And when did Firebirds start being made in Canada?
Good question, Jim. Here's what I think might be another one - why didn't the Canadian teams just buy one of these "Canadian Firebirds" instead of converting Camaros? One of the guys that I know that was racing in Trans Am at the time tells me of a real Canadian Firebird that was dropped off behind their shop for them to convert to a race car - with the only engine from the Pontiac factory (CDN or US) that was legal in Trans Am at the time, the OHC six. They did okay as long as the track had short straights.
If there had been any other engine option, they definitely would have used it. They didn't have a choice, and that to me, a fellow racer who will find whatever way that I can to be competitive, is very convincing.
No, the dealership thing isn't conclusive but indicates to me that we certainly don't have all the facts and opinions regarding the happenings. I've been trying to follow leads that I think of up here. So far I haven't found any proof of the actual existence, and a big void where there should be evidence. But lack of proof is not an elimination of the possibility.
Vikki has presented the most logical and convincing way of proving that it wasn't just a scam by the racers - provide info on just one car. IF there is any basis in truth to this, there should be at the very least hundreds of Chev-equipped Firebirds out there.
The number of rare FGFs that have been found and documented - incuding seven of the eight TA convertibles - makes a strong case in my mind that one "302 FIrebird" should have turned up in the last quarter century of scrounging.
