1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint | Jay Leno's Garage

[@petiedog19]

If it were not for Mr. Leno, I would never have known about 75% of the cars he showcases. He should be know as a great auto historian and not merely a collector and enthusiast.

[@cbruno12180]

How awesome is he!! Can just buy any classic car he wants and have it totally rebuilt from his own house with his own group of great technicians too!! What a life he has well deserved too he worked hard for it

[@tonkajammin]

IMO Jay is the Godfather of Automobilia

[@stevie65able]

@@tonkajammin Well said. Perfect description of Jay Leno.

[@johnburns4017]

A historian using the video medium, not paper.

[@QS-si3cq]

He also gets many things wrong and spreads bad information amongst enthusiast communities as a result. I'm still trying to get people to stop believing that WS6 doesn't mean "wide suspension 6 pieces" because of him (it DOES NOT mean that; it is just a set of random letters and a number).

[@Spike9803]

Hey Jay, You hit one out of the park with this video. I owned this same car, a 1967 Firebird Sprint, convertible, 4spd, electric roof, etc. I was in school at U Mass, Amherst in 1977. In April of that year I was in a motorcycle accident and broke my back. I spent 8 weeks in the hospital, and lost the whole semester. When I got released from the hospital I was in a back brace and could barely walk. I lived off campus. I couldn’t even walk to the bus stop; I was all screwed up. My housemate had just bought this old 1967 Firebird Convertible (a Sprint) and he sold it to me for $300.00; I will never forget that favor as long as I live. The car had a new roof (electric), the 4spd, it had an inspection sticker and it ran. Getting that car was the first good thing to happen to me in that whole ordeal. My Firebird Sprint had a tired pushrod GM 6cyl motor (the OHC 6 was long gone). I had the hood tach, but it was out of the car in the trunk. That $300.00 Firebird burned oil and had a leaky exhaust, but it changed my life. I was mobile again. The car made me smile at a really bad time in my life. I couldn’t work that summer, so by late fall I had to sell the car to pay rent and buy food. The car needed work, but I could hardly lift the hood to add some oil and STP. Still, it broke my heart to part with the car. I’ll always remember that 1967 Firebird Sprint Convertible. Over the years every time I scan eBay, or in the old days the “WantAd”, I look for a Firebird Sprint convertible whether I have the jing to actually buy one or not. I was grinning ear to ear watching this video. Thanks for restoring this Firebird Sprint. You don’t even know me Jay, but will you do me a favor please? Next time you drive your Sprint will you slap Deep Purple “Highway Star” in the cassette player and run the car through the gears for me? Thanks Bro. Jim Vann

[@MichaelRCarlson]

Great story! Highway Star was what I listened to in my 68 as well, how funny is that!

[@lorencelampin6746]

What a story! Thanks for sharing. I can hear the music.

[@Spike9803]

@@lorencelampin6746 Glad you liked the story, it's true every word. "I love it, I need it and beat it... Alright, hold tight... I'm a highway Star!" You know what I'm talking about!

[@Spike9803]

@@MichaelRCarlson Highway Star is one of the best driving songs of all time! Every kid with a manual transmission in his car back then was a highway star. It's true that story, I lived it. It's surprising what the right motor vehicle can do for your attitude. I'll never forget that 1967 Firebird Sprint, or my pal Hurls that sold it to me for short money (he's still a good friend 45 years later). That Firebird was the best car I ever owned. Maybe not the nicest, but the best.

[@icanfartloud]

Jay doesn't read these comments goofball

[@maxwellt91]

I miss Pontiac so much. My dad and I built a fiero together when I was very young. Pontiac will always be very special to me

[@timjohn2810]

Such a fun car. Pontiac was at the top of their game, well ahead of their time. Thank you for sharing this gem with us. Really well done.

[@wallacebentley6655]

I think GM really made a poor decision in dropping PONTIAC. They understood performance, looks and fun. I've owned between 68 and 93 a GTO, a Le Mans, a Grand Prix and a Bonneville. All were great cars. I think, pure performance aside, although it was no slug, the 93 Bonneville was my favorite. Quick enough, comfortable and a quite, smooth ride that still managed to handle well. I had a class mate with the hi po Sprint. Really nice car. All it needed to make it complete was dual exhaust.. Never understood all the performance mods and no duals or at least a cool looking and great sounding single like the first Barracudas had.

[@tiki_trash]

I had a friend that had a Tempest Sprint. It was white with the black Sprint stripes.

[@TheOfficialCaseMade]

GM was the only thing holding GM back. Every time one of their lesser subsidiaries had a genius idea, they felt threatened that it would hurt their "big sellers" and immediately axed it... The Corvette was the worst offender.

[@charlesdalton985]

In a world of misinformation about older cars, Mr Leno is a breath of fresh air. I can’t honestly recall a meaningful misstep in the information he shares. Thank you again!

[@philmay7834]

I love how Jay has millions of dollars worth of some of the finest cars in the world, and his go to work/run around to do errands car is a six cylinder Firebird. I guess it goes with his wardrobe.

[@donjones4719]

Good one. And actually, Jay has said about quite a few of the cars featured that he commutes in them, from 19-teens and 1920s up thru this one. Also said it about his 1909 Baker Electric and talked about it in a convincing way, how it handled street commuting speeds OK.

[@rickj1983]

Just because he wears jeans doesn't mean anything other than he's comfortable in jeans.

[@GKW76]

Sometimes, simplicity is the best, most comfortable option.

[@richmonroe203]

If you live in Los Angeles, especially in the San Fernando Valley, you see him driving around with many cars from his collection.

[@brentfarvors192]

Better question is: How does he afford all of those...? Especially in Commiefornia...? I get he was the king of all time late show hosts, but, that is at least half a billion in cars in his many garages...?

