1971 Pontiac Firebird Pro-Touring 468 TKO For Sale

[oestek]

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD - Thank you!

LOCATION: Des Moines, IA
PRICE: Asking $40k or best offer



Our friend is selling his very cool 1971 Pontiac Firebird, that we did some considerable work to in our shop a couple years ago. It's a great car, super clean, and runs hard. I'm posting the build thread after this detail page for fun. It’s been a V8TV build feature on our television show, videos in the thread. He does not want to sell the car, but he’s got a health situation to take care of.

1970 Pontiac Firebird Formula
Year: 1971
Make: Pontiac
Model: Firebird Formula

>> BUILD PHOTOS:

http://v8tvshow.com/V8TV_2/index.php/en/car-build-photo-galleries?view=goldpicasa&album=622416437117814204 9&userId=100048221976759975667

Engine:
Pontiac 455/11.4:1
Bore 4.185
Stroke 4.25 forged crank
Rods: Eagle 6.8 H-beams
Pistons: Icon forged w/full floating pins
Heads: Edelbrock 72cc ported to flow 310cfm
Intake: Torker II ported
Cam: HR Bullet cam 240/248 @.050 lsa 111
Lifters: Crowers HiPPO solid rollers
Rockers: Crower Stainless Steel 1.65
Billet double roller timing set
Powerbond SFI balancer
Carb: ProSystems HP1000 setup for E85
Ignition: MSD R-T-R Distributor
Plug wires: MSD 8mm wires
Flywheel: PRW billet steel
Clutch: Centerforce Dual friction 11”
Bellhousing: Quick Time
Transmission: American Powertrain 5-speed TKO 600 w/.64 and white lightning shifter
Rearend: 10 bolt w/3.73 limited slip
Exhaust: 3" oval with Spintech mufflers

Brakes:
6 piston Baer brakes with 13" rotors
Hydratech hydroboost braking system

Wheels:
Boze Forged FE Mesh 17x8 with 4.75" BS and 17x10 with 5"
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 255/45/17 front and 285/40/17 rear

Suspension
Front:
Global west upper and lower tubular arms
QA1 coil overs shocks and springs 550lbs springs Pro-touring F-body front sway bar with sway bar brace Global west sub frame connectors welded in

Rear:
BMR torque arm
ridetech shocks and Springs 225lbs

Color: PPG Flamboyance Ocean Blue with pearl metallic with ghost flames

Interior:
Custom Arizen Racing seats with fabric match rear seats.
3 point seat belts
Custom dash with Speedhut gauges
New carpet black
Ringbrothers billet door sills

Misc.:
Aluminum 4 core radiator with dual fans
Ringbrothers billet hood hinges
Ringbrothers billet door hinges
Ringbrothers door strikers
Ringbrothers billet hood adjusters
Ricks tank stainless steel fuel tank
Digi-Tails led conversion of tail lights

He is asking $40K or Best Offer
The car is located in Des Moines, IA.
Any questions please let me know.

I am posting the whole build thread here for info and entertainment!



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1971 Pontiac Firebird Pro-Touring / E85 Upgrades

This wicked 1971 Pontiac Firebird Formula is wearing a deep blue flame job, but the owner felt it needed more fire under the hood. He sent the car, a T56 5-speed transmission, and a fresh E-85 burning 468 cube Pontiac stroker to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop to install to fix all that. The new mill runs at 11.4:1 compression thanks to the alcohol in E-85, which is the best fuel the owner can get in his neighborhood. It came to our shop for some major updates in the driveline, suspension, brakes, and wheels and tires.

Before:

After:



First things first - The V8 crew removed the front wheels, drained all the fluids, and disconnected the wiring. Then, they removed the entire front clip of the vehicle in essentially one piece so that they had better access to the engine, firewall, and subframe.







Once we remove the front sheet metal, it was obvious that the firewall needed help. It was green in color, and was a complete mess.



Under the car, the crew removed the original fuel lines in preparation for the oversized lines required by the E85 conversion.





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Next, they removed the front subframe, and stripped the paint from the firewall. After some minor bodywork, the firewall was seam sealed and coated with satin black paint.







The subframe was media blasted and inspected.



The main welds were reinforced, and the front sway bar holes were drilled out and grade 8 nuts were TIG welded in place. This repaired the stripped out holes in the frame and added a much stronger attachment point for the sway bar mount.









Next, the subframe was epoxy primed and painted a satin black. It was reinstalled on the body to check the fit of the new crossmember and subframe connectors.





Then, the subframe was removed and the entire bottom of the car one strip to prepare for paint and undercoating. This was originally a California car, so the bottom side was not rusty.

