The first brand-new car that I bought was a 1967 Firebird with the base-model OHC 6-cylinder. Basically, it was a "stripper" with automatic, power steering and an AM radio. I took delivery in March, 1967. I really loved that car. The engine was pretty peppy for me and no, I wasn't an old man - I was 23 at the time. To my eye, it was one of the prettiest carss ever made and remains so to me now.
My first new car was a 67 Firebird also. Was 21 and serving in the USAF. Was a 400, 4 speed, AM radio and power steering (gold interior and exterior). Owned many vehicles since but this is my favorite.
THat's why you always had to pay extra for a Firebird. American auto manufacturers always had some way to 'upsell' you to a more expensive vehicle.Appearance was #1, as that was what you always noticed first. So the better looking vehicles always sold for more $$$$$.
@@MLFranklin I would counter with the 1969 GTO/Judge; also one of the quickest factory 'specials' available to the general public. Pontiac got that one right. The girl next door's boyfriend had one and they took it racing; until they figured out that SHE was the faster driver. Must have been terrible back then, getting beaten by a GIRL. And then, of course, came Shirley Muldowney...
I’m currently driving a ‘68 that I’ve restomodded, (lost the ‘69 in the last divorce) my first car was a 64 tempest. The only Camaro I’m interested in is a 70-71. I am working on a 66 fastback with my grandson and a 70 cougar with my son… my first foray into ford motorsports in my 64 years. But they gonna bury me in the firebird! (And a set of CalTrax takes care of that rear end hop nicely)
I have a 1967 Firebird 326 convertible w/3speed manual muncie transmission in the floor. It's been in the family since 1972 when my dad purchased it from the local Ford dealership after being traded in for a 1972 Torino. A Great fun car turns heads whenever I take it out for a nice cruise. Love Pontiacs of all years. I wish GM would bring back PMD as they should've never let it die off. Pontiac was always on the cutting edge with performance cars. Great video! Thanks for sharing.
@@geec5636 They discontinued the 326 in 1968 when it was replaced by the 350. Your 78 GP probably had the 301 in it, unless somebody swapped it out for the 326.
The rebellious, performance-oriented PMD of the 1960s was not the Pontiac of later years, which was just a somewhat-fancier Chevy using standard GM engines (except for that last TransAm which was way over-the-top cartoonish). GM's strength, on their way to bankruptcy, was said to be diluted by too many companies and too many models.
Thanks, Rick. I have owned 5 Firebirds, 3 Trans Am's, a '69 Firebird 400 and a Formula. I have an immaculate Car Show Honey of a Black on Black 2002 WS6 Trans Am sitting in the driveway right now. I ordered an Internet Search for it and may have bought the last black TA. It's my daily driver. Yesterday, a kid drove up and asked me how much I wanted for it, and I just laughed. I'm 86. That sweet machine ain't getting out of my sight. Cheers.
What is somewhat interesting is the front clips are interchangeable. That's right, you can choose between the Firechicken, Camaro, and Nova, front clips.
Bought my 1967 400 4-speed Firebird in high school 48 years ago, still on it today. Pay $950 for the car, 98.00 a month, fully covered insurance $32.50 a year. 26 Cents a gallon for ethyl gasoline, Texas car all of its life no rust. Built the motor up a year after I bought it, good forged pistons, made 11 1/2 to 1 compression ratio with ram Airheads, 580 lift hydraulic camshaft, had it balanced, big tube headers, 780 Holley carburetor, Aluminum Intake, 50 Mickey Thompson's on the rear, beefed up original 10 bolt differential, Rock Crusher Muncie. Drove that car everyday to school my senior year close to 70 miles round trip, plus weekends haul my girlfriend around, and drag race the car. Had a 67 and 68 Camaro also, sold both of them, nice cars but I love my Firebird, love it so much I want to be buried in it.
Bought a 67 326 Firebird in January 1985 for $900. I was verdoro green with a 2 speed power glide automatic. I sold it in 1988 and always wanted another firebird. In May 2001 I searched for a 1967 firebird on Auto Trader (internet was a new way to find a car then). On my first search I found a 1967 400 4 speed with 16,204 miles for $5,000. I thought the mileage must be a typo, so I called. The person offering the car for sale insisted that the miles were correct and the car had no rust (Ohio car). He said the car was last registered in May 1968 in Ohio and had not been driven since May-June 1969. The original owner gave the car to her son when he moved to Pine Island Florida in 1984, where it sit garaged until his death in 2001. He never transferred the title into his name. Upon his death, his son (Grandson of the original owner) inherited the car. He used it as collateral for money he owed to his fathers best friend. His fathers friend didn't want the car so he sold it to me for $3,500 to cover the debt. OK- after an 1,150 mile drive, I arrived at his house; the garage door was open and the car was covered with a proper car cover, but the bottom was pulled up high and I could see the factory applied Silverglaze liquor paint shinning in what was left of the Florida sun. When I pulled that cover back, I was staggered at what I had found! This car looked new inside and out. It had the factory chalk marks on the suspension and steering components. There was assembly part number tags wrapped around and hanging from the rear leaf springs. In the glove box was a 1967 Ohio map, with tickets to the Miss Ohio beauty pageant at Cedar Point Ohio amusement park dated 1968. It contained all the original documentation including the pro-tec-to plate. This was a "barn find" that didn't have 35 years of bird droppings and 55 generations of mice living in the wiring harness and seat cushions. It was in perfect condition, other than it couldn't be started due to sitting for 32 years. I still have the car. I rebuilt the engine; It still has fewer than 16,500 miles. It is an attention getter, you just don't see first generation Firebirds; even at large car shows (5,000+ cars) there are only 5-10 at most.
Had a '67 GTO with 400 HO 4 speed, with just radial tires it ran high 13's, not even headers. It would go toe to toe with a Solid lifter SS 396 any day. The down side was any over revving, could result in a spun bearing. My next muscle car had a BBC for that reason alone. Today I know that issue can be fixed but in my day that was deal breaker.
It wasn't just a 6 cylinder, it was an overhead cam 6 cylinder! It was the only 6 cylinder (Corvair flat 6 excluded) that, in the 4 barrel carb version, could be had with a 4 speed manual transmission. Good stuff for the times. My cousin had one with the lower performance OHC 6. He later bought a wrecked 68 Firebird for the engine and transmission and I helped swap that OHC 6, 3 on the tree for a 350 Pontiac V8, turbohydramatic and he also swapped the steering column and added the floor shifter and console. It was a fun time, bunch of teenagers turning wrenches and daydreaming about girls!
it may have had a 4 barrel carb but, my brother-in-law was talked into one by a slippery car salesman as a real performance car, My brother-in-law was as sharp as the salesman the car was gutless. He paid more than what a 326 would have cost for a engine that wouldn't move out of its own tracks. In what world was that engine ever considered performance.
@@mylanmiller9656 It probably needed to be tuned. I just googled and this came up: The 1968 Pontiac Firebird with a 6-cylinder engine had the following horsepower and torque specs: Base engine: 175 horsepower (hp) 4 bbl Quadrajet Sprint with automatic transmission: Up to 215 hp 4 bbl Quadrajet Sprint with manual transmission: 230 hp 200 ponies in a little car like that should be pretty decent.
@@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism Different people have different ideas of what to call performance. The Pontiac 6 was no performance engine not by a long shot!
My friends cousin had a new one with the 6 4bbl auto and we ran the crap out of that thing. I'd been in lots of the hot cars of the day and the OHC 6 was a cool car.
My wife bought a new '68 Forest green Firebird. Right after we married in '72, I put on a set of ET IV mags & a set of Goodrich T/A radials. It was a gorgeous car, but it did have a couple of issues. The trunk leaked causing the inside of the back window to major frost build-up & I even sat inside the closed trunk with a flashlight & my wife pouring water all over the area. Fuel economy was terrible for a 350 2 bbl maybe 11 in the city. We kept it until '77 when it began rusting & needed other repairs. A lot of fun & great memories though.
I traded a 75 torino for a 69 firebird conv back in 1980, then traded the firebird for a 81 Tbird with a blown head, put a carbed 302 in the bird and drove it til I traded it in for a new nissan. I traded too much in the old days
Pontiac, thinking they were "sporty", always put a lower gear ratio rear end in the Firechicken, compared to a Camaro, or a Nova. That's where your fuel mileage went.