[@elvinferrelljr.5266]

From Firebird Nation website. According to "The Fabulous Firebird" book by Michael Lamm, these items were nick-named "cocktail shakers", and were used only in the convertibles to counter body vibration. These cannisters contained spring loaded weights suspended in oil.

[@LoveBandit1000]

Good explanation I found online: ""The half-frame body construction doesn't have very good torsional stiffness (compared to a full-frame car or a full-unibody car), so "F"-body convertibles had a lot of "cowl shake" (what you see when you go across railroad tracks, etc. when you watch the windshield and cowl area shake back and forth, which you don't see on a coupe), and road surface irregularities at highway speed can induce the same phenomenon under certain conditions. The "cocktail shakers" have a heavy weight inside that's free to move up and down, with a spring above and below it to hold it centered vertically, and the can is filled with oil to damp the weight's motion (Corvair convertibles had the same thing, BTW). These become vibration dampers at certain frequencies and reduce the visible "cowl shake" to what Chevrolet felt was an acceptable level (as a substitute for properly-designed convertible body structure). If your car doesn't have them any more (many were trashed because people didn't know what they were and they were heavy), don't worry about it from a functional standpoint - you'll just have more "cowl shake" without them than you'd have with them in place.""

[@theundergroundlairofthesqu9261]

Neat! In modern times, Ford has been bolting some 25 lb. steel/rubber vibration dampers to pickup truck frames, for customers who complain of vibrations.

[@melvinharvey8279]

had those in my1969 camaro

[@gregparrott]

That's an apt name. I had them in my '68 Camaro convertible.

[@keithstudly6071]

They had these in the 1965 thru 1967 Corvair convertibles. They helped to compensate for the chassis stiffness lost in the convertible.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

I LIKE the six with your modifications PLUS the handling, braking, and suspension tweaks. I DON'T NEED THE SPEED, I appreciate the balance of power and handling.

[@StaleBearFarts]

I love the calm and casual car talk. It's like we are sitting at a bar together. Doesn't have a reality show or documentary feel

[@Spike9803]

Eactly! ars and motoryles always get guys together. I love car shows, drive nights, etc.

[@ghettsumm7949]

Mr. Jay Leno is such a humble Man, when he's gone, The World will miss a true ICON.

[@sunnyray7819]

I like how Jay picks interesting cars rather than just the most powerful engines.. Although he has other toys with plenty of extra power, some are just a masterpiece of engineering..

[@iamtherealzombie]

Jay has the luxury of owning dozens of cars, some that are hugely powerful, others that handle well and others that are just interesting or unique. Most do not have this luxury, so they go for the more powerful car because it usually is the easiest way to induce a grin whilst driving.

[@sunnyray7819]

@@iamtherealzombie I believe you are correct... Most of us, if we can only have one, want pleanty of power...

[@gordocarbo]

@@sunnyray7819 True...I bet if Jay had to choose 10 it would be his early pre war dinosaur cars. He knows more about any car from the beginning to now than anyone Ive met.

[@sunnyray7819]

@@gordocarbo I bet he would too

[@MrSparks54]

Surprising how many people aren't aware of the Pontiac OHC Six, I grew up with one of these. Thanks Jay

[@TractorMonkeywithJL]

I remember the Firebirds with sixes, I just didn't remember they were OHC. I had a 1967 hard top with a 326 v8, two speed auto on the column that my parents passed down to me in 1970. It was Coronado Gold with black interior. It was a fun car, but it had terrible brakes. All drums that would heat up and fade on you in a nano second.

[@HypocriticYT]

Jay is pumping out the videos and I’m sure we all appreciate it. Yup back in the day 100,000 mile car was done, just wore out.

[@777jones]

Yes but 1960s body on frame cars were very repairable and restorable. This car will stay on the road for decades more.

[@HypocriticYT]

@@777jones very true but at that time replacing an engine was big bucks. Quite a few at the time were not body on frame but unibody technology.

[@HypocriticYT]

68 Firebird is an F body unibody vehicle

[@barnabyjones5161]

@@777jones this is a unibody car...

[@777jones]

@@barnabyjones5161 i didn’t know, thanks for the info guys!

[@davidgoodwin6312]

Hi Jay, love your videos! Here is the story on the Firebird dampers you asked about: When Pontiac was given the Camaro chassis to make their Firebird from, their engineers were unhappy with the way the Camaro convertable would shake around at speed. It was late in the development cycle for 1967 so they had to make a quick fix. They used a classical mechanical engineers solution of putting in dampers. They are a weight penalty, but worked very well. I think Chevy saw that solution and started putting them in Camaros too. I quess that today these little known canisters with weights and springs stand as a tribute to the superiority of Firebird over Camaro! A: Concerning vibration dampers. Front dampers weight 25 pounds while the rear dampers weight 50 pounds each and are attached by three bolts. In the trunk there is a support brace between the trunk floor and the trunk gutter (there is re-enforcing frame work under the edge that the brace welds to. One bolt goes through the support brace and the other two go through the trunk floor. Under the trunk floor there is a thick steel plate the has nuts welded to it for damper attachment…usually the nuts are rusted away. Im not sure if the 1968 mountings are different.

[@AnDrEw122100]

I love Jay Leno . It’s a blessing that there’s even a person like him who exists , he can show us all these cars and take us along for rides .

[@DouglasJWalker]

I love this car. Looks, engineering and all. Tasteful Americana

[@donaldhollums3278]

I doubt there are any “Made in USA with global components” on this jewel from Pontiac!

[@johnburns4017]

Nice looking indeed, and taken a leaf out of the Jaguar book. It is well proportioned as are Jags. The overall lines are based on the E-type for sure.

