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This Is The Pontiac Firebird From “The Rockford Files”

This is the 1978 Pontiac Firebird that was used on the television series The Rockford Files from 1978 until 1980. The show starred James Garner as Los Angeles–based private investigator Jim Rockford, a down on his luck character who lived in a rundown mobile home in a parking lot in Malibu.

The Rockford Files contained a number of interesting characters but the most famous, barring Garner himself of course, is almost certainly the car you see here – a gold Pontiac Firebird that typically featured heavily in each episode.

Fast Facts – The Rockford Files And The Firebird

The Rockford Files was a private detective TV show that was on the air from 1974 until 1980 starring James Garner.
As with many police and detective shows, the series made use of an instantly recognizable automobile that became a central character in its own right.
The Rockford Files proved wildly popular throughout its television run, accumulating 123 episodes as well as eight made-for-TV movies.
The car you see here was used in the series from 1978 until the show ended in 1980, reportedly because James Garner didn’t like the look of the new Firebird front end, insisting on keeping this one.

The Story Of The Last Rockford Files Pontiac Firebird

When it originally rolled off the production line no one knew this car would go on to become a television star in its own right.

The car was painted in Glacier Blue rather than gold and once it was acquired by Cinema Vehicle Services it needed a full repaint in its current color plus a new flat hood was fitted and the rear wing was deleted to match the previous Firebirds used by Garner in the series.

The Rockford Files Car Pontiac Firebird 11

The car has been preserved just as it was when James Garner drove it in the TV series.

When it was built the car was equipped with a 350 cubic inch V8 and a 3-speed automatic transmission, it would keep this powertrain throughout its time on the TV series to the modern day.

In 1979 the Firebird was given a new front end, it’s remained controversial to the current day with some loving it and some hating it. James Garner wasn’t a fan and as a result this car was kept and used on the show for three years from 1978, though 1979, to the final season in 1980.

The importance of the car to the plot of The Rockford Files is hard to overstate, the car featured significantly in every episode and Garner famously liked to do his own stunts – the most famous of which was the famous “Jim Rockford turn-around.”

This was essentially what we would now call a J-turn or a “moonshiner’s turn,” Garner describes it in his own words below in his book The Garner Files:

“When you are going straight in reverse about 35 miles an hour, you come off the gas pedal, go hard left, and pull on the emergency brake. That locks the wheels and throws the front end around. Then you release everything, hit the gas, and off you go in the opposite direction.” – James Garner

Buying The Rockford Files Car

In 2015 at the Kissimmee Auction held by Mecum in January this car came up for public sale, the price estimate was $30,000 to $50,000 USD and it was seen by an Australian man named Cam who just happened to be looking for a Rockford Files clone.

Cam has long been a fan of the show and of James Garner’s other work, so when he realized he had a chance to buy an actual screen-used Firebird from the show he jumped at the chance. Once the dust settled from the bidding war he was the new owner, and arrangements were made to ship the car to Sydney in New South Wales.

Since it arrived in Australia great attention has been paid to keeping the car as original as possible while carefully preserving it. The original drivetrain was removed and rebuilt, at this point it was discovered that the heads were cracked so new heads were sourced and a mild cam was fitted.

In 2020 it became clear that the now 42 year old paintwork was going to need attention if the car was to stay rust free. Cam took the car to Unique Customs in Brookvale, Sydney and they worked on a plan to perfectly color match the paint. After a thorough inspection the car was found to be almost entirely rust free save for a small patch under the trunk.

The outer body was almost all taken back to bare metal, it was then repainted with carefully matched gold paint before a protective clear coat was applied. The biggest enemy of cars of this era tends to be rust, and one of the best defenses against this is a modern primer, paint, clear coat combination.

In 2016 Cam was in LA, he was able to meet up with James Garner’s daughter Gigi Garner, who has done a lot of work to keep her father’s memory alive. She gave Cam an original Rockford Files jacket worn by Garner as well as a shirt, t-shirt, a sweater to go with the car.

Cam now runs a Facebook Page and an Instagram account dedicated to the Firebird and its history, if you’d like to follow along with his adventures in the car you can click the links below.

Follow The Original Rockford Files Firebird – Facebook – Instagram

The post This Is The Pontiac Firebird From “The Rockford Files” appeared first on Silodrome.

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The Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special: 1,449 lb/ft And (Theoretically) Capable Of 204 mph

As its name suggests, the Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special you see here is powered by a Meteor V12 – that’s the non-supercharged version of the 27 liter Merlin V12 aero engine from WWII that powered the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, Mosquito, North American P-51D Mustang (in Packard form) and many other iconic aircraft.

