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Classic Industries Featured Restorations - Is Your Vehicle Ready?

Here's a quiz question for you that has several answers. Like with many tests, there is only one correct answer. The question is, "What do all of these cars shown in the lead photo have in common? 

4-Speed Therapy: 1978 Trans Am WS6 W72

"It's a head-turner, not only when it's going down the road but when it's sitting still. When people are out on the street and I get on that thing, it just turns heads! You don't see that today," said Gary Plowman, the owner of this '78 Pontiac Trans Am. His car features the famous WS6 suspension package and W72 T/A 6.6L V8 engine — a combination of options that made the Trans Am a top-tier performer, even alongside the Camaro Z28 and Corvette of that era. A recent video from Hemmings' Tested Muscle series takes a closer look at this bright red Trans Am.

Video: Twin-Turbo Widebody Trans Am

"I always wanted a V8, manual, rear-drive car... but I wanted something that's American. I come from New Zealand, so all the stuff here that's local is cool to me." Fueled by memories of watching Smokey and the Bandit as a kid, Gregg Hamilton started looking for the classic American muscle car of his dreams shortly after he moved to the United States. However, he didn't want just any Trans Am, he wanted one that he could make his own. "It's not always about the driving for me. It's about the build, it's about tinkering with it." With that goal in mind, Hamilton ended up creating the aggressive, twin-turbo, widebody Trans Am seen in this video from Petrolicious.

1969 Pontiac Firebird 400 Convertible - Heavy Rollin' Ragtop

My Firebird was built in Norwood, Ohio. The original color was Verduro Green. She sports a power top, power disc brakes, rally gauges, standard interior with a wood grain steering wheel, and dash face. The engine's backed by a Turbo 400 transmission, 2,800-rpm stall converter, with all that torque transferred to 3.42 gears stuffed in a 10-bolt rear end that was donated from a 79 Trans Am. The engine is the factory, numbers matching 400 that has been stroked & bored to 468 cubic inches of V8 power. The hydraulic roller cams have .623 degrees of lift and .240 duration. The Edelbrock cylinder heads and intake have been ported. There's also a beaudacious 950 cfm Holley four-barrel carb, two-inch Doug's headers, forged steel rods, forged pistons and nitrided crank in the mix for this prodigious mill. As far as the numbers go, the engine has 11.0:1 compression, makes 600-horsepower and 640-lb.-ft. of torque on 91 octane pump fuel. The paint scheme is the LeMans Blue hue from a 2006 Corvette.

1973 Pontiac Firebird T/A with Numbers Matching factory "Y" code 455

Bruce Johnson's 1973 Pontiac Trans Am was a labor of love and family support. He bought the car in Detroit and moved it to Texas. Securing the car was the easy part. In the year that he has had the car, he and his family have had the original, numbers matching "Y" code 455 rebuilt and slightly modified with an earlier model cam and exhaust manifolds. He also added an aluminum intake and HEI ignition. The car had been stored for 18 years. Since the paint was tired, Bruce had the entire exterior re-painted with new decals. New suspension components followed, and finally he got down to business changing out the maroon interior to black, with the help of Classic Industries. He ordered new seat covers, carpet, and headliner from Classic to complete the makeover.

Pontiac Parts in Action: 5 Firebird & Trans Am Restoration Projects

Over the course of more than eight decades, Pontiac produced a wide variety of memorable cars, but the Firebird and Trans Am might be the most memorable of all. These sporty two-door vehicles shared lineage with their GM F-body sibling, the Chevrolet Camaro, but exuded a bold style of their own. Today, we'll take a look back at five restoration projects that have made good use of the Pontiac parts found in our Classic Industries Firebird / Trans Am catalog.

1969 Pontiac Firebird - Worth the Wait

We've all heard the old saying that patience is a virtue, but it's often difficult to put that virtue into practice in our daily lives. It takes considerable fortitude to see a classic car restoration project through to completion as the months and years tick by, but those who stick with it reap the rewards. Ethan Skinner, of Pennsylvania, experienced this firsthand as he restored the 1969 Pontiac Firebird seen here. He writes, "It has been a slow process, but worth the wait."

1975 Trans Am - A Full-Circle Restoration

It's an unfortunate fact that many of us have owned classic cars we've had to sell for one reason or another. Maybe money got tight, family and work obligations took priority, or we simply ended up with more project cars than we had time for. It's always hard to say goodbye to these vehicles, but on some rare occasions, they'll come full-circle and return to us at a later date. Such was the case with Jim Spears and his 1975 Trans Am, which has a story that's almost as cool as the vehicle itself.

1970 Pontiac Firebird - Early Second-Gen

 

As production of the groundbreaking first-generation Pontiac Firebird wrapped up after three successful years, GM would continue to sell the original F-body cars throughout 1969 and into the earlier months of 1970. Then, partway through the year, the automaker introduced the second-generation Firebird. As a result, some would call this new car a "1970 1/2" model.

2000 SLP Firehawk - Bird of Prey

The name Firebird implies an avian creature with mythical capabilities, and the name Firehawk takes that bird's capabilities to the next level. A hawk doesn't just glide effortlessly through the air, it actively hunts down its prey. With this in mind, Firehawk is a fitting name for a special line of Pontiac vehicles that took the Firebird to a higher level of performance.