Words: Tommy Parry
Roughly five years ago, Gil set off on a comprehensive refreshening of his ‘69 Firebird. He started his ambitious build with a new GM fuel pump — the previous owner had shoddily installed a “racing” pump that liked to start fires. He also replaced the mismatched front brakes with refreshed GM brakes, refreshed the TH400 and replaced all the fuel hoses.
His ambitions were greater than a simple refresh, however. He wanted the car to first ride nicely — so he ditched the lowering springs the previous owner had put on and fitted the front end with a set of Hotchkis coilovers with new springs, which helped cover bumpy French roads without scraping. While he was at it, he added Hotchkis’ front swaybar to keep the platform level.
The 455 produces roughly 380 horsepower – enough to get it down the quarter-mile in 13 seconds. However, to get that power to the pavement effectively Gil had to improve the rear suspension, and did so with a set of Bilstein shocks and a rear tower bar.
With the ride height optimized, he started searching for the right wheels to complete an athletic stance. The rollers of choice: 17×8” Billet Specialties Rival-G wrapped in 235/45R17 Bridgestone RE050A tires. Underneath them he stuffed a set of Wilwood D52 big brakes and Hawk HP+ pads. Even with 11” rotors, the Firebird was was much happier to decelerate — and it also looked ready to carve corners or burble down the boulevard.
Next, he gritted his teeth and started cleaning the ‘88 IROC-Z steering box. After cleaning the rust with a rotating brush, then adding a coat of primer and paint, he’d cut himself up decently. However, the bandaged hand was worth the gleaming hardware.
Next came a few additions to the powerplant, particularly in the exhaust department. His upgrades included a homemade stainless exhaust, a Magnaflow X-pipe and Pypes Race Pro Mufflers. With Ram Air LB manifolds, the exhaust tucked nicely underneath the frame for fantastic road clearance.
There’s still quite a bit more before Gil meets his exacting standards and creates what he considers a bonafide Pro Tourer, but it shows huge promise. To follow this inspiring build, you can keep track of his thread here. We wish him luck.
