We pushed the car into the garage and I instantly began taking apart the engine. A few days later, the engine block was ready to be removed from the car. We soon found that it had spun a bearing and the engine would have to be replaced. Although we talked about a 350, that didn't seem like too wise of a choice at the time, with me being a young kid and gas prices on the rise. My dad had mentioned a small block Chevy 307 that he had given to my cousin to put in his 1970 Firebird many years before. The engine was originally in my dad's 1969 Impala, so I thought it was kind of neat how it was passed along. I freshened up the engine with new gaskets, oil pump, fuel pump, Edelbrock Performer Intake and the redone heads from the blown 305. The exhaust is run through Hooker Headers and a Dynomax Cat-back. Also included in the engine bay is a chrome high-amp alternator that my dad custom-built for me. He has his own alternator, starter, and generator shop and has been rebuilding for 37 years. See more at the ENGINE page.

Onto the body! I had always like the look of flames on custom cars and knew that I somehow wanted them on my car. I also liked the look of the phoenix on the hood. I decided to incorporate the two, since after-all it IS a FireBIRD right? I talked to one of my friend's dad's who is well known for his custom painting on cars and motorcycles. He said that if I drew up some sketches and chose a few colors that he would paint it for me. And paint he did! It took us about 3 months to do all the body work and paint. When we were doing the body work I chose to shave the antenna, door locks, rear wiper and rear squirter for a much cleaner look. The car turned out gorgeous. I can remember the first 2 weeks or so after getting it back I would just go out in the garage and stare at her. :) See more at the PAINT/BODY page.

After awhile I would collect enough money to buy various weather stripping pieces. The T-tops, door seals, hatch seal as well as small body gaskets like spoiler gaskets and mirror gaskets have all been replaced. I installed two new GM door handles and I also put a new set of grilles on the front as well as the amber turn signals. I also buffed each of the reflectors and taillights for an added shine. I replaced the stock hatch glass with one from a defroster-less one. I hated those stupid lines and knew I would never need a defroster anyway's. I also had a new windshield put in and put on a billet gas door. See more at the PAINT/BODY page.

As far as the interior goes, I changed the color from the factory tan, to gray. I used dyes where I could and had things recovered that needed recovered, like the seats. I found a mint condition console lid and dash pad and threw them all into the mix. I put in a new headliner as well as seatbelts from a 97 Trans Am. See more at the INTERIOR page.

As far as the stereo goes, I ran into a guy who had an excellent looking fiberglass box made for his 02 Trans Am. I later found out he was selling his car. I gave him a call and he said that he would sell it to me. So I picked that up and had it painted to match the interior as well as the flames on the outside of the car. I installed a set of 12" Alpine Type R's and a 600 watt Alpine mono amplifier into the box. I also made my own set of kick-panels to house the Alpine 6 1/2" component speakers. See more at the STEREO page.

I've only taken my car to one show so far and won a people's choice trophy. I was pretty surprised and will definitely be taking her to more shows this summer. Although she may look complete now, I still have a few plans; like a 4 point roll cage, racing harnesses, a nitrous bottle painted to match, as well as a larger engine. But none of that will not happen for awhile, at least not until I turn 19.

Questions or comments? Email me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to instant message me at: just call me ac.