This shimmering Pontiac could almost be considered an heirloom. Manuel’s father bought it from the original owner, an army man returning to the U.S. after being stationed in the Italian town where his father lived. His father was already a fan of the second-generation Camaro and owned one, a ‘73, when he added another second-gen to the stable.
Eventually his parents sold their house in Italy, and by that time Manuel was attending college in Florida. Rather than sell the Firebird, his father shipped it to him. When it arrived, Manuel had to do some work to get it road-worthy as it had been sitting for 5 years in Italy. He drove it like that all through college; completely stock except for having replaced the 3-speed auto with a 700R4 since he was doing a lot of highway miles.
Over the following decade, he added wheels, coilovers, brakes, and even a Maziora paint job after he saw one on a Mustang Cobra in 1995. After a twenty-year lull in modifying it, he decided to strip it down to the nuts and bolts and give the Firebird a refresh his father would be proud of.
Fortunately, the Floridian humidity and occasional floods hadn’t rusted the Pontiac’s undercarriage much save for a few superficial spots. What a relief.
Prior to putting it on the rotisserie, he’d noticed the oil pressure getting a little low on a casual drive. Further inspection revealed a leaking rear main seal. A deeper dive disclosed two lobes on the cam getting rounded, and so rather than go for an LQ-series engine, he stuck with the 455 and went for a light rebuild and a hydraulic roller cam to replace the flat hydraulic cam. Along with that camshaft came Harland Sharp 1.6 rockers, forged pistons with better compression, and the usual Edelbrock and Holley intake.
Roughly 400-450 horsepower, sent through a TKO600, would provide more than enough for the mild GT role he’d decided on for this Pontiac. The interior also received some attention with a retrofitted woodgrain dash with Speedhut gauges and a GPS speedometer, new carpeting, and a Sparco wheel to top it all off.
Sticking to the mild character he’d envisioned, Manuel decided to modernize up the footwork without going to extremes of mini tubbing. Speedtech suspension, KORE3 Z06 brakes, and a set of 18” CCW Classic wheels came into play. Wrapped in 255- and 295-section Continental tires, Manuel was astonished with how well this former boat belied its weight.
Around that time, Manuel shipped himself and the Firebird across the pond to work for Aston Martin on the DB11. Since it landed in the UK, he’s installed Holley EFI and covered the parcel shelf in racy alcantara.
By: Tommy Parry
There’s still some in store for this beautiful Pro Tourer. A carbon fiber nose, hood, and trunk lid come next; and at some point in the future, Manuel expects new paint as this one is showing wear in some spots.
To keep tabs on this color-shifting beauty, you can visit his build thread here.
