67 326 Firebird

[aintright]

I never owned one , but a friend did . It was a sharp car and very similar to the Camaro . Just didn't have the juice the 350 300 had though .
We raced once and I ate him up in a Camaro , but I always like the looks of that car . It resembled the Camaro , but at certain angles I always thought it had a little of the 70 GTO profile to it in the front quartered toward you .
Anybody here own one ? How did yours run ?
Kenneth

[Major Tom]

Using my 'Way back Machine' a friend had one and thought it would out run anything. That is until we 'drag raced' our cars and I beat him hands down, several times. BTW, my car was a 1964 Chevelle SS with the 300 HP 327 CI motor.

[aintright]

The Chevelles were sharp cars too . The 327 300 was the second engine in that Camaro . Hobbled around on crutches , got her running , put new clutch , pressure plate and throw out bearing in . Opened the breathing up a little with headers and a high rise with 780 Holley . She hit a pretty good lick for what it was .
Kenneth

[jon_norstog]

Best thing happened to the Firebird was when they started putting a small block Chevy engine in it.

jn

[Allen]

I like big blocks. In 1972 the rated HP dropped by about 1/2 due to all the insurance claims. They also started rating the HP at the rear wheels instead of the crank so the actual drop wasn't quite so severe. Anyway, 1971 was the last year of the muscle cars back then and unfortunately most of the Firebirds and Trans Ams that had big blocks were during these years of aneimic HP. Though the urge was there to replace the pistons and cam to make the engine what it should have been most of the gas companies after the fake energy crisis never made the 100+ octane fuels again so most people just left well enough alone. The last T/A to have the large engine was 1979. If you bought the manual trans the engine would have been the 400 (derived from the old Pontiac 389). If you bought one with the auto trans it was the 403 Oldsmobile engine. Both were decaled 6.6 liter on the hood scope.

[holdover]

I had a '67 with a 400 4 speed, silver with a black interior, restored it in 1980 kept it till the 90s. Ran strong about like my 67 Mustang 390 4 speed FB. But my favorite classic was my '65 mustang 289/ 271 HP 4 speed FB. with a lighter engine and the Shelby conversion to the A frame location it ran great and handled as well. There all gone now, replaced with 4 Model A Fords.. But I still have my hot rod a 1984 Mazda RX7 with a built 302/ 5 speed with '95 Corvette front and rear end, ZO6 wheels, Z rated tires. Fastest car I have ever owned, the weight and HP ratio makes it a fun car to drive, plan on putting twin turbos on it to go for a 200MPH jacket at East Coast Timing Association.

[leftyo]

I had a '67 with a 400 4 speed, silver with a black interior, restored it in 1980 kept it till the 90s. Ran strong about like my 67 Mustang 390 4 speed FB. But my favorite classic was my '65 mustang 289/ 271 HP 4 speed FB. with a lighter engine and the Shelby conversion to the A frame location it ran great and handled as well. There all gone now, replaced with 4 Model A Fords.. But I still have my hot rod a 1984 Mazda RX7 with a built 302/ 5 speed with '95 Corvette front and rear end, ZO6 wheels, Z rated tires. Fastest car I have ever owned, the weight and HP ratio makes it a fun car to drive, plan on putting twin turbos on it to go for a 200MPH jacket at East Coast Timing Association.

depending on what "built" is, probably a small single turbo will get you there. in something light like that ,might not need much more than 700hp to do 200 in ohio.

[Tuna]

Ah yes the 271 HP 289. Ford only gave a 90 day warrantee on that engine. Shelby took that engine and changed the intake to an aluminum intake with a Holly four barrel. Added a set of headers and the engine was rated at 306 HP. Those were the days
of our youth.

[Ken The Kanuck]

We picked up a work truck for my son a couple of weeks ago, a 2018 Dodge Ram 1500. I was surprised to hear it has 390 odd horse.

I had a 72 Mustang ragtop but it had a pussy of an engine.

Favourite car of my youth was a 66 Marlin, that was sweet but again a pussy of an engine.