It probably wasn't tuned well, may have stood to benefit from a timing recurve, an intake manifold, well tuned Qjet, true dual exhaust and it could have gotten more like 13-14 in town and 16-20hwy mainly because it wouldn't have to work as hard or a long to reach and maintain speeds.
@@w41duvernay That stuff is a gimmick. I tried it. Didn't last at all. If you want something to last, you can't Paint Over Rust. You NEED to remove it, prime it and then paint it, and not only just paint it, with a single part paint like POR but with a quality 2 stage paint- paint with hardener. I fell for the gimmick once years ago. I'll never use it again. In fact, I actually had better results from tractor paint w/ harder from tractor supply, after I removed the flaking POR-15 and the rust.
I always preferred the Firebird over the Camaro, especially the 1st generation. I also preferred the Cougar over the Mustang. I guess I just liked driving a great car that was a little more exclusive. Everywhere you looked was Camaros and Mustangs. 😉. Edit: That color blue was my absolute favorite ‘60s GM muscle & pony car color… looks great with Cragar S/S wheels.
And technically a mix of Falcon and Fairlane, although it can be reasonably argued that Fairlane was an offshoot of the Falcon. Fairlane front suspension bits were used with the 289 V8.
Thanks for catching this! You'd think I'd either say it right or notice it while editing. I did put in a small correction, hopefully folks will notice. Big difference between Falcon and Firebird!
I've owned several Firebirds, but my all-time Favorite was my '68 Firebird 400 ragtop. It had an Muncie M-22 Rockcrusher 4- speed, a 350 posi rear end, with a Moroso sub-frame & suspension. It handled like a sports car & was fast as Hell. Lotsa good times racing around in that car back in the early '70's
The base 215 cyl was an OHV design whereas the "Sprint" 6cyl was a 230ci OVERHEAD CAM engine that made 165hp with the 1brl carb & 215hp with the Qjet 4bl carb.
Maybe he knows his stuff, but he’s not showing it. The OHC 6 was a pretty significant and unique engine that was on offer - and it’s like he didn’t know anything about it. Certainly didn’t impart that knowledge to his viewers.
Not quite right. 215 was a unique displacement of the Chevy 6 between their own "Turbo-Thrift" 194 and 230, and for Pontiac only to be used in the 1964-1965 Tempest and LeMans. Starting in 1966 Pontiac replaced the 215 with the 230 OHC6 in 1bbl (165hp) and Sprint 4bbl (207hp) versions, heavily redesigned from the Chevy engine. The Sprint was bumped to 215hp for 1967 with a hotter cam. The 215 OHV 6 was long gone by the time Firebird came out.
@@jeffbranch8072 "You're completely full of $hit and you don't know what you're talking about!"....... .....Is what I was going to say...... Until I did a bit of digging and by golly.... You're right! Car guy my whole life and I never heard tell of this engine until now. Never too old and never "been around" enough that you can't learn something new, I guess😁😁
On Valentines Day 1969 my Dad bought my Mom a Firebird 350 convertible. Blue with a white top and interior. 2 years later when I got my license I got to drive it occasionally instead of my Ford Galaxie 500 Hardtop. I loved that car and wish I had it now.
So much I could say about Firebirds and Camaros besides they were perfect for what they were in their early days. So I'll say this, that blue colour on the Firebird in this video is just right. Beautiful. Cheers, Rick. 🇨🇦
My first new car was a 1967 Pontiac GTO 2 door hardtop. I loved that car. I think it was one of the best looking cars from Pontiac. That 67 Firebird is a real looker also. Sorry to see the Pontiac brand discontinued.
General Motors Seriously needs to bring the performance division Pontiac back !!! Because they never should have got rid of them too start with !! 🇺🇸🇺🇸😤😤💪💪💪
PMD ended in 1984 with the reorganization that created the Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group (CPC) and the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group (BOC). While BOC seemed to have a good balance of all three, CPC was nothing less than the complete takeover of the Pontiac organization by Chevrolet. Noted Pontiac engineer Malcolm "Mac" McKellar saw the handwriting on the wall and retired early in 1982, "Pontiac" became a hollow brand name with no substance behind it any longer. This was made worse and worse through subsequent reorganizations in which the "Chevy car people" ultimately took over all of GM product design, including GM Truck. In the end Pontiac became the "minivan brand" of GM and Bob Lutz made a final (and lame) attempt to bring a "GTO" to the brand - too little too late. When they finally killed of the brand name it was a long overdue mercy killing. Olds was more fortunate. No, this is not GM as GM was, or should be. Don't ruin the Pontiac name any more than it has been. Bringing it back will only be done in a remarkably lame and useless fashion by the corporate weenies. Just leave it be.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 , no, it's GM Canada, i.e. Oshawa, which is essentially Chevrolet. And if you don't already know, the reason for the "Canadian Pontiacs" (i.e. Cheviacs) is that Oshawa wanted to produce their own Chevy engines and transmissions to avoid paying tariffs, but Chevrolet volume in Canada alone wasn't enough to justify the cost. By adding the Canadian volume of Pontiac they got to where they needed to be economically. Canadians could still opt to buy "real" Pontiacs, but they'd have to pay the duty on it.
I owned a 1978 Trans Am, a black T-top identical to Bandit's Bird. Had a lot of fun with that car until baby #2 came along and Mama insisted on a four-door something for child seat access. Sold the T/A for more than I paid for it - a good thing in those days!
They really need to replace those Montgomery Ward wheels on the Firebird. Beautiful car deserves beautiful wheels. Nice set of rally II's would be perfect.
Agree! Those are cheapy wheels you used to get at summit for $49 a piece Like the rally IIs....centerlines polished 5 slots and American Racing Daisys would look tuff also
Thanks for the Firebird blast of nostalgia. Awesome. Had a 78 w/305 ya, flat cam lobes, lol. And 80 Tbars Esprite in dark dark blue had 3.8L Grand National special factory order 2nd hand…. Built a small block Chevy for it 333hp , most WS6 components. Sweeeet ride for a college dude. Ya man, best memories. Thanks again man! All the best.
Myself and a couple of buddies have been working on and trading back and forth a 67 4 speed firebird since highschool.about 20 years ago i put disc brakes and a 400 motor in it,my buddy Jeff had All body and paint work done about 10 years ago. I'm currently building a 69 4 speed car,i pulled the 350 and am replacing it with full roller LT and a six speed, All new interior and paint,red interior, black exterior with red effects, red PMD ralley rims and red air scoops, i love driving it , it delivers a satisfaction unparalleled by most modern cars.
In the summer of 2002, my local GMC/Pontiac dealer was offering huge discounts on their remaining Firebirds, including those with the WS6 performance package. Being practical minded and a boat owner, I chose a GMC pickup.
My very first car in October of 1968 was a 1 year old 1967 Firebird with a 326 cu and Powerglide Automatic Trans. A year after in 1969 I had the Powerglide Automatic Trans taken out of the car and a 4spd Muncie Transmission installed with a Hurst Shifter. The shop got the pedal change from I believe a donor Camaro. From there I did everything I could at the time trying to soup up that 326 engine. We stuck a Lanotti Cam in the car with a set of done up 400 heads on that 326 engine and it ran strong for a 326. Later that same year in 1969 also in the fall again almost to the day one year later that I purchased the car I got word that a local Wrecking Yard had a brand new Black GTO Judge that was totaled in their wrecking yard and heard it was equipped with a Ram Air IV engine in it. I went up to the Wreckers Yard and I made a deal to buy the engine out of it complete. I paid $500 for it at the time. It only had 4k miles on the car that looked fixable to me. To this day I don’t ever remember asking what year the car was. It had to be either a 1969 or 1970. That was one powerful engine. I was running a set of 433 gears in the rear of the car. I want to mention here that that wheel hop running it stock with the 326 also happened in the 1967 Firebird with street tires. My friends 1968 Camaro didn’t have the same problem. Looking at my friends ‘68 Camaro the difference I saw underneath the car I remember to this day was that his Camaro rear Shock absorbers wear staggered one in front of of the rear and the other side one mounted behind the wheel. My ‘67 Firebird both Shock Absorbers were mounted the same across from each other. I was 17 years old when I purchased that car working part time in a Supermarket maybe 15 hours a week still going to high school. I am 73 years old today. I have to be honest with everyone. If I had to do it all over again I believe I would choose a Camaro over the Firebird based on my experience through live. I sold the 1967 Firebird to a friend of mine in late 1970 and purchased my first Corvette a 1967 Convertible and own quite a few of them. I own 4 today in my small collection all older ones along with my Street Rod I built from a bare frame and some other classic cars. Oh I forgot to mention my 1967 Firebird was like an Olive 🫒 Green. It was a good looking car with Chrome Crager Wheels all around it.
