1969 Firebird, TT Pontiac engine

[69Phoenix]

We are at the Barret-Jackson auction participating in the Barrett-Jackson Cup. Please vote using the link here for the People’s Choice Award!!!

https://cup.barrett-jackson.com/2023-cup-voting/

[69Phoenix]

https://cup.barrett-jackson.com/2023-cup-voting/

[ryeguy2006a]

I saw this car on Bitchin' Rides at the one car show!! So cool man.

[69Phoenix]

I saw this car on Bitchin' Rides at the one car show!! So cool man.

Glad you saw the BR episode. Was a great event. Check out BJ Parade of the BJ Cup competitors. At 49:15 they run us across. Let me know if you are there!!! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d23Att4--p0

[thumper877]

Just saw u won the Barrett Jackson event. Congratulations! Had alot of competition. Well deserved.

[andrewb70]

Congratulations on the win!

[69Phoenix]

Thanks to all who voted for us. Ultimately, we were not able to compete in the "People's Choice Award" due to making the Top 5. Wonderful builds from so many great and talented folks from all of the country made it hard for us to imagine taking home top honors. I was happy to see in the end the judges felt we had the best combination of build and in our case, "use". The Firebird was the only vehicle in the top 5 to be driven and driven hard. I like to think they gave us the extra nod for actually using a car for what it was built for, not just for the build quality and appearance. HP numbers and bragging rights are great but using the power at a high level seemed to give us the edge we needed. Many thanks to Bobby Alloway and Troy Trepanier who judged the competition. They are two of the most recognized builders in the country and we were honored to be chosen by them.

None of this would have been possible without Troy Gudgel of BBT Fabrications. He and Clay Mitchem put together an amazing vehicle spending thousands of hours creating this build. They had the engine out and back in, in record breaking time after both ECTA events and in time for Good Guys Columbus and the BJ Cup. Their attention to detail is over the top and exactly what led me to them in the first place. Very talented guys at BBT and super folks to work with.

Here's to what was a crazy and fun 2022 and a great start to 23'. This wraps things up for the vehicle outside of one more shot at 200 plus in October at the fall ECTA event in Arkansas. We are bound and determined to get north of 200 MPH. 199 is just not enough, so we'll run the car at Blytheville one last time and put the car up for safekeeping.

Thanks for all the support, encouragement, and for following along on this build. This was a long journey and in the end worth the wait. It's not the end result we crave, it's the process and the people involved, the friends made, and the brief moments we shared together at the events last year and last weekend that made it all worthwhile.

Please be sure to check out this month's Modern Rodding where Brian Brennan discusses the builds that won the Triple Crown of Rodding last year in Pigeon Forge Tennessee at the Shades of the Past event. Many thanks to Brian and his team for putting together a great article. https://digital.modernrodding.com/pr...february-2023/

[compos mentis]

Great post…congrats to you all!

[69Phoenix]

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction 2025 is here, Super Saturday is next weekend, the 25th! This car will sell at "NO RESERVE" somewhere between 1 and 5 PM under lot #1369. Wish me luck!!!!!

This vehicle has the following accomplishments since completion:

2023 Barrett-Jackson Cup "Ultimate Best in Show"
2022 Goodguys "Street Machine of the Year"
2022 Shade's of the Past "Street Machine of the Year
East Coast Timing Association: Class RS8/7TG "1 mile and 2K Record Holder"
Featured in Modern Rodding Magazine
Featured in Wheel Hub Magazine


Well,

It's time to move forward. We reached our goal back in October last year, at our last ECTA Arkansas Mile Event in Blytheville AK (Thank you Steve and CJ of ECTA, great folks, wonderful event, so much fun). It was not without some pain as we lost the trans on the morning of Day #2. Luckily, we broke both of our previous ECTA Records before this happened. 200 mph in the MILE, and 213 mph in the 2K. Box checked, and we've now decided it's time to let the car go. It was all about the experience.

