Finally-one Bird done, one more to go woohoo

[oldcarnut]

Ok it's a Bird of a different feather but the wife's project is pretty much done and she's happy  . Soooo now I can start working on my SB clone.  This is her 68 Firebird Sprint.  Engine is the Overhead Cam 6cyl 4 bbl (OHC-6).  Tranny is 2spd auto. Originally it was fairly low optioned except the power top. I added pwr disc brakes, pwr steering, Vintage Air, classic radio (modern guts), 400 style hood, and did a lot other things.  The only things I did not do myself was the top, hang the left qtr. panel and some of the paint work was completed by someone else when I got too busy with life to get to it myself.  But, that ended up being some stuff I now got to go back in some future point and redo their paint work  . It was at times a real pain to get parts for.  Even the motor mounts aren't avail.  A fair amount of the Tempests and Firebirds had the 1 bbl 6cyl but not that many with the Sprint package 4 bbl.  It's not 100% factory correct but neither will be my Superbird clone.  Lets see how long it takes Wingcharger to spot the mopar part on it?    Just thought I'd share it as it's not your typical 8cyl pony car.
David

[tan top]

nice job  : ..always liked 68 firebirds ... hard tops though  ...can't of been many built in the combination 

[vancamp]

nice lookin fire chicken, is that a mopar tach/clock on the console.

[WingCharger]

nice lookin fire chicken, is that a mopar tach/clock on the console.

I outsourced.

[Charger-Bodie]

I was thinking that the air cleaner looked like a Mopar piece?

[oldcarnut]

nice lookin fire chicken, is that a mopar tach/clock on the console.

Nope, it's a Pontiac clock option.  Her car wasn't optioned with it but she wanted one so Ebay she went.  Actually I have to credit this car with her getting interested in the hobby.  All the years I had my cars, she didn't understand the enthusiasm at the shows, price of parts, etc. After I got her this, I barely could hold the reins tight enough to keep her off the internet researching and buying stuff.  Before for my cars it was "that thing cost how much"?, then it went to "ooh I need one of those so i ordered it"  .

[oldcarnut]

I was thinking that the air cleaner looked like a Mopar piece?

  You would be correct. It's a chromed unsilenced cleaner.  Forgot where I got it.  Maybe from a late 60's Barracuda    Sorry the pics are jagged edged.  I resized them to post but don't know why they turned out like that.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Overhead cam six banger. Cool.   

[oldcarnut]

When I bought it as a birthday present about 7-8 years ago I didn't know much about GM vehicles.  I was looking for a Chally or Barracuda vert but prices and avail. were outta reach.  I got this one as a driver/fixer because I liked the looks--sporty and thought ooh cool a 6cyl too--but didn't realize how hard many of the parts are to come across.  Regular Chevy 250 part 6ers don't hardly interchange and very slim pickings for Sprint engine part suppliers.  Almost swapped it out for a V8 but since everyone else had a V8, I kept it to be a little different.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Yes, I see very, very few Pontiacs with that engine, glad you didn't swap it out for something else. It makes the car quite unique.

[Charger_Fan]

In the 80's, I had a friend with a hardtop version of that car. He swapped that engine for a 455 Goat engine within the first month he owned it. I bet a lot of those OHC's had a similar fate back then.
Pretty cool.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Interesting timing on this, just yesterday I was thumbing through the September 1965 issue of Hot Rod Magazine and was reading an article on Tempest's "TALL SIX" as they called it. The engine is on display with a rather young John DeLorean standing right behind it. Good article.

[Ghoste]

Didn't Pontiac put a fair amount of engineering into that engine hoping it would take off a lot better than it ever did?

[Sublime/Sixpack]

I'm not personally familiar with the engine but based on this article I'd say it was engineered quite well. I'm sure Pontiac had high hopes for it to be popular.  The high perf. version was rated at 207 horsepower (not bad for only 230 cubic inches) @ 5200 RPM but said it could rev to 6500 RPM. 
I don't know, I think had it been put into production earlier, say like the early '60's it would have been more attractive to buyers. But in 1966 (its first production year) most Pontiac guys wanted the 389 engine, and badging as in GTO.   

