Turbocharged Pontiac Firebird proves that you don’t need to spend big money for big power.
This burnout comes to us from the Bmxer 300zx YouTube channel and it features an interesting Pontiac Firebird in action. The interesting aspect of this fourth-gen F-Body is that it is not powered by the LS1 that would have come from the factory in this car. Instead, it derives its power from a 4.8-liter LS truck engine that the owner found in a junkyard.
The Junkyard LS
The details are short, but we know that this Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is powered by a 4.8-liter LS V8 that the owner of the car got out of a junkyard. We don’t know whether it is the earlier LR4 engine or the newer LY2, but in stock form, it would have made somewhere between 260 and 300 horsepower, along with 295-305 lb-ft of torque
Evidently, the engine has more than 200,000 miles on it, but the owner decided that it was worthy of being part of a big boost project. The aging truck motor was fitted with a cheap GT45 turbo that was purchased on eBay. It also has “a bunch of other cheap parts”, but from an engine that cost $150, this Firebird is making over 500 horsepower.
Even if the supporting items needed to get the turbocharged 4.8-liter V8 cost $600, this Firebird owner still has less than a grand in the engine and he is enjoying 500 horsepower.
As the burnout begins, it doesn’t seem all that impressive, but after a few seconds, the huge turbocharger is spooled up and the boosted V8 is making peak power. The driver feathers the throttle, allowing us to hear the waste gate hiss as the LS V8 roars.
In the end, this Firebird roasts the tires for better than 20 seconds and it sounds incredible doing it, so crank up your speakers and enjoy!
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
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