very big plusses, and the MR2 seats are really very comfortable for long trips or hot cornering. I guess the last straw might be that Car Craft paid me $500 for the story and Pix. Page 74 of the Jan 2000 issue. I gotta get busy and make some more money if want to pay for those heads though.