[oestek]

Once the bottom side was stripped and prepped, the car was masked and the bottom side was sprayed with black epoxy and a 3M Body Schutz undercoat.











The front suspension components were cleaned, and the steering box was painted. Then the detailed front Global West suspension components were installed on the subframe, along with a new transmission crossmember.







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Next, the freshly rebuilt Pontiac 468 was prepared for installation on to the subframe. This is a stout engine, here’s the specs:

Pontiac 455/11.4:1 compression
Bore 4.185
Stroke 4.25 forged crank
Rods: Eagle 6.8 H-beams
Pistons: Icon forged w/full floating pins
Heads: Edelbrock 72cc ported to flow 310cfm
Intake: Torker II ported
Cam: HR Bullet cam 240/248 @.050 lsa 111
Lifters: Crowers HiPPO solid rollers
Rockers: Crower Stainless Steel 1.65
Billet double roller timing set
Powerbond SFI balancer
Carb: ProSystems HP1000 setup for E85
Ignition: MSD R-T-R Distributor
Plug wires: MSD 8mm wires
Flywheel: PRW billet steel
Clutch: Centerforce Dual friction 11”
Bellhousing: Quick Time
Transmission: American Powertrain 5-speed TKO 600 w/.64 and white lightning shifter



A Tremec TKO 600 5-speed manual transmission and clutch were bolted to the engine.





The engine and transmission were bolted into the subframe, ready for installation on the body.



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The body was then lowered onto the subframe and the engine, transmission, and subframe assembly were attached to it.


.




The E-85 conversion necessitated a new fuel tank, as E-85 is very corrosive and will release any gum and varnish from the original tank, potentially perpetually clogging fuel filters and carb jets.

Plus there is a cool factor in a Rick’s stainless tank!





Front stub coming together…





The Pro Systems E-85 tuned carb



Plumbing the CPP master cylinder and Hydratech hydraulic booster with custom stainless lines

[oestek]

Our crew made a custom radiator cover panel and added a pair of electric fans to pull cold air through the aluminum radiator.



They made 2 close-out panels to keep air from swirling around the radiator through the core support. These are shown in black paint to match the core support.








Trevor contemplates the blue wire



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Inside, the customer the owner supplied a custom dashboard stocked with Legacy gauges (Including a GPS speedometer) and wrapped in Carbon Fiber applique.





The gauges glow with a blue color that matches the exterior of the car.



The completed engine compartment, with aluminum air cleaner housing and painted radiator cover and other polished details.





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The owner really liked the new power and performance of his ‘Bird, but he soon found the limitations of the leaf-spring rear suspension design.



Increased power translated into decreased traction and more wheel hop, so he elected to have the V8 Speed & Resto Shop install a BMR torque arm rear suspension kit on the car, as well as 4-wheel Baer brakes, ZE Forged wheels, Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, and a necessary exhaust re-work to clear the new rear suspension.

The BMR rear suspension kit completely replaces the leaf springs with a pair of bolt in the lower control arms. They attached to the front leaf spring pockets, and to brackets that bolt to the original leaf spring mounts under the rear axle housing.





Once the lower arms are bolted in, brackets are welded to the frame rails to attach the Watts link rods.





A large bracket is sandwiched between the rear axle cover and the axle housing providing mounting points for the Watts link and torque arm. The Watts link keeps the rear axle centered laterally and utilizes a pivot design for smooth articulation.



Coil over shocks are installed as part of the BMR kit.



We installed Baer six piston calipers on all four corners for far better braking performance.





The rears incorporate an integral parking brake drum.

[oestek]

17 inch BOZE forged wheels were test fitted, and then tires mounted when the fit was confirmed.





The torque arm attaches to the rear axle and to the transmission crossmember to keep the rear axle from pitching under acceleration.







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Once the suspension system was installed, the crew set out to snake a dual exhaust system through it.



Custom mandrel bent sections were routed around the suspension system and terminated with discrete turndowns at the back of the car. Then the system was removed for final welding.











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The Watts like mounts were painted and coated to match the bottom of the car.



The end result is a lower stance, far superior traction, and a much cleaner updated look with the new wheels and tires. The brakes rock, and the car handles like it is on rails.





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[thor70]

How about a 3 month bump.
I also want to give a public shout out to Kevin and Kelle for helping sell my car. They have been awesome!!

[JBChevy]

So did the car sell?

[oestek]

The car did sell. I'll mark the first post, thanks for asking.

[JBChevy]

The car did sell. I'll mark the first post, thanks for asking.

Great build. Please post whatever else is coming out of your shop for sale.

[oestek]

Great build. Please post whatever else is coming out of your shop for sale.

Kind of you to say! However, in 13 years of doing car builds, we think there have only been a couple to ever sell. But we'll share any that do!