Pontiac is the mark of great cars. So what does the “P” in Pontiac stand for? Pony, of course, as is pony car. Born mid-year 1964, after Pontiac’s GTO laid the foundation for the muscle car, the smaller “sportscar-esque” pony car was unleashed at the command of Ford leader Lee Iacocca, and the name of his steed was Mustang. Plymouth had actually vied for birthrights to the pony car as their Barracuda was introduced 2 weeks before the Mustang. But it was Ford’s first day sales of 22,000 Mustangs and a million units in 2 years that turned the public on to the pony car class. By the late sixties, the success of the pony car was like a thundering stampede that found other manufacturers struggling to lasso onto the wild stallion and take the reigns of the thoroughbred market. GM’s Chevrolet division had been working on their own pony car concept since the emergence of the Mustang, and in 1967, Chevrolet seized a stronghold on the market when they unveiled the Camaro. That left Pontiac playing catch up. Pontiac did in fact have a concept design of their own, dubbed Banshee, but it was a 2-seater sports car that was aimed more at the Corvette market than the Mustangs. Predictably, GM banned Pontiac’s Banshee concept, sending the division, led by John DeLorean, back to pasture with little time to come up with their own pony car entry.
To ensure Pontiac would be a major force in the new pony car wars, DeLorean decided to build his stallion on the F-body frame of Chevy's Camaro as a basis for what would become the Firebird. The Firebird would debut mid-year 1967, 5 months after the unveiling of the Camaro. This gave Pontiac enough time to give the Firebird a unique individuality. When the Firebird finally arrived, it was clear Pontiac’s pony car was hardly a rehash of the Chevy Camaro. The Firebird was revealed with a unique split grill, modified beak-like hood, six vertical louvers on the front of the rear quarter panels, and louver style spilt horizontal taillights. Underneath, the Firebird made use of the GTO's drive train with a different rear end, as well as improved front suspension and reinforced rear springs. Offered in 2 door coupe & convertible form, Pontiac's Firebird flew from the nest in 1967 with 5 different engine choices, advertised as the magnificent 5. Each with their own distinctive behavior, the magnificent 5 were each designed, built and optioned for a specific style of driving.
For the parsimonious, the stock Firebird with the standard 230ci-165hp OHC six-cylinder offered a fun ride at an affordable price. If the baseline Firebird didn’t have enough gallop, the Sprint offered a quicker ride by way of a 4-barrel 230ci-215hp six cylinder with greater stability that seemingly welded the car to the road. For the consumer that wanted an all around performer that combined practicality with performance, Pontiac offered the 326ci V8 capable of cranking out 250 horses with the air conditioning running while making those summer jaunts to the local Food Mart. If you were a performance enthusiast that had pavement pounding in mind over practicality, melting your tires was never made easier with Pontiacs HO (High Output) 326ci V8 growling under the hood with 285 horses running wild. And if that still wasn't enough, the true blacktop bruisers would be in heaven behind the wheel of Pontiacs fire-breathing, 325hp 400ci V8 earth scorcher. A heavy-duty Hurst shifter and wide oval red line tires were added to round out Pontiacs top of the line pony car as well as twin non-functional hood scoops that were added merely for look, although checking off the Ram Air option made those twin scoops functional. Even though Pontiac came late to the table in 1967, the Firebirds introductory year was nothing short of explosive with over 33,000 unit sales in less than 2 months culminating at the end of the 7 month production year with an impressive 82,560 Firebirds sold.
