1975 Pontiac Firebird Esprit- The Surfin Bird

+4 Barrel intake/carb swap
+Junkyard TH350/ $25 shift kit
+Polyeurethane front end rebuild
+Rich DeBoss broke the original 350 beating the car like its late on rent, so a 455/4 speed swap is going in.

I originally bought the car for $1000, sitting broken in a California driveway. I flew out and fixed it with a couple strangers from the internet, won an award from Hot Rod Magazine at their 70th Anniversary (the Award of Excellence for being most Roadkill, and road tripped it 2000 miles back to Iowa in November with no heat. I added a 4 barrel, rebuilt the front suspension, and replaced the slipping trans with a $100 Craigslist find TH350 (plus a $22 shift kit) before Power Tour 2019. I enjoyed beating on it like that for a few months, and then Rich Deboss had some fun ripping burnouts with it last summer, which led to a pretty concerning noise in the bottom of the engine. Flash forward to now- the build is getting a little out of hand with a budget 455, 4 speed, and posi rear scored for $1400 from a 76 Trans Am being built to swap in the car.