Firebird And Trans Am

100 Pages·2002·14.85 MB·English

by  Bill Holder

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First published in 2002 byMBI Publishing On thefrontcover: Although 20 years apart,
Company, 380Jackson Street, Suite 200, each ofthese Trans Ams highlights the catchv
St. Paul, ATX 55101-3885 USA style for which the model is known. Owned bv
Ron and Carol Lutterbie, a 1979 model is in
©
William Holder and Phillip Kunz, 2002 the foreground, backed by the 1998 version.
All rights reserved. With the exception of On thefrontispiece: The lettering on the
quoting briefpassages for the purposes of hood scoops says it all on this 1975 Firebird,
review, no part ofthis publication may be indicating the presence of400ci ram-air
reproduced without prior written permission power under the hood that is capable of
from the Publisher. 345 horsepower.
The information in this book is true and On the titlepage: Starting in 1992, itwas
complete to the best ofour knowledge. All possible to acquire the SLP Firehawkversion
recommendations are made without any ofthe Trans Am. Firehawks, including this
guarantee on the part ofthe author or beautiful 2002 model, carry aftermarket
Publisher, who also disclaim any liability performance, racing, and suspension upgrades.
incurred in connection with the use ofthis
data or specific details. On the back cover: The 1970 Firebird received a
completelynewlookand a consensus thumbs-up from
We recognize that some words, model names the buyingpublic. Front-end changes included single
and designations, for example, mentioned herein headlights and a new-lookEndura bodycolorgrill.
are the property ofthe trademark holder. We use The Formula 400 model shown here featured a
them for identification purposes only. This is not fiberglass hood and stylish scoops. When eitherof
an official publication. the ram-air engines were usedwith the 1970 Firebird,
the ram-airidentificationwas carried on the front
MBI Publishing Company books are also hood scoops.
available at discounts in bulk quantity for
industrial or sales-promotional use. For details Edited by Chad Caruthers
write to Special Sales Manager atAlotorbooks Designed by LeAnn Kulmann
International Wholesalers & Distributors,
MX
380Jackson Street, Suite 200, St. Paul, Printed in China
55101-3885 USA
Library" ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data Available
ISBX 0-7603-1165-X
Contents
Acknowledgments 6
Foreword 6
by Paul Zazarine
Am
Chapter One The Firebird and Trans 8
1967-1969
Chapter Two 16
1970-1976
Chapter Three 26
Chapter Four 1977-1981 40
1982-1992
Chapter Five 48
993-2002
Chapter Six 1 64
Chapter Seven The Race Connection 80
Index 95
Acknowledgments
We
would like to thankthe followingindivid- Thanks aswell to the following people for their
uals for providing their cars for photo- contributions:PaulZazarine,editor,PontiacEnthusiast
graphing: Ronand CarolLutterbie, George Clark, Magazine; Tony Sapienza, Lisa Gooth, and Jeff
Rod Montgomery,JerryMinor, Dean Pringle,Jeff" Romack, Pontiac Motor Division Public Relations;
Walker, Greg Jacobs, Al Bowman, David Jim Mattison, Pontiac Historical Services; Sarah
Pennington, Robert Blair, Lynn Hayworth, Shane Chandler, Performance Marketing; Fred Simmons,
Thompson, Charles Leavell, Jerry Beaumont, GeneralMotorsDragRacing;SueEmmel,TransAm
Steve Passwater, Joe Kidwell, Bob Jordan, Andy Club ofAmerica;JodyMessinger, SLP Engineering;
Allen, and Dave Logston. DavidTucker; andDarrellWillrath.
Foreword
The Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am have bettersuspension tuning, largerwheels and tires,
always been aboutimage, and for the past 35 and a more upscale interior trim than its bow-tie
yearsthey've represented performance combined cousin, the Camaro.
with Pontiac's flair for sophistication. Right The Magnificent Five packaging of the
from the beginning, when Pontiac gotthe green Firebird lineup gave each model an image of
light in 1965 to share the new F-body with sophistication, from the European-imaged
Chevrolet, the Firebird was engineered with overhead-cam six to the muscular Firebird 400.
—
Pontiac's mark—etersGweTrOe good at creating —image Chevrolet and Bill Harrison and Bill Collins at
and mystique the was proofofthat and Pontiac, General Motors management chose to
they chose to apply the same strategy to the keep the cars in production.
Firebird. Itworked. That decision turned out to be one ofthe best
When the Trans Am arrived in 1969, it was that GM management made in the 1970s. Sales
originally a "hype" designated to draw attention slowly rose as the decade progressed. Even as per-
to the Firebird lineup. Itstood shoulder to shoul- formance cars disappeared, thanks to the movie
der with its GTO Judge cousin at Riverside for Smokeyandthe Bandit, the Trans Am left an indeli-
the automotivepressto examine, and forthe most ble stamp on American culture. By the late 1970s
part, the press didn't get the message. The Trans there were only two performance cars available
Am, with its spoiler and scoops and stripes, was a the Trans Am and the Corvette. One automotive
spoofonthe musclecarmovement, butitalso had magazine observed that "theTransAm's screaming
the hardware to back up its message of, "Hey, I chicken is now the mostrecognized car emblem in
might look silly, butI'll beatyou on the street." the world." The Trans Am's halo effect sold hun-
The choice ofthenameTransAmwas a good dreds ofthousands ofbread-and-butter Firebirds.
one, even ifin its production form the car didn't The automotive marketplace has changed
meet SCCA homologation rules. The incredible considerably since the 1970s, and the Trans Am
redesign of the 1970 Trans Am totally changed became a victim of GM's inability to meet the
the car's image: it looked like it belonged on the market dynamics. While the 2001 WS6 Ram Air
racecourse. Pontiac's advertising boasted the Trans Am is far superior to the Mustang GT, it
TransAm had "scoopsthatscoopandspoilersthat continues to lag far behind in sales. There's no
spoil," and that it was now a legitimate perform- question that the market for rear-wheel-drive
HO
ance sports car. And with the lineage of455 V-8 performance cars is large enough to support
and Super Duty engines, the Trans Am's image the F-car.
was as solid as its quarter-mile performance. The 35th anniversary edition that closes out
Butthe performance marketwas dyingin the the Firebird's model run is Pontiac's final state-
early 1970s, and when a United Auto Workers ment on its long-running musclecar. The 10th,
strike halted production and left 1972 models on 20th, 25th, and 30th anniversary models were
the line unfinished even as the time drewnear for milestones, and to commemorate the end of the
the 1973 models, the Firebird and its Camaro Firebird's lineage, the Trans Am has been desig-
cousin were facing the corporate ax. Sales were nated to carry the 35th anniversarypackage.
soft and it seemed wiser to eliminate the car. But —
thanks to impassioned pleas from Alex Mair at PaulZazarine, editor, PontiacEnthusiastmagazine
The
Firebird
Am
and
Trans
Through Am
the years, the Firebird and its Trans brother have
been extremely popular sports cars that have attracted a wide
variety of buyers, admirers, and enthusiasts. From baby-
boomers to their children, people have been drawn to the Firebird's
and the Firebird Trans Am's exhilarating power and pleasing design,
which have helped both carve out a unique spot in American automo-
bile history.
As the sun rises on the new millennium, though, it appears to be
setting on this distinct era of automobile. The musclecar concept has
fallen out of favor, pulling aside for the more popular ideas of front-
wheel-drive and sport utility vehicles. At present, it appears that the