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Blog posts tagged with 'car facts'

6 Facts You Didn’t Know About the Firebird

The Firebird embodies American muscle. Many still rave about the impact these classics had in earlier times. Even though they’ve been around for half a century, there’s no end in sight when it comes to car enthusiasts’ love for this particular classic. We work with all kinds of Firebird builds to bring you the coolest AC for your ride. But you may be surprised by these facts you didn't know about the Pontiac Firebird.

1. John DeLorean wasn’t on board

The Pontiac king had his doubts about the Firebird, at first. Before his name starred in the classic sci-fi Back to the Future, DeLorean worked as an engineer for Pontiac. They wanted him to create a car that could compete with the Mustang and Camaro. Instead, he thought Pontiac needed a two-seater sports car called the Banshee. He eventually gave in and produced the first Firebird six months after the Camaro in 1967. Although six months late to the game, the Firebird obviously was a hit.

2. 1st WS6

As an upgrade to the 1978 Trans Am’s suspension, Pontiac produced the first WS6 Performance Package. Most notably, the package contained 15x8 Snowflake rims and a larger sway bar giving the Firebird a wider appearance. It ranged between $251 and $324 depending on if you want with the additional W72 package. In total, it contained a larger sway bar, 15x8 snowflake rims, tighter steering box gear ratio, and GR70-15 raised white letter Good Year Polysteel Radials. In 1979, the package contained the first four-wheel disc brakes for Firebirds.

3. 1st screaming chicken

Bill Porter and Norm Inouye created the infamous decal in 1970. If this makes you scratch your head, it’s because they held off using it. John Schinella, another Pontiac designer, saw the decal and started pressing management to use it. Finally, in 1973, they made it an add-on costing $55 and became the car’s signature feature through 1981 and again from 1985-1987 on the third generation Trans-Am.

4. It starred in Smokey and the Bandit

After Smokey and the Bandit debuted in 1977, it started picking up even more steam (or smoke). If you know your stuff, you might notice that the car is a mashup of two different Firebird models. The car is mostly a 1976 Firebird Trans Am but replaced the front with a 1977 model. The custom decals on the vehicle also caused Pontiac’s demand to skyrocket. However, soon after the frenzy died down, so did the need for the car altogether.

5. Best Firebird horsepower/torque ratings

No Firebird ever exceeded 400 horsepower. In fact, unlike it’s Chevy competitor, it didn’t even come close. That being said, the most powerful Firebirds of all time were the 1969 and ‘70 Trans Ams with the Ram Air IV engine option. The 400 cubic inch V8 maxes out at 430 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 Rpm and 345 hp at 5,400 Rpm.

6. 1st Buick engine

A less rare Firebird fact you may know is that in 1989 500 Pace Car Trans Am used a Buick engine. However, they didn’t use just any Buick engine. It was the turbocharger 3.8 liter V-6 featured in the GNX and Grand National. It maxed out just under 250 horsepower and 340 lb-ft making the Pace Care, up until that point, the quickest Firebird ever sold.

5 Things You Don’t Know About 2nd Generation Camaros

Everyone loves the classic Chevy Camaro, they’ve been around for 51 years now and there is no end in sight to the love the world over has for this classic American muscle car. We work with all kinds of original first-generation Camaro builds to bring you the coolest AC for your ride but you may be surprised by these little-known facts about this American classic.

1. The second-generation Camaro may not have the classic look that car collectors froth at the mouths for but this fine example of an American classic SOLD BEST in 1979 with 282,571 sales.

2. The first cars produced in 1970 were really 1969 Camaros, because of issues with the production of the Euro-inspired sheet metal design for the second generation, Chevy built ’69 Camaros as 1970 models for 4 months.

3. GM conceived of a WAGON version of the Camaro but decided to strike that from production be they completed a fiberglass Firebird build outdone by Pininfarina later on.

4. Second-generation Camaros drew inspiration by the classic Ferrari Lusso 250 GT. Not only did these please people like Steve McQueen but designers at GM incorporated “a European grand-touring aesthetic” to the body.

5. The returning year of the Z28 in 1977 was the year that Camaro for the FIRST time EVER beat out Mustang in sales! The Z28 sold 14,349 models helping sales of all Camaros reach 218,853.

No matter who you are, the world over agrees that the Chevrolet Camaro is one of the most legendary muscle cars out there. If you’re looking to be cool and stay cool when the heat is on Original Air has you covered for your original AC kits.

5 Things You Don’t Know About 1st Generation Camaros

Everyone loves the classic Chevy Camaro, they’ve been around for 51 years now and there is no end in sight to the love the world over has for this classic American muscle car. We work with all kinds of custom first-generation Camaro builds to bring you original AC parts for your ride but you may be surprised by these little-known facts about this American classic.

1. Chevy had three different assembly locations for its first-generation Camaro, Van Nuys, California, Norwood, Ohio predominantly but it ALSO was assembled in the Philippines, Belgium, Switzerland, and Peru.

2. GUY FIERI rocks the classic 1968 ZZ502 BUT it does NOT belong to him it belongs to his hit show Diners, Drive-In, and Dives! The show originally featured a 67’ Camaro SS which belonged to the show’s former producer. Photo by: Guy Fieri’s Facebook Page

3. There is only ONE 1968 Z28 CONVERTIBLE in existence and it was specifically built for Chevrolet GM Pete Estes. This was a play by GM to convince him to keep the Z28 in production for 1969. The beautiful piece of history went for auction in 1991 for $100k! Photo by: motoryeti

4. Arguably, the 1969 ZL1 Camaro is the most valuable production Camaros it is considered one of the “blue chip” models for muscle car collectors. They were all built with a special order COPO system with an all-aluminum 427 big-block system. Photo by: Mecum Auctions

5. The modern version of the ZL1 wrecks the original generations by an immaculate 125 horses! Photo by: cartechbooks

Photo by: About Muscle Car

No matter who you are, the world over agrees that the Chevrolet Camaro is one of the most legendary muscle cars out there. If you’re looking to be cool and stay cool when the heat is on Original Air has you covered for your original AC kits.