KTK

[Darreld Walton]

I spent a bit of time driving a 326 Firebird. It 'felt' a lot like a 351 Windsor Ford in a Mustang to me. A lot of weight up front in the Pontiac, but it still handled well over the road, and for someone who knew it's limitations and was willing to put up with that level of performance, it was a neat little car. No 'slouch', but it also struggled to do much more than chirp the tires. The 'upside' was that it was a simple bolt for bolt swap to drop in anything else with the B-O-P bellhousing, and my friend, IIRC, ended up with a very stout 455 to replace the 326. Until he got the rest of the car sorted out, the poor little car would do little more than fry one tire while the rear axle bounced around.
The 'quickest' 326 I had was in a 63 Tempest, the one with the engine up front, and the torque converter and transmission in the 'trunk' connected via a long solid driveshaft. Independent rear end, but the suspension in the two door that I had wasn't very sophisticated, and I didn't think that it handled all that well. It was quick, but a two barrel 289 with a three speed manual in something like a Falcon or Mustang would eat it's lunch at a stop light.
Seems like the Firebirds were always set up to be a road car, much like the Cougar. A lot more comfortable than a Camaro, quieter, heavier, but looked good doing it.
I grew up on Fords, and have continued to buy the brand for 50+ years. My most 'fun' vehicle was a 67 GT Mustang, 330 hp 390, 4 speed, with a locker in the rear. It was set up for the stop light drags, and would cause you to soil yer knickers if you encountered a sharp turn 'at speed'.
Fastest ride I'd been in for many, many years was a 72 Pantera that a friend in the USAF owned when I was stationed at Malmstrom AFB, back when Montana had no speed limit. We headed up I-15 out of Great Falls, and the kid driving asked what it felt like to be doing a buck sixty with my ass somewhere around five inches above the road surface, and before I could respond, he hammered that 351 Cleveland, and then grabbed fifth gear.... The memory of that ride came back last year when my son pulled up in his new Mustang, the one with the five litre "Coyote" and six speed.
Oh, Ken, last summer, I noticed that a neighbor has an AMC Marlin parked in front of his house. Hadn't seen one of those for a lot of years!
The best 'sleeper' I owned was an early AMC Hornet two door sedan that originally had a 304 and auto. It ended up with a fairly 'warm' 401, and a very quiet exhaust. Always wanted a set of personalized plates that read "Q Ship" for that car.

[holdover]

I really love speed, but can respect what it can do if not handled correctly or it gets out of control, 40+ years of Fire & rescue has shown me some tragic accidents. With the availability of 200 mph cars and bikes out of a showroom, there are many accidents due to misuse. My concept is not how fast you go , but how fast it will go. It is all about bragging rights. For my 65 th birthday I purchased a 412 HP 5.0 Mustang 6 speed, nice car, faster than my '67 390 FB, my '65 289/271 FB, my '95 Vette and a number of other toys I have owned. The only vehicle I have owned that is faster is the '84 RX7 conversion mentioned above. But it sure rides and and handled nice. Would love to have a worked over Coyote 5.0 in a '65 Mustang FB with a worked over suspension, maybe sometine before I leave this planet

[Sako]

My first car was a 67 factory 4 speed 400 FireBird hardtop , one of 3000 made that year in that configuration. Sold the car in 1982 to pay off the hospital when my first son was born. My kids purchased the car and gave it back to me for my 58th birthday last year.
I am going to do a full restoration on it even though doing such is a poor investment. The fella that I sold it to put in a positrack differential and a 428 Pontiac engine. It will break the tires loose in three gears and it is real easy to get out of shape. Actually kind of hard not to unless I put more tire on it.
I wouldn't give it a high rating for handling in the curves, handled as good as any at high speed on the straight away.
The car ran good with the original 400cid and was really something to own when I was 16 in 1974. Man those were some fun times.
Earned the money to buy the car by swathing hay as a kid, it was already a high mileage car when I first bought it.

[Bill E]

Don't be to hasty in getting rid of the 428 or the differential. Modified stock looking cars have been appreciating in price recently and have gained a lot of following at the auctions.

