BBT’s radical ‘69 Firebird is the perfect blend of old-school
cool and modern mechanicals.
We
told you to expect greater diversity among our feature cars, but you may not have
been expecting a pro touring/restomod muscle car. And
that’s OK we’re well aware that a 69 Firebird probably isn’t even on many of
our readers radar when it comes to their dream project car plat-form. But we’re
also pretty sure that once you take a good, close look at this masterpiece of
old-meets-new craftsmanship and obsessive-compulsive attention to detail,
you’re going to want to incorporate some of the thinking and execution applied
to this project to your own, whether it’s a turbocharged Miata or a 2JZ-swapped
BMW (though only a mentalist would attempt a 2JZ swap into a e39 chassis).
’69 Firebird’s seat
The
69 Firebird you see here rolled of the assembly line as one of 75,000 or so
produced that year, to go along with almost a quarter-million sister-car
Camaros. so although first-gen Firebirds aren’t exactly the rarest of birds,
compared to the Camaro, it seemed like a less common and thus more appealing
starting point for a pro touring build for owner Sid Tracy, car builder Troy
Grudge from BBT Fabrications, and designer Ben Hermance
from Hermance designs.
According
to Troy, “Sid approached me a couple months after we finished the first car we
built for him (a 30 Ford roadster) wanting to build a pro touring muscle car.
After talking a bit, we decided that the 69 Firebird would be the car since it
is very similar in body style to the Camaro [a shape Sid found attractive]. Sid
had a lot of trust in me after we finished the first car, so he only had a few
things he was set on with this build and left the rest to me. His must-haves
were a European sports car theme; flush-mount glass; a dark char-coal gray,
exotic sports car interior; and a modern LS powered drivetrain”.
At
this point, some of you might be assuming that Troy is an old, gray-haired hot rodder who used to hang out with George Barris
and Boyd Coddington, but nothing could be further
from the truth. Troy is just 27 years old, though his fabrication skills and
the team he’s assembled at BBT Fabrications in Champaign, Illinois, do suggest
he’s been at this for more decades than most of us have been alive. Call it an
annoying convergence of talent and passion, but whatever it is, Troy and his
crew at BBT (Built By Troy) are already producing some
of the finest hot rods in the country, having opened for business just six
years ago.
The engine of ’69 Firebird
Sid,
the owner of this Firebird and a number of other custom classics, explained
Troy’s uncanny ability to turn metal into art like this: he has no formal
training in bodywork, but he’s a master at it. Troy is developing a name for
himself, and it’s nationwide. He’s a talent for the ages, destined for good
things. Those good things, as it turned out, include this 69 Firebird turning
heads at SEMA, ours included, along with being chosen as one of five finalists
for street machine of the Year at the Good guys rod & custom association’s
PPG nationals show in Columbus, Ohio, back in July.
Transforming
this first-gen Firebird into the nationally recognized pro tourer
it is today really began once Troy and Sid enlisted designer Ben Hermance. As Troy put it, “The one thing i knew we had to
change was the front end of the car. The factory front end was so big and
bulky, it had to go. After some back and forth design talk with Ben, we came up
with a final rendering as a blueprint to build the car...
Since
Sid’s a corvette guy who likes Italian sports cars but wanted his Firebird to
maintain the overall feel of an American muscle car, Troy and Ben certainly had
their work cut out for them to satisfy Sid’s diverse tastes. But the final
render in of a lowered, modernized version of the Firebird ticked of all the
right boxes and allowed Troy and his crew at BBT to do what they do best wanted
a covered cage like in a Ferrari. It’s not so much for racing but to stiffen
the car and make it safer for the street. He didn’t want to see it, though, and
it was a challenge to design the interior around it in a way that tucked it all
up out of sight.
The ’69 Firebird in flat black
The
custom-machined gauge cluster, done by Jesse Greening at Greening Auto, is also
a true centerpiece for the interior, changing the look and feel of the driver
seat from late 60s F-body to modern exotic. The hand-formed metal work around
the Tremec 6-speed gear lever is also a testament to
old-world craftsmanship. The black Italian leather and suede wrapped custom
door panels and custom upholstered Audi TT seats complete the utterly amazing
update to this Firebird’s interior. The MOMO steering wheel, push-button start,
and modern navigation system screen complete the modernization process. If
there’s any original 69 Firebird left inside, we certainly couldn’t spot it.
Pro
touring muscle cars may not necessarily be your cup of tea, but taking in the
details on a truly customized and modernized hunk of Detroit iron like Sid
Tracy’s first-generation Firebird can’t help but inspire you to think outside
the box when you beginning planning your next project car.
