Description
1974 Pontiac Firebird - "Deby".
Manufactured in Norwood, Ohio: upgraded to Formula and Trans Am trim and mechanical specs - rare to find with manual gearbox. Around 31, 000 miles on the clock.
ENGINE - General Motors 385 FastBurn motor [5. 7 litre V8], with Holley 750 cfm 4-barrel double-pumper carburettor, Edelbrock pancake air intake, Holley fuel pump & Speedflow braided hoses.
GEARBOX - Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission with Hurst floor-shifter, McLeod clutch, Inland Empire driveshaft and Limited-Slip Differential (LSD).
BRAKES - Uprated all-round to SSBC 11. 5" slotted discs and callipers, with copper lines and Lokar handbrake [front discs and callipers replaced summer 2024].
SUSPENSION - Hotchkis springs with Edelbrock shocks & tubular wishbones by FatMan Fabrication [front]; OER multi-leaf springs with Monroe shocks & Moroso Competition Engineering subframe and traction bars* [rear]. Hotchkis 1. 25” swaybars [front & rear].
RADIATOR - Aluminium ‘Be Cool’ cooling system with twin 11” electric fans. New thermostat and housing fitted Autumn 2024.
EXHAUST - Ceramic-coated and titanium-wrapped manifold by Doug’s Headers with twin FlowMaster American Thunder 2. 5” steel tips.
INTERIOR - Hurst T-shifter, Mountney American walnut steering wheel, original dash with TIM gauges. Black leather upholstery with red piping. Original GM lap-belt fitted in the rear. Vintage 1980s cassette/ radio and speakers in the front. Larger speakers with amplifier in the rear (currently disconnected).
EXTERIOR - Exterior: General Motors metallic jewel red with hand-painted stripes on the hood, with ‘70 bullnose & newly-fitted ‘72 hex grilles. Underside is in good condition and had a full professional Dinitrol treatment in 2022, with subsequent Lanogaurd treatment before each winter since.
WHEELS - BF Goodrich Radial TransAm tyres with 7” Astromod hubcaps by Cragar.
--------------
Deby has been my daily driver for the past four years and runs really nicely. She has never failed to start or broken down. Needed a new starter motor when I first got the car in 2021 and last summer in the hot weather had to change the fuses for the fans and add a new thermostat (and thermostat housing). Otherwise has run fine. Front brake discs/ callipers and all-four tyres replaced last year (summer 2024) by Haynes Heritage Engineering Workshop. At that time, Haynes also fully reconfigured the hand-brake and completed a full service and health-check.
I have a large and organised file on the car, with documentation and photographs of most of the work done on her over the years - including full details of all my restoration over the past 4 years. Car Provenance------
Deby was previously driven on a road trip through the UK and Ireland by professional racing drivers David and Sam Brabham [photos included].
David Brabham is a former Formula One driver, who won multiple touring car championships and numerous international Sports Car Series - including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and many American Le Mans events, where he is a two-time champion.
David and Sam are the Son and Grandson of Sir Jack Brabham, three-time Formula One World Champion and founder of the Brabham Formula One racing team that won successive Constructors’ World Championships.
Sir Jack Brabham was good friends with Pontiac General Manager John DeLorean, who commissioned Brabham’s Repco-Brabham company to design and build a 5-L V8 engine for the Firebird – but Pontiac ultimately produced an in-house motor.
DeLorean asked Brabham to test drive a pre-production Firebird - Brabham said it was the best American car he had ever driven.
