1968 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am For Sale in Scotts Valley, CA, 2146377920 Tweet

Click here to view high resolution photos 5L Chevrolet V8* 475HP Borg Warner T-10 4 speed transmission 8x15in American Racing Wheels J56 Steel Calipers Disc Brakes Holley 41 50 carburetors with Edelbrock intake manifold Class Winner, 24 Hours of Daytona, 1969 Third Overall, 24 Hours of Daytona, 1969 Carried Jerry Titus to his last victory If luck plays any role in the outcome of an automobile race, that good fortune also tends to grace those best prepared to exploit its bounty. Jerry Titus, a seasoned and successful racer, knew this dynamic well, and arrived at the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona with a fully prepared Trans Am racecar - once a Camaro but now wearing the panels from Pontiacs Firebird - ready to enjoy whatever luck might accompany his entry in Touring 5000, one of nine classes and 63 cars that would form the grid for the run around the clock. By the end of those 24 hours, Titus and co-driver Jon Ward would demonstrate the power of preparation and perseverance - and benefit from a whole lot of luck - to earn not only top spot in class but third overall behind a pair of Lola T70s. That their roaring chunk of American iron outlasted three score of faster, lighter and more exotic machinery to reach the podium seems unlikely enough, but the story of how this car even came to be makes it unique among retired winners of the Florida classic. Jerry Titus was at the apex of his racing career at the end of the Sixties, having helped capture SCCA Trans Am titles for Carroll Shelbys Mustang effort in 1966 and, more notably, in 1967, when he won four rounds of the fiercely fought contests. The following season, however, was not kind to Titus, as reliability issues limited him to a single victory, and there was growing tension between him and Shelby. Titus was known as a tough competitor who could extract more from a car than it had to give, but he was not simply a quick and courageous shoe. His background as a student at Julliard (his trumpet was good enough to jam with Jack Teagardens orchestra) and then as a mechanic and a journalist had broadened his ambitions, and late in the 1968 season he announced he would be leaving Shelby at years end to partner in a new Pontiac race effort with Canadian Terry Godsall. Shelby responded by firing Titus, but not before he recorded a DNF at Septembers Riverside round in his last drive in a Ford - and that is where this tale begins to take shape. Pontiac needed to promote its Firebird, and there was no better place than in the hugely popular Trans Am series, where the new TG Racing team would compete against its showroom foes the Camaro and the Mustang in Class 2 for cars with engines between 2.0- and 5.0 liters. The chief problem was Pontiac didnt yet have a properly sized powerplant, and Titus had yet to procure a Firebird from Pontiacs slowly developing effort, so he was left without a ride for the final race of the year. Godsall and Titus came up with a quick solution. The plan to fill the gap was hatched at Riverside, where Titus had watched privateer and friend Jon Ward take his self-built Camaro to an astonishing fourth place in a field boasting such names as Donohue, Revson, Follmer, Bucknum, and Adamowicz. Also in the mix was a Firebird entered by Godsall and driven by Craig Fisher - and under the hood was a 304-cubic-inch Chevrolet V-8 massaged by Al Bartz and fitted with the Z-28 engines cross-ram manifold. Known to few at the time, certain Pontiacs sold in Canada were offered with Chevrolet engines, so it was, in the strict sense of the SCCA rules, possible for a Chevrolet-powered Pontiac to run in the Trans Am. An astute mechanic and studious reader of the rules, Titus saw an opportunity and struck a deal with Ward to buy the Camaro. The two would continue together in the cars American ra