My first car was a 1969 Pontiac Firebird. Ok, my first car was really a 1982 Honda Prelude but my first “real” car was the Firebird. I remember seeing this car under a tarp at the neighbors house. One day the tarp was off and there sat this beautiful green with black vinal top 1969 Pontiac Firebird. It had a 350 big block, Muncie 4-speed with Hurst linkage, dual exhaust, black vinyl seats and a hood tach. I asked the neighbor if he wanted to sell it and after a few days of mulling it over he said yes. I can’t even remember what I ended up paying for it. I probably would have paid double at the time as I was just fascinated with this car. So I brought it home (2 doors down) and started taking a look at the engine. I quickly discovered that the fuel pump was bad and needed to be replaced. This was the start of what my Mom can only describe as the “Great Garage Takeover”. I figured that while I had the fuel pump off why not take a look at the carburetor and the manifold and the…well you get the idea. Six months and $4000 later I had a sweet running machine. I had basically rebuilt the entire engine myself (minus some machine work to bore out the cylinders). I had pretty much replaced everything with high performance parts from the cam shaft to the pistons to the push rods to the manifold and topped it all off with chrome valve covers and air filter. Now before you think “Wow…good job” I’ll let you in on a little incident when I first went to fire it over after the rebuild. The whole time I was working on the engine I was very careful about labeling and bagging all the parts, taking photos of how things were installed etc. When it came time to install the timing chain I had two books that showed two different positions. I chose the one that I thought looked the most reliable but rather than run the engine through by hand to make sure it was really correct I just kept going and putting things back together. Big mistake! When first trying to start the engine it just kept cranking. So we tried to prime the carburetor by adding a little fuel and that quickly burped flame into the air. I should have taken that as a sign that something was not right. So the neighbor said how about we try and push start it. So he got in his truck and pushed me down the road at a good clip and then I popped that clutch to get her going but still nothing. At this point we felt something was seriously wrong so we took a closer look. We soon narrowed the search down to the timing chain which turned out to be way off so that the pistons were hitting the valves. I ended up scarring the tops of the pistons, bending all the intake valves and bending the associated push rods. Lesson learned. After I got all new parts and installed them I did a manual run through of the engine to make sure everything was working as it should. And guess what…she fired up first time. This was by far the most enjoyable car I have ever driven. Some good times were had with that car. I drove it clear across the US one winter. I had it up to 140 mph once (the speedometer went up to 180). As time went on it started costing me money to fix little things that would go wrong. Being a college student at the time I could no longer afford it and needed more reliable transportation. So I ended up selling it. Looking back I regret it, especially seeing how much a classic Firebird goes for these days. And for all the fun and joy that car had given me I don’t have a single photo of her. I guess that is the way it was supposed to be…just a memory.
Matt, what I remember most about the Firebird (at least I think it was the Firebird) was the pool of water that would collect and slosh around in the back with any amount of rain. It was like driving with a full bath tub in back! But maybe it was your “salmon” car I’m thinking of. That would be most appropriate!
Yes, the tidal wave of water from the trunk to the back seat was the Firebird. I had to drill holes in the trunk to keep the water drained. The “salmon” car (actually orange) was the 1972 Chevelle with the cowl induction hood. Not so great memories with that car.
Good post, surely fun memories.
My first car was a 1982 Camaro Z28. Very nice condition, ’82 was the first year of that body, so perhaps someday it would have been a classic. Unfortunately, the owner pulled out the 427 that he had been running it with and threw in a tired out 305 at the last minute. It was a bit of a dog despite the 5 liters. I sold it a year later.
My second car was the most fun car I’ve ever owned. An ’87 IROC-Z28. I believe only 1000 of them were made that year with the Corvette’s 350 TPI. With a shift kit, modified chip, and a few other goodies, it’d easily toast the Mustangs around my area.
Had great times in that one with T-Tops (despite rain leaking in every.single.time.) But times changed and I sold it, moving on to a much more boring Dakota.
Michigan winters were interesting with the IROC.
My Honda isn’t nearly as memorable, but with 35mpg, a bit more practical in these times.
Hey Brandon. Those Cameros were another favorite of mine. Never owned one but always wanted a 69 Camero SS. I loved the power my Firebird had. Nothing like putting your foot down and getting thrown back in your seat. I used to tool down the road and wait for some poor sap to try and pass me and then just hit the throttle. Ok, a bit juvenile but still lots of fun. Now I’m stuck with a Honda Civic but it’s better on the pocketbook and safer for the family. Thanks for dropping by. I’m a regular viewer of your blog.