[@terryeasterday580]

To me it looks like a... Full sized Hot Wheels ! Those Red Line tires... Super Smexy!

[@henryfrederick137]

@@donaldhollums3278 ppp]

[@donaldhollums3278]

@@henryfrederick137 🤔?

[@dew2667]

Great to see Jay helping keep Pontiac cars alive, there's no group of enthusiasts who have more passion than Pontiac people! Bravo Jay!!

[@daveedson8607]

GM committed the unthinkable when they killed the 2 most innovative marques in their stable. Oldsmobile was the grand daddy of US automobiles, and Pontiac was the brand that made kids blood boil. What a shame! They should have taken a page from our Canadian friends and ditched the Chevrolet and made the Pontiac the entry level vehicle.

[@herrunsinn774]

06:06 This was my favorite part of this build in which Jay and his crew had bespoke rocker arms designed and built from scratch. He will go to just about any length to get the job done right. (Of course, he has the financial means to do so... but who wouldn't do the same thing, given the chance?) Yipee! I have been waiting many a full moon for Jay to finish this build. He touched on this Sprint in a few of his restoration blogs (just making my mouth water). I'm soooo pleased he has it finished now. This car would (in my humble.... but some say lovable opinion) be the ultimate daily driver.

[@sharkbytecomputer]

I like that Jay just loves all things cars and doesn't go and make everything crazy hotrod's. fix the major flaw of the car, using modern upgrades, but dont make it obvious and keep them mostly stock

[@melvinharvey8279]

Me too! I'd still like to do a lightweight 63 nova with a 215 Buick/ Rover etc.

[@Schwinn2300]

Even guys with financial means don't have Jay's knowledge and superb appreciation of cars with his ability to make limited but appropriate modifications.

[@herrunsinn774]

Fast forward 8 months and I still love this video and this car. If I could have my choice of any of his cars (and I couldn't sell it) I would pick this Pontiac Sprint or his '66 Corvair, as they both would make great cars to drive every day and wouldn't put a person into the poor house just buying fuel.

[@rogerdodrill4733]

​@@melvinharvey8279lots of Vegas have alum 215 .works well, same weight as 4 cyl& front discs that nova lacks I have 1.

[@markr5132]

Go Jay go! We are right there with you in our appreciation of many of these cars!! Thanks so much!!

[@hugieflhr03]

One thing I love about Jay is he seems to always find that worn part and he upgrades it. It’s nice knowing all the top builders and manufacturers in the area to get your parts made!

[@richmonroe203]

Its called "money"

[@jezuzfreek777]

Fantastic job on the restoration. That Firebird looks like it just shipped from the factory. I love that you kept true to the original color. Gorgeous!

[@JasonSimonSmith]

Yeah golly such a great 60s color !

[@donphillips5957]

It was always my favorite.

[@martinflanagan2506]

Perfect interior and exterior colours, those original wheels were a great design then and still look great today. G.M. sure had great designers in the 60's. Beautiful restoration ,awesome car Jay.

[@daveedson8607]

That was when GM had car nuts in charge instead of bean counters who wouldn't know an overhead cam (or any cam) from a toilet plunger, and probably didn't know how to use the plunger.

[@patriley9449]

My high school band teacher had a Tempest with this engine in 1968. I thought it was cool. Most of my classmates didn't care for it because it did not have a V8. This and the Corvair definitely had a European flair that was absent from most other American cars of the day. Of course, it is now very cool to own these. A great addition to Jay's collection.

[@tomstulc9143]

Pat my brothers in an I had and still he have a 66 tempest with the OH 6. it was tire burner. 180 HP with the 2 barrel carb . It's HP raito to weight was better than V8 ,raito.

[@Jason.cbr1000rr]

Whats a tempest

[@Jason.cbr1000rr]

@@tomstulc9143 did you drive both? How was the handling and what were the differences in all aspects. Thanks 🙂

[@bassrun101]

@@Jason.cbr1000rr Originally the 64 Tempest was based on the Chevelle Malibu platform. The GTO was the high-performance upgrade that later became its own stand-alone model. I believe Jay touches on that in the 1964 Pontiac GTO Convertible episode.

[@JDAbelRN]

Loved all the Pontiac designs.

[@rodneynichols101]

I had a 68 firebird. Everyone wants a Camero? My dad had a 67 firebird convertible that was painted by Yosemite Sam's shop in Detroit Michigan. What a beautiful car.! Thanks for the video I really appreciate it cuz a lot of people just don't understand what Firebirds all about.

[@liquidleopard4495]

I'd totally take a Firebird over a Camaro. Among other differences, Pontiac mounted the V8 an inch or two farther back, because they actually cared about weight distribution.

[@gordocarbo]

I get it...had 2 and many Camaros. Interior and some trim on the Firebirds was always a bit classier, otherwise the same car pretty much

[@gordocarbo]

@@liquidleopard4495 Source of info? Never heard of that. Same car for the most part

[@johnvoorhees2331]

This is my "dream" car. She is gorgous(love that color). Always liked the look of the Firebirds over the Camero (Sorry Tim the tool man, yours is cool this is better) While I will never afford one, thanks for sharing it.. I enjoyed the ride :)

[@goodgoat3096]

This is the type of car that I like watching videos of. I'm glad that the stock appearance was retained and the mods are hidden and the original character of the car retained. Great restoration.

[@magform]

I can honestly say that I am overly familiar with this motor. My buddy in high school had a 66 Tempest Sprint. Just a three speed, but I thought it was a V8. Then a girlfriend in high school had a 67 Tempest Sprint convertible. Nice car! This was California. I later learned that this motor was available in the Firebird, Not very popular, as everyone wanted a V8. Ended up owning Series One and Series Two Camaros with the six. As you say, you just didn't see these vehicles. When I got married in the late 1980s, I found out my late father -n law had been a mechanic at the Pontiac dealer in Salinas CA. His specialty was the Pontiac OHC Six. He still had all the factory manuals! Unfortunately, I was not able to acquire them before his passing, and have no idea what my late mother in law did with them. Great job Jay!

