| 1969 Pontiac Firebird Blake McIlwain, Houston, Texas |
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| click thumbnails for large view | |
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| De-panelling... | Re-panelling... |
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| Tire fitting | Inside scoop |
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| Roughed in | (sub)Framed! |
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| Nice axle! | Rendering |
| Blake's car is one of those cool home built projects that just kinda get under your skin, and make you want to go out and build one for yourself. He named the car "Project Phoenix", not only as an homage to the Firebird moniker, but because it shares much in common with the re-birth of the mythical avian creature, rising from the flames. Two and a half years ago, Blake took his wife and kids to look at the car, which he found in San Antonio on Lackland Air Force Base. Figuring he had done a fair job at inspecting the car, running a magnet, and looking under the car (which had been undercoated), he surmised that the floors were fairly solid, and that it was a decent car to do some minor work on and drive until a plan was finalized (and financially feasable). Nose-diving right for the fire, the car lost a cylinder on the ride home... Heading right for the hottest part of the flames, the Firebird revealed all kinds of neat secrets, including the ability to warp the laws of physics, and hold an entire undercarriage together with only a layer of undercoat. Lesser men have cried at this point, but Blake stepped back and formulated a plan. Replacing virtually every panel, save for the roof and cowl, the car received all new floors,trunk,rear frame rails,and almost everything in the Detroit Speed and Engineering catalog, including sub-frame connectors, firewall filler, roll cage and the great Speedkit 2 for the front suspension, (consisting of tubular upper and lower control arms and Koni coil- over shocks). Blake then added a Unisteer power rack and pinion and Wilwood 4- piston discs. For the rear it has a DSE mini tub kit with the Quadralink system attached to a Ford 9" axle with 31-spline and Wilwood 4-piston discs to finish it off. For a power plant he contacted Bowers Racing Engines in Colorado for a Merlin-based 540 with RHS heads and a billet full roller cam, lifters and rocker arms topped with a Victor intake and Quickfuel 950. The motor dyno'd a 751hp and 719 torque pull on pump gas. Blake adds that Bret Bowers is a great person to business with and builds a great product, and sings his praises religiously. Making use of all that power is a reverse manual valve body TH-400. The wheels are Billet Specialties Hustler's with BFG Drag Radials on the rear, and BFG G-Force KD's up front. Paint and body finish were masterfully handled, and Tangerine Pearl paint covers some subtle and slick mods like the flush-mounted front and rear glass, welded quarter-to-rocker seams and rear filler panel, and Blake's home-modified hood with hand-made scoop. Everything on the car, save for paint, engine and trans were done by Blake, including the slick dash panel, and modifying the Corbeau seaqt brackets to set the seats in an optimal position. We'll be adding to the photos here as time moves on, and wanted to share this killer, home-built car with you... as inspiration for guys in their garages everywhere, and just because it's so damn cool. |
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