Pontiac Enthusiast September/October 1999
Courtesy of Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine
It
was the third race of the 1996 season and I was doing quite well in the
points standings. It was one of those days I really don't like to be on
the track, as it was raining at Portland International Raceway and I had
a car that was really squirrely on anything but a dry surface. On a dry
track, though, this 1992 Firehawk Firebird is devastating. Qualifying
went well. I started in the middle of the pack with the Firehawk, though
it is usually a scary place to be on a wet start.
Pregrid was a busy place just before the start, as the rain had stopped and
some racers were changing their minds with regard to tires. I ran on shaved
radicals and decided to stay with this setup. It didn't matter. The Firehawk
requires a very light touch to keep pointed in the right direction. The pace
lap saw the start of the rain yet again, visibility was poor, and the wipers
were working hard to combat the spray coming off 25 closely packed cars.
At the start, I could feel my pulse pounding as the first turn awaited my
arrival. We all made it, though a couple of cars have gone off in the grass,
but nothing major. The race settled into a slow pace; a lot of cars were
doing agricultural work, plowing up grass. The straight was an experience
at 100-plus mph. The car danced, nervously working to find traction.
Turn six at Portland is just a light curve onto the back straight, but there
is a bump. The bump got me that day. I just got on the gas and around it
went, once very fast, again a little slower, I tried to catch it, but alas,
I went around again. A frantic but well-timed correction saved me from hitting
the wall. I was still on the track going sideways spinning around the corner
of my eye just as I came to a stop. He also stopped, just inches from T-boning
me; disaster was avoided. This is club racing, SCCA-style, and I do it in a
1992 Firehawk, a former IMSA race car that has a lot more track experience
than I do.
My first introduction to the Firehawk Firebird came from the usual source, a car
magazine back in 1991. I have been an F-body lover since the very first one came
out in 1967. The idea of a limited-production performance Firebird sounded like
an echo of the late 1960's when dealer-modified Pontiacs and other muscle cars
roamed the streets. These were the ones that had the performance edge. They
went like a bat out of hell, but look out - the handling and brakes were scary.
It took a lot of years of pretty dull stuff from Detroit, but things did finally
come around. The third-generation cars were a step in the right direction but a
little weak in the go department.
As the 1990's got started, so did the search for more power. The third-generation
Firebirds offered a wonderful platform to build on. It was a good start for the
special project that Ed Hamburger and his company, Street Legal Performance, had
in mind. SLP had a good relationship with GM, as SLP had developed emissions-legal
performance packages for the 305 and 350 engines. The packages included headers,
exhaust system, enlarged intake runners, and a new chip for the computer. They were
available in the GM performance parts catalog and could even be installed by the
dealer - shades of the old Royal Bobcats.
SLP wanted more then just a couple of pages in the catalog, so the GM connection got
SLP access to Firebirds directly from the Van Nuys assembly plant. These were not
just any Firebirds, but 1LEs with the 350, an automatic, and something unique to
1LEs: air conditioning. They were the only 1LEs so-equipped.
The 1LE package was born on the race track and it worked well, as evidenced by the
success record Firebirds enjoyed in the IMSA and SCCA competition. It took a little
work though, as the brakes normally fitted to third-generation Firebirds were in need
of upgrading. The 1LE package did just that and included 12-inch rotors working with
twin-piston PBR calipers. The package also included suspension upgraded, a twin pickup
fuel tank to help curb fuel starvation, and an aluminum drive shaft.
The 1LEs went to Toms River, New Jersey, for modification into Firehawks. The original
plan was to produce 250 cars for 1992. The actual production came out to only six for
1991 and 25 for 1992. It is likely the price of near $40, 000 kept production low. The
price was in the range of the Corvette, which is one of the cars the Firehawk was aiming
for. The Firehawk was also targeting the ZR-1 Acura NSX, Lotus , and Porsche 930. The
cars have a dedicated following, something hard to compete with.
The specific Firehawk package was a major make over for the 1LE Firebird Formulas,
starting with the engine. The heavy-duty 350 block had GM "pink" rods, hypereutectic
pistons, and a well-massaged set of aluminum heads, as well as specific cam and springs.
