Here is an interesting vehicle. It is a 1981 Pontiac Firebird that has been modified with a 1967 Pontiac 326 V8 engine. As you know, the last year for a Pontiac engine in a Pontiac car was 1981. In 1982, General Motors adopted a corporate engine program so Pontiac Firebirds were produced with primarily Chevrolet engines after that point. Ironically, this is the last year of the Pontiac Firebird with a Pontiac engine but it has the first year (1967) of the Firebird engine! The car is listed here on eBay for $23,500 and an option to make an offer. The car is located in North Billerica, Massachusetts.
The new red interior contrasts well with the charcoal/silver exterior paint. The dash, console and arm rests are black along with the floor mats. The car has the standard interior but has some aftermarket gauges installed in the dash where the air conditioning ducts typically reside. The 4 speed shifter extending out of the console draws most enthusiasts attention. The seller states that everything works and the car runs and drives well.
As mentioned, the factory engine was replaced with a 1967 Pontiac 326 cubic inch engine that breathes through headers and new dual exhaust. The engine is fed by an Edelbrock 650 CFM carburetor through an aluminum manifold. The car has new brakes and new rear shocks. The odometer reading is 54,757 miles. The rear gear ratio is 3.42 which should make for a well balanced cruiser. The seller states that the engine has HEI ignition which hopefully is not from 1981 because that is the first year for Computer Command Control and was difficult to tune.
The exterior paint looks nice. The car is fitted with Pontiac 15 x 7 snowflake wheels. The car is said to be straight and solid with no rust rot. I think a Pontiac Formula steering wheel would complement the interior well. What do you think of this example of the last year of the 2nd generation Firebird?
Now this is a nice car! Beautiful body design (other than the 4 square headlights), clean without any stripes or screaming chickens, a 4-on-the-floor manual transmission (the only way to go), and best of all, an old-school engine.
I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more old engines put into newer cars. It’s almost always the other way around, putting a newer (or brand new) engine into an old car. The older engines aren’t as ‘efficient’, but being devoid of pollution controls or electronic frippery, they sure are a lot easier to work on (and soup up).
Is the color combination original? The interior is almost certainly originally red, but is the exterior color original? Grey with red seems to have been a color preference back in the 1950’s and again recently, but maybe not so much in the early 80’s?
I imagine in some states putting an engine older than the body into a car would run afoul of emissions regulations, maybe depending on how old the car was. But if this would pass inspection and be able to be registered, this looks like a lot of fun.
I doubt the C.A.R.B. would be happy with what was done to this car.
That’s the way to do it. Get rid if the blah 301 and give it REAL Poncho power.
I’d have at least found a 350 or 400. 326 is just not enough cubic inches to justify a swap, but the block does make for a much firmer foundation.
The 326 was not such a bad little engine (Pontiacs version of the 327 I imagine) I myself should have ordered one in a Tempest versus the horrible OHC six I thought was so neat back then. Of course, a crate Chevy 350 would bolt right in too, but maybe the guy is a purist. No matter what, a great ride.
I’ll bet the Jeep Tornado OHC six before it was worse.