After taking a short break from presenting custom muscle cars to serve us some truck and Hot Rod side dishes, Shawn Davis and his AutotopiaLA YT channel are back with a bang. A restomod Pontiac one.
Sure, there was the occasional 750-hp 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport replica by Superformance in between all the quirky treats. But we still thoroughly enjoyed the braking of the norm as they played with stuff like a non-average bagged C30 turbo diesel dually shop truck. Or the one time when our jaws dropped at the sight of a Lincoln V8-powered 1946 Ford Willys Jeep “beach cruiser.”
Now, back to present times, it’s the right moment for something that’s become emblematic for this channel. Not the ‘73 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am per se, but the idea of seeing an old car brought back to its former glory with a bit of help from contemporary technology. And then use it to have some plain old fun. In Shawn’s description: a “perfect restomod.”
That’s exactly what this latest episode gives us. Even if one isn’t a GM aficionado, the overall build quality, attention to detail, and the fact that it uses an LS6 (sorry, old Pontiac engine fans but it’s really good) with plenty of power should still be considered enough. Enough to get our attention up through the roof, while checking the classic chapters: presentation, interior, and – above all – the drive/ride part.
So, everything falls neatly into their Firebird place. Including the peek under the hood to see what the LS6 fuss is all about. That would be some 425-wheel horsepower that gets sent to a Moses 10-bolt rear end through a Tremec T-56 transmission. It rides and drives marvelously, mostly because we are dealing with a full Ridetech front and rear suspension setup. And chunky Baer brakes (with Pontiac lettering).
As for the rest of the story... Well, better jump to check out the interior (at 2:53), then go for a ride-along (at 4:30), and don’t forget to stay until the very end of the video (embedded below). Of course, there’s a traditional burnout from the 7:23 mark. Or, rather, a couple of them!
Now, back to present times, it’s the right moment for something that’s become emblematic for this channel. Not the ‘73 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am per se, but the idea of seeing an old car brought back to its former glory with a bit of help from contemporary technology. And then use it to have some plain old fun. In Shawn’s description: a “perfect restomod.”
That’s exactly what this latest episode gives us. Even if one isn’t a GM aficionado, the overall build quality, attention to detail, and the fact that it uses an LS6 (sorry, old Pontiac engine fans but it’s really good) with plenty of power should still be considered enough. Enough to get our attention up through the roof, while checking the classic chapters: presentation, interior, and – above all – the drive/ride part.
So, everything falls neatly into their Firebird place. Including the peek under the hood to see what the LS6 fuss is all about. That would be some 425-wheel horsepower that gets sent to a Moses 10-bolt rear end through a Tremec T-56 transmission. It rides and drives marvelously, mostly because we are dealing with a full Ridetech front and rear suspension setup. And chunky Baer brakes (with Pontiac lettering).
As for the rest of the story... Well, better jump to check out the interior (at 2:53), then go for a ride-along (at 4:30), and don’t forget to stay until the very end of the video (embedded below). Of course, there’s a traditional burnout from the 7:23 mark. Or, rather, a couple of them!