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FBIRD69's 1969 Firebird

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My Grand Prix


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So, here it is. Assembled in Southgate CA, found in northern part of the state. Totally untouched and now it's here in north Queensland. The Qld Pontiac Car Club tells me that 2 came to Oz brand new back in '65 and were converted to right hand drive, so they're a rarity here. 

For anyone who's interested, we had a selection of locally produced Holdens, Falcons and Valiants, with a sprinkling of locally assembled Impalas, Galaxies and Phoenixes, but anything else too exotic for us had to be privately imported. We survived on a diet of 6 cylinder 4 door sedans and wagons which led to the development of some Australian muscle cars, all highly collectable now, but we never had much access to the sort of stylish over the top classics that you guys took for granted!

Anyway, over the years a lot of US classics have been imported and command big dollars. AUS$20k might get you a project like mine, but it's getting tougher. Australia insists that all asbestos is removed before the car is allowed to enter the country, so mine had the headlining removed and the brake shoes and exhaust gaskets had to be replaced before an asbestos clearance was issued.

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All I've done is strip the trashed interior and am assessing what rust repairs are needed. I made only one modification and that was to create exhaust cutouts in the rear bumper. It was with much apprehension that I tool to my classic car bumper with an angle grinder, but I did a careful job and I reckon that's how the car should have left the factory. What's the point having a factory installed twin exhaust and not advertising the fact? I will eventually instal a set of headers and 2.5" pipes and will exit the pipes only slightly, keeping the look sporty, but subtle.

That will be the ONLY modification. I'm fussy about keeping things original and the remainder of the car will retain as much of it's patina as possible. The saying goes that a car is only original once, so it'll remain rough around the edges - just the way I like it.

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Thanks Stewy-I'm very fussy when it comes to cars and I always loved the 'stacked headlight' Ponchos, in particular 65 & 66 models. When I learnt about the existence of a 2 door hardtop version (was originally looking at a 4 door Parisienne or Bonneville) I thought I'd never find one. A couple of weeks later, I saw this one advertised. I considered it to be a sign, so without any hesitation I bought it, after asking dozens of questions and requesting dozens of photos of course.

Even though it's just beginning it's resoration journey and can't be driven yet, I just love looking at it-it looks good just sitting there!

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Thanks for your comments everyone-don't be miffed if I haven't responded to you - I'm still trying to work out how to navigate the site and actually post things.

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6 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Thanks for your comments everyone-don't be miffed if I haven't responded to you - I'm still trying to work out how to navigate the site and actually post things.

Feel free to reach out if you need any help with our website. Happy to help! Can use the contact us: https://foreverpontiac.com/contact/

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