[Former Cav]

some guy at Ft Cartoon (Carson) CO had a 67 Firebird with the OHC 6.
It would beat my 61 chevy impala bubbletop witha 283-2V and a "glide"
Wish I still had that car, they are worth 50 K now even with "just a 283 and a PG"

[Allen]

some guy at Ft Cartoon (Carson) CO had a 67 Firebird with the OHC 6.
It would beat my 61 chevy impala bubbletop witha 283-2V and a "glide"
Wish I still had that car, they are worth 50 K now even with "just a 283 and a PG"

Always liked that year, even back then, and they seemed to be scarce back then too. They were more desirable with the 348 and 409 engines which were unique. The '58's-'61's had more style I think. Couldn't stand the cigar box '64 Chevy's though.

[leftyo]

Always liked that year, even back then, and they seemed to be scarce back then too. They were more desirable with the 348 and 409 engines which were unique. The '58's-'61's had more style I think. Couldn't stand the cigar box '64 Chevy's though.

imo the 58 Impala is probably the coolest old chevy.

[Former Cav]

imo the 58 Impala is probably the coolest old chevy.
Almost like they took a que from the 57 Cadillac.
Some guys will say the 57 Impala was the best.... Probably more of them on the street today then were produced and they are all RED with a 283 FI !!
I like the 55, 56, and 61 Bubble top the best. I didn't like the teardrop taillights of the 59. The 60 was better. 61 GREAT (bubble top not slab top), the 62 bubble top looked funny with the box lower body like on the 62, 3, 4. 65 was another good year. After that... PFFFT

[leftyo]

Almost like they took a que from the 57 Cadillac.
Some guys will say the 57 Impala was the best.... Probably more of them on the street today then were produced and they are all RED with a 283 FI !!
I like the 55, 56, and 61 Bubble top the best. I didn't like the teardrop taillights of the 59. The 60 was better. 61 GREAT (bubble top not slab top), the 62 bubble top looked funny with the box lower body like on the 62, 3, 4. 65 was another good year. After that... PFFFT

only there was no 57 Impala.

[Allen]

only there was no 57 Impala.

10-4. '57 was a Bel Air. '58 was the first year for the Impala.

[holdover]

It seems like all on this thread are car guys, Many of you might not know that you can watch the barrett jackson sales by signing up at their web site then logging in when the sale is on. No talking heads and no commercials, just the auction feed. I read that as a condition for the cable companies to broadcast their sale, they retain the right for people to access it on the internet. I do not have cable and it works great for me,

[Allen]

Thanks for the info. I think most of us are car guys because when we were growing up body styles changed almost every year. Come September there was a lot of excitement to see what Ford, GM or Chrysler had come out with. The cars used to be transported covered up till the release date. It wasn't just the looks it was as much the new gadgets the cars had. Now days cars don't change much and only get a new body about every 10 years. As a result though, they don't depreciate as quickly.

As far as the car auctions go I personally have a Direct TV Genie which is a DVR. I record the shows and FF through all the thousands of commercials, yaking and auctions that don't interest me. I can watch a 3hr program in about 20 minutes that way. By the time you've seen the 200th 1969 Camaro, 350, no a/c, auto trans vehicle it starts to get a little old.

[Former Cav]

10-4. '57 was a Bel Air. '58 was the first year for the Impala.
yep, you are correct, I was thinking impala but not the years.
Bel Air and Biscayne. By the way, I did see a 61 Biscayne BUBBLE TOP here in Phoenix AZ at the Pavillion car show. Red of course. Nice car.
Guy said there were only a couple thousand of them made. I can't remember what engine/tranny he had in it.

[Darreld Walton]

The parts, pieces, electronics and suspension upgrades are all available to put that 5.0 Coyote crate motor into a 65 Stang....all it takes is cubic money. A LOT less money to keep and drive that 5.0 Mustang that you have, turn on the air, the tunes, set the speed, and enjoy.........

- - - Updated - - -


Ah yes the 271 HP 289. Ford only gave a 90 day warrantee on that engine. Shelby took that engine and changed the intake to an aluminum intake with a Holly four barrel. Added a set of headers and the engine was rated at 306 HP. Those were the days
of our youth.

And a lumpy, solid lifter cam with better ratio rocker arms....