Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
While working on the restoration of his 1970 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 that was damaged in an engine fire in July 2022, owner Ferdi Raquelsantos realized that the amount of work needed and the list of parts, as well as the funds required, were growing exponentially. Aside from the burnt-out parts that had to be replaced, Ferdi wanted his Firebird to become more reliable as well as more powerful and more attractive. His idea to add a bug catcher-style hood scoop for the new 4-barrel carburetor meant that a hole will be cut onto the hood.
After massaging the warped portions of the hood and then recreating the vent slots that melted during the engine fire, it felt almost criminal to cut a hole in the hood for the bug catcher-style hood scoop.
Fortunately, the heat only burned the paint on a large portion of the firewall but did not warp or weaken the metal.
The fire also exposed the rusted bracket of the Firebird’s Endura Nose section, which will be repaired instead of replaced.
Before that hole and hood scope will be realized, Ferdi asked Johnson Tan, the proprietor of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works, to have his body guys remove the rusted portions of the Firebird. He also wanted a different color from its current dark grey/black paint to something more lively. Initially, Ferdi was thinking of a green finish, like the Brewster Green color of John Wayne’s 1973 Firebird Trans Am in the 1974 action movie, “Mc Q”. After all, most of Ferdi’s cars are painted green because he believes that the color green represents opportunity, wealth and money.
American actor John Wayne drove a Brewster Green 1973 Trans Am in the 1974 movie “Mc Q”.
The Firebird was moved to another area where the body work and paint prep were performed by JSK technicians.
The rusted edge of the roof on the driver’s side was removed and fresh metal was welded in and then grinded smooth.
The JSK paint tech determined that the base paint was still good so it was not necessary to strip the Firebird to bare metal.
The black paint was sanded down and a thin skim of putty was applied on certain areas to achieve a smooth surface. These will be sanded down again before the new primer paint will be applied.
However, Ferdi later wanted a different and more vibrant color and gravitated towards violet or purple. We suggested a paint finish that was very popular among Mopar fans in the late 1960’s – Plum Crazy Purple. But before that new premium metallic color can be sprayed on the Firebird, the body had to be prepped first. The new crazy color choice got everyone involved in this project even more excited to see how Ferdi’s sporty Pontiac coupe – now jokingly referred to as the “Ferdibird” – will turn out after the paint and modifications. Stay tuned!
The warped portion of the Endura Nose was removed and the metal bracket was cleared of rust. The damaged portion will be replaced with fiberglass fillers.
The damaged portion of the Endura Nose looked better after the repair.
The primered body was wet-sanded thoroughly for smoothness before being prepped for the color coating.
The Firebird’s owner, Ferdi, eventually decided to have it painted Plum Crazy Purple, which was a popular color for Mopar muscle cars in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It’s period-correct but not brand-correct, though. We included a photo of a purple later-model Trans Am just to see how the “Ferdibird” will soon look like.