1970 Pontiac Firebird for sale

In the days before our modern 186-mph Y-rated tiresand#44; street tires were street tiresand#44; and race tires were race tiresand#44; and never the two shall meet - until the T/A. The B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A was the first American-made tire that was DOT ratedand#44; and also had SCCA approval for track competition. In order to prove the new tire had what it tookand#44; B.F. Goodrich looked for a team and a series to run a street tire in professional competition. They found a perfect partner in Terry Godsall and Jerry Titus T/G Racing. They had built a trio of Pontiac Firebirds for the 1970 season. At the end of the season papers were signedand#44; and the Firebirds became Tire Birds. This car was the third of three cars built by Jerry Titus T/G Racing for the 1970 Trans-Am season.

Driven by Canadian champion John Cordtsand#44; Don Pikeand#44; and Larry Dentand#44; this car was raced in Trans-Amand#44; the 24 Hours of Daytonaand#44; the 12 Hours of Sebringand#44; and SCCA events. B.F. Goodrich took stock T/As and shaved off half the tread and had them put on the 3and#44;200 lbs racecar. This Firebird eventually became the first production car to win a race using radial tires with a class win at Watkins Glen. At the 24 Hours of Daytona they moved up 14 places in the first 5 hoursand#44; but the 303 ci Pontiac V8 would let go early in the morning on Sundayand#44; ending their race. They proved their point thoughand#44; being the first street tire ever to run at Daytona.

After Daytona the Firebird would become a Camaro. The team had already convinced the SCCA to allow this car to run with a Chevrolet engine instead of the problematic Pontiac engine based on the fact that Canadian Firebirds could be delivered with Chevrolet engines. As a precaution the car was converted to Camaro bodywork in time for the 12 Hours of Sebring. It remained in Camaro trim for the remainder of its active racing career.

At the conclusion of Godsalls contract with B.F. Goodrich the car was sold to Alfie Ruys de Perezand#44; and was raced by him in the 1972 Trans-Am season with assistance from Mo Carters team. He recorded a top speed of 187 mph during his time with the car.

Its final professional stint would be with Canadian Don Clement who campaigned the car in IMSA and CSCC events. Don Clement would advertise the car for sale in February 1980.

This car has been restored to a very high concours standard by Trans-Am specialist Mark Mountanos and his team. The attention to detail down to the nut and bolt level is second to none. A huge collection of documentationand#44; historic photographsand#44; and interviews with Titus team members has insured a proper period correct restoration. The car has participated in just seven races since the restoration was complete including the Monterey Historics.

Today the car is in spectacular conditionand#44; fully sortedand#44; and race ready. Last owned by a prominent west coast collector and vintage racer it has always had top quality care and preparation. The car looks as if the restoration had been completed yesterday.

The car has only three race weekends since a complete race-prep. Tony Oddo built the Chevy engine which has only 12 hours of track timeand#44; and produced 485.1 hp and 377.6 torque on the dyno. The T10 transmission has been completely rebuilt by Tex Racing.

1970
Watkins Glenn Trans-Am - Cordts and#44; 22nd. (Goodyear tires)
Canadian Sedan Championshipand#44; Mosport - 3rdand#44; Cordts
Watkins Glenn SCCA National - Cordtsand#44; 1stand#44; A Sedanand#44; 2nd overall
(first production car to win a race using radial tires.)

1971
24 Hours of Daytona 24 - Cordtsand#44; Pike and#44; DNF
(converted to Camaro)
12 Hours of Sebring - Cordtsand#44; Pikeand#44; DNF
Bridgehampton SCCA - Dentand#44; 2nd
Cumberland SCCA -