Oh you didn't!

[tirebird]

I was at a car show this weekend at saw a guy with a modified first generation Firebird. What really caught my eye were the 421 badges on the front fender and, of course, the tunnel ram intake with two big stacks.

So, after he parked, I asked him if that was an original 421 in his hoodless car. He said it was, except that he recently bored and stroked the original 421 and now it's a 460!! He changed the intake too.

I left scratching my head thinking how many of us would do that to a relatively rare muscle car engine?

[jg95z28]

Would I? No. But at least he kept the original engine. I've seen at least a half dozen 1st gen Firebirds for sale near me recently. Almost all of them were powered by small block Chevys.

[DaJudge]

They never put a 421 in a Firebird from the factory. A straight six, 326, 326 HO and a 400 were the options in 67 I believe.

[NCGuy68]

[ QUOTE ]
They never put a 421 in a Firebird from the factory. A straight six, 326, 326 HO and a 400 were the options in 67 I believe.

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Tend to agree with you Mike. Through the years I recall seeing 2 with the 400 motor. The owners were very protective of them and I didn't blame them.

Any Bird experts out there that can enlighten us?

[370454s]

When I lived in Tacoma,back around 78-81. There was a kid that had a 67 Firebird 400. His dad wrecked his 66 2+ 2 and pulled the 421 Tripower out and Stuck it in the Bird. Sure looked cool and Factory.
Mike

[tirebird]

Yes, you're right, the 400 ram air was the biggest engine in the first gen. birds,..ram airs III and IV. The second generation had the 455 as the optional engine. So, he had to get a 421 from another Pontiac model to put in this car. But, no matter how he got it, the 421, especially the super duty in the 62/63 Catalina are really sought after mills.

If I remember correctly, there was a 62 Poncho Catalina, a light weight car with aluminum body panels and plexiglass windows that turned mid 12's with this 421. The engine was rated at 405 hp. I think there were even 426 c.i. versions rated at 425 hp, but not many.

I think the 421 was also available on the 65 Catalina as a base engine and with an HO option. I don't think it made as much hp as the earlier SD versions.

The engine experts on this site I'm sure know more than I do about the 421.

[olredalert]

-------Ohh yeah!,,,,,,,Your in my pond now. 421s continued all the way thru 66. In 67 Pontiac went to 400s and 428s. The 400s and 428s were just 30 over 389s and 421s. SDs stopped production at the end of 63 model year. The biggest available pontiac motor in 1964 was the famous (as opposed to infamous SDs) 421HO tri-power. It was rated 370hp in 1964 and I believe 376hp in 1965 and 1966. Im not aware of any differences in the three years with the exception of exhaust manifolds which actually may account for the 6 horsies.
-------Since Firebirds came along in 1967 and they were not a full bodied car the biggest engine available was a 400. Not up on horsepower ratings in the Birdies.
-------There was never a 426 Pontiac production motor that I am aware of. It is at least possible that 428s were really only 426 cubic inches and Pontiac didnt want to advertise engines of the same displacement as other divisions (427 chebbies) as well as completeley different companies, (426 wedges and HEMIs, and 427 fords and Mercs).
-------There were actually 4 421s available in 1964. Base 421 was low horse single 4-barrel. Then came low horse tri-power. Then came high horse 4-barrel, and finally the high horse tri-power which was referred to as the HO. This array of engine options was similar in other years (1963/65/66). This does not address any of the 389s which were also potent for thier size.
-------Lightest weight big body car was undoubtably the 63 Catalina swiss-cheese cars. Not only did they have a bunch of aluminum mostly at the front of the car, but they had drilled frames that Poncho nuts now refer to as swiss-cheese cars.
-------What an era!!! I would love to live it all over again..........Bill S

[Motion Camaro]

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... how many of us would do that to a relatively rare muscle car engine?

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<font color="blue"> I would. </font>