Travolta Fever Firebird. George Barris' channeled the Disco era in this wide-body F-car. Text and photography by Dallas Gregory. Excerpted with permission from PONTIAC ENTHUSIAST Magazine, November/December 2007 Issue. An overheard conversation at the Barrett-Jackson auction last January, in Scottsdale, Arizona, led us to the discovery of this lost-in-time Travolta Fever Firebird. James Monroe, the current owner of the car, and his friend, Mark Knass, were discussing the merits of a GTO convertible with this Pontiac Enthusiast writer within earshot. After offering opinions to Monroe's' query, he told us that he had something that might interest us. A few e-mailed pictures later and we were making plans to head to the left coast and meet Monroe in the L.A. suburb of Ventura for a photo shoot of the oh-so-'70s custom.. Back in the flashy disco era of the late '70s, extra-wide bias-ply tires and even-wider fender flares was all the rage, especially when a pronounced decal kit covered the car. The King of the Kustoms, George Barris--the master of defining and then riding the wave of trends--modified many cars of the era.The General Lee Charger, Farrah's Foxy Vette, and even a golf cart designed for Bob Hope were all vehicles that rolled out of his shop during this era. We had the pleasure and privilege of meeting with Mr. Barris at his North Hollywood shop for the Travolta car photo shoot and were assured that after 60 years of plying his trade that he is still quite active in the business. The Travolta Fever is one of six or seven similarly styled Firebirds that received the disco-era treatment at Barris' shop.At least one of them saw movie duty as the "hip" ride for Steve Martin in the movie "The Jerk"--and was at the shop for a restoration when we did our photo shoot last May.Another of the original cars, a solid blue version, (according to Monroe), was traded by John Travoltas' agent for a conversion van ata Dodge dealer where he was employed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1979.The car did not find a new owner immediately and during the time, he and his fellow salesmen put the car through its paces. A third car we have been able to uncover was a version called "Firebird Fever" that appeared to be very similar to our feature car, varying only in the paint treatment. The survival history of the remaining cars is unknown. The Travolta Fever Firebird seen here was built as the full-scale version of the 1/24-scale model kit offered by Revell in 1979 as a cooperative effort between the company, George Barris, and John Travolta. We spoke with Ed Sexton, of Revell, who advised that the model was produced by them when they were based in Venice, California, but all other records concerning the project were lost to history.The full-scale version varied slightly from the kit in small details, such as the factory air extractor on the front fender added to the model and the model's tires were Firestones rather than the Mohawks on the real car. The full-size car was equipped with parts supplied by various manufacturers who were at the forefront in that era and had contracts with Barris, including the Mohawk tires, Western Wheels, Cyclone exhaust and Recaro seats. After a short time of being shown on the West Coast, the car made its way to the Midwest, where it was leased from Barris by another renowned customizer and promoter, Darryl Starbird. It was at this time that the interior of the car was changed from the original Recaro interior to an Urban Cowboy theme, which was the rage at the time and also coordinated with John Travolta and his prominent role in the movie. It is the interior that remains in the car today. Interestingly, Barris hadn't seen the car for quite a while and, as we headed from the airport to the photo shoot location, he asked whether the Urban Cowboy cabin was still intact.Mike Standifer, of Kansas, handled the stitching of the Urban Cowboy interior (identified through a label still visible inside the car). Twenty seven years after its completion, we reached him by phone. He told us he covered the seating surfaces with real cowhide that retained the hair from the animal. It was a masterful job of recovering the dash, with all its complex curves, and also added a very detailed cowboy riding a mechanical bull on the center of the rear seat. The truly unique detail of the interior is the saddle that surrounds the original Pontiac shifter. Starbird told us it had been used by one of his daughters, which she had outgrown for her pony. So yes, it is a real saddle that forms the console. After traveling the show circuit for a season' which consisted of approximately 15 shows on the ISCA circuit, the car was returned to California and George Barris. It is at this point that the story becomes a mystery:Barris states that the last time he saw the car prior to our photo shoot was in late1983, when it was sold at a movie lot auction, by Rick Cole, with other Barris cars--including the Firebird from "The Jerk". The car's history is unknown between 1983 and 1991, when it was acquired by a reclusive man who lived in the high desert outside of Ojai, California. It was at this time, according to Monroe, that the car had a car cover put on it and was stored in a barn, where it was left to sit until it resurfaced in the spring of 2005. After being advised of a posting on Ebay for the car, Monroe, who lives in nearby Ventura, took the short drive and found the car sitting across the road, in a neighbor's driveway. It sat there as if it was any average used car, because the owner still didn't want to have any contact with the outside world.Monroe tendered an offer to the seller to end the auction early and the deal was struck. Once the car was in Ventura, it had a complete rebuild of all the mechanical systems to bring it back to full operational status. The paint and interior are original and only needed professional detailing, which is a testimony to how the car must have been stored in the mystery period and during its hibernation in the high desert. What is truly amazing is the fact that the car rides on the old-school Mohawk belted tires that were originally on the car when it left Barris' shop more than a quarter-century ago. They still have sharp edges and no wear. A quick examination of the car makes it clear it was designed to be exclusively a show car, due to the omission of the front turn signals and backup lights.The omission of any provision to mount T-tops in the openings cut in the roof is also a clue to its stated purpose.In fact, when Monroe went to get title to the car, there was no record that is had ever been registered for highway use. It is safe to assume that the minimal driving that we did during our photo shoot was probably the most mileage that the car had accumulated in a single session for probably two decades-perhaps in all of the car's history. Certainly, the '70s was an era like no other and George Barris had a knack for taking the pulse of time and transforming it into steel. The Travolta Fever Firebird is a time machine, really-a "Way Back" machine that provides a snapshot of pop culture conveyed in a Pontiac silhouette.
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