The automatic transmission was replaced with the German-built ZF 6-speed, the same used
in the ZR-1. The 390 lbs.-ft. Of torque led to the replacement of the stock differential
with a Dana 44.
The suspension was upgraded with application-specific shocks, springs, and sway bars, and
the wheels were replaced with 17x9-inch Ronals with Firestone 257/50-17s. There really
was a lot to this car for the money. A competition package could be had for another
$10,000. It included Brembo brakes with monster 13-inch rotors (the same used in just
the F-40 Ferrari), a roll bar, Recaro seats, and a trick aluminum hood, a la the Super
Duty era. The Recaro seats were a big improvement over the stock units, which lacked
side bolsters to keep the driver behind the wheel.
As impressed as I was with all the Firehawk had to offer, I could not step up for
that price tag, so I ended up with a 1992 1LE Camaro, which at the time, was much more
obtainable then the Firebirds. The car was a lot of fun on my club's open-track days
at Portland International. I have run many laps at PIR, having raced back in the
mid-1980's, and could really feel the race-bred heritage of the 1LE package. The car
had a 305 V8 with the 5-speed manual transmission and was fitted with all of SLP
upgrades available from the GM catalog. I was at least enjoying some of Ed Hamburger's
good stuff, even though it wasn't a Firehawk. The difference was noticeable between my
lap times of 1:30 around the 1.905-mile road course compared to a 1991 Z/28 Camaro with
the stock 305 V8 at 1:34.
Fast-forward two years to the 1994 SEMA show in Las Vegas. A black Firebird in the
Pontiac exhibit caught my eye. I struck up a conversation with the man who would set
me on that path to owning a Firehawk, Mark Hitchins, then the Firebird Engineering
Manager and now Medial Relations Manager. He let me in on a special Firebird that
was in the works; it sounded great. The fall of 1995 came and the 1LE Camaro was gone,
and in its place was a new 1996 WS-6 Trans Am. I had hoped the Trans Am would be a step
up in performance from the 1LE Camaro. The WS-6 was soon put to the test at PIR and I
was disappointed. The brakes were just not up to it, and the extra weight negated the
horsepower difference. The laps times were 1:29s. The car was nice to drive for
everyday use but lacked the edge of the 1LE package.
The 1995 SMA show rolled around and I made plans to spend a couple of days in
automotive nirvana again. In a move that sealed my fate, Mark Hitchins introduced
me to Jim Mattison of Pontiac Historic Services. After relating my experiences with
the WS-6, Jim told me he thought I needed a race car not a street car. How fortuitous
that he owned one of the two 1992 Firehawks made for IMSA Supercar series. I had done
some production class road racing in the past that the wheels in my mind started to
turn. How could I convince my wife that having a 1992 Firehawk IMSA race car was a
good idea? When Jim invited me to Michigan to see the car and tour Pontiac, I knew
I was hooked.
Jim Mattison gave me a very fascinating tour of Pontiac's Historical Collection and
some of the interesting sights at Pontiac Headquarters when I traveled to Michigan to
see the car. It was a retired IMSA racer that SLP supported. Rick Shay Racing
campaigned the car in 1992 and 1993 in the IMSA Supercar series. Rick was an employee
of SLP. IMSA Supercar was set up as a showcase for the manufacturers to show off their
best in road-racing competition. The class was full of Porches, BMWs, Corvettes,
Lotuses and two Firehawks driven by Larry Shumacher and Mike Gagliardo. The competition
was very tough, with big names such as Hans Stuck in the factory Lotus, Pontiac engineers
helped out with the effort, and with SLP engineer Chuck Jenckes, they had a competitive
car. Although there were no wins, the team had some thirds, and in 1993 they finished
fifth overall, just behind the factory Porche and Lotus teams. I saw the cars race at
PIR in July of 1993, and I think Mike finished sixth that day. I even remember seeing
the Firehawks on TV several times. They really were in the hunt and ran in the front
pack most races.