In '68 I bought a used 1967 Firebird & it did not have a torsion bar in the rear . Rear wheel hop in '67 was tamed for '68 by staggering the rear shocks . Both shocks in '67 connected to (I recall) the front of the axle housing , where for '68 one connected to the front , the other to the rear of the axle housing . That way whether accelerating or braking there was always one shock being compressed & one extended when the housing began to twist . Later I upgraded to Addco anti-sway bars front & rear .
I had a 67 400 thru high school. The speedometer went up to 140mph! I buryed it! Loved that car! Wish I had kept it! That paint and interior is just like what I had.
The Sprint had the OHC 6. My buddy had a pristine '67 Firebird Sprint with the OHC 6 with a 3 speed transmission with floor mounted shifter. It was white with a red interior. Bucket seats but no console. He bought it from the original female owner in the mid-seventies and flipped it for a $500 profit. A coworker had a green '68 Firebird with the 350 V8 and an automatic transmission with a column shift and a narrow bench seat with a center armrest. Unusual but I thought it was cool.
Bought my 1968 Firebird in 1973 for $900 , 51 years later I still have it. Originally a 400 manual car, now modified with intake carb, headers, cam and a turbo 400 with a 3200 stall converter with 4:10`s.in the rear. 12:54 at 109 mph on BF Goodrich 275/60/15 street radials.
I have liked the 67 firebird since I was a kid. Pontiac is one of my favorites and I owned a 66 GTO when I was in high school. I wished I still had it and so glad I never wrecked it.
The 67-69 Firebird 400 HO with a set of headers and the carb secondary stopper removed was one of the fastest hot rods you could get. Low 12s. Install a true roller timing chain and upgrade the distributor to HEI and you would beat 99% of any stock-engine hot rods you come across. I'm a GTO guy but these 400 birds are blazing fast. I like the 1968 the best.
@@gordocarbo Respectfully you don't know what you're talking about. The purestock 67-69 Firebird 400s are running 12.02 - 12.20. Purestock is totally stock engine on bias ply. The NHRA super stockers with only mods allowed of headers, longer duration cam (stock .425 lift) and slicks run 10.50s.
Good video, just to add the last Firebird was built in Quebec along with the Camaros. The plant that built those cars was torn to the ground and there is now a shopping centre in its place.😩 mike from Montreal.
The 6-cylinder Sprint with the 4-barrel carb had a belt-driven overhead cam. All of the Camaros V8 engines outpreformed all the Firebirds with similar cubic inch V8s. The biggest gap was the Pontiac with the 400 cube 325 hp compared to the 396 cube 375 hp 396 Chevy.
Not true. The Firebird 400 had a plate under the secondary to limit opening to keep it at 335 HP to maintain 10:1 weight to hp ratio. Remove that and you have 350 hp out the base model 400. The base 396 was 325 hp. The 400 Ram Air (equivalent to SS 396) was rated 370 hp and has run 12.0s in the pure stock NHRA classes. I think fastest time for 396 375hp Camaro purestock is 12.20s.
I've vastly prefer the looks of the Firebird to that of the Camaro, especially that blue '67 Firebird. That car has some character. I LOVE that front end.
Bought a '67 Firebird 400 in 1971. Great fun to drive but not very reliable as I recall. What I remember the most is that it had side pipes that backfired every time I shifted from second to third. I traded it off after I had to replace the starter the fourth time that year...
I have a 1969 Firebird convertible that came with an OHC6 4 speed Saginaw tranny. Now it has a 406 SBC in it. Still have the old motor. A real blast to drive. Only 11,649 convertibles made in 1969. Pretty rare cars.
In the - 1920's? 1930's? - a Chinese emperor bought a Buick. They know that name from history. Look at the utter CRAP that GM sells now with Buick names on them - or Chevy or Cadillac for that matter. Olds and Pontiac got off luckier, but not soon enough.
I had a 72 Olds Cutlass Convertible in late 80s and today I have two T/A, a 81 and 99. I will never buy a new Buick in my mind I've related Buick to Old people. My brother buys Buicks and he's an old fart 😂.
I owned and restored a 67fb 400 automatic hard top. A real head turner and good driving car. Also had a 69fb 400 4spd, with a couple suspension mods was very fun to drive. Was tempted to put a 428 in it but it was all original like my 67 so I kept it all original as well.
There was a large GMAD plant on Van Nuys Boulevard which, for several years, built mostly Camaros and Firebirds. It was a rather quick change for the line to switch from the 'sister ships' of Chevrolet & Pontiac.
I sold my 68 firebird 3 speed in the floor with a 350 under the hood for 1300.00 back about 1989. It was a hardtop.Everyone has a car they've sold that they'd like to have back,and that's mine. So much fun to drive.
When I was a kid, I had the privilege of riding in the 1974 Banshee III. Candy Red exterior, red interior, 455SD Engine, Turbo 400 Automatic Trans. Later at 18, I bought a low mileage '78 Bandit T/A W-72. 225HP, 325 TQ.
A friend of mine who grew up in Connecticut had a '69 Firebird 400 4 speed convertible and he said he had to put a couple of 50 pound bags of cement in the trunk just to be able to drive in the winter because even winter tires just wanted to spin when taking off. I would have to think whoever has an original 6 banger they have a very rare bird.
The OHC 6 For the Firebird ??? Was 230 Cubic Inches .. Both in One barrel & Four Barrel Sprint model .. The 215 ?? was a OHV engine from previous years..
I am an old fart. I grew up i the Sixties and my Dad used to work for GM. Now wonder I am a GM guy myself. I love Sixties Chevies, I own three and Pontiacs, i own two. But honestly the very first Camaro had a body I liked more than the first Firebird. In Switzerland where I live the Firebirds and specially the Trans Ams had one problem, they were the car of choice of many hookers and pimps. Therefore I loved fullsize cars more. I am actually a fullsize guy to this day. But I love those Pontiac engines. I own two 65 models with the 389. Those engines are not only strong but also very reliable. Pontiacs had a glorious ride quality that put Fords to shame. When a befriended mechanic worked on my 65 Bonneville he stated that he drove a 65 Mustang a few hours before, but the ride quality of the Pontiac seemed thirty years more advanced than the Ford. I think that Camaros and even Firebirds are very underrated compared to the overhyped Mustangs.
I remember the first mustang I ever saw the guy owned a grocery store he just bought it and he says I have to take it back cuz I have transmission problems brand new car. Kind of reminds me when they came out a couple years later with the 1974 pinto that car had been towed so many times because if you forgot and rake third gear there was a piece of metal that would fall down in a transmission and lock up your shifter. As a result I was going around the curve with no power going downhill because I couldn't get it out of neutral and into a gear and the guy came on the wrong side of the road and I had no power to run out of his way he drove me into the guardrail I was 6 in from the guard rail and he finished the job trying to avoid him
I test drove a Camaro in 1973. It had touchy power brakes & over-powered steering with no feel of the road. The Firebird had more of a sports car feel. I Ended up buying a "74 Firebird Formula, and then a '76 Trans Am. In 1979 one of my girlfriends bought a black Firebird with T-top.
I don't think it's really a precursor, so much as every GM sports car sharing a common design language. XP-777, the Corvair Monza GT prototype was the first to really show the overall look, circa 1962. XP-833 and XP-798 were Pontiac's take on the look, design work beginning circa 1964. The Opel GT began as a design exercise circa 1965. XP-830/Mako Shark II also debuted in 1965. The Banshee design team credit XP-777 as their inspiration, but all of them look like evolutions of the Monza GT's design language.
@@danielcamacho1913 No, because Pontiac copied Chevy's homework first, only for Chevy to copy from Pontiac's plagiarized copy of Chevy's original homework.