[@williamwintemberg]

I love this car! I didn't know there were 2 versions of this engine. Growing up a friend's mother had this engine (I don't know which version) in a LeMans rag top with a 4 speed. I got to drive the car a couple of times and rode as a passenger a ton of times. As Jay said in regard to the Firebird, the engine was perfect for the car and not overwhelming. It handled surprisingly well and for the day it stopped well. I had a lot of memories associated with this car and this video brought them all back! Thanks Jay!

[@BuzzLOLOL]

I think there were about 6 versions of this engine: 215", 230". 250" times 2 and 4 bbl. carb.s...

[@NotOnYourLife]

I not only have heard of it, I have ridden in one. My Dad brought one home in early 1969 after his 20 in the Army. He only kept it 2 years but I will never forget it. I always got in trouble scooting between the front eats or between the drivers seat and the B pillar to try and watch the tach. Most of my life people thought I was on drugs talking about the overhead cam Firebird Sprint. I have fond memories of the back country roads we traveled on the way home and sliding across the back seat. I appreciate the devotion you have for that car.

[@Freesavh1776]

I always love seeing Jay's child like enthusiasm & love for every car he shows.

[@Michael-kx2bn]

It's been my favorite car since it came out in '67 when I was 9 years old! Seeing one now is always a treat. I've always wanted one.

[@davedesmond7288]

A beautiful car with timeless styling, 54 years on! And Jay's 'resto mods' clearly discreet enough to make it a real sleeper…Sad that the US doesn't have a 'national living treasure' like in UK; Jay well deserves such an acknowledgment!

[@Scooter-dm3qo]

I may have watched that exact car roll off the line at Lordstown, Ohio. In 1968 there was a class trip to Lordstown and we ended up the tour at the dyno station where they tested the engine on each car coming off the assembly line. Note, it was a test for Function, not power and was only about 10-20 seconds on the rollers. Anyhow the people at Lordstown called this the Sprint Six and were rather proud of these cars. When I was there I watched a metallic Blue Sprint Six convertible go across the rollers and will always remember that moment. A few years later while working as a gas station mechanic I learned about the weak point of the OHC six and it wasn't the rockers at that time, it was the oil supply to the camshaft bearings. With the low top end oil pressure seized or spun cam bearings were rather typical.

[@donaldcampopiano8726]

I had a maroon , lived in ohio and bought from a gm assembler in lordstown in 1976 for $4000, sold it fir 6000 in 1992. Loved the hood tact and hurst shifter; needed high test or it ran weak. 250 hp leaded gas

[@opera93]

@@donaldcampopiano8726 thanks, cool…..

[@opera93]

Thanks, good points.. I heard that too…. See my other, Comments .. My,Friend really liked*** the SOHC, SPRINTS,TEMPEST /engines of that Set,….

[@roydodman3703]

Having been born in Pontiac Michigan and growing up 10 miles north of the city, my friends and I were steeped in Pontiac culture (plus we saw all of the test mules being tested around town). As such, we saw plenty of the OHC Sprints around, and thought there were quite cool. Yes, 326/350 engines were more popular with the go fast set, but...these cars were so unique and well designed. Thanks for bringing this one back to its full potential.

[@gil10601]

Thanks for all you do , saveing these wonderful cars. I'm not one of those purest where every nut and bolt has to match. I think the choices you have made mean that these can be enjoyed maybe even a bit better than when they came out. As a late teen early 20's back in the 60's every spring I would wander into dealerships to see what new cars I could test drive. One of the things I remember was how much I loved the 68 Firebird with what the salesman described as variable rate power steering . The changed the turn rate near the turn limit worked great. Love that car. Thanks again.

[@therainforest4314]

I really like how well you handled this gem of a car's restoration with mild, but very worthwhile up-dating tweaks. I remember as a teenager myself, in a small Canadian midwest-prairie town, a local fellow owning one of these rarities. He owned a coupe version of this sweet little OHC straight 6 Firebird. Indeed, a truly tasteful treatment of a true classic. :)

[@tombollig612]

This was a build I have been following and waiting for like a pre-teen enthralled with the latest boy-band video. No disappointment. I absolutely love the color, look and stance of the Firebird. I was not familiar with the 4.1 engine so I find this type of car history fascinating. Thanks Mr. Leno for bringing a great car back and making it better than stock. I would love to see this one judged by the Europeans that normally look down on our super-powered, poor handling rides.

[@James-oo1yq]

This European would love to judge it. Where do I pick up the keys? 😁👍🏼

[@trenchtown69]

European here - long time listener/first time poster. I was pleasantly surprised when Jay started listing the merits of the V6, as you Americans tend to get a little worked up when a car will fit a V8. This to me is the exact opposite of the 1968 Camaro 427 COPO episode, which was more of the same. Rare, yes, pedigree, sure, but special? Idk, this seems more like my cup of tea.

[@stephenholland5930]

@@trenchtown69 It's an inline 6.

[@wbcc-hv5fn]

A truly underrated piece of GM engineering. These engines are rare as hens teeth these days. Most had v8s swapped in and the 230I6 ended up in the scrap.

[@TheKiltedYaksman1]

250, not 230, but you're probably still right.

[@leebarnes655]

The 250 made it debut in 68 and had it's swan song after 69 along with DeLorean getting the boot. The 230 was around for maybe 3 years prior to it's swan song in 68. I'm thinking one could get one in the tempest at first.

