I remeber way back in maybe 98 reading in a road and track magazine about a limited number of t/a's that would be hurst editions. They would be a step in hp over the ws6, and the color scheme reminded me of the 10th anniv hawk.(blk&gold) Does anyone own one of these or have a few pics of one.

 

Google has pics, ...

 

This one??

 

Ya I got some pics in a magazine somewhere of that car.

 

Found it on google. Looks similar to the pic, that one is a 10th hawk. The hurst t/a has a ws6 hood and slightly diff wheels. Only made 10 in 98 and were produced by lingenfelter. Said to be dynoed at 410hp. Showed a pic of a 97 too but no info.

 

is that some kind of mecham wing?

 

That's not a Mecham wing , that's the IROC spoiler that was only available on the Anniversary car in 2001 but was an option on all Firehawks in 2002.

 

LPE built 9 Hurst/Lingenfelter Firebirds in 97, and 9 more in '98 (as claimed by an LPE engineer, although I've heard reports of 10 or 11 '98s ). I think the '97s were rated 350HP and the '98s 370HP. There was ONE '97 vert built for promotional purposes and was featured in Pontiac Enthusiast several years ago. Although I'm not sure if it was one of the 9 or a 10th '97.

Here's a few pics of a '98.

The day I purchased my '98 WS6 from Courtesy in Decatur, IN, the salesman guided me past John's estate on my test drive. Later when we were doing the paperwork I was lamenting about what I thought Pontiac should do for a 30th Anniv TA in '99 (the white/blue scheme had not yet been announced to the public). I was looking at the '69 T/A shown in the sales brochure and told the salesman the 30th should be a mix of themes from the '69's dual stripes and the black/gold of the Bandit TA, and that it should be black w/ dual gold stripes down the WS6 hood. He said, "Oh, you mean like these?" and reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a photo of 2 of these '98 LPE TAs sitting on their back lot waiting for their new owners to come pick up. "YES! Exactly!!" I said, as I continued to ask about these LPE cars. Just then, one of the other salesmen from the floor yelled in to come look at THIS! We walked out to see one of those new LPE TAs cruising through the lot, rolling slowly past my new WS6 'vert still sitting outside, checking it out. That was the only time I ever laid eyes on one of these rare beasts from Decatur.

Needless to say, I was disapointed when the 30ths came out in white/blue, but then again it was already in the cards. It would't be right for it to copy the Hurst/LPEs.

 

Here a pic of that '97 "Hurst-Equipped" (not LPE) 'vert.

 

I will post the official quantities of each year when I get back in the office in the morning but, just to clarify, no convertible Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter were built. The only one off/different vehicle that was built was an automatic that was I think a 1996 model year vehicle that was used for development etc and was built for the Mr. Gasket/Hurst company.

 

Correct I tried to buy the Mr.Gasket car....It came with a ONE OFF A4 SHIFTER and of course the paint sceme...I saw the car in person but from what I was told my Mr.Gasket they wouldnt sell the car.

I thought it was a 97 but I dont truely remember...


I dont know what ever happened to it but I alway liked that paritcular car..Same thing with the pumpkin too,I tried to buy it up at SLP when I was there for a photo shoot on my 97 Hawk but Dave H. had told me that Murphy had 1st dibs on it since he worked for the company..I even tried to make an offer on the 1st Comp but Matteson got that one too...

 

nice fiero man. are you selling her?

 

Nope, sorry. 29k original miles. Still has original GT+4 tires on it, ..., which will probably get changed this spring.

 

Ah, finally, the real scoop on the numbers, THANK YOU.

Now that you mention it, (it's been a while since I've read the Pontiac Enthusiast article on the 'vert), I DO recall reading about the prototype/show car in C&D or some magazine back in the day that stated it had a special Hurst AT shifter and said the "production" LPE cars would all be 6-speeds w/ Hurst shifters. I never made the connection between that car and the 'vert in the PE article until now (I don't recall the car in the C&D article being a 'vert...... is it possible the '96 proto/development mule you spoke about was a couple and was the SAME car in the C&D article, and this 'vert was ANOTHER one-off / non-LPE built car?). I'll have to go dust off my old PE mags to get more details on that 'vert....... I don't think I have C&D back that far.