I love those Wheels! I'm having a hard time finding vintage style wheels similar to that to fit a 3rd gen Tacoma. Nobody makes anything in an old style 70s mag wheel what's 6 lugs and a big center bore
I saw a documentary a few years ago that said when John DeLorean's head designer showed up to the Firebird design meeting and saw the Camaro, his first words were, "What the hell is that?"
The firebird looks so much better than its Camaro cousin. A bucket list car for me is the ‘68 Convertible in Autumn Bronze or Verdoro Green. Redline tires and PMD II wheels. Scoops and hood tach. I wouldn’t want the 400 though.
Thank you for this and being accurate, few know the story of the Banshee, you missed one vital point, GM stole the Banshee and she became the 68 Stingray Vette, Delorean was livid. The Firebird was always the better car, better looking too. I own a 67 Firebird 400 Ram Air conv tribute.
Then he said the Camaro came out in September of 1967 then later he said the Camaro came out in September of 1966. Then he said they put a Torsion bar in the back of the Firebird. He must have meant a Sway bar? Torsion Bar suspension is more for Chrysler and newer Chevy Pickups on the front end.
This is what happens when I'm just standing there spewing a lot of facts, sometimes they get jumbled! Unfortunately, RUclips doesn't have a great system for correcting mistakes. There are some notes that pop up but it's not an obvious way to correct them. The funny thing is that I didn't even notice the mistakes in the editing process!
@@rickdebruhlcars I only know Chevy facts.. Have never paid too close of attention to other Brands .. I know first Gen small and BB Chevy engines too .. There are so many variations of LS Engines .. I don't know too much about them. I do want to repower my Camaro with an KS motor and 6 speed Tremac tans and 4 link rear with a Dana 60 axle 4 wheel disc brakes. I lowered my Camaro and installed lager sway bars than stock
The Mustang was built on an Old Firebird Chassis???? Wow you really lost me there @ 1:00. Here all these Decades I thought the Mustang was built on the old Ford Falcon Chassis.
That would have been some interesting cross-pollination in Detroit! Just spewed out the wrong word. I tried to make a correct but RUclips just flashes a small banner that says "view corrections". Thanks for keeping watching and keeping me honest!
@@rickdebruhlcars Seems I heard you can't Edict posted RUclips Videos. All you can do is make a new Video. My 1979 Z-28 Camaro was built in Van Nuys CA First Gen Camaro's were built in Norwood OH or Van Nuys CA in 1979 Chevrolet Produced 288,000 Camaros .. not counting Fire Birds Trans Ams , Chevelles ect Harley Davidsons biggest years produced 300,000 motorcycles of all models . GM had close to 60% of the Domestic Market in 1961
General Motors was certainly a tour d’ force company at the time, consider they were also introducing the Oldsmobile Toronado in 1966 and Cadillac Eldorado the following year both front wheel drive along with the rear wheel drive E-Body variant: Buick’s Riveira second generation (interestingly, Buick engineered the front wheel drive Th425 transmission and differential assembly.
I had a 67 Camaro when I was 18. I went from a 1969 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door to a 67 Camaro and it felt like it I was riding on a rail or a slot track race car. It had nothing on today’s car’s precision suspension but back then it felt like the most well set up race tech suspended vehicle I had ever driven. Now I’ve got a 66 Mustang which is in much better shape than the Camaro but I sure miss that 67 Camaro (and my 70 Camaro and my 73 V8 Vega).
@@gordocarbo My 67 Camaro handled really nicely. I went on some back roads in the 66 Mustang today. It’s got new tires and the suspension is about as good as it gets in stock form. It was drivable in some twisty sections but not great. I’ll put in a Monte Carlo bar, a one piece export brace and the “Shelby drop” which should help. The back end feels pretty loose as well so I’ll have to see what’s going on there. It’s a project. It’s fun but pretty primitive.
The Mustang was based on the Falcon. The Camaro was based on the Chevy II / Nova, with was a rush job that copied the dimensions of the highly succesful Falcon. None of these cars would exist it it weren't for the Nash Rambler / Rambler American, which spawned the Javelin / AMX.
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
The first brand-new car that I bought was a 1967 Firebird with the base-model OHC 6-cylinder. Basically, it was a "stripper" with automatic, power steering and an AM radio. I took delivery in March, 1967. I really loved that car. The engine was pretty peppy for me and no, I wasn't an old man - I was 23 at the time. To my eye, it was one of the prettiest carss ever made and remains so to me now.
The OHC six handled way better than the front heavy V-8's....had a friend with a convertible sprint powered Bird... lots of fun.
My first new car was a 67 Firebird also. Was 21 and serving in the USAF. Was a 400, 4 speed, AM radio and power steering (gold interior and exterior). Owned many vehicles since but this is my favorite.
My brother bought a new black on black 67 Firebird 400 4 speed.
Shame you didn't get a stripper built a different way, 326 or 400 V8 and 3 speed manual, manual steering, radio delete.
Fun Fact....Every Firebird had Power Steering.
I owned a '67 400 4 sp. about 14 years.
I actually think that the Pontiac Firebird was better looking than the Camaro.
Absolutely. The '67-'68 were the best looking muscle cars of all time. '69 and later it was kind of hit and miss.
THat's why you always had to pay extra for a Firebird. American auto manufacturers always had some way to 'upsell' you to a more expensive vehicle.Appearance was #1, as that was what you always noticed first. So the better looking vehicles always sold for more $$$$$.
@@MLFranklin I would counter with the 1969 GTO/Judge; also one of the quickest factory 'specials' available to the general public. Pontiac got that one right. The girl next door's boyfriend had one and they took it racing; until they figured out that SHE was the faster driver. Must have been terrible back then, getting beaten by a GIRL. And then, of course, came Shirley Muldowney...
1st gen and 2nd gen ⓎⒺⒶⒽ
I’m currently driving a ‘68 that I’ve restomodded, (lost the ‘69 in the last divorce) my first car was a 64 tempest.
The only Camaro I’m interested in is a 70-71.
I am working on a 66 fastback with my grandson and a 70 cougar with my son… my first foray into ford motorsports in my 64 years. But they gonna bury me in the firebird!
(And a set of CalTrax takes care of that rear end hop nicely)
I have a 1967 Firebird 326 convertible w/3speed manual muncie transmission in the floor. It's been in the family since 1972 when my dad purchased it from the local Ford dealership after being traded in for a 1972 Torino. A Great fun car turns heads whenever I take it out for a nice cruise. Love Pontiacs of all years. I wish GM would bring back PMD as they should've never let it die off. Pontiac was always on the cutting edge with performance cars. Great video! Thanks for sharing.
I used to have a 1978 Grand Prix that had the 326 v8. I wish I still had it. Pontiac were just a bit cooler than Chevy's.
@@geec5636 They discontinued the 326 in 1968 when it was replaced by the 350. Your 78 GP probably had the 301 in it, unless somebody swapped it out for the 326.
@jayrowe6473 sorry you are correct, my mistake.
The rebellious, performance-oriented PMD of the 1960s was not the Pontiac of later years, which was just a somewhat-fancier Chevy using standard GM engines (except for that last TransAm which was way over-the-top cartoonish). GM's strength, on their way to bankruptcy, was said to be diluted by too many companies and too many models.
My Friend had a first Gen Firebird convertible and it got stolen .. Thieves crashed it into a pond and totaled it .
Don’t forget the Rockford Files! His gold Firebirds were all Formula 400s with the trim removed so the look plain Jane. I loved that show!
He drove an Esprit..
Only the later ones were stripped down formulas cuz you couldn't get the 400 in an esprit then.
Thanks, Rick. I have owned 5 Firebirds, 3 Trans Am's, a '69 Firebird 400 and a Formula. I have an immaculate Car Show Honey of a Black on Black 2002 WS6 Trans Am sitting in the driveway right now. I ordered an Internet Search for it and may have bought the last black TA. It's my daily driver. Yesterday, a kid drove up and asked me how much I wanted for it, and I just laughed. I'm 86. That sweet machine ain't getting out of my sight.
Cheers.
I always loved the firebird wayyyyy more than the camaro nicer front clips and rear clips and interiors too .😊😊😊😊😊😊😊👍👍👍👍👍👍
I loved the Firebird styling this period over the Camaro.