It's an amazing vehicle and reaching our goal without the extremely talented crew at BBT Fabrications would have been impossible. Troy Gudgel and Clay Mitchem spent many, many thousands of hours on the car. Nothing was left untouched and almost everything on the car is either one off custom machined, hand formed or modified. It has right at 1000 miles on it, so everything is sorted out. If you wanted, you could get in it and drive anywhere. The trans was sent back to RS Gear and was fully gone through having fresh internals; it's ready to go. The vehicle is detailed to perfection without a blemish or scratch. You could eat off the underside if you wanted to. Most of these cars are built to the extreme and never see a day of action. We built this car to look amazing, be very safe, and hit speeds in excess of 200 mph. We had multiple runs in the 190's at each event but the magic number kept eluding us, so we kept after it. Many thanks to all the folks who helped us get there. BBT Fabrications, Carma Performance, Butler Performance, Roadster Shop, and so many others including the many friends we made in the industry along the way. To all our local friends who encouraged our attempts at getting to our goal, and my amazing folks who sat there and watched me personally drive the vehicle fully knowing it was built to be safe and I would be okay hammering it each and every time we ran the car, which of course I did, "Many THANKS, you are the best".

I could spend a lot of time here heaping praise on Troy and Clay, and the entire BBT Team but I think less is more. They did not just build what I wanted, they worked with me, supporting my goal of going 200 mph, and went to the track with the car and support gear three separate times ensuring we finally got there. They are great people, and I have known them for over ten years now, they are friends and family. I would recommend them to anyone looking to build something special, that once in a lifetime car. Give them a call and talk to Troy if you are serious about doing something crazy and very special. They can and will make it happen. (BBT Fabrications, Mahomet Illinois)

Here are some videos and links to articles that have been put up about the car. Please pass the word along as I'd like to get as much exposure as I can, who knows, we may do okay next weekend. Thanks for any help you can provide!

Thank You Pro-Touring.com for providing all of us interested car guys, new and old who have been around for decades, tinkering and playing with vehicles, a place to share. Without your support many of us would not see what is possible, would not know the folks we met here, and would certainly not have the support your platform provides. Job well done!

LINKS:

Bing Videos (Barrett-Jackson First Look video)

1969 PONTIAC FIREBIRD CUSTOM COUPE - Vehicle | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company - World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions (Barrett-Jackson Car Home Page)

BBT Fabrications (@bbtfab) • Instagram photos and videos (Lots of information here)

Bing Videos (Roadster Shop Video Goodguys 2022 Street Machine of the year video)

1969 Pontiac Firebird Looks Like It Was Never Raced, Actually Has Two Records to Its Name - autoevolution (Auto Evolution Article)

Triple Crown of Rodding: Best Street Machine (Modern Rodding Article)

Potent Pontiac! BBT Fabrications scores Goodguys 2022 PPG Street Machine of the Year win with Brad Sather’s Turbocharged Pontiac-powered ’69 Firebird! | Fueled News (Fuel Curve Article)

Bing Videos (Youtube video in Bare metal SEMA, thank you Hot Rod Hippie for your content)

[ryeguy2006a]

That car is absolutely amazing. I loved watching it come together.

[69Phoenix]

That car is absolutely amazing. I loved watching it come together.

Glad you enjoyed the process with me. The fun was exactly that, the process and the friends made. Sad to see the car go but I wanted to be a part of building the car and using it, not letting it sit to just look at it so I figured it should go to a collection where it can sit and bask in all its glory. Heck, maybe I'll go visit it somewhere and see it from time to time. Who knows. My 70' Trans Am is more of an original style driver with all the upgrades and go fast goodies. I don't mind driving it and getting it a little dirty. This car, the 69' was just too pretty to put on the road. Watch us Saturday as it crosses the Barrett-Jackson auction block and wish me luck!

[mistral]

Beautiful beautiful car! Congrats on the build, and on the speeds!