[@jonnyrox116]

Jay always comes off like the foster parent of all his vehicles, like the caretaker and not so much the owner, and I admire him greatly for that! Thanks Jay for another prize in the world of collectable machines.

[@P47THUNDERBOLTII]

Read about this engine almost thirty years ago. Have kept a eye open of one ever since and not seen one. This is great, to finally see and hear one. Thank you Jay. Been a Pontiac fan since my first car was a 1972 Formula. Herb Adams made sure the Pontiac F bodies were more ergonomic and better handling than the Camaro. They were far more comfortable than their Chevrolet cousin. Thank you for this sir. Very much appreciated.

[@jeffmorris739]

I knew this day would come eventually and I have been looking forward to it.. I think what you have done to this car is exactly what I would have. Make it safer and a little more fun to drive. Thanks Jay for the continuing our education in classic car 101.

[@seanpollard4844]

Great restoration. It is so nice to see a different take on classic cars with a performance six and handling instead of the standard v8 straight line muscle car. My brother and I both have 6 cylinder mustangs and they definitely give a different feel and sound than the v8 cars. When a car is set up right with good weight distribution and balanced and not overpowered it allows you as a driver to have more confidence. It is fun to have too much power for a chassis but we all have seen what happens with novice drivers and v8 mustangs spin out. Thanks for all your videos Jay! I love my 4.0 overhead cam six cylinder mustang. I can see you really appreciate the six cylinder firebird sprint. It really means something when a guy can appreciate all types of cars and not just the popular ones. Sometimes the rare cars were unappreciated but still fun in their own way.

[@philipdubuque9596]

At last! I've been following this car right through your restoration episodes. A brilliant if unappreciated concept. And you are more than forgiven for the thoughtfully applied "restomod" upgrades. There's a lot to be said for being able to use "all the power all the time." A brilliant classic episode!

[@mc2whls]

A High School friend of mine let me drive his Firebird Sprint. The shifter jammed when shifting from 1st to Reverse. We had to crawl under the car to fix it. Thank you, Jay! It was a nice trip down Memory Lane.

[@mauriceclemens3286]

Typical Jay Leno hot rod. I love Jays taste in cars. It’s nice to have the means to to restore cars properly and make it the way you want. Way to go Jay!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@desertwindauh]

I really appreciate the spirit of the smaller, lighter engine resulting in a sweeter handling driving experience. I recently got a 2010 Mercedes SL 350, lighter 6 cylinder engine + steel spring suspension (no ABC airbag suspension), much lighter in the nose and all the more enjoyable to drive as result.

[@johnypitman2368]

It's definitely a head turner. Very clean lines and paint. Very nice project Jay, nicely done!

[@stevebeecher2076]

I would say it's good way to have money in the bank with muscle cars even if you dive around feeling good its gives you a rush just keeping under the max speed limeit

[@1991pony]

I've been looking forward to you finishing this restoration since you first got it and, boy, was it worth the wait. Wow, it just sits so perfect. I always loved the way the rear side marker light is shaped like the Pontiac logo. I vividly remember the OHC six and always thought it was a really cool engine. It still is. This just jumped up to my top five cars in the Jay Leno collection along with the '66 7 Litre, the hemi Dodge Coronet and a couple other American cars. Thanks Jay, you really made my day.

[@leebarnes655]

That rear side marker is 68 exclusive.

[@michaelemerson8330]

I've been watching Jay Leno for years even before he took over for Johnny Carson,on the tonight show with his stand up My parents introduced me to Ducinbergs and Cords ..Jay has filled in the blanks Thank you Mister Leno for sharing so much knowledge with the world!!

[@martentrudeau6948]

Fantastic car Jay. You made it beautiful, well done resto-mod. The six cylinder is so unusual, to bad Americans didn't buy more of these cars.

[@williamwinslowhansen]

I love it for so many reasons . I suppose it’s a example of what could have been instead of what was . I remember a guy with a Pontiac lemans with a similar engine as a kid . Straight six is such a smooth engine . The original firebird is such a great looking car . Lighter better on gas and just a rarity now a scarcity. Awesome episode

[@andyharman3022]

This is a little bit of an early Christmas present for me. I've been watching the restoration blogs on this car, and was anxious to see how it turned out. Jay belted it out of the park with this one. I love everything he did with it. His goal was to make a well-balanced car with good power, excellent handling, and excellent brakes. Never mind that it only has ~250 HP, good handling adds 100 HP if you know how to use it. (One little thing, though: put a cold air hose from the front grille to the air cleaner snorkel. It'll add a little power.) And the first-gen Firebird is a car I've loved since I was six years old. Still do. GM may have crash-programmed the original Camaro/Firebird to catch up with the Mustang, but they designed a classic while they were at it. I saw a 1st-gen Firebird convertible the same color as Jay's in a parking lot in my hometown last year, and kept walking around it, viewing it from all angles. It doesn't have a bad angle, and the body sculpture is crisp and trim, without the bulky heaviness of the last two Camaro generations. GM needs to go really retro with the next Camaro so it doesn't look like a Transformers cartoon version of the original. They could do themselves a favor if they consider what Jay did with his.

[@josephconsoli4128]

I've been waiting to see this car finished and featured - beautiful. The colors are eye-catching and the mods are done wonderfully. I heard about these engines as a kid, but only recall seeing one in a Tempest.

[@ALEXABEGMEX]

Jay, get well soon! Hope you will recover completely, and continue to bring us joy of knowing great machines from the past and present.

