Raszaron
04-01-2026, 07:57 AM
Hello, I'm Chris and the owner and builder of Fool's GOLD the 'Strike' Formula!
For now, here are just a few images and a link to a page dedicated to the project. I will eventually get to adding the videos to You Tube.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577452476231
Hello and welcome to the start of the Pro-Touring build of 'FooL's GOLD'.
219969
The build has been happening for the last 4 months, but I started with a pretty clean car!
219968219965
The Car... I bought a 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 (VIN verified). It had already had some modifications, such as a 1978 W72 400 and the car was painted 'Gold' to match other cars in the guys collection.
Why this car? I wanted a car that was extremely clean (no rust or very minimal at worst) and I just wanted a fun cruiser to take the family out in.
219963
What happened? About 50 miles into driving the car around I knew it would need suspension work as it was quite bouncy with the family in the car. I also wanted to add shoulder harness seat belts to the rear seats (contacted Morris). Then the motor spun a bearing at about 100 miles... or it already had a spun bearing and the previous owner put the thickest oil possible to keep it quiet?...
Why have that thought? The first thing I did when the car arrive was check all the fluids, the oil looked brand new. I also called the previous owner and asked, what type of oil did he use and when did he last change the oil. He responded that he never changed the oil because he didn't drive the car much, it just sat in his collection.
So I changed the oil and it looked like I was panning for GOLD! Man I would have struck it rich with all the brass (or copper) that was in the oil, and the oil filter. I cut the oil filter open and it was loaded with shiny flakes.
219964
So I have my suspicions on this, but that is the unfortunate nature of buying any vehicle across the nation! Seeing all of that glittery gold in the bottom of my oil catch pan made me immediately name my GOLD Formula, 'FooL's GOLD'.
Well, when I started the project some interesting things had been occurring and certain stampings on parts made me start to question things. When I got my seat belts from Morris, I bolted everything in as the instructions stated and came to notice that the rear lap belt connections were to long. I called Morris and talked with him for a bit on what was happening, used my kid as a model for the pictures of the seat belt on him and came to find out that yes, the attachment clasp was to far over. Morris asked me if I was sure I had a 73 and not a 72...
Now this had me wondering what was going on here. Morris sent me the proper belts for the 72 and sure enough, they worked perfectly. Then I was under the car I took pictures of every stamp in every part I could find. I searched the numbers on the rear axle. It came back as a 72 10 bolt with 3.73 gears and the Safe-T-Traq. This really got me curious about what was going on with this car. Other indications, the seat belt humps, matched the 72 vs the slightly different 73. Then I found out about the Norwood Strike that halted production in 1972, but resumed in 1973. From the sources I could find on this, it was stated that while Chevrolet destroyed the Camaros on their line, Pontiac left them on the line and then built them once the Strike was over, but updated the front bumper area to meet the requirements for 1973. So now, I thought how foolish I was to think that buying stuff for a 73 would work on my car if the majority of the body matches a 72! FooL's GOLD is now even more compelling of a name!
219962
Did I mention that the car was repainted Gold? The original color of the car was Navajo Orange (which can still be seen in certain areas of the car). It isn't even a "real" Gold car... FooL's GOLD is getting pretty ingrained in the persona of this car!
Well, at this point, I needed to figure out what to do with the car. It was absolutely going to need motor work. It needed at the minimum new springs (the shocks were aftermarket, but don't know how old they were). And I started to question what else might I need to work on at this point. I did some shopping around to look at all my options. Contacted a few builders, one was excited but then never heard back. One said sure, but he was years out. Another said absolutely, and we could start in a few months once he finished another project to get room in the shop.
A year later... I raced with a guy who owns and built a 1967 Firebird Pro-Touring car for CAM-T.
219961
He offered to help me out and let me build my car in his shop! A little over a month later, the car made it to his shop and the build began. But, before a "build" can begin, a tear-down must happen. So my plan was in place, lots of parts were purchased about 2 years before the tear-down started, many more parts have been purchased in the last 4 months. This project, even when doing it ourselves, is already going to surpass more than I ever thought I would have put into this car when I originally bought it. I just jumped down the proverbial "mine shaft" and FooL's GOLD is what I am working on... the question is, when it is all said and done, will this car be worth its weight in gold, or will I just be another fool with a really cool but expensive car?!