 

For the 1997 model year, we built nine (9) Hurst Firebird By Lingenfelter vehicles.

For the 1998 model year, we built ten (10) Hurst Firebird By Lingenfelter vehicles.

The one 1996 model year vehicle was an automatic test vehicle built for GM and Mr. Gasket that was used for promotional purposes and testing. Partially due to the high cost of producing custom Hurst shifter for the automatic transmission, all of the "production" vehicles were manual transmission equipped (with Hurst shifters off course).

 

1997 Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter
Hurst Firebird additions:
· Lingenfelter 350 CID/350 HP engine package with:· Magna/Decoma ground effects package
· Hurst 6 speed shifter
· LPE 3.5" aluminum driveshaft
· custom graphics package by Kay Automotive Graphics
· Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter emblems
· matching individually numbered dash plaque and key chain
· series number and VIN of each vehicle will be put on file with Pontiac Historic Services
· Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter embroidered head rests
· custom fit Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter embroidered floor mats
· custom car cover
· 17 x 9" gold tinted aluminum alloy wheels
· Hurst center caps
· Michelin Pilot SX 275/40ZR17 tires

 

1998 Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter
· Lingenfelter 360 HP LS1 engine package with:· Ram Air hood and air induction system
· Laminova power steering fluid cooler
· Hurst shifter with Hurst "H" embossed leather shift ****
· LPE 3.5" aluminum driveshaft
· Performance suspension upgrade
· custom graphics package by Kay Automotive Graphics
· Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter emblems
· 40th Anniversary matching individually numbered dash plaque and key chain
· series number and VIN on file with Pontiac Historic Services
· 40th Anniversary Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter embroidered head rests
· custom fit 40th Anniversary Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter embroidered floor mats
· custom car cover
· 17 x 9" gold tinted aluminum alloy wheels
· Hurst "H" wheel center caps
· Michelin Pilot SX 275/40ZR17 tires

 

The articles that I have listed that covered the Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter vehicles were:

Article title: "Drag Testing the 1997 Hurst Firebird"
Magazine: Muscle Car Review
Page(s): 48-49
Issue date: Apr-97
Author: Tom Shaw
Topic: 1997 Hurst Firebird prototype test

Article title: "Pontiac Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter"
Magazine: Car & Driver
Page(s): 111-117
Issue date: Nov-97
Author: Larry Webster
Topic: 1997 Hurst Firebird by Lingenfelter

Article title: "1998 Hurst Firebird"
Magazine: Pontiac Enthusiast
Page(s): 55
Issue date: Jan-98
Author: Jeff Denison
Topic: 1998 Hurst Firebird By Lingenfelter

Article title: "tHURSTy For Performance"
Magazine: High Performance Pontiac
Page(s): 38-41
Issue date: Aug-99
Author: Thomas DeMauro
Topic: 1998 Hurst Firebird By Lingenfelter


I hope this is of interest.

 

If the car you are talking about is the one I am thinking of, it was built for either AutoRama or the SEMA show and was not a Hurst Firebird. The graphics were similar though. We did not build that car. None of the Hurst Firebirds by Lingenfelter or the prototypes were convertibles.

 

Yep, finally dug up my old issue. This car was featured in the Jul/Aug 1997 issue of Pontiac Enthusiast along w/ the other 2 Hurst GPs. The '97 "Hurst Equipped Pontiac Trans Am" was built to promote the '97 LPE cars, but is not a "Hurst Firebird" since it was not built by LPE. It is essentially a TA 'vert (w/ Hurst M6 shifter) w/ the 17" Hurst wheels, Borla cat-back and gold paint striping. "The car was bought up to WS-6 specs...." w/ the RA hood, air filter w/ K&N and a "recalibration of the computer." The "Hurst/Pontiac emblem under the dash matches the one used on last year's ('96?) promotional coupe, which was built to promote the 1997 production models."

This car was conceived by Jim Mattison of PHS, who wanted to build a 'vert version of the LPE cars to promote them, and got the Vrabec family to sponsor it's build.