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Car of the Day : July 14, 2014; Auto World '76 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
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Topic Started: Jul 13 2014, 10:11 PM (284 Views)
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craftymore
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Jul 13 2014, 10:11 PM
Post #1
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Support your local demo derby.
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Today's car is from Firehawk73's collection & is Auto World's1976 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

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The Pontiac Firebird is an automobile which was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro. This coincided with the release of the 1967 Mercury Cougar, which shared its platform with another pony car, the Ford Mustang.

Click on Wikipedia.com to learn more.

- Wikipedia.com
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Beginning in 1978, the Pontiac group introduces a new special edition vehicle. The Firebird Formula LT Sport Edition which featured a revised 10% raised compression Chevy 305 V8 powertrain producing 155 hp (same as 1977 Chevy Monza Mirage) combined with a floor center console 4 speed Manual T-10 BW Transmission coupled to a limited-slip differential final drive. The Limited Touring package (LT) also included a cabin roof, door, fender and hood graphics scheme, the Trans-Am sports handling package with HD gas shocks, Modular Alloy Wheels and the SE Trans-Am rear deck Spoiler with "Formula" word graphic detail. The engineers also revised the compression ratio in the 400ci through the installation of different cylinder heads with smaller combustion chambers (1977 Pontiac 400 engines also had the 350 heads bolted to the 400 blocks, these heads were known as the 6x-4 heads and were taken from the Pontiac 350). This increased power by 10% for a total of 220 during the 1978–79 model years. The 400/403 options remained available until 1979, when the 400 CID engines were only available in the 4-speed transmission Trans Ams and Formulas (the engines had actually been stockpiled from 1978, when PMD had cut production of the engine). 1979 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Trans Am, and a special anniversary package was made available: silver paint lower paint (with gray upper paint accents) with a silver leather interior. The 10th Anniversary cars also featured a special Firebird hood decal, which extended off of the hood and onto the front fenders. Pontiac produced 7,500 10th Anniversary cars, of which 1,817 were equipped with the Pontiac 400 engine (and coupled with the 4 speed Borg Warner Super T-10 transmission). The only option on these cars was the engine (the 400 was not certified for California, nor was cruise control available with it), which dictated the transmission and the gear ratio (3.23 on the 400 cars, 2.73 on the 403 cars). In 1979 Pontiac sold 116,535 Trans Ams which still holds the record to this day.
Up until the 1979 models, the performance of 400-equipped Firebirds could still be brought up to near pre-1970 levels by disabling emissions equipment- removing the catalytic converter and blocking off the exhaust gas recirculation system- and opening up the block off plate to make the hood scoop functional. Static compression ratios dropped in the early 70s which crippled horsepower and torque output. In 1980, due to ever-increasing emissions restrictions, Pontiac dropped all of its large displacement engines

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Firehawk73
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Jul 13 2014, 10:44 PM
Post #2
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I remember that GreenLight was supposed to this car but opted for the '77 year casting which was a huge disappointment on their decision and their actual execution on the way the '77 turned out. I am happy that Auto World picked it up and did a marvelous job in doing '76 year model.
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Stampede
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Jul 13 2014, 11:37 PM
Post #3
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Team Canada
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There is no doubt that Auto World did a phenomenal job on this model. I may need to get this one...
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ivantt
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Jul 13 2014, 11:43 PM
Post #4
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
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Picked up this one in red today. Pretty good!!
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juantoo3
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Jul 14 2014, 07:16 AM
Post #5
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Gorgeous!
I'm not a Camaro guy as a rule, but Firebirds always had so much better styling.
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