Description:

Up for sale is my 1998 Pontiac Firebird Formula finished in bright silver metallic paint.  The body of the car has around 79,000 original miles but the drivetrain has been significantly modified.  I have owned this car for 15 years since purchasing it in 2008.  I am only the second owner of this vehicle.  Before reading any further, it’s important to note that this is not a car you should be considering if you’re looking for a daily driver. The drivetrain has been modified and features like the stereo system, air conditioning, and airbags have been removed.  When I last had this car registered and insured in 2016, I was primarily using it to cruise to car shows and local car club meets and I would drag race it on the weekends and at Midnight Madness events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The car is currently running but it has some needs before it’s going to be street or track ready again. While I would love to keep this car and continue to enjoy it, that’s just not in the cards right now due to my work schedule and family commitments. 

Suspension:

The suspension has a mix of suspension components from Spohn, BMR, UMI, and Founders Performance. The car has upgraded lower control arms, panhard bar, torque arm, transmission crossmember, subframe connectors, Competition Engineering rear shocks, and a custom driveshaft by Adams Driveshaft.

Transmission:

The car is currently set up with a TH400 transmission with a 3,000 RPM stall speed converter.  The transmission has a deep aluminum pan on it which I believe is by B&M and the shifter is a B&M Pro Stick fitted to the factory console. 

Engine:  

I’ve had the car together and running since 2018 but many commitments have kept me from “finishing” it.  Had my wife not recently gotten a new car that she wants to keep in the garage I probably would have kept the Formula until I could use it again, but I currently have to park it outside so it needs to go to a new home before it gets ruined sitting out.  The car has been garage kept for the 15 years I’ve owned it. 

The current engine is a low mileage 5.3 liter I sourced from a friend’s wrecked Silverado.  I had Fultz’s Machine Shop in Las Vegas go through the bottom end and regap all of the piston rings as this is a turbo car. Fultz’s also did all of the head work for the engine. The head service included inspection, cleaning, and resurfacing of the cylinder heads, an inspection of the valves along with a 3-angle valve job, new valve seals, and installation of Brian Tooley Racing .660 lift Platinum valve springs with lightweight retainers. The rockers are fitted with Tick Performance bronze bushings. 

CBR Performance Products Turbo Hotside with 4” Downpipe 

Turbonetics TC78 Turbo

JGS400 Wastegate

Turbowerx Exa-Pump Oil Scavenge Pump

3” Coldside with an air to air intercooler

TurboSmart Race Port BOV

Coolingmist Methanol Injection

CBR Performance Alternator Relocation

CBR Performace Power Steering relocation with Turn One PS Pulley

Tick Performance Stage 2 Turbo Camshaft for 5.3

New lifters, lifter buckets, pushrods, timing set, and Melling oil pump

Holley Single Plane Intake

6061 Intake Elbow

100mm Throttle Body

Holley Fuel Rails

Siemens Deka 80 lb/hr fuel injectors

The car has a fuel pressure gauge and wideband O2 gauge, SLP fan switches, and a line lock/roll control installed. I know there’s probably a ton of other stuff I’d done over the years that I’m forgetting about too.

Needs:

In 2016 I cracked the ring land on number 7 cylinder of the original LS1 engine.  At that time with a bone stock bottom end and the same turbo setup the car has now it was running 10.8 in the quarter mile with a 1.7 60ft time and coming through the traps at 128 MPH.  I believe this was on about 7lbs of boost. 

To get the car road worthy again in needs a fuel system.  It currently has a Racetronix pump and hotwire kit in it, but it needs a dual pump return style fuel system with a good regulator.  Once the fuel system is good, the car can then be tuned.  While it starts and runs right now, it won’t do more than just idle as it hasn’t been tuned since the previous setup.  The car will also need a new boost controller and some good rubber. 

If you’re interested, please PM me for more details and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.  The car is located just outside Las Vegas, NV

Asking $8,000 OBO