What is somewhat interesting is the front clips are interchangeable. That's right, you can choose between the Firechicken, Camaro, and Nova, front clips.
Bought my 1967 400 4-speed Firebird in high school 48 years ago, still on it today.
Pay $950 for the car, 98.00 a month, fully covered insurance $32.50 a year. 26 Cents a gallon for ethyl gasoline, Texas car all of its life no rust.
Built the motor up a year after I bought it, good forged pistons, made 11 1/2 to 1 compression ratio with ram Airheads, 580 lift hydraulic camshaft, had it balanced, big tube headers, 780 Holley carburetor, Aluminum Intake, 50 Mickey Thompson's on the rear, beefed up original 10 bolt differential, Rock Crusher Muncie.
Drove that car everyday to school my senior year close to 70 miles round trip, plus weekends haul my girlfriend around, and drag race the car.
Had a 67 and 68 Camaro also, sold both of them, nice cars but I love my Firebird, love it so much I want to be buried in it.
I drove a 67 bird in high school . Truly miss it.
Bought a 67 326 Firebird in January 1985 for $900. I was verdoro green with a 2 speed power glide automatic. I sold it in 1988 and always wanted another firebird.
In May 2001 I searched for a 1967 firebird on Auto Trader (internet was a new way to find a car then).
On my first search I found a 1967 400 4 speed with 16,204 miles for $5,000. I thought the mileage must be a typo, so I called. The person offering the car for sale insisted that the miles were correct and the car had no rust (Ohio car). He said the car was last registered in May 1968 in Ohio and had not been driven since May-June 1969.
The original owner gave the car to her son when he moved to Pine Island Florida in 1984, where it sit garaged until his death in 2001. He never transferred the title into his name.
Upon his death, his son (Grandson of the original owner) inherited the car. He used it as collateral for money he owed to his fathers best friend. His fathers friend didn't want the car so he sold it to me for $3,500 to cover the debt.
OK- after an 1,150 mile drive, I arrived at his house; the garage door was open and the car was covered with a proper car cover, but the bottom was pulled up high and I could see the factory applied Silverglaze liquor paint shinning in what was left of the Florida sun.
When I pulled that cover back, I was staggered at what I had found! This car looked new inside and out. It had the factory chalk marks on the suspension and steering components. There was assembly part number tags wrapped around and hanging from the rear leaf springs.
In the glove box was a 1967 Ohio map, with tickets to the Miss Ohio beauty pageant at Cedar Point Ohio amusement park dated 1968. It contained all the original documentation including the pro-tec-to plate.
This was a "barn find" that didn't have 35 years of bird droppings and 55 generations of mice living in the wiring harness and seat cushions. It was in perfect condition, other than it couldn't be started due to sitting for 32 years.
I still have the car. I rebuilt the engine; It still has fewer than 16,500 miles.
It is an attention getter, you just don't see first generation Firebirds; even at large car shows (5,000+ cars) there are only 5-10 at most.
Had a '67 GTO with 400 HO 4 speed, with just radial tires it ran high 13's, not even headers. It would go toe to toe with a Solid lifter SS 396 any day. The down side was any over revving, could result in a spun bearing. My next muscle car had a BBC for that reason alone. Today I know that issue can be fixed but in my day that was deal breaker.
It wasn't just a 6 cylinder, it was an overhead cam 6 cylinder! It was the only 6 cylinder (Corvair flat 6 excluded) that, in the 4 barrel carb version, could be had with a 4 speed manual transmission. Good stuff for the times. My cousin had one with the lower performance OHC 6. He later bought a wrecked 68 Firebird for the engine and transmission and I helped swap that OHC 6, 3 on the tree for a 350 Pontiac V8, turbohydramatic and he also swapped the steering column and added the floor shifter and console. It was a fun time, bunch of teenagers turning wrenches and daydreaming about girls!
it may have had a 4 barrel carb but, my brother-in-law was talked into one by a slippery car salesman as a real performance car, My brother-in-law was as sharp as the salesman the car was gutless. He paid more than what a 326 would have cost for a engine that wouldn't move out of its own tracks. In what world was that engine ever considered performance.
@@mylanmiller9656 It probably needed to be tuned. I just googled and this came up:
The 1968 Pontiac Firebird with a 6-cylinder engine had the following horsepower and torque specs:
Base engine: 175 horsepower (hp)
4 bbl Quadrajet Sprint with automatic transmission: Up to 215 hp
4 bbl Quadrajet Sprint with manual transmission: 230 hp
200 ponies in a little car like that should be pretty decent.
@@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism It needed a engine not a tune up it was. The overhead cam Was a joke.
@@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism Different people have different ideas of what to call performance. The Pontiac 6 was no performance engine not by a long shot!
My friends cousin had a new one with the 6 4bbl auto and we ran the crap out of that thing. I'd been in lots of the hot cars of the day and the OHC 6 was a cool car.
The bird in the video reminds me of my 1967 Firebird. 400 cubes, drop top. Sea Mist green. Bought new in October of 1967 . I was 17. That car was fast
Thanks for keeping Steve M.'s in your circle and thank you for helping him while he was ill and recovering!!!~
My wife bought a new '68 Forest green Firebird. Right after we married in '72, I put on a set of ET IV mags & a set of Goodrich T/A radials. It was a gorgeous car, but it did have a couple of issues. The trunk leaked causing the inside of the back window to major frost build-up & I even sat inside the closed trunk with a flashlight & my wife pouring water all over the area. Fuel economy was terrible for a 350 2 bbl maybe 11 in the city. We kept it until '77 when it began rusting & needed other repairs. A lot of fun & great memories though.
I traded a 75 torino for a 69 firebird conv back in 1980, then traded the firebird for a 81 Tbird with a blown head, put a carbed 302 in the bird and drove it til I traded it in for a new nissan. I traded too much in the old days
@@ProtoType99468bdbdbdbd b dats all folks
Pontiac, thinking they were "sporty", always put a lower gear ratio rear end in the Firechicken, compared to a Camaro, or a Nova. That's where your fuel mileage went.
Sure it wasn't Verdoro Green?
It probably wasn't tuned well, may have stood to benefit from a timing recurve, an intake manifold, well tuned Qjet, true dual exhaust and it could have gotten more like 13-14 in town and 16-20hwy mainly because it wouldn't have to work as hard or a long to reach and maintain speeds.
I remember seeing Truman Fields race his 400ci Ram Air II Firebird in IHRA stock class. That car was fast.
Wow, what a great video. Well, done! I had a 78 Trans Am in gold!
I bought a new 68 Firebird Sprint and loved it. Kept it until the rust doomed it.
should have used POR_15 products to stop the rust.
@@w41duvernay That stuff is a gimmick. I tried it. Didn't last at all. If you want something to last, you can't Paint Over Rust. You NEED to remove it, prime it and then paint it, and not only just paint it, with a single part paint like POR but with a quality 2 stage paint- paint with hardener. I fell for the gimmick once years ago. I'll never use it again. In fact, I actually had better results from tractor paint w/ harder from tractor supply, after I removed the flaking POR-15 and the rust.
Pontiac was my first car, a beautiful blue 1969 Tempest. Pontiac was also my last car, a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. Then, I died. I loved Pontiacs.
Sorry to hear of your passing...
I always preferred the Firebird over the Camaro, especially the 1st generation. I also preferred the Cougar over the Mustang. I guess I just liked driving a great car that was a little more exclusive. Everywhere you looked was Camaros and Mustangs. 😉. Edit: That color blue was my absolute favorite ‘60s GM muscle & pony car color… looks great with Cragar S/S wheels.
He meant the Mustang was built on an old Falcon chassis. Which it was.
Thanks, I was perplexed at first.
Thank you, I was about to post the same. At that point in time, the firebird name was only used on concept cars. Best wishes.
And technically a mix of Falcon and Fairlane, although it can be reasonably argued that Fairlane was an offshoot of the Falcon. Fairlane front suspension bits were used with the 289 V8.
Thanks for catching this! You'd think I'd either say it right or notice it while editing. I did put in a small correction, hopefully folks will notice. Big difference between Falcon and Firebird!
@@mikesblkmstngblltt Oops. Correction added!
Love the 68 Firebirds, i own two of them!
I got 1, had a 69 also, but lost it in the last divorce 😭
Pontiac ended up building one of the most beautiful cars ever, the first Firebirds look so much better than the first Camaros.