After a fascinating day at Pontiac Headquarters, Jim took me back to his house. The
garage door opened and there was a beautiful red racer, #26. The preparation was
first-rate. Opening the hood revealed a prototype T-Ram intake. It was made from a
tunnel-ram intake with cast-in injector bosses and fabricated aluminum intake plenum.
The air intake is all fabricated aluminum and the stock unit is made of plastic.
There is an oil cooler and a large-capacity radiator. The engine, I found out later,
has a very trick (supposedly stock) cam, as this was a production class. The
suspension is minus all of the rubber, which was replaced with metal bushings and
helm joints. The sway bars are something you would find on a NASCAR stocker - all
fully adjustable. The car even has adjustable screws for ride height. The braking
system is Brembo up front with 12-inch rotors out back with adjustable brake bias.
The stock master cylinder and clutch have been replaced with a Tilton setup, which
has separate front and rear cylinders. This allows a little extra margin of safety.
Another NASCAR trick is the Dana rear axle with 1.5 degrees of negative camber.
This was done by rewelding the axle tubes. The roll cage was a nice piece of work,
much safer-looking then in my first race car. An onboard fire system and a real
drivers's seat with lots of gauges to monitor temperature of oil, water, and even
the rear end make the interior all business. There are no comforts to be found;
they were all removed to make the car light as possible. The car weighs in at a
little over 3,100 pounds, about 200 pounds lighter than stock. Since this car was
taken as a bare shell off the line, it doesn't have any sealers or sound deadeners.
This is referred to as a "body in white." Racers like starting with these shells
because it's so much easier then stripping a production car.
I bought the car and had it shipped. It arrived just in time for an SCCA driver's
school, so I had very little time to get to know the car before I was flying down
the main straight at PIR. It was a very different experience from a fast street
car. This thing really had brakes, the kind that you could haul the car down with;
the kind of stopping power that pulls you up out of your seat against the belts.
The sounds and feel were so different with no rubber; everything is transmitted
"right now, " and response to steering is very quick. The IMSA-spec exhaust had
to be changed to include some race mufflers. I had been warned that 110 db would
not be allowed. The straightaway speed was a blast. It just kept accelerating
all the way to over 150 mph. It is exhilarating to say the least!
I passed my school and was now ready for the novice program. They like to watch
over you. You have to prove yourself before they let you run in the regular run
groups. My season went well with few major mechanical problems. I really learned
the lesson "to win you first must finish." Several races had me grouped with faster
tube-framed purpose-built race cars that were much faster. It is interesting to see
a late-model Trans Am Camaro come zipping by on the straight when you think you are
flying. Consistency and reliability resulted in several wins and the championship in
Super Production class for 1996. The rain-soaked wild ride notwithstanding, I had a
great year. I got to know the car quite well through the year, improved my lap times,
and refined my setup.
An opportunity to take passengers at an open-track play day was an experience for
several friends who really thought they had been in fast cars. It was not the speed
but the brakes and cornering power that had their eyes popping. This even mixed fast
street and race cars in on group. The chance to run with Corvettes and a Viper GTS
was an eye-opener. The Viper was fast down the straight but no match in the curvy
stuff. I was given a chance to drive a Viper and found it to be a handful in the
corners, not well-balanced, but wow- the power was a kick. The Firehawk really is
an easy car to go fast in.
The opportunity to talk with the builders of the car has given me a great deal of
information on setup. Sometimes all the adjustability can be a little complicated.
A number of the stories about its race history have been really interesting. At one
time the car had an all-aluminum engine, but the team had reliability problems, which
lead to a DNF, so they returned to cast-iron blocks. I've wondered what it must have
been like to run the car on the high banks of Daytona. I was told the car ran over
170 mph as it slammed against the banking. What a thrill that would be. I will have
to just make do with PIR's long front straight.
Another chapter is in the works for my Firebird story: a 1997 Hurst Firebird by
Lingenfelter (one of nine produced) now resides next to the Firehawk. The race car
has been sitting silent under its cover now that I have the desire to do other projects
with some first-generation F-body cars. Maybe the race car needs a new home.