At first glance, the 1968 Firebird didn’t appear strikingly different on the outside with the only changes being the deletion of the side vent windows, the addition of arrowhead side marker lights and the new wraparound front turn signal lights. It was those differences not immediately noticeable that were more significant. Perhaps the most significant was the boost delivered to the spirit of Pontiac’s pony car. The majority of the magnificent 5 saw displacement and/or horsepower increases from the baseline OHC six-cylinder to the top of the line 400 Ram Air. The OHC six was up to 250ci from 230 with a horsepower increase of 175hp whereas the Sprint retained the 4-barrel Quadrajet 215hp 230ci six-cylinder. The 67’s 326 V8 was upgraded to a 265hp 350 with another 55 horses on tap for the 350 HO, topping out at 320hp. Tread thrashing was made even easier with the Firebird’s top of the line 400ci V8 with ratings up from 325hp to 330hp for the standard 400 and 335hp for the 400 HO and 400 Ram Air although a mid year 400 Ram Air II would be introduced with an increase from 335hp to 340hp. In order to keep this stallion from galloping off the beaten path, the stability of the Firebird also required improvements. The rear suspension was revised with a new staggered shock system as well as multi-leaf rear springs, and the signature Wide-Track stance was improved with wider F70 Firestone Wide-Oval tires which were capable of the holding the Firebird to an “S” curve the way a roller coaster hugs a hairpin. The Pontiac Firebird was by all definition “Driving Excitement”.
The exuberance of the Pontiac driving experience was further heightened with an elegant interior, richly appointed with knitted vinyl upholstery & simulated wood grain trim on the dash. As with the rest of the car, the interior of the 1968 Firebird benefited from many new enhancements from sun visors to arm rests to seat belts with push button buckles to carpeting that carried over to the lower door panel. Windshield pillar moldings, a full-flowing ventilation system with adjustable round air outlets, and a new instrument panel were further upgrades as was the optional Hurst shifter used for “shifting away those idle minutes”. That is if there were any as this car demanded to be driven and about the only place this car could be found sitting still was in the garage. All of the added amenities combined with the Firebird’s raw performance branded Pontiac’s pony car footprint in stone, validating its claim to existence in the noble pony car stable with well over 100,000 Firebird’s sold in 1968.
Today, Pontiac’s Firebird is still blazing the scorched Earth alongside its native pony car siblings, the Camaro & Mustang. These street stallions are considered by many enthusiasts to be “The Last of the Muscle Cars”. In celebration & honor of the Firebird’s dignified legacy, the craftsmen at the Exact Detail division of Lane Collectables have immortalized the spirit of the first-gen pony car in a grand high-detail 1/18-scale limited production diecast. The Aleutian Blue 1968 Firebird 400 marks the second release in Lanes Exact Detail Firebird series, and the first of the Exact Detail street Firebirds. From the metallic blue paint to the detailed interior & engine compartment, Lane has impressively captured the exuberance of Pontiac’s Firebird and delivered it to us in a strikingly beautiful replica.
For starters, the overall fit & finish on Lane’s Aleutian Blue 1968 Firebird 400 – as is trademark with the entirety of the Exact Detail lineup – is top notch. The quality of the metallic blue paint is supreme as is the appeal of the vinyl top & chrome plated trim. The shape of the Firebird is exact from nose to tail and the stance of Pontiac’s pony car has been accurately captured. Authentic 1968 details have been faithfully reproduced on the miniature scale Firebird, including the side vent window deletion, the rear arrowhead side marker lights, and the wraparound front turn signal lights. The chrome plated split grille is a work of art, the shape is authentic Firebird with its dual headlights recessed in chrome trim rings on both sides and the Pontiac arrowhead set at center stage. The native Firebird logos have been appropriately placed on the front fenders and on the rear gas door centered between the split horizontal louver style taillights. The Aleutian Blue 1968 Firebird 400 rides on a set of Pontiac Rally wheels wrapped in authentic redline Wide Ovals placed at each of the 4 corners. This Wide-Track scale stallion appears capable of handling any hardwood floor driving adventures including those tricky “S” turns. Now that is driving excitement.