[@wilburross9709]

I used to have a book on Pontiacs that claimed the OHC Sprint 6 was supposed to be just the 'first step,' that Pontiac had OHC 389s and 421s they were working on and even a DOHC (!!) 389 (don't know why a 389 and not a 421). Those all got scrapped when GM got serious about its 'ban on factory supported racing' and the Sprint 6 was all we got out of that. Also, because one of the advantages of OHC is that they can rev higher, Pontiac put abnormally high gear ratios in most of the cars equipped with this engine, to keep the engine up where it was producing horsepower. This did not help longevity in everyday driving or if you drove it cross-country. Absolutely love Jay for sharing his car collection with us!

[@IslandJoe45]

I just really love this car! I have had a persistent curiosity about this car. I have always tuned in for your shop updates on this specific car. Thank you for sharing it with us again.

[@outgoingautismhowtoovercom8512]

Never heard of this car before although the firebird the 68-69 Firebirds in my mind are the coolest Pontiacs ever made. Love your shows thanks for your work

[@Clutch6]

That is the coolest Firebird I think I've ever seen, it kind of looks to me like a super econo version of a Jaguar XKE straight six. Must be rare. I never even knew that car existed. You did a good job on the level of restoration by not going overboard and still nailing it perfectly. You own and have shown so many rare American muscle era style cars and make them great fun to watch with all your extensive technical research done on each and every vehicle. Thanks again Jay for another great show. What's next?

[@grandsonofAlbertJohn]

Think I've read more than once, the fiberglass reinforced belt for the overhead cam, was so over-designed for strength, there's never been a documented case of one breaking; it ended up being 10 times stronger than the specs said it needed to be. And guys who own them say 6500+ rpm no problem. It loves to rev. A guy at a car show that had one in a LeMans said he got 24 mpg; keep in mind the 66-67 was a 230 cid, the 68'69 was a 250cid, and rear differential ratios change things drastically.

[@davehogye576]

This truly is a very special car. I remember seeing one of these when I was a kid. A Sprint. I appreciate your thoughtful and relatively sensible approach to improvements. Thanks again for sharing.

[@Penswordman]

I'm with ya Jay. I'm your same age or so, and my whole life I've loved the Firebird, but not so much those "other" GM body(s). The Firebird had this thing called "style" and I will add in the word "sexy". Now- not those things that came later, I'm talking about this body style. I don't think I ever knew about the Sprint, and for sure I didn't know what it meant. Thanks so much for this video, it hits me just right. If I bought a GM classic car, the Firebird would be at the top of my list.

[@genesimons8368]

Such a sweet, smooth ride! Jay knows how to pick them. I enjoyed this one immensely, so much so, that I quickly took the opportunity to view it again. 👌

[@1thefifthelement]

I’ve always been a fan of the firebird! That firebird looks absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing Jay!

[@jimtrucksis1505]

Great video and great car Jay. A suggestion to help us garage enthusiasts would be to post some component information on the cars you resto-mod, such as brakes, suspension, wheels, tires, etc. Your choices of product is always spot on. And regarding the dampers in the trunk, this was a common Engineeering solution to dampen out first and 2nd order beaming, especially on convertibles when the roof was removed.

[@chemtrailtracker]

Thanks Jay. It's all about the car... love your format. No fake drama, keep them coming

[@gbarbur]

Damn Jay it seems that you hit a gold mine of memory lane here. Thank you for the memories. I really miss my 1966 tempest sprint.

[@watsontcbc]

Wow, gorgeous Firebird! And you make it even better. I always come away from your shows thinking “I should find one of those”, forgetting that the car you are showing is far better due to your restoration than anything I will find 🤣🤣! I bet you spend $4 on the resto-mod for every $1 you spent to buy the original! You get such consistently beautiful results. 🙌🏼

[@burgey1982]

Keep doing these, Jay. I love the conversational tone. Like a guy taking his buddy on a tour of his prized automobile.

[@americanrambler4972]

I really like this car. It looks right. Preserves its original look. Has the right body and interior colors. Has the sprint engine. The right stance. The 5 speed manual is a perfect choice. The only thing not quite right is the buzzy exhaust note. Needs a different muffler and resonator combination. It looks great going down the road. Those weights in the trunk help with the body shimmy you can get with these bodies. They are mass dampers.

[@JasonSimonSmith]

Yeah big second on the rear stabilizer weights. Seeing them there makes a lot of sense on a car like this.

[@KingCast65]

Yah I have an 88 BMW 535is with straight SS welded exhaust, one resonator and Magnaflow. I am putting in another resonator to quell that rasp it's annoying. Anyway this car is dope AF. I had forgotten about it.

[@SORGIGERMANICO]

So I said it has to do with it not having the roof structure to it that's why they added the weights it was to help with the flex of the body or something, is that why? I swear I watched a video on that somewhere

[@patrickshaw8595]

@@SORGIGERMANICO Yes I ran Turbo Corvair Convertibles and they had those Mass Dampers. I have copied the work of other machinists in incorporating "Absolute Dampers" (their correct engineering term) into boring bars (cutting tools used by a lathe to bore true holes) too.

[@davidphelps214]

they call those mass dampers "cocktail shakers" in automotive lingo

[@multicyclist]

Beautiful resto, perfect selection of mods. I remember seeing a few Firebird Sprints around way back. I had an 1967 V8 Firebird HO back in the early 70s that I still wish I had to this day. There were not parts to make a car handle better back then so I fabricated my own custom front and rear sway bars, installed adjustable Koni shocks, G50-14 series radial tires all the way around I also put on a fast ratio steering box (1.6 turns lock to lock) out of a 1970 Camero Z28. The result was the car handled amazing. One of my favorite pastimes was to take up highway 18 to Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains at perhaps a hundred times. While the V8 had great power, it was the outstanding handling I like best about the car.

