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(6) 1972 FIREBIRD OWNED, BUILT AND DRIVEN BY — RTTH7

tom — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:26:23 +0000

Bob Bertelesen. A Pro-Touring car at its best. Mast MotorSports LS3 575hp, DSE Suspension, Baer Brakes – 14″ front 13″rear, Bowler 4L80E Trans, Twist Machine padle shifter.

RTTH 7, 2011 RTTH, 2011 Run Thru The Hills, 2011 Run Thru The Hills 7, Bill Howell

ALISON the Brave – RTTH6 Part 2

tom — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:40:52 +0000

Alison and her boyfriend were at the RTTH to support their friend Wes Strawn who was running his 1978 Pro-Touring Formula Firebird. I was checking out Wes’s Firebird and saw Alison. Let’s see, great car, really cute girl. Let’s give it a try. Alison took the invitation to pose for AmericanCarsAmericanGirls.com as compliment and said ‘’Sure why not”. I don’t think that’s what her boyfriend was thinking at all. Allison wanted to pose and she did. We got some great shots and had some fun. Later when I was talking to Wes about his car I told Wes that I hoped the boyfriend hadn’t gotten too mad. Wes told me not to worry. The boyfriend was kind of the jealous type but he’d get over it. That actually made me feel a little better.

Wes’s Firebird was the most understated car at RTTH. From exterior to the interior one might have thought that it was a numbers matching car. The first give away are the 19’’ Forgeline snowflake replica wheels and then you pop the hood and see the LSX and on and on. The Firebird’s specs are shown in the spec section below. What was really cool about Wes was that his mom, dad, sister, girlfriend, and friends were all at RTTH rooting for him.

RHONDA and Her 1969 FIREBIRD T/A–RTTH6 Part 2

tom — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 01:24:16 +0000

To celebrate the Firebird’s entry in the Trans Am championship a special commemorative version was constructed by Pontiac. Every ‘Firebird Trans Am’ was delivered in white with two blue racing stripes. The 400 c.i. engine was equipped with the RAM cold air induction setup. The big V8 engine produced 335 bhp. At the end of 1969, a new generation of the Firebird was unveiled, which also meant the end of the first generation Firebird Trans Am. With only 697 examples produced, the 1969 Firebird Trans Am is a very rare Bird.

This brings us to Rhonda’s T/A. It’s a clone but an extremely nice clone that was built by her husband, John. John decided to go with a modern day LS1 engine and Tremec 6spd. Both the engine and transmission were, appropriately taken from a 2000 Pontiac T\A WS6. I’ve seen pictures of an original 1969 T/A and except for the brand of tires it would take a very trained eye to tell the difference.

The T/A is exactly what Rhonda needed something that would give her a little more flash and flair.

CODE RED: The NEXT STEP- RTTH6 Part 2

tom — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:09:13 +0000

When I got home from the RTTH6 I Googled in Code Red Firebird and got nothing. Six weeks later I Googled in Code Red Firebird and I get all kinds of information. Code Red is the new standard of Pro Touring. If you Google Bob Bertelesen, builder of Code Red, and you get the the Popular Hot Rodding’s article on Code Red. This article is a must read for anyone interested in cutting edge Pro -Touring cars. The most interesting thing to me is that Bob chose to use the GM L99 engine for his 1972 Firebird. This engine is available only with automatic transmissions in the new Corvettes and Camaros. The L99 features the Active Fuel Management System. The AFMS automatically shuts down four cylinders at cruising speeds for better mileage. The factory L99 comes with about 400 bhp. Code Red’s L99 makes 575 bhp. Bob mst be interested in getting a little better fuel mileage when he is driving Code Red from one Pro-Touring event to the next.

2010 PONTIACS at PIGEON FORGE

tom — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:12:27 +0000

This was my second visit to this event and maybe my last. In an intense professional moment, I was taking a picture; I leaned gently on a participant’s car. This can be a big mistake at a car show. I sincerely apologized for my mistake but the guy just wouldn’t let it go. The situation finally did defuse. But we’ll not let one bad moment spoil what was a fun day at a good show. I love the venue at the Music Road Hotel, the perfect place for a car show.

Tiffany — The 2010 Model

tom — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:54:44 +0000

Tiffany and family were at the 2009 Pontiacs at Pigeon Forge where I was able to photograph her when she was fourteen years old and cute. The 2010 model of Tiffany is now fifteen and gorgeous. Have I mentioned that Tiffany is an award winning model? She had recently been crowned Miss Teen Model 2010 at the Teen Festival of Stars Modeling Pageant.

Tiffany is being photographed with her brother’s 30^th Anniversary Special Edition Firebird T/A convertible. What makes this special T/A extra special is the 800 original miles showing on the odometer

CECILIA the TOTALLY AWESOME FIREBIRD GIRL

tom — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:38:02 +0000

I was fortunate to be able to photograph Cecilia at the 2009 Pontiacs at Pigeon Forge² event. I was so hoping that she would be at the 2010 event. The girl can hit some really sexy poses and had fun doing it. Thankfully my anticipation was short lived. I spotted her and her new husband’s show winning 2002 WS6 T/A. parked in the spot closes to the entrance. If you want to know more on Cecilia and their WS6 check out the 09/09 issue of High Performance Pontiac. Cecilia’s husband Robbie said he had recovered the seats in ostrich leather over the winter. The ostrich leather was a new one on me but appeartently not that uncommon in the show car world.

TIFFANY and the BEAST

tom — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:32:14 +0000

In this post Tiffany is being photographed with Bob Stinson’s 1971 455 HO Trans Am. The 1971 T/A was my favorite car at the show. It’s an iconic, original, unrestored, beast. I hope Bob can keep the T/A original. You can restore a car a 100 times but it’s only original once.

The 455 engine available in the second generation Firebird Trans Am was arguably the last high-performance engine of the original muscle car generation

ALYSHA — She Was HOT

tom — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:43:18 +0000

Alysha was truly a glamorous HOT sexy girl. She was also my last shoot of the day and the temperature had climbed to about 400⁰F and Alysha was HOT. In a few of the pictures you might be able to see the drops of perspiration on her upper lip. Alysha persevered and the more she posed the better she got. You might say the hotter it got the hotter Alysha got. Alysha is from Adams Tn. and was at the show with her husband and son.

FYI — Adams Tn. is home of The Bell Witch Haunting called by many as ‘’America’s Greatest Ghost Story’’. Go to www.bellwtich.org for more info.

The BLACKBIRD

tom — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:12:44 +0000

The Firebird Alysha is posing with is owned by David Brown of Salvisa, Ky. The very special Firebird has been named the Blackbird. David has had the car totally rebuilt and modernized. The engine is an LS1 topped with a Magnusson super charger. For complete details on the Blackbird Google — ——Operation: Blackbird-Firebird 69.