This past weekend I picked up a 1968 Pontiac Firebird. It's everything I wanted and yet, not quite what I expected to buy. The car seems to be very solid. The previous owner had the body panels repaired a few years back. The interior was freshened up as well. The paint, while not my favorite color, is very good. Ahh...time will expose my expertise. I've driven the car here and there and it drives pretty darn good. The car seems tight - for a 45 year old car. I've had to tinker with a few things electrical, but luckily I fixed those. Over the years I'll improve the car here and there, but for now it's a fun driver.
The car is kind of rare because it has a overhead cam 6 cylinder. It's the Sprint version (which is even more rare). No one-barrel carb on this baby. This one has a four-barrel carb and in its prime was rated at 215 hp. The motor is a little tired, but it runs well - again, for a 45 year old car. It appears to have more than 165,000 miles on it. This OHC6 was only produced for four years. Some people really like them. Me? I want a V8 someday. Parts for the OHC6 engine can be hard to get sometimes. I want to get rid of the rarity and replace it with something for which parts are not a problem. One day I'll turn the car over to the boys if they want it. I prefer to make the car future pr Why didn't I get a V8 car then? Just about any car I'd get would probably have a well used engine in it. Either way, engine work is in the future.
Kathleen likes it, but she would have preferred a convertible. Me too, but oh well. The boys like it too. Parker thinks its the fastest thing ever. Our minvan could run circles around it.
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| I like the redline tires. |
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| I wanted a 4-speed manual. This one is just a 3-speed. |
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| Although it doesn't look fancy, this is the deluxe interior. This was on my check list. |
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| The engine has a little seepage here and there, but I haven't seen any drips on the floor...yet. |
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| I always like the big chrome bumper and quad lights of the Firebird. |
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| The tail lights and turn signals weren't working properly. Forturnately a couple of new sockets fixed the problem. Easy peasy. |