This may be the only time in history that the McLaren F1 supercar and a tank-engined special are ever mentioned in the same breath, but if you take a close look at the seating arrangement in the Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special you’ll note one marked similarity: both the McLaren F1 and the car you see here have a central driving position, with two passenger seats off set to the sides behind the driver.

Fast Facts – The Meteor 27 Liter V12 Special

The Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 was a swept capacity of 27 liters, and the engine you see fitted to this car produces a dyno-tested 631 bhp and 1,449 lb ft of torque.
Due to that prodigious torque figure it’s common for cars that use this engine to be fitted with a heavy duty automatic transmission, as the torque converter helps reduce drivetrain shock and it eliminates the need for a regular clutch.
This car uses a double ladder cross-braced chassis and Jaguar XJ12 suspension components, as well as disc brakes and power steering from the XJ12.
The car is geared for a top speed of 204 mph, however this has never been tested as the tires are rated for a maximum of 135 mph.

The Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 Engine

The development of the Rolls-Royce Meteor engine began almost by accident, due to the difficulty of manufacturing the Merlin engine and its high cost, Rolls-Royce had begun collecting Merlin engines from crated aircraft and refurbishing them.

The seating arrangement is reminiscent of the McLaren F1, with a centrally positioned driver and the two rear passengers sitting off to the sides.

These engines were not suitable for re-use in aircraft for obvious safety reasons, however Rolls-Royce executive W. A. Robotham quickly realized that a detuned, non-supercharged version of the Merlin would be ideal for use in tanks. In fact it would increase power and tank speed considerably thanks to the ~1,000 hp output, considerably more than the ~500 hp tank engines then in use.

When the first Meteor engines were installed into the British Crusader tank in place of the original Liberty L-12 engine performance essentially doubled despite the fact that that both engines had the same 27 liter displacement.

This additional power allowed tank designers to add more armor and make tanks safer, and impressively the Rolls-Royce engines were more fuel efficient and more reliable than the engines they replaced.

So revolutionary was the Meteor engine that Duncan Sandys, the Financial Secretary to the War Office during WWII, was noted to have said “I regard the adoption of the Meteor tank engine as the absolute turning-point in the history of British tank development.”

The Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special

The idea of putting aircraft engines into cars isn’t a new one, but due to the fact that each one is typically built by hand, no two are ever the same.

The car tips the scales at almost 5,000 lbs and it has an estimated fuel efficiency of between 5 and 10 miles per gallon.

The most famous car of this type is almost certainly Jay Leno’s Merlin V12-engined car that he regularly drives on the road – he also has an M47 Patton tank-engined car developed by Randy Grubb.

The construction of the Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special began in South Africa in 2001, the man behind the project had visited Robin Beech in Sussex and seen the Handlye Special, a one-off car powered by a non-supercharged 27 liter Merlin V12 engine.

It took him a year to find a Meteor engine, he discovered one in Johannesburg that had been taken from a Centurion tank sent to South Africa in 1952. With the engine secured he then designed a strong double ladder, cross-braced chassis and fitted it with Jaguar XJ12 suspension, brakes, and power steering.

Impressively, when the car’s weight distribution was tested it came in at a near perfect 50/50 front and rear with a total curb weight of approximately 2,200 kgs (4,850 lbs). The car issues a tubular steel framework mounted to the chassis with aluminum body panels fitted to form the body of the car.

In 2016 the owner moved to the UK and brought the car with him, he then had the engine rebuilt by Flight Engineers in Leeds, a company that specializes in rebuilding aero engines. After the rebuild the engine was tested on their dynamometer, it now produces 631 bhp and 1,449 lb ft of torque with an expected fuel consumption rate of between 5 and 10 mpg.

The Meteor V12 has one single overhead cam per bank, two valves per cylinder, and a swept capacity of 27 liters or 1,650 cubic inches.

The gearbox used is an automatic GM TH400 from a Jaguar XJ12, now fitted with heavy duty drag racing internals, with a step-up gearbox designed and built in Cape Town using helical gears.

The car sits on 21″ wheels and Blockley tires, and it is reportedly geared for a top speed of 204 mph – however it’s important to note that the tires are rated for a maximum speed of 135 mph.

The car is now due to be offered for sale with Bonhams on the 5th of September with a price guide of $210,000 to $270,000 USD. It is accompanied by a large trailer with a manual winch, a full sized spare wheel, new unused camshafts still in their box, a spare oil pump, two spare water pumps, wheel spacers, a tonneau cover, and a slew of other useful parts.

If you’d like to read more about the unusual Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Meteor 27 Litre V12 Special 18