I'd like to see a modern day Pontiac Firebird:) But not electric
You wouldn’t by a Sparkbird?? Or a Transformer Am???
There is no such thing as Pontiac so not much chance of that happening.
I've owned several Firebirds, but my all-time Favorite was my '68 Firebird 400 ragtop. It had an Muncie M-22 Rockcrusher 4- speed, a 350 posi rear end, with a Moroso sub-frame & suspension. It handled like a sports car & was fast as Hell. Lotsa good times racing around in that car back in the early '70's
Great stuff, subbed. Love the Pontiac. I have a soft spot in my heart for Pontiacs
Heartbreaking-part of the disastrous “Heartbeat of America “
The base 215 cyl was an OHV design whereas the "Sprint" 6cyl was a 230ci OVERHEAD CAM engine that made 165hp with the 1brl carb & 215hp with the Qjet 4bl carb.
Rick knows his stuff. I think he just misspeaks a lot. I noticed several errors in his text.
Maybe he knows his stuff, but he’s not showing it. The OHC 6 was a pretty significant and unique engine that was on offer - and it’s like he didn’t know anything about it. Certainly didn’t impart that knowledge to his viewers.
Not quite right. 215 was a unique displacement of the Chevy 6 between their own "Turbo-Thrift" 194 and 230, and for Pontiac only to be used in the 1964-1965 Tempest and LeMans. Starting in 1966 Pontiac replaced the 215 with the 230 OHC6 in 1bbl (165hp) and Sprint 4bbl (207hp) versions, heavily redesigned from the Chevy engine. The Sprint was bumped to 215hp for 1967 with a hotter cam. The 215 OHV 6 was long gone by the time Firebird came out.
@@jeffbranch8072 "You're completely full of $hit and you don't know what you're talking about!".......
.....Is what I was going to say......
Until I did a bit of digging and by golly.... You're right!
Car guy my whole life and I never heard tell of this engine until now. Never too old and never "been around" enough that you can't learn something new, I guess😁😁
Jay Leno’s Garage does an excellent episode on the Sprint.
On Valentines Day 1969 my Dad bought my Mom a Firebird 350 convertible. Blue with a white top and interior. 2 years later when I got my license I got to drive it occasionally instead of my Ford Galaxie 500 Hardtop. I loved that car and wish I had it now.
So much I could say about Firebirds and Camaros besides they were perfect for what they were in their early days. So I'll say this, that blue colour on the Firebird in this video is just right. Beautiful. Cheers, Rick. 🇨🇦
My first new car was a 1967 Pontiac GTO 2 door hardtop. I loved that car. I think it was one of the best looking cars from Pontiac. That 67 Firebird is a real looker also. Sorry to see the Pontiac brand discontinued.
General Motors Seriously needs to bring the performance division Pontiac back !!! Because they never should have got rid of them too start with !! 🇺🇸🇺🇸😤😤💪💪💪
PMD ended in 1984 with the reorganization that created the Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group (CPC) and the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group (BOC). While BOC seemed to have a good balance of all three, CPC was nothing less than the complete takeover of the Pontiac organization by Chevrolet. Noted Pontiac engineer Malcolm "Mac" McKellar saw the handwriting on the wall and retired early in 1982, "Pontiac" became a hollow brand name with no substance behind it any longer. This was made worse and worse through subsequent reorganizations in which the "Chevy car people" ultimately took over all of GM product design, including GM Truck. In the end Pontiac became the "minivan brand" of GM and Bob Lutz made a final (and lame) attempt to bring a "GTO" to the brand - too little too late. When they finally killed of the brand name it was a long overdue mercy killing. Olds was more fortunate. No, this is not GM as GM was, or should be. Don't ruin the Pontiac name any more than it has been. Bringing it back will only be done in a remarkably lame and useless fashion by the corporate weenies. Just leave it be.
@@jeffbranch8072 Is the second C in CPC an acknowledgement of Acadian and Beaumont?
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 , no, it's GM Canada, i.e. Oshawa, which is essentially Chevrolet. And if you don't already know, the reason for the "Canadian Pontiacs" (i.e. Cheviacs) is that Oshawa wanted to produce their own Chevy engines and transmissions to avoid paying tariffs, but Chevrolet volume in Canada alone wasn't enough to justify the cost. By adding the Canadian volume of Pontiac they got to where they needed to be economically. Canadians could still opt to buy "real" Pontiacs, but they'd have to pay the duty on it.
@@jeffbranch8072 Cool! Didn’t know that. So every Firebird sold in Canada would have had duty on them?
GM keeps Buick only because the Chinese really like the Buick nameplate. GMC hasn't served a market purpure in decades and should go way.
I owned a 1978 Trans Am, a black T-top identical to Bandit's Bird. Had a lot of fun with that car until baby #2 came along and Mama insisted on a four-door something for child seat access. Sold the T/A for more than I paid for it - a good thing in those days!
Should have found one of the unicorn '73-'74 Grand Am 4 door 400 4 speed cars
They really need to replace those Montgomery Ward wheels on the Firebird. Beautiful car deserves beautiful wheels. Nice set of rally II's would be perfect.
Agree! Those are cheapy wheels you used to get at summit for $49 a piece
Like the rally IIs....centerlines polished 5 slots and American Racing Daisys would look tuff also
The pontiac museum in pontiac michigan and in pontiac illinois very well done
Thanks for the Firebird blast of nostalgia. Awesome. Had a 78 w/305 ya, flat cam lobes, lol. And 80 Tbars Esprite in dark dark blue had 3.8L Grand National special factory order 2nd hand…. Built a small block Chevy for it 333hp , most WS6 components. Sweeeet ride for a college dude. Ya man, best memories. Thanks again man! All the best.
That's a cheviac. Not a Pontiac.
Myself and a couple of buddies have been working on and trading back and forth a 67 4 speed firebird since highschool.about 20 years ago i put disc brakes and a 400 motor in it,my buddy Jeff had All body and paint work done about 10 years ago. I'm currently building a 69 4 speed car,i pulled the 350 and am replacing it with full roller LT and a six speed, All new interior and paint,red interior, black exterior with red effects, red PMD ralley rims and red air scoops, i love driving it , it delivers a satisfaction unparalleled by most modern cars.
Do not insult Pontiacs legacy by installing a (yuck) chevy engine!
In the summer of 2002, my local GMC/Pontiac dealer was offering huge discounts on their remaining Firebirds, including those with the WS6 performance package. Being practical minded and a boat owner, I chose a GMC pickup.
ouch.
Absolutely love Firebirds! Especially the '67 '68 birds.
The hood tach! That was the one distinguishing feature of the Firebird that was most noteworthy to me.
My very first car in October of 1968 was a 1 year old 1967 Firebird with a 326 cu and Powerglide Automatic Trans. A year after in 1969 I had the Powerglide Automatic Trans taken out of the car and a 4spd Muncie Transmission installed with a Hurst Shifter. The shop got the pedal change from I believe a donor Camaro. From there I did everything I could at the time trying to soup up that 326 engine. We stuck a Lanotti Cam in the car with a set of done up 400 heads on that 326 engine and it ran strong for a 326. Later that same year in 1969 also in the fall again almost to the day one year later that I purchased the car I got word that a local Wrecking Yard had a brand new Black GTO Judge that was totaled in their wrecking yard and heard it was equipped with a Ram Air IV engine in it. I went up to the Wreckers Yard and I made a deal to buy the engine out of it complete. I paid $500 for it at the time. It only had 4k miles on the car that looked fixable to me. To this day I don’t ever remember asking what year the car was. It had to be either a 1969 or 1970. That was one powerful engine. I was running a set of 433 gears in the rear of the car. I want to mention here that that wheel hop running it stock with the 326 also happened in the 1967 Firebird with street tires. My friends 1968 Camaro didn’t have the same problem. Looking at my friends ‘68 Camaro the difference I saw underneath the car I remember to this day was that his Camaro rear Shock absorbers wear staggered one in front of of the rear and the other side one mounted behind the wheel. My ‘67 Firebird both Shock Absorbers were mounted the same across from each other. I was 17 years old when I purchased that car working part time in a Supermarket maybe 15 hours a week still going to high school. I am 73 years old today. I have to be honest with everyone. If I had to do it all over again I believe I would choose a Camaro over the Firebird based on my experience through live. I sold the 1967 Firebird to a friend of mine in late 1970 and purchased my first Corvette a 1967 Convertible and own quite a few of them. I own 4 today in my small collection all older ones along with my Street Rod I built from a bare frame and some other classic cars. Oh I forgot to mention my 1967 Firebird was like an Olive 🫒 Green. It was a good looking car with Chrome Crager Wheels all around it.
