The first-generation Pontiac Firebird had a three-year production run in similar fashion to its famous GM pony car stablemate, the Chevy Camaro.
The 1967-69 Firebird had a distinctive style that was warmly embraced by Poncho fans who wanted their own pony car model to compete with the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro because those iconic pony cars represented rivalry for Pontiac loyalists.
The first-gen Pontiac Firebirds were not able to compete with Mustangs or Camaros in terms of popularity, but the Poncho pony cars built their own legacy over the passage of time.
Jim Sutherland
It would be safe to say Randy Strome is a big fan of the first-generation Firebird because he has owned a 1969 version since 1996. Randy’s ’69 Firebird left the factory with a 350 Pontiac small block, an engine with a slightly larger displacement (353.8 cubic inches) than Chevy’s 350 (349.85 cubic inches), but now it has a massive 455 cubic inch Pontiac Super Duty big block under its hood.
Randy’s Firebird had a rough history before he bought it because it was stolen and “dented a bit” in his words, before it underwent an extensive frame-off facelift, including a color change to its current white paint scheme.
Randy kept the Firebird’s factory partial vinyl roof because he wanted to retain as much of its original heritage as possible when he became its owner. The car had already undergone the changes, but we at MyStarCollectorCar would label it as a retro mod because the engine choice is a powerful Pontiac big block from the early 1970s and not a huge resto mod reach in terms of the passage of time.
The Firebird also has an add-on gauge cluster to monitor the engine’s vital signs in a more accurate fashion because Randy believes in driving the car. He added his Firebird “has never been on a trailer because there is no sense in owning it if you don’t drive it”, in Randy’s words.
One of the Firebird’s more interesting factory options is it AM/FM radio because it has a mechanical flip device that changes the dial face from AM to FM modes. It is a unique system that likely seemed very futuristic back in 1969.
As mentioned earlier, the car now sports a 455 Pontiac Super Duty from the early 1970s, a big block engine that churned out big horsepower numbers right out of the showroom. However, Randy’s 455 has been bored 60-over-plus it’s been balanced and blueprinted, so it is now a raging beast of an engine.
In fact, Randy disconnected the Firebird’s kickdown mechanism because the engine’s brute force and low rear gears combined to cause the car to break loose at higher speeds, thus creating an Indiana Jones-level adventure for lead-footed drivers.
Fortunately, Randy has the right combination of experience and level-headedness to avoid issues when he gets behind the wheel of his retro road rocket.
The net result is Randy and his 1969 Firebird have stayed together for 28 years and counting under his ownership.
And not on a trailer over all those years.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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