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#Pontiac firebird 1970 pro#
As both car builder and car owner affirm, however, it's one super high-end Pro Touring machine that will be free to fly. If we didn't know any better, we'd assume that this 'Bird is destined to be caged in a garage its entire life. Once the turbos spool up, the motor goes from gentleman to sheer chaos," Thomas says.

As the look and caliber of the car got more extreme, I realized the car needed a far more extreme engine combo. I originally planned on building a mild 400 Pontiac with a six-pack intake and EFI. "Dropping in an LS motor with some custom powdercoating would have been the easy way out, but I wanted more of a purist Pontiac setup. At just 12.5 psi of boost, the huffed Poncho spits out 1,020 hp on pump gas. In addition to building the long-block, ASC custom fabricated all the hot and cold piping for the twin 66mm turbos. The short-block is topped with Kauffman Racing cylinder heads and a custom Visner intake manifold carved out of a single block of billet aluminum. Unlike a stock Pontiac 455, which uses a 4.155-inch bore and a 4.210-inch stroke, ASC's over-square 4.250x4.000-inch cylinder dimensions hint at the turbo 455's rev-happy intentions. The motor itself is based on a Butler aluminum block that's been matched with an Eagle forged crank and rods, and Ross 8.5:1 pistons. We built custom inner fenders to more efficiently package the turbos and piping," Brian says. "Cramming a 400 Pontiac with twin turbos into a Firebird and trying to make it look good is extremely difficult. To make things more interesting, he enlisted ASC to build a twin-turbo Pontiac 455. While the rest of the hot rodding world has gone cuckoo for LS engine swaps, Thomas felt like it wasn't enough of a challenge. The original plan was for a simple restoration, but Brian put his creative touch on the car and breathed new life into the project." Impressed with the work he'd done on other cars before, I contacted Brian at All Speed Customs [ for some fresh ideas.
#Pontiac firebird 1970 full#
The car had no motor, trans, or front clip, so it was basically a lawn full of parts when I bought it.


"I longed to have that feeling of speed from my youth once again, so I tracked down a '70 Firebird several years ago to build. In no time flat, I couldn't afford the tickets and insurance anymore," he says. "My first car was a '70 Firebird, and thanks to my heavy right foot, I didn't have that car for very long. For Thomas, the project started out as a means of reliving the juvenile delinquent lifestyle once again.
#Pontiac firebird 1970 how to#
Trying to transform a '70 Firebird into something that's tastefully aggressive, yet polished and refined, is something most people aren't exactly volunteering for, but the duo of Thomas Cronkright and Brian Moat don't know how to back down from a challenge. In truth, many early second-gen Firebirds weren't subjected to the screaming chicken treatment, but even so, the car's increasingly garish evolution throughout the '70s left it with a certain stigma that proves nearly impossible to rub off.
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Furthermore, with a four-link suspension, six-speed stick, humongo brakes, and more body augmentation than the entire 90210 zip code, it might just be the finest '70 Firebird ever assembled. If you don't know the power of the Dark Side, the Firebird's twin-turbo, all-aluminum Pontiac motor will make sure you do. Instead of hearing the buzz of a big external fuel pump when juicing up the electrical system-as you'd expect in most mega horsepower forced-induction machines-the menacing cadence of Darth Vader's respirator seems like a more appropriate soundtrack. Subtle yet aggressive in a sinister kind of way, it wears a cloak of black so dark that the gravity of its visual presence breaks down time and space in its wake.

While most second-gen 'Birds have been spared no dignity, shamelessly emblazoned with screaming chicken graphics much to the amusement of the drunken hillbillies that defiled them as Bandit clones, this one has thankfully been spared the same fate. Just make sure your sissy cyborg reflexes can keep it pointed straight, because this 1,000-plus horsepower beast is a Firebird like no other.
