Almost forgotten among the thousands of currently available muscle cars is the original Firebird. Pontiac enthusiasts tend to overlook it because the base engine is a six rather than a V-8 but in doing so they miss the significance of that early Bird. This was no ordinary six. Influenced by European trends, Pontiac engineers created a single-overhead-cam unit that rivalled many V-8s of the period yet was lighter and thus achieved a better front/rear weight balance. Ergo, superior handling. The platform and most body panels were, of course, identical to the Camaro but much as I admired Chevy's pony car I thought the Firebird, with its BMW-type twin nostrils, had more flair.
For those of you who agree with me and might want to purchase an OHC-6 Firebird, Keith Martin's Collector Car Price Tracker now has a searchable data base with comparable prices to act as a guide. It mentions that the split chrome grille provided significantly more front-end protection, the hood scoops offered an optional Ram-Air, and the tick-tock-tach rev counter was on the hood. What if Pontiac had persevered with an inline overhead-cam six instead of giving in to the muscle car fad… where would it be today? America's BMW, perhaps?
Going back a decade, the original Corvette was a 6, and an old one at that, but that didn’t stop it.
July 20, 2009 @ 5:43 am