A 14-year-old in Wisconsin brought her brother’s abandoned Pontiac Firebird back to life
Published on Jun 07, 2025 at 6:30 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Jun 03, 2025 at 5:22 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
The Pontiac Firebird is a truly iconic car.
It was introduced in February 1967 to compete with the Ford Mustang.
One Firebird had sadly been left to the ravages of time.
But one 14-year-old detailer has stepped in to save it.
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Back in 1967, the American car market was a very different place.
The American masses demanded more and more power from their cars.
Ford was three years removed from debuting its iconic pony car: the Mustang.
Naturally, Ford’s main competitors had to scramble to compete with the Blue Oval marque.
Among them was Pontiac, which realized that it needed a competitor of its own.
Over the course of its life, the Firebird experienced rises and falls in popularity.
When first introduced in 1967, the first-generation Firebird was a relative success.
It sold 82,000 units during its first year of production.
Popularity peaked during the 1970s and the mid-1980s.
Pontiac’s flagship, especially the Trans Am variant, proved extremely popular.
Its popularity was mostly aided by the Smokey and the Bandit film series.
Unfortunately, by the late 1980s, Firebird sales had started to decline.
Despite the decline, production continued until 2002 with the fourth generation.
And it is the fourth-generation Firebird that is the subject of today’s story.
A 1999, fourth-generation Pontiac Firebird has been left neglected.
In fact, this classic has been left in a woodland for over six months.
It came with a blown V6 engine and a body that had been subject to the harshest of weather.
But a 14-year-old girl who runs a YouTube channel called Ch0colate, also happens to be an aspiring professional car detailer.
The girl got her hands on this, her brother’s, 1999 Firebird.
And she did a truly incredible job of transforming this legendary car.
Long gone was the filthy paintwork and the grimy interior of this icon.
In fact, it looks like it has come straight out of the showroom from 1999.
This Firebird was then ready for the next stage in the restoration process.
In order to get it back on the road, the blown V6 engine needs to be swapped.
The plan is to swap it for an LS1 V8, coupled with a T56 six-speed manual transmission.
It will be truly wonderful to see this classic hit the road in all its former glory once again.
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Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
