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My first car was a 1969 Pontiac Firebird that I purchased
before going off to college in 1975. I loved that car -- who doesn't remember
their first? It had a 350 motor and a 4-speed transmission. The tires were so
wide on the back, they stuck out over the wheel wells! Here's a picture of the
car and me on the beach at Jacksonville FL in early 1976.
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Over the years I owned 3 others. Number 2 was a fairly high performance street
machine sporting a Chevy 350 with a 4-bolt main, side pipes, the works. It had
a beautiful blue-fade custom paint job that could have graced the cover of many
a magazine. I purchased that car in 1979 and traded it in on a brand new Chevy
Blazer in 1980. What an idiot. Number 3 was a daily driver purchased in Tampa
FL in 1982. It was Orange, had an automatic, and a vinyl roof. I sold it in
1984 and it’s the only one I don't miss today. Number 4 was purchased in 1984
and was sold in VA in early 1987. I had just purchased a new 1987 Toyota Supra
and thought "why would I ever drive the old Firebird when I have a new
Supra?" What an idiot.
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The Supra was a good car for many years, but it was wearing out and I started to
get the itch for good old American muscle again. So, I started to get into
Corvettes. Today, I have a '92 and a '97 that are awesome cars and I love to
drive them both. But, something was missing! Despite how great the Vettes are I
can't work on them. Too many computer components (and I'm in the computer
business) and not the types of cars you go experimenting on!
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That led me to my current restoration project. Despite swapping a couple of motors
in my earlier Firebirds, I don't have much practical mechanical experience and
I've never tackled any significant body work. So my plan was to find a project
car and if I screwed it all up, get rid of it and try another. With that in
mind, I found what I think is the perfect car for my first restoration. The car
has the original motor, relatively little rust, no fenders, hood, or interior.
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