The excitement of this pony car replica continues around to the pleasantly detailed interior, concealed by a pair of realistically operating doors. Lanes Exact Detail Firebird series is the first in the Exact Detail line to incorporate the new door hinge design, and the hinges on Lanes 68 Firebird are an exceptional example of this new feature. The design is Lanes very own, and the amount of meticulous work that went into this design is evident in the optimal function of the gliding hinge that opens & closes in a very smooth motion. The hinged doors open to the most stunningly detailed interior ever designed by Lane, and quite possibly one of the nicest interiors I've ever seen. The detailed gauges, chrome plated trim, detailed steering wheel & floor pedals are things we've come to expect in a Lane interior. The chrome plated sill plates, the detailed headliner with dome light, and simulated carpeting are details that are carried over from the Tin Indian Firebird release. New interior details for Lanes Exact Detail 68 Firebird include simulated carpeting that carries over to the lower door panels and a simulated wood grain trim on the dash & center console. There are also a few exceptional details that were carried over from the Tin Indian, but can’t go without acknowledging as these are a few of the details that make the interior so amazing. For starters, the bucket seats are detailed with woven fabric seat belts with detailed clasps and locking mechanisms that are second to none, even better than the safety devices used in Lanes Exact Detail Oldsmobile series. If you fold the seats forward, you’ll see another infinitesimal yet incredible detail, a painted lever on the seatback for pushing the seatback forward. But the greatest of them all has to be realistically soft touch the vinyl-upholstered seats have. It may not sound like a big deal, but it is a vast improvement over the bland hard plastic feel of the seats in Lane’s earlier releases. The seats in the 68 Firebird are soft to the touch and when you rub your finger across them, it feels like honest to god vinyl under a rich application of Armor-All. You can even see the texture in the seats, it’s extraordinary. Don’t rub too hard though, as you wouldn’t want the knitting to come undone. Just kidding!!!
The engine compartment is no exception to this high detail masterpiece. For starters, the engine rests beneath an accurately replicated hood with the “beak” shaped bulge and dual hood scoops with “400” tampos on the outside edge of each scoop. As for the hood hinges, while you won’t find those ultra cool hinges found on the Precision 100 cars, the hinges Lane designed for the Firebird are very similar to the arms used on the GMP GTO's & Lane Oldsmobile's, but function much better with the biggest difference being their size. They are very small swing arms placed at the edges of the hood, preventing them from cutting into the firewall detail whatsoever. Rest assured, Lane is working on their own realistic hood hinge, but in the interim, this miniature dog legs work very nicely. The Pontiac 400ci V8 powerplant is fully detailed with a plethora of wires & hoses, including a wired battery, wired distributor, wired windshield fluid reservoir, fuel line and a detailed master cylinder with brake fluid lines that are properly routed to the front wheels & rear axle assembly. The engine bay is finished off with chrome plated valve covers and a detailed air cleaner with accurate labels, accurate to the 68 Firebird. The undercarriage is accented with a detailed transmission & oil filter as well as the steel fuel and brake lines routed to their appropriate destinations, a detailed gas tank and an exhaust system finished in Lane’s signature stainless steel treatment that exits through a pair of chrome plated exhaust tips. The opening trunk is another blessing to be discovered on the Exact Detail Firebird. Inside, a highly legible trunk label will be found as will a detailed jack, and a space saver spare tire with the needed can of compressed air just in case this bird happens to set one of its pavement pounders aflame and needs the spare to get home from the grocery store.
The Exact Detail 1/18 scale Aleutian Blue 1968 Pontiac Firebird is a faithful replica of one of America’s greatest pony cars, sure to cause a stampede of collectors trying to lasso their copy. In 1968, Pontiac bred 18,714 Firebird 400’s – all of which have long been spoken for. Lanes Exact Detail Aleutian Blue 1968 Firebird 400 is limited to only 3500 copies. You do the math…these won’t be around for long. Pontiac is the mark of great cars, Exact Detail is the mark of great diecast. Bottom line, the Exact Detail Pontiac Firebird is a great diecast of a great car.