[@gordocarbo]

Went that route, the back way it was called to Crestline many many times. Some tight fun roads, others with huge dips, whoops etc Only bummer was no stops gas stations nothing for a long time

[@yambo59]

Im 62 and I remember these Sprints, also came in the Tempest body my neighbor had one. This was a fine video on an engine thats almost forgotten by the masses. Superb job as usual Jay, youre our favorite car guy, historian, videographer and keeper of the golden era so to speak.

[@michaelroberts1420]

The canisters in the back are mass dampers. There is a weight suspended by two springs one on top and one on the bottom the oil is like a shock absorber. It stops oscillations up and down under braking and acceleration as well as from bumps in the road. This makes the car more stable and predictable. I would guess it was a work around to compensate for weight differences as well as the lack of rigidity in the rear from chopping the top off.

[@matthewelberson4140]

I think they were called "cocktail shakers".

[@richvandervoort2950]

The typical term is tuned mass damper. Tuned mass dampers are fairly common as metal weights with rubber mounts today. My Ram pickup has a couple of these.

[@captaintoyota3171]

@@richvandervoort2950 offcially yes but in the day above poster is correct. So you BOTH are correct. Renault F1 used these in 05/06 to win wdc in formula 1

[@glennbailey9165]

They were added to remove cowl shake on the convertibles. I retired from General Motors Design Staff.

[@gojoe2833]

Corvair convertibles had the same weights...

[@johnleone4643]

I’m so thrilled to know this car exists! Love what you did to it. I remember seeing a rough one in the Midwest back in the’80’s and being so confused as to what it was. I love it.

[@mrgauges9065]

Never knew about the overhead cam and I’m a huge Pontiac guy. What a beautiful car, so glad it stayed original (especially the wheels). Some resto-mods tend to butcher history

[@dodger4554]

I have seen these cars in junkyards before, and on the road back in the 70's. love Firebirds, thanks Jay.

[@jerrybarrax5618]

Love it! Great video! I've been a Pontiac fan all my life and have owned two Firebirds, but I've never heard of this one. It looks great with those modest mods. And it's nice to see someone with such an encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles appreciate Pontiac. Thanks Jay!

[@thrillbilly9785]

Beautiful car! Love the firebirds. I had a unique bird in high school, a 1984 Firebird with a 2.5L “Iron Duke” 4 cylinder and a 5 speed manual. With some suspension upgrades I made it was a blast to drive. Great weight balance due to the light engine. It was a dog on straight line performance but held its own on the highway and curves.

[@MarinCipollina]

Sorry to report, but that third generation Firebird with the four cylinder couldn't get out of its own way. I was working in new car sales at the Monterey Park Pontiac Dealership in 1984, and the new car manager ordered a crap ton of those things, and they were a very hard sell. Everyone wanted a V8 or at least a V6.

[@w41duvernay]

Too bad you don't have that 3rd gen camaro, you would of had the ability to swap it out with an supercharged 2.0l ecotec or an Quad 4. The guy from Quadrods in Denver does make a rear wheel drive bellowing.

[@joefascilla7720]

This Firebird Sprint is one of my favorites. We had a Tempest station wagon when I was growing up, and it had this Overhead Cam engine with a 3-speed manual. It’s what I learned to drive in. If Jay ever sold a car-this would be the one I’d like to buy.

[@corystansbury]

I've been waiting for this car since the restoration blog. One of my favorite American cars of the period. I love this restoration. My only personal preference would be a different resonator/muffler combo; often a challenge on an I-6 (distance between tractor, raspy fartbox, and smooth and sonorous is pretty small).

[@shaunroberts9361]

My best friend owned one in the 80's we drove to H.S everyday Jay you are amazing. I never new this car existed. Mind blowing . Thank you for sharing

[@teresaselby6455]

The 67/68 Firebirds are my favorite. My brother had a 67 400, was an awesome car. Could always tell when he turned into the neighborhood, because you could hear it.

[@richardlangballe3880]

This is a Truely rare bird and the modifications you made greatly improve on the original design while keeping that stock appearance. Nicely done! Hopefully you can make the upgraded rockers available for others out there with the same engine/car as I'm sure the original stock ones are most likely hard to find.

[@7027A]

These are cool. I remember seeing one of these back in the early '80s and thinking it was neat. Watching the suspension work on this car reveals how good it is. The way the wheels follow the pavement while the body doesn't react too much reminds me of the suspension movement on a Triumph TR6. Thank you Jay for bringing this one forward and I agree, that's the right color!

[@Howie47]

I remember reading an article in one of the auto magazines back then, where the took that engine out and put it in a Jaguar XKE. It was a little faster in the quarter mile. Which pleased the American fans to no end.

[@denverwoodard.8506]

I saw one of these cars back in the early 80's and I was amazed by the engine. The guy who owned the car had been racing it on interstate 69 here in Michigan and apparently the State Patrol had a Bolo out on this car. Thank you for the journey down memory lane.

[@donaldvincent]

I had a great uncle who owned one of these up until the 1980's. When I would mention it to people (especially if they drove imports) they would tell me I was crazy. Nice to see Jay prove my sanity.

[@positrondesign6514]

This brings back memories of the first times I went cruising at 16 years old in my friend's fathers Firebird in the late 1970's. I know it had the 6 cylinder but I don't think it was the Sprint (no hood tach and auto trans). I do remember we had to wedge a folded matchbook into the 8-track player to get it to play KISS albums.

[@pontiaddict2992]

The hood tach was optional on any Firebird for extra cost. It could've been a Sprint model as they also could be ordered with an automatic transmission. I've seen automatic Sprint 6's with no tach.