In '68 I bought a used 1967 Firebird & it did not have a torsion bar in the rear . Rear wheel hop in '67 was tamed for '68 by staggering the rear shocks . Both shocks in '67 connected to (I recall) the front of the axle housing , where for '68 one connected to the front , the other to the rear of the axle housing . That way whether accelerating or braking there was always one shock being compressed & one extended when the housing began to twist . Later I upgraded to Addco anti-sway bars front & rear .
No it didn't it had rear sway bars on performance models.
I had a 67 400 thru high school. The speedometer went up to 140mph! I buryed it! Loved that car! Wish I had kept it! That paint and interior is just like what I had.
The Sprint had the OHC 6.
My buddy had a pristine '67 Firebird Sprint with the OHC 6 with a 3 speed transmission with floor mounted shifter. It was white with a red interior. Bucket seats but no console. He bought it from the original female owner in the mid-seventies and flipped it for a $500 profit.
A coworker had a green '68 Firebird with the 350 V8 and an automatic transmission with a column shift and a narrow bench seat with a center armrest. Unusual but I thought it was cool.
Well done Rick! Great info.
Great presentation ! Well researched .love this car
excellent program, my uncle had a 1970 but always liked the 67-69 birds
I had one just like this. 1967 Convertible. 400 Engine. Automatic transmission. Blue exterior with black interior. I even had the white ragtop.
Bought my 1968 Firebird in 1973 for $900 , 51 years later I still have it. Originally a 400 manual car, now modified with intake carb, headers, cam and a turbo 400 with a 3200 stall converter with 4:10`s.in the rear. 12:54 at 109 mph on BF Goodrich 275/60/15 street radials.
Wow... that's impressive!
Absolutely the best looking pony car, in my opinion!
I have liked the 67 firebird since I was a kid. Pontiac is one of my favorites and I owned a 66 GTO when I was in high school. I wished I still had it and so glad I never wrecked it.
I know where a 68 firebird is sitting & i would love to have her. Good condition from what i can see
The 67-69 Firebird 400 HO with a set of headers and the carb secondary stopper removed was one of the fastest hot rods you could get. Low 12s. Install a true roller timing chain and upgrade the distributor to HEI and you would beat 99% of any stock-engine hot rods you come across. I'm a GTO guy but these 400 birds are blazing fast. I like the 1968 the best.
Low 12s i dont buy that even with headers stopper removed and nitrous
@@gordocarbo Respectfully you don't know what you're talking about. The purestock 67-69 Firebird 400s are running 12.02 - 12.20. Purestock is totally stock engine on bias ply. The NHRA super stockers with only mods allowed of headers, longer duration cam (stock .425 lift) and slicks run 10.50s.
Good video, just to add the last Firebird was built in Quebec along with the Camaros. The plant that built those cars was torn to the ground and there is now a shopping centre in its place.😩 mike from Montreal.
Same happened at GMAD Van Nuys.
The 6-cylinder Sprint with the 4-barrel carb had a belt-driven overhead cam. All of the Camaros V8 engines outpreformed all the Firebirds with similar cubic inch V8s. The biggest gap was the Pontiac with the 400 cube 325 hp compared to the 396 cube 375 hp 396 Chevy.
Not true. The Firebird 400 had a plate under the secondary to limit opening to keep it at 335 HP to maintain 10:1 weight to hp ratio. Remove that and you have 350 hp out the base model 400. The base 396 was 325 hp. The 400 Ram Air (equivalent to SS 396) was rated 370 hp and has run 12.0s in the pure stock NHRA classes. I think fastest time for 396 375hp Camaro purestock is 12.20s.
You are very good at presenting this type of material. Nicely done.
I've vastly prefer the looks of the Firebird to that of the Camaro, especially that blue '67 Firebird. That car has some character. I LOVE that front end.
Bought a '67 Firebird 400 in 1971. Great fun to drive but not very reliable as I recall. What I remember the most is that it had side pipes that backfired every time I shifted from second to third. I traded it off after I had to replace the starter the fourth time that year...
Still have my 69 convertible Bird. 44 years. Don't drive it much anymore sadly. When I do it always brings a smile.
I have a 1969 Firebird convertible that came with an OHC6 4 speed Saginaw tranny. Now it has a 406 SBC in it. Still have the old motor. A real blast to drive. Only 11,649 convertibles made in 1969. Pretty rare cars.
I’m a Mustang guy, I’m not into Camaros much but damn I love a first & second gen Firebird.
Camaros and Firebirds were beautiful cars until 1970 then they went for a big crap.
So sad we lost Pontiac and Oldsmobile because the Chinese love buicks. Why I have no idea. Gm followed the money
In the - 1920's? 1930's? - a Chinese emperor bought a Buick. They know that name from history. Look at the utter CRAP that GM sells now with Buick names on them - or Chevy or Cadillac for that matter. Olds and Pontiac got off luckier, but not soon enough.
I always liked pontiac
Love Oldsmobile
I had a 72 Olds Cutlass Convertible in late 80s and today I have two
T/A, a 81 and 99. I will never buy a new Buick in my mind I've related Buick to Old people. My brother buys Buicks and he's an old fart 😂.
I owned and restored a 67fb 400 automatic hard top. A real head turner and good driving car.
Also had a 69fb 400 4spd, with a couple suspension mods was very fun to drive. Was tempted to put a
428 in it but it was all original like my 67 so I kept it all original as well.
There was a large GMAD plant on Van Nuys Boulevard which, for several years, built mostly Camaros and Firebirds. It was a rather quick change for the line to switch from the 'sister ships' of Chevrolet & Pontiac.
The 1967 to 69 Firebird was a nice-looking car, then in 1970 they changed to the trailer park model Firebird!
I liked them until 74 and the ugly bumper’s took over!
I sold my 68 firebird 3 speed in the floor with a 350 under the hood for 1300.00 back about 1989. It was a hardtop.Everyone has a car they've sold that they'd like to have back,and that's mine. So much fun to drive.
When I was a kid, I had the privilege of riding in the 1974 Banshee III. Candy Red exterior, red interior, 455SD Engine, Turbo 400 Automatic Trans. Later at 18, I bought a low mileage '78 Bandit T/A W-72. 225HP, 325 TQ.
Thought the banshee never was produced?
@@gordocarbo it was a prototype concept car. Look up the Pontiac Banshee III online.
GM needs to bring Pontiac back.
I'm not getting my hopes up. They can't even bring back the Camaro. I'm not sure how they'd bring back a whole brand.
Before consolidation, Pontiac was a completely different company, as were Buick and Oldsmobile.
A friend of mine who grew up in Connecticut had a '69 Firebird 400 4 speed convertible and he said he had to put a couple of 50 pound bags of cement in the trunk just to be able to drive in the winter because even winter tires just wanted to spin when taking off. I would have to think whoever has an original 6 banger they have a very rare bird.
The OHC 6 For the Firebird ??? Was 230 Cubic Inches .. Both in One barrel & Four Barrel Sprint model .. The 215 ?? was a OHV engine from previous years..
Beautiful car. I had a 67 three speed 326ci. One of the cars I wished I never sold.
I am an old fart. I grew up i the Sixties and my Dad used to work for GM. Now wonder I am a GM guy myself. I love Sixties Chevies, I own three and Pontiacs, i own two. But honestly the very first Camaro had a body I liked more than the first Firebird. In Switzerland where I live the Firebirds and specially the Trans Ams had one problem, they were the car of choice of many hookers and pimps. Therefore I loved fullsize cars more. I am actually a fullsize guy to this day. But I love those Pontiac engines. I own two 65 models with the 389. Those engines are not only strong but also very reliable. Pontiacs had a glorious ride quality that put Fords to shame. When a befriended mechanic worked on my 65 Bonneville he stated that he drove a 65 Mustang a few hours before, but the ride quality of the Pontiac seemed thirty years more advanced than the Ford. I think that Camaros and even Firebirds are very underrated compared to the overhyped Mustangs.
