Photos: Pro-Touring.com

Forever epitomized by Smokey and the Bandit, black and gold third generation Firebirds are certainly the most recognizable versions of Pontiac’s pony car, even without the screaming bird decal on the hood.

For one builder over at Pro-Touring.com, his restoration of a 1982 Firebird is progressing well and, while ensuring that performance issues aren’t a second priority, the build up looks like the black and gold theme will not be forgotten either.

The car had a solid body, but the 350 V8 was out of its pretty quickly. Duggan heads from Australia are going to replace the originals for added performance.

The original throttle body fuel injection system is heading for the local landfill site. Chassis upgrades include a BMR replacement K-member and front lower control arms for it. Adjustable Koni shocks and 13-inch Baer brakes.

Sounds like this builder has a common sense build in mind, which means that it will get done in a reasonable time frame. Some of the detail work, however, is beyond interesting. With the engine and transmission out the the car, virtually every bracket and suspension component that can be removed was sent to the powdercoater for refinishing, in black, of course.

OK, that may not seem unusual on the surface. Next, virtually every fastener that came out was sent out for refinishing and replating in zinc dichromate which, of course, comes back with a gold finish. Similarly for a number of under hood components, such as his custom overflow tank, it was sent out for a matte gold finishing.

This kind of hardcore approach is the sort of thing that really sets one build apart from another. It also shows that you don’t have to throw a lot of money into a project to end up with something distinctive. There are a lot more photosin the build thread over at Pro-Touring.com if you want to follow along as this project develops.