Here are a few since I started working on the project 4 months ago:
219967
219966
Shout out to the following:
Sponsor credit to: Dave Nasello @ Pro-Touring F-Body / Gen II Racing
Bill Niesz @ "Bill's Shop" (the owner of the 67 Patina Firebird above)
For now, here are just a few images and a link to a page dedicated to the project. I will eventually get to adding the videos to You Tube.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577452476231
Hello and welcome to the start of the Pro-Touring build of 'FooL's GOLD'.
219969
The build has been happening for the last 4 months, but I started with a pretty clean car!
219968219965
The Car... I bought a 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 (VIN verified). It had already had some modifications, such as a 1978 W72 400 and the car was painted 'Gold' to match other cars in the guys collection.
Why this car? I wanted a car that was extremely clean (no rust or very minimal at worst) and I just wanted a fun cruiser to take the family out in.
219963
What happened? About 50 miles into driving the car around I knew it would need suspension work as it was quite bouncy with the family in the car. I also wanted to add shoulder harness seat belts to the rear seats (contacted Morris). Then the motor spun a bearing at about 100 miles... or it already had a spun bearing and the previous owner put the thickest oil possible to keep it quiet?...
Why have that thought? The first thing I did when the car arrive was check all the fluids, the oil looked brand new. I also called the previous owner and asked, what type of oil did he use and when did he last change the oil. He responded that he never changed the oil because he didn't drive the car much, it just sat in his collection.
So I changed the oil and it looked like I was panning for GOLD! Man I would have struck it rich with all the brass (or copper) that was in the oil, and the oil filter. I cut the oil filter open and it was loaded with shiny flakes.
219964
So I have my suspicions on this, but that is the unfortunate nature of buying any vehicle across the nation! Seeing all of that glittery gold in the bottom of my oil catch pan made me immediately name my GOLD Formula, 'FooL's GOLD'.
Well, when I started the project some interesting things had been occurring and certain stampings on parts made me start to question things. When I got my seat belts from Morris, I bolted everything in as the instructions stated and came to notice that the rear lap belt connections were to long. I called Morris and talked with him for a bit on what was happening, used my kid as a model for the pictures of the seat belt on him and came to find out that yes, the attachment clasp was to far over. Morris asked me if I was sure I had a 73 and not a 72...
Now this had me wondering what was going on here. Morris sent me the proper belts for the 72 and sure enough, they worked perfectly. Then I was under the car I took pictures of every stamp in every part I could find. I searched the numbers on the rear axle. It came back as a 72 10 bolt with 3.73 gears and the Safe-T-Traq. This really got me curious about what was going on with this car. Other indications, the seat belt humps, matched the 72 vs the slightly different 73. Then I found out about the Norwood Strike that halted production in 1972, but resumed in 1973. From the sources I could find on this, it was stated that while Chevrolet destroyed the Camaros on their line, Pontiac left them on the line and then built them once the Strike was over, but updated the front bumper area to meet the requirements for 1973. So now, I thought how foolish I was to think that buying stuff for a 73 would work on my car if the majority of the body matches a 72! FooL's GOLD is now even more compelling of a name!
219962
Did I mention that the car was repainted Gold? The original color of the car was Navajo Orange (which can still be seen in certain areas of the car). It isn't even a "real" Gold car... FooL's GOLD is getting pretty ingrained in the persona of this car!
Well, at this point, I needed to figure out what to do with the car. It was absolutely going to need motor work. It needed at the minimum new springs (the shocks were aftermarket, but don't know how old they were). And I started to question what else might I need to work on at this point. I did some shopping around to look at all my options. Contacted a few builders, one was excited but then never heard back. One said sure, but he was years out. Another said absolutely, and we could start in a few months once he finished another project to get room in the shop.
A year later... I raced with a guy who owns and built a 1967 Firebird Pro-Touring car for CAM-T.
219961
He offered to help me out and let me build my car in his shop! A little over a month later, the car made it to his shop and the build began. But, before a "build" can begin, a tear-down must happen. So my plan was in place, lots of parts were purchased about 2 years before the tear-down started, many more parts have been purchased in the last 4 months. This project, even when doing it ourselves, is already going to surpass more than I ever thought I would have put into this car when I originally bought it. I just jumped down the proverbial "mine shaft" and FooL's GOLD is what I am working on... the question is, when it is all said and done, will this car be worth its weight in gold, or will I just be another fool with a really cool but expensive car?!
Here are a few since I started working on the project 4 months ago:
219967
219966
Shout out to the following:
Sponsor credit to: Dave Nasello @ Pro-Touring F-Body / Gen II Racing
Bill Niesz @ "Bill's Shop" (the owner of the 67 Patina Firebird above)