Pontiac firebird gto 19694/25/2024 ![]() 48 heads received Ferrea 2.11/1.77 stainless steel valves, new valvesprings, stock-replacement pushrods, and stock-replacement 1.5:1 stamped-steel rockers. He bored the code-WQ 400 0.030 over and installed a ready-to-rock rotating assembly, consisting of a Pontiac crankshaft (turned 0.010/0.010), Ross pistons, stock polished-beam rods, and a Mellings "744" stock-replacement camshaft with 301/313 degrees duration and 0.413/0.413-inch lift. Richard pulled the entire drivetrain, including the rear axle and rear leaf springs, media-blasted the engine bay, subframe, and undercarriage then taped them off and applied PPG DP90 Epoxy primer. "The '69 Comanche that Early Birds had put me in touch with still had its original two-tone paint, so through detailed photographs, we were able to correctly document the exact locations of the fender stripes and Kamm tail color for my car," Steve adds.Įngine bay, undercarriage, and mechanical restoration followed. Afterwards, I masked off the areas and painted the off-white Kamm tail and front-fender stripes, again with Dupont products," he says. Then I wet-sanded the entire car, starting with Norton 1,000-grit and progressed to 2,500-grit, followed by buffing using 3M products. "I scuffed the paint, and then applied two coats of Dupont ChromaBase in Expresso Brown, followed by four coats of Dupont 7900S ChromaClear. "Three floorpan sections and the lower trunk pan were replaced due to water damage," according to Richard, followed by repainting the top surfaces-the Comanche hood, Endura nose, front valance, filler panel, upper rear quarters, decklid, and rear tail panel. That constituted a minimal amount of metal work. "The Comanche's paintwork was still very presentable, so Steve and I decided to only redo what needed to be done to make the car a nice showy driver, without blowing the car completely apart," he says. Steve asked his brother, Richard Johns, owner/operator of Pure Stock Auto Restorations (in Mount Brydges, Ontario, to execute the restoration. Even the original two-piece brake rotors and ball joints were still in place." The engine bay's appearance had been neglected, however everything was largely intact, with no rust issues. Its original interior was complete, but worn and in need of replacement. ![]() The body had been repainted in the late '80s, in its original color, and it was in nice condition, too, however, the white Kamm tail and fender stripes had not been reapplied to the car. "Its undercarriage had been undercoated when new, which resulted in the frame and floors being clean, at least by Canadian standards. "This Comanche was in very good condition for its age," Steve recalls. Grant passed away at an early age in June 1991." He had an entente with General Motors that it would not produce any like automobiles for other dealerships. was conceived as a vehicle to differentiate Grant Hamilton Pontiac from other General Motors dealerships. In 1967, he purchased the building of Parkway Pontiac on the outskirts of Montreal. was instrumental in introducing the '64 Tri-Power GTO to the Montreal market. "Grant participated in many types of automotive challenges, such as rallies, circuit racing, and gymkhanas. Subsequent research put Steve in contact with Chris Wilkin, the nephew of Grant Hamilton, who was a salesman at Grant Hamilton Pontiac and personally sold Comanche Firebirds when new. "Whether my Comanche was built as the ultimate dealer-showroom display or was special-ordered for a wealthy customer is unknown, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any options on the sales-order form that were left out," he says. ![]() His was optioned with all the qualities one should attribute to the tribe's chief, as evidenced by its L74 400 H.O./RA-III engine, M21 close-ratio four-speed transmission, 3.90 Safe-T-Track, power driver seat, power windows, and AM/FM radio. In the interior, they added a Sun SuperTach 8,000-rpm tachometer, which the techs mounted below the dash.Ĭomparing his Comanche against both the one detailed in the vintage article and the one he had seen in person, Steve determined that his rare Firebird was more than just a documented member of this new tribe of grand touring, limited-edition F-bodies. Other dealer modifications included a "twin-snorkel" air cleaner, high-speed driving lights, Marchal 653 foglamps, hoodpins, chromed hood inserts, chrome-diecast Comanche emblems, front/rear Koni shocks, special suspension (specs unknown), and Pirelli Cinturato radial tires. Grant Hamilton Pontiac's bodyshop painted the tail panel off-white, which the staff dubbed the "Kamm tail," and added white stripes coming out of the front fender louvers. To convert each of these special-ordered, specific-optioned Firebirds into a Comanche took approximately one week.
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