Chris Holstrom Concepts Gets Creative on a ’67 Pontiac Firebird
The story of Josh Helm’s stunning ’67 Pontiac Firebird required two crucial decisions. First, buying the longtime family car from his mom after it sat neglected in a field for years. Second, moving the project from one shop to Chris Holstrom Concepts.
The crew at CHC worked its magic on the rough remains of the Pontiac Firebird, redoing some of the work initially done and massaging the car into a highly styled and performance-minded modern street machine. After the repair and replace chores on the car’s sheet metal were complete, the creative work started.
The Holstrom team of Josh Jones and Beto Gonzales created custom front and rear valances, tucked and smoothed the bumpers, modified the trunk floor, and tweaked the fenders. They also massaged the hood scoops, installed Kindig flush-mount door handles, deleted the badging, and created one-piece window trim. Josh Jones applied the brilliant custom-mixed PPG blue finish, a distinctive hue that shifts based on the light.
The freshened and much-massaged body sits on an Art Morrison chassis with a performance-based independent front suspension, Strange coil-over shocks, and rack-and-pinion steering. A triangulated four-bar rear suspension locates the 9-inch rearend housing 3.89 gears. Wilwood six-piston disc brakes were installed on all four corners behind Forgeline RB3C wheels (19×9.5 in front; 19×11.5 in the rear) wrapped in Continental tires.
The Pontiac Firebird is powered by a 6.2-liter LS9 V8 courtesy of Lingenfelter Performance. A custom engine cover created by Pyramid Optimized Design gives it a distinctive look, while Hooker headers direct exhaust waste through a Borla exhaust system. A Bowler-built T56 six-speed manual transmission handles the gear-changing chores.
The passenger compartment features the work of Northwest Crafted Interiors. The 3D-printed dash is wrapped in the same Hydes leather used elsewhere and houses Dakota Digital gauges. The dark grey leather on the dash, door panels and seats all features blue stitching that matches the exterior. A custom console separates the Recaro front seats.
There’s a matching leather-wrapped Sparco wheel sitting on the Ididit tilt column, with climate control from a Vintage Air system and an American Autowire harness providing electrical connections. One unique feature is the use of Lamborghini push-button start switch rather than a traditional key.
The Josh’s’ ’67 Pontiac Firebird debuted in the Hot Rod Industry Alliance booth at the 2023 SEMA Show, where it garnered plenty of attention. The finished ride more than met Josh’s expectations, Chris says. “We worked with a design and executed the owner’s dream of the perfect Firebird to cruise,” Chris says. “The car drives amazing and handles well with insane power.”
Photos by Damon Lee
