Glad you're not purists.

[Pancho79]

Hi, everybody, I hope you are all doing well! I bought a 1979 Firebird Trans-Am four years ago and it's been a resto project. Out of the factory it was gold/camel with a 301 but i bought it black/black with a Pontiac 400 from a 1974 A body. I don't like these in gold anyway and the 301 is garbage so I'm glad the guy did all that before I got it, but at all the cruise-ins here and some forums online alot of the guys are all "Why are you doing this?" or "No, don't do that! Do this instead!". All I want is this car to be a reliable weekend and occasional track day car that is very fun to drive. Bollocks to ride comfort and being slow I say! Give me a 6.0L LS in front of a 5spd trans and full-on handling and steering upgrades and let me drive!

Anyway it's nice to find a place that I hope to be a long-time member of.

[mean buzzen half dozen]

Was it a turbo 301 V-8?

[T_Raven]

Was it a turbo 301 V-8?

It was in 80-81 TAs. The 301 is an odd ball with a weak, webbed block. Some were turbo-ed.


If purists stumble upon this site, I'm sure their heads explode from all the 18" wheels and big brakes

[raustinss]

Lmao wait until the blue devil chevelle build pops up here in the next few months. 1970 SS 396, 4 speed etc all getting tossed for LS7 427, T56 magnum, ZR1 brakes and lots of carbon fiber. Take that resto guys. Welcome I will embrace your changes

[72BBSwinger]

I don't care what numbers it has as long as it gets driven and not moth balled.

[DesertFox]

LOL.. my experience with other Pontiac people has been... well, just odd for lack of a better word.
One referred to my LS3 GTA as a "Chevrolet abortion".
Build what you like, and drive the heck out of it ;)

[T_Raven]

LOL.. my experience with other Pontiac people has been... well, just odd for lack of a better word.
One referred to my LS3 GTA as a "Chevrolet abortion".
Build what you like, and drive the heck out of it ;)

Pontiac people are 2nd only to Mopar people lol. A guy recently asked about LS headers for his Firebird on a 1st gen Firebird facebook page. He deleted the post after all the purist hate.

Why people want carburetors and sloppy brakes and suspension is beyond me

[Pancho79]

Pontiac people are 2nd only to Mopar people lol. A guy recently asked about LS headers for his Firebird on a 1st gen Firebird facebook page. He deleted the post after all the purist hate.

Why people want carburetors and sloppy brakes and suspension is beyond me.

I don't know either! Don't get me wrong, I love Pontiac engine design with everything being, for the most part, modular. But when I did research into LS engines I realized what GM did was *kind of* take those designs and introduce them to Chevrolet engines. That and my engine is throwing hissy fits and shutting off at random no matter what I do so fuel injection is looking REAL nice right now.

A sloppy chassis is just unacceptable no matter what.

[TheJDMan]

Why people want carburetors and sloppy brakes and suspension is beyond me

It's kinda funny we had a recent discussion on one of the Camaro forums where a member was talking about how well the stock Camaro suspension handled and he just couldn't understand why anyone needed to spend money on suspension parts to improve it. A big discussion ensued and at one point someone posted a video of Red Devil vs a 2012 LT1 on a road course. I'm not sure the guy ever really understood.

[T_Raven]

It's kinda funny we had a recent discussion on one of the Camaro forums where a member was talking about how well the stock Camaro suspension handled and he just couldn't understand why anyone needed to spend money on suspension parts to improve it. A big discussion ensued and at one point someone posted a video of Red Devil vs a 2012 LT1 on a road course. I'm not sure the guy ever really understood.

I guess if you only drive to a local burger joint or an occasional car show, then stock is all you need.

[parsonsj]

We're purists in our own way. You won't find much support around here for 22" wheels, big-n-little tires, bench seats, shaved door handles or automatic transmissions.

[rohrt]

Purist just have a different mind set. I think there are a bunch of reasons purist are the way they are. They just want to see the GM cars the way they were released into the wild. For them its about jumping into a time machine and going back to the 60s. Its also a matter of taste and style and just not being used to change after see a car the same way for 40-50 years. I think also that many who have gone to the trouble to restore a car to its original glory know how much more work it is then just modifying a car. Then can't stomach it when someone else gets a hold of a nice unmolested car and does there own thing.

I say you only live once so build it the way you enjoy it the most. Carl Cassanova had a great write up a few years ago about how some have just poured money into there cars and only drive them a few times a year to car shows and never really enjoy them like he does. He beats the hell out of his car and has the rock chips to prove it. That write up really made me re-think how I use my cars.

[andrewb70]

We're purists in our own way. You won't find much support around here for 22" wheels, big-n-little tires, bench seats, shaved door handles or automatic transmissions.

My current build has 2 out of the 5 things you listed. Lol...

Andrew

[parsonsj]

My current build has 2 out of the 5 things you listed.

I was thinking of you when I wrote that, you heathen.

[andrewb70]

I was thinking of you when I wrote that, you heathen.

I am a heathen. Not every project needs Forgeline wheels, Baer 15" brakes, and suspension bits made out of unobtanium! Besides, you and I both know that 90% of these cars will simply cruise down the road at a leisurely pace. Many of the trappings of PT are just posturing. We are all a bunch of damn peacocks seeing who has the prettiest feathers.

Andrew

[andrewb70]

LOL.. my experience with other Pontiac people has been... well, just odd for lack of a better word.
One referred to my LS3 GTA as a "Chevrolet abortion".
.....

They call my GTO a Chevelle...LOL

Andrew

[raustinss]

I like your "chevelle" thou Andrew

[parsonsj]

I am a heathen

So that our banter doesn't confuse the OP, let me clarify: this site isn't about how you spend, but about function and intended use. We are not a show car crowd, though most of us care about looks. The basic premise is that these cars will be driven, on the street at least, and are built for at least some occasional track use. Autocross and road racing are our thing, though there are some drag racers here too.

But whether or not you have a Pontiac motor in your Firebird is not something any of us will care about.

[arcane73]

this site isn't about how you spend, but about function and intended use. We are not a show car crowd, though most of us care about looks. The basic premise is that these cars will be driven, on the street at least, and are built for at least some occasional track use.

I'm in the group that isn't concerned with looks...currently. And I'm most interested to see the vitriol from the VMF that will come my way when the time comes to drop an engine between the shock towers of my 68 mustang and I go with the LS.

I blame Andrew and his bow-tie keychain equipped cougar!