[@DeereX748]

This is my all-time favorite Firebird body style, like you mention, as the generations of a model progress, they tend to get heavier and stodgier. I went to HS (early 1970's) with a guy who owned a hardtop version of this car, with the straight 6 and the three speed. Not much on fast, but it did handle nicely. I think a good restomod for this car would be using one of the aluminum block V6's that you find in the base Camaro's, along with the suspension mods like you made. Should be a pretty quick car. I wonder why, when the overhead cam head was designed for this straight-six, they didn't go for a cross-flow head, or like you mentioned, a twin cam setup (which would have worked well with cross-flow). Probably did the least they could to re-engineer the original head in order to add an overhead cam to keep development cost down. The weights in back must be for vibration/resonance control, they don't make much sense for front/rear weight balance since it seems they would make the car oversteer-happy if the suspension wasn't changed when using the lighter straight-6 versus a heavier V8. Very nice car, Jay, you did your usual knock-it-out-of-the-park restoration, and saved one of GM's lesser-known jewels.

[@pontiaddict2992]

The "cocktail shakers" as they were referred to had been placed in all four corners of all 1st Gen convertibles to dampen body flex and vibration not found in the hard tops. It had a heavy weight and spring assembly suspended in oil. In the early 60 Pontiac engineered a dual overhead cam 421 so they knew their way around the OHC setup but were trying to keep the costs down so it would be approved. That's why the rotating assembly was borrowed from the chevy 6.

[@w41duvernay]

Pontiac was going to do the roller followers, but found out the cost of them in production would have been too much, so they went to the cam followers that were in the Sprint ohc 6.

[@Jason.cbr1000rr]

Did he get a lot of chicks?? Girls? Hows he been is he alive and well?

[@gp.5989]

Ive always prefered the firebird/trans am over the camaro. This is a beauty.

[@rogerdodrill4733]

Except 93/ 97 trans ams got kinda wild w plastic body add ons that Camaro was lacking

[@thomasconnolly7452]

Jay Leno is my all time favorite car guy. Every episode is so well done and educational.

[@garydiggins1836]

The convertible makes that great car even more beautiful. The mechanics look great too. Perfect!

[@TheBTG88]

This is a very good looking car that does not look like a 53 year old design.

[@toyota420xp]

Ya it does

[@melvinharvey8279]

@@toyota420xp that is just funny ...i meant mean😆

[@dviljoen]

My first car was my grandfather's 1966 Pontiac Tempest, and it came originally with the OHC engine. By the time I got it the engine had been replaced with a 215 straight six. The original engine kept braking the timing belt, which I learned later was a common issue, along with the cams running flat over time. Loved that car though.

[@stuartstephens]

Correction to my previous comment...see below.

[@jameshastings2399]

@@stuartstephens I friend of mine had the a 1966 Tempest Lemans with the sprint opton and it had the OHC with a Hurst 4 speed.

[@stuartstephens]

@@jameshastings2399 You're right and I was wrong...I had brain fade. It was available in the Tempest from 1966, of course the Firebird didn't come along until 1967.

[@texasblueboy1508]

I worked for a small town Pontiac-GMC dealer while I in High School. We had a customer with a '66 Tempest or Lemans with the OHC 6. Owner still has the car and lives about 15 miles from me.

[@floydcooley1]

Thank you for the post because I came on here to say that I recall seeing this engine in a 66 Tempest. Glad to see others remember that.

[@HypocriticYT]

ALWAYS wanted one of these and remember one down the street from me growing up in the early 60’s, 70’s It wasn’t the Sprint but color and convertible same. Life gets in the way when you’re not rich. I’d want the V8 because that’s American!! Regardless great car with any engine.

[@FRANNY-e3c]

Thanks for perfecting that setup Jay. I had one back in the day, and worked on that motor many times. Nice setup!

[@jamessanscrainte9533]

Love this car and this episode!!! I had a six cylinder 69 Camaro in the late 80s, and drove it to work for a couple years. Those are great motors! The six in the Camaro was not an overhead cam motor, and it had a three speed manual. I loved that car! Now I want one of these six cylinder Firebirds!

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

DeLorean was the epitome of a great man... Admittedly flawed (as we all are), but undeniably great.

[@carrsllccarrillo6507]

Him, Bunkie Knudson, Jim Wagners, Herb Adams, among others helped GM division #2 stick out from the rest. If wasn't for their contributions to the muscle car era it would of probably be a long history of mediocre cars in the automotive world.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Looks like a great resto-mod job on this Firebird. Waited until the end, with lots and lots of European references, but no McLaren P1. Once in a while... Thanks Jay, keep truckin'.

[@avsystem3142]

I'm an I6 fan. I have a '94 Lexus SC300 with a 5-speed manual. In stock form the six cylinder SC300 with a manual had the same 0-60 time as the V8 SC400 which had an automatic transmission, manual was not offered. Of course I didn't leave the SC300 stock. I had an aftermarket turbocharger installed, along with other mods. At a modest 13psi boost it generates 346 RWHP. The SC300 is essentially similar to the same year Toyota Supra, differing only in body styling and interior. The value of the Supra's has skyrocketed but the SC300's are generally ignored by the collector market.

[@sidefx996]

That's because SC300's weren't painted funny colors and featured in a stupid movie like the Supra.

[@akashsandhu5539]

The BMW E36 had a beautiful inline 6. The M3 version was fantastic as well.

[@Leo-DaGreek]

Awesome ride, it reminds me of my fathers 72 grandprix SJ, he was a jar head , I truly miss him when I see cars like this Jay, I believe those tanks in the trunk are there for convertibles only , Love Big John , ahead of his time ,

[@randylarson1666]

Thanks Jay, loved the video. Always wanted a Firebird, same color but couldn't find one. Eventually restored a 67 Canero SS 8n 1974. I was in college and poor, but with a lot of bondo an Earl Schieb paint job, and a rebuilt 283, it was great to get me through college. Thanks for the memories