[Ghoste]

They threw the marketing at the OHC too.  There were a lot of ads for the Firebird with the six and a lot of road tests too so they must have been pushing them onto the magazines.

[Rolling_Thunder]

I always had a thing for the OHC Sprint engine...    not sure why - just oddball enough to be cool -    

[oldcarnut]

Delorean developed the engine.  Kinda ahead of it's time. The 68 4.1 liter (250) rated at 230hp. I seem to remember back in the early 70's and maybe late 60's several of the local dirt track racers used them in their cars.  Biggest downfall from what I've gathered is that the engine had oiling problems in the top end that wiped out a lot of cams.  They make some kind of oil restricter that can goes in the head that gets the oil pressure up. From Pontiac High Performance "Fans of Pontiac's Overhead Cam Six, which was built between 1966 and 1969, frequently lament the missed opportunities with the sophisticated powerplant. The four-barrel Sprint version was the first high-performance six since the Hudson Hornet of the '50s. It was dropped after the '69 model year due to production costs and packaging problems-the engine was too tall to clear the hood of the '70-1/2 Firebird without a bubble. Had the engine lived just a few more years, it could have been installed in the Ventura to make for a nice budget-performance car in the Sprint tradition that would have been perfect for the OPEC-beleaguered '70s."  For those that would be interested in the engine here a link to a rebuild.  There are also articles for other cars if you go back to the home page.
http://www.webrodder.com/index.php?page=showStories&search=Pontiac%20OHC

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Very refreshing to see something "different" 

Kudos to you! 

[PocketThunder]

Nice bird!  and i have a soft spot for sixes.. 

[TruckDriver]

NICE!

I have a 'ol high school buddy that owns two '68 Firebird coupes. Both are 400ci cars. One is stock, the other is a mild custom.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

426 ?

[Charger_Fan]

Probably 326.

[TruckDriver]

Actually I ment they are 400 cars. My bad, lol. Force of habit I guess. I corrected it now.I got a picture of his blue one, but not the white one.

[mikepmcs]

Beautiful Job!!!  Nice car.

[oldcarnut]

Thanks Guys  .  The wife has been real pleased driving it and satisfied she has her own car now.  I just hope she takes good care when out parking and while out and about at stores and work. It's going to be her full time regular transportation now. I'm 6'7" and it's a slightly a little tight for me room wise.  The 70 Chally I recently sold looks like the same size car but I had more room in it and sorta wish I hadn't sold it. It's kinda hard to think about how much work I put into this one and the possibility some smuck could wipe it all out  in a few seconds of stupidity  .  Reckon it could happen to any car and I have a hard time just having one to just sit in a garage and look at but still it makes me cringe at the possibility.  Maybe that's the difference between just buying one done and doing the work yourself.  Makes you appreciate it that much more.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Doing the work yourself does make a difference, atleast it has for me.   

[472 R/T SE]

Sweet ride.  Back in high school I had a guy want to trade his 326 powered Firechicken for my '70 250 /6 Camaro.  I always liked them.  I've actually been looking at verts like yours.

How's the /6 handle the A/C?  Can you really feel the compressor kick in?

[oldcarnut]

How's the /6 handle the A/C?  Can you really feel the compressor kick in?

So far from when I've used the a/c or defroster, it handles it fine.  I put a 4 core rad. in it and no temp. problems either.  I feel a slight draw at idle when it kicks in but probably because I don't have an idle solenoid switch hooked up to bump it up.  Other than that I can hear it turn on and off at higher rpms but that's the extent of it for anything real noticeable.  It's been around 70 deg lately but when it gets to summer temps and humidity later in the year I'll know for sure.  Seems like a good system and blows out a lot of air. I think I'll get another Vintage Air system for the SB clone, that is whenever that day comes way down the road  .

[Rolling_Thunder]

I6 OHC cam = 230hp

318ci V8 = 230hp...

coincidence ?