Second Firebird Ever Built Heads Off to Mecum Kissimmee 2021 in Florida
Second Firebird to leave Detroit was the first coupe assembled, comes from personal collection of famous Cannonballer Richard Rawlings.
Caught off guard by Ford a few years earlier, General Motors decided to throw down against the Mustang with its own pony car, the Camaro. Meanwhile, Pontiac had been working on a two-seater sports car named Firebird. Fearing the flaming feathers would melt Corvette sales, though, GM made an offer: a pony car for Pontiac to help the General knock-off the horse and Mercury’s own big cat, the Cougar.
Thus, in 1967, the first Firebirds left Detroit to burn up the street. The very first was a convertible, followed by a coupe. According to AutoEvolution, the coupe will soon appear on the hot block of Mecum Kissimmee 2021.
Firebird No. 2 is currently owned by Richard Rawlings. The famed Cannonballer and host of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud restored the coupe to its major-auto-show appearance at his Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas. Rawlings found the Silverglaze bird with the first-ever Firebird living in Connecticut around 2014. Back then, both were owned by former Golden State Warriors center Charles “Chuck” Aleksinas.
The heart of the second-ever Firebird is its L76 326 V8. Topped by a Rochester four-barrel and linked to the rear via a four-speed manual, the small block V8 unleashed 285 horses upon unsuspecting competitors at the street light. With dual exhaust providing the soundtrack, everyone knew this bird was about to arrive in a blaze of glory.
Under the black vinyl roof, the matching black vinyl interior seats four ready for a night on the town. The red-and-chrome Pontiac arrow lives atop the green horn button within the chrome and black vinyl steering wheel. Meanwhile, the Hurst shifter waits to help row through the gears, power windows pull in the warm breeze, and the AM radio waits for the day rock ‘n’ roll returns to the dial.
Mecum expects this special Firebird to go for anywhere between $115,000 and $135,000 when it hits the block in Florida Saturday, January 16. Certainly a pretty penny for the first-ever coupe and second-ever Firebird to roll out of Detroit, but well worth it for whomever wins.
Photos: Mecum Auctions
Join the LS1Tech forums now!