The most beautiful muscle car of the era.
I remember the first mustang I ever saw the guy owned a grocery store he just bought it and he says I have to take it back cuz I have transmission problems brand new car. Kind of reminds me when they came out a couple years later with the 1974 pinto that car had been towed so many times because if you forgot and rake third gear there was a piece of metal that would fall down in a transmission and lock up your shifter. As a result I was going around the curve with no power going downhill because I couldn't get it out of neutral and into a gear and the guy came on the wrong side of the road and I had no power to run out of his way he drove me into the guardrail I was 6 in from the guard rail and he finished the job trying to avoid him
When I was in Highschool in the early/mid 70's , there was a kid that had a Firebird with a Camero front end on it...
We called it the Cumbird...
That's just n*sty!
Sounds like my HS style!
Major Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie drove one of these Firebirds. Great taste in cars! Hey, there’s no Firebird emoji!
Probably, the 1st New Car my Mom Bought, was a VERY basic 1969 Firebird with SOHC I6 Engine, with 3 on Tree Manual Transmission.
I had a 67 Firebird I bought in 83 and sold several years later. Needed work. How I wish I had kept it!
2:38 - holy cow at the panel gap between the fender and the front chrome.
I test drove a Camaro in 1973. It had touchy power brakes & over-powered steering with no feel of the road. The Firebird had more of a sports car feel. I Ended up buying a "74 Firebird Formula, and then a '76 Trans Am. In 1979 one of my girlfriends bought a black Firebird with T-top.
The Banshee was beautiful. If I had the money I would love to build my version of it
Cool to see how the Banshee was the precursor to the C3 Vette.
I see a lot of Opel GT in that Banshee prototype.
I don't think it's really a precursor, so much as every GM sports car sharing a common design language.
XP-777, the Corvair Monza GT prototype was the first to really show the overall look, circa 1962.
XP-833 and XP-798 were Pontiac's take on the look, design work beginning circa 1964.
The Opel GT began as a design exercise circa 1965.
XP-830/Mako Shark II also debuted in 1965.
The Banshee design team credit XP-777 as their inspiration, but all of them look like evolutions of the Monza GT's design language.
Doesn't it look suspiciously like Chevy copied Pontiac's 1964 ideas, used them in the '69 Corvette, and took credit for Pontiac's work?
@@danielcamacho1913 No, because Pontiac copied Chevy's homework first, only for Chevy to copy from Pontiac's plagiarized copy of Chevy's original homework.
I love those Wheels! I'm having a hard time finding vintage style wheels similar to that to fit a 3rd gen Tacoma. Nobody makes anything in an old style 70s mag wheel what's 6 lugs and a big center bore
1:00 Falcon chassis. Brilliant move to put the Mustang on the existing Falcon platform.
That's the car of my dreams. Love the color too.
I saw a documentary a few years ago that said when John DeLorean's head designer showed up to the Firebird design meeting and saw the Camaro, his first words were, "What the hell is that?"
Pontiac always has the better styleing than the other GM brands !
Rick I was druellling over firebird but I had to settle for 67 442 oldsmobile
The firebird looks so much better than its Camaro cousin. A bucket list car for me is the ‘68 Convertible in Autumn Bronze or Verdoro Green. Redline tires and PMD II wheels. Scoops and hood tach. I wouldn’t want the 400 though.
Thank you for this and being accurate, few know the story of the Banshee, you missed one vital point, GM stole the Banshee and she became the 68 Stingray Vette, Delorean was livid. The Firebird was always the better car, better looking too. I own a 67 Firebird 400 Ram Air conv tribute.
I think Rick meant to say that the Mustang was built on an old Falcon Chassis.
Then he said the Camaro came out in September of 1967 then later he said the Camaro came out in September of 1966. Then he said they put a Torsion bar in the back of the Firebird. He must have meant a Sway bar? Torsion Bar suspension is more for Chrysler and newer Chevy Pickups on the front end.
This is what happens when I'm just standing there spewing a lot of facts, sometimes they get jumbled! Unfortunately, RUclips doesn't have a great system for correcting mistakes. There are some notes that pop up but it's not an obvious way to correct them. The funny thing is that I didn't even notice the mistakes in the editing process!
@@rickdebruhlcars I only know Chevy facts.. Have never paid too close of attention to other Brands .. I know first Gen small and BB Chevy engines too .. There are so many variations of LS Engines .. I don't know too much about them. I do want to repower my Camaro with an KS motor and 6 speed Tremac tans and 4 link rear with a Dana 60 axle 4 wheel disc brakes. I lowered my Camaro and installed lager sway bars than stock
Doing the Barrett Jackson auctions I need to know a little about everything. A mile wide and an inch deep!
It was a factory traction bar. I had a '67 with the 400 in high school. No wheel hop thanks to that factory torsion arm, not bar.
The Mustang was built on an Old Firebird Chassis???? Wow you really lost me there @ 1:00. Here all these Decades I thought the Mustang was built on the old Ford Falcon Chassis.
That would have been some interesting cross-pollination in Detroit! Just spewed out the wrong word. I tried to make a correct but RUclips just flashes a small banner that says "view corrections". Thanks for keeping watching and keeping me honest!
@@rickdebruhlcars Seems I heard you can't Edict posted RUclips Videos. All you can do is make a new Video. My 1979 Z-28 Camaro was built in Van Nuys CA First Gen Camaro's were built in Norwood OH or Van Nuys CA in 1979 Chevrolet Produced 288,000 Camaros .. not counting Fire Birds Trans Ams , Chevelles ect Harley Davidsons biggest years produced 300,000 motorcycles of all models . GM had close to 60% of the Domestic Market in 1961
As soon as I heard him say that I came to the comment section😂
The one they didn't want to build is the Royal Bobcat 428 4-speed that was a Beast.
General Motors was certainly a tour d’ force company at the time, consider they were also introducing the Oldsmobile Toronado in 1966 and Cadillac Eldorado the following year both front wheel drive along with the rear wheel drive E-Body variant: Buick’s Riveira second generation (interestingly, Buick engineered the front wheel drive Th425 transmission and differential assembly.
I had a 67 Camaro when I was 18. I went from a 1969 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door to a 67 Camaro and it felt like it I was riding on a rail or a slot track race car. It had nothing on today’s car’s precision suspension but back then it felt like the most well set up race tech suspended vehicle I had ever driven. Now I’ve got a 66 Mustang which is in much better shape than the Camaro but I sure miss that 67 Camaro (and my 70 Camaro and my 73 V8 Vega).
No one in the sixties knew what handling meant unless they drove a european car.
@@kendallsmith1458 I bought a 74 2002 after my V8 Vega. That was definitely a fun handling car.
1 gen camaros I had would outhandle and brake the Mustangs easily.
Never cared for that shocktower front clip just never felt real positive
@@gordocarbo My 67 Camaro handled really nicely. I went on some back roads in the 66 Mustang today. It’s got new tires and the suspension is about as good as it gets in stock form. It was drivable in some twisty sections but not great. I’ll put in a Monte Carlo bar, a one piece export brace and the “Shelby drop” which should help. The back end feels pretty loose as well so I’ll have to see what’s going on there. It’s a project. It’s fun but pretty primitive.
The 68 Firebird is my all time favorite
Someday, someday....
The first gen Firebird is my fav.
I love, love, love the Camaro. But I think that the '67 Firebird is a better looking car.
Even the base 215 motor was a beast! 😮
The Mustang was based on the Falcon. The Camaro was based on the Chevy II / Nova, with was a rush job that copied the dimensions of the highly succesful Falcon. None of these cars would exist it it weren't for the Nash Rambler / Rambler American, which spawned the Javelin / AMX.
I'm thinking he meant to say "Falcon" and he misspoke.
@@AcmeRacing Agreed. At least they both start with an "F".
@@KDoyle4 They’re both birds. I think he had Firebirds on his mind because they’re the topic of his video.
Agreed!
$64 more that would be like $6000 more today…. Just a distinction…. Beautiful car.
The six on the Firebird was an overhead cam engine. Good rev potential, easier on gas. Not that that mattered in 1967.
What about the 230 Overhead Cam with 4 barrel ? That was a Sprint option