The third generation of the Pontiac Firebird was produced from 1982 to 1992, and the Trans Am GTA couldn’t do better than 240 horsepower from 5.7 liters of displacement for the final model year. Be that as it may, the strip-slaying pony we’ll cover today is far from a bone-stock affair. As the headline implies, a junkyard LS and a thumpin’ turbo are on the menu.
Bought for the not-so-princely sum of $100 with a cracked piston, the 5.3-liter truck engine is perfect for high-performance mods because the cast-iron block can take a lot of abuse. The heads, lifters, and camshaft were sourced from blown-up motors, and the boosty snail comes courtesy of Forced Inductions. Excluding the cooling system, piping, heat shielding, and all that jazz, the turbocharger alone is worth more than the LS swap.
Described as nothing more than a backup engine, the eight-cylinder lump is complemented by a cowled hood and a set of chunky drag radials. Although it looks like a shadow of its former self, the Firebird is no slouch at 8.861 seconds at 153.95 mph (248 kph) across the quarter-mile.
The owner mentions his main engine is a turbocharged 4.8-liter V8, probably referring to the Vortec 4800 offered by General Motors until the 2017 model year in the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. Believe it or not, this bad boy can dip into the 8.6-second range with it.
Filmed at the Muncie Dragway in October 2020, the home-brew drag racer has also posted a few solid passes on the eighth-mile against stiff competition with more expensive and professional builds. At most, the junkyard-engined Pontiac posted 5.658 and 5.673 seconds, respectively.
If you’re planning on building a Firebird for the blacktop as well, you’re in luck because you don’t need more than $4,000 for the donor vehicle. As long as the F-Body chassis is still in good nick, the possibilities are virtually endless.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News