It’s always fun to run across a first-year example of just about any auto, and the Pontiac Firebird is certainly no exception. Pony cars were hot commodities during this period, with Pontiac introducing its F-Body offering as a 1967 model, although the Chevrolet Camaro had already beaten it to the marketplace by just a handful of months. This 1967 Pontiac Firebird is the Sprint model, which offered buyers some extra performance from the inline six without stepping up to a V8, plus being a convertible will make it fun to drive with the top down during the summer months.
The seller admits that he doesn’t know any real history about this car, other than it was sold new in Cleveland, Ohio, then later spent quite a bit of time in Texas. He also states the original color as Linden Green, but the only outside body areas with any of that finish remaining are the taillight panel and underneath the back bumper, so some exterior work has already begun.
Among the sheet metal mentioned that has been replaced are the front fenders, hood, and trunk lid. There’s no word on what exactly has been done to the doors or quarters, but at least one visible patch can be spotted on the driver’s side just in front of the rear wheel, so a bit more smoothing is going to be needed before this one’s ready for a respray. The canvas top looks pretty good overall, with some light fraying around the edges but no obvious holes.
The base inline 6 had a single-barrel carburetor and was factory-rated at 165 HP, but the Sprint added an overhead cam and a Rochester Quadrajet, bumping that number up to 215! The Sprint package also came with an uprated suspension. Things under the hood look to be in decent order, but the only specifics we get are that the Firebird runs, drives, and stops. Shifting is handled by a 4-speed manual transmission, so it’s sort of a cool combo, but it will be up to the next owner to decide whether to leave this in place or replace it with something more potent.
No information is given as to whether the interior has gotten any recent attention, but even if it’s original, the condition may be satisfactory for a while if it’s just a driver you’re after. Currently residing in Effingham, Illinois, this 1967 Pontiac Firebird Sprint seems like it may be at a decent starting point, so if you’re ready to take over this one can be seen here on eBay. The buy-it-now price has been set at $20,950, but there’s also the opportunity to make an offer, plus the seller is open to considering trades for a low-mileage 2002 Trans Am. Would you stick with the six, or put something else under the hood?
Great looking car for sure, but despite originality or whatnot, I would pop a 389/6-Pack in it in a New York second.
The OHC Firebirds are rare, so I’d keep it as it is. The asking price here is way too steep though.
Great project car. With Pontiac gone I’d want to keep it original. Maybe put a turbo or supercharger on it. Something that can easily be brought back to factory. Straight 6s seem to be indestructible, why lose that dependability. Love you page.
Great project car. With Pontiac gone I’d want to keep it original. Maybe put a turbo or supercharger on it. Something that can easily be brought back to factory. Straight 6s seem to be indestructible, why lose that dependability. Love you page.
Great project car. With Pontiac gone I’d want to keep it original. Maybe put a turbo or supercharger on it. Something that can easily be brought back to factory. Straight 6s seem to be indestructible, why lose that dependability. Love you page.
Fix it up a bit, but leave the six alone. There are millions of hot-rod pony cars out there, but not many 6 cylinders. I think Mustang had a sprint package with a 6, but not as powerful as the OHC poncho. As a side note, the write-up states the stock 6 was a 2bl and the sprint was a 4bl with OHC….they were both OHC engines.
I’d keep the OHC6, it’s rare, and can be tuned as noted above. Its one foible is that it needs regular oil changes. Ignore that, and the top end will coke up and self-destruct as it did on my grandparent’s ’66 Tempest. I ended up with that car and swapped in a SBC, but kept the OHC6 cam carrier, which is hanging in my shop to this day.
Always loved driving it before the original engine died – it had Pontiac’s Super Turbine 300 two-speed automatic (not a Powerglide!), which wasn’t the fastest off the line, but would smoothly pull well into “blue-light-special” territory. With the right muffler, the OHC6 has a delicious European sound.
Well I guess I’m from the other side of the street, I put a 6 in mine an Ls6, M22 with 3.55 posi.
I had so much fun with that car, that any other combination probably wouldn’t yield what that car did,
I did also replace ( it needed it) the rear subframe with 3×2 box, if you take the bolt out of the front subframe, the 3×2 fits right in.
It was just what the doctor ordered.
This car is pretty special,
For me I would rather a no drivetrain car.
I don’t see 20 k, but a wise seller won’t leave anything on the table.
Everyone has a firebird with a V8, no way would I swap this motor out. I would keep the 6 in it because it’s so unique but I would also mod it with a turbo to make it even more unique.
So would I.
In ’69, my parents bought a new Firebird, automatic with the OHC. Thing moved pretty well–so well, in fact, that it raised more than a few of my friends’ eyebrows.
This is a relic. Do a stock restore and leave the drivetrain alone. That OHC 6 is a piece of history. Would you put an LS in a 1963 OHC Grand Prix?
Keep it as is….awesome find
I had a friend in college that had a coupe like this back in 73. All I knew was it had a over head cam six as stated on the hood. Hers had a 3 speed in the floor with what she called a bus clutch. I asked her one day if she had checked the oil lately. She said no. I told her that I would do that for her. When I raised the hood I was shocked to see the q-jet. Didn’t know about the sprint at that time. I don’t know what happened to the car, but it was green also.
I had a friend in college that had a coupe like this back in 73. All I knew was it had a over head cam six as stated on the hood. Hers had a 3 speed in the floor with what she called a bus clutch. I asked her one day if she had checked the oil lately. She said no. I told her that I would do that for her. When I raised the hood I was shocked to see the q-jet. Didn’t know about the sprint at that time. I don’t know what happened to the car, but it was green also. I would keep the car as is, but it is overpriced.
Pontiac OHC 6s are a rare sight today and the Sprint was rare in its day. The Sprint had 10.5 compression, a hotter cam, as well as the Q-Jet, along with split header like manifolds. Leave this engine in, please!
Sorry, Built 400, nice highway gears, white interior, white top, really nice black respray, Pontiac wheels, done, but the price point is too high to start off
Too much for the ask, but a very cool car. Wish I could afford to pay, just so I could keep it original. Not many ohc-6;left, especially in the 4 barrel sprint config. My 67 Tempest had a one barrel, but it was a great engine.
To borrow and modify a quote by one of our founding fathers, a great ride, if you can keep it running….
Seriously, these cars were great except for the timing belt. I remember a now very old (late 1970s, Early 1980s) Hot Rod Magazine on “turning up” inline 6 engines where Jack Clifford of Clifford Research talked about the potential of The 230 and 250 Pontiac OHC Sprint 6s which were greater than ALL of the other Six Cylinders (in this order Chevrolet (196, 230, 250 and 292, Ford 240 and 300, AMC 199, 232 and 258, Mopar 170, 198, 225 Slant 6 and the little Ford 144, 170, 200 and 250. Clifford, who built torque mills, suggested using the Chevy 292 crank, be modified be cutting down the main journals and using custom pistons with a reduced pin height, to make a long stroke inline 6 that would rev to 7000 rpm.
But even (Motor Trend’s Junk Yard Crawl Host) Steve Magnante recently (in the past few years) found out just how fragile the first ever production timing belt was while Dyno testing a stock sized Sprint 6.
My first car was a used 67 Firebird convertible with a Sprint 6 and a 3 speed on the floor. Mine had a 69 engine when I got it, but was it a fun car to drive! It handled great and surprised many with how quick it was. Even had a few guys with V-8’s not believe it was a six! Opened the hood and they were shocked by it, especially when they saw the Rochester 4 barrel on top of it! Loved that car– wish I had it today, but alas it is no more. It was red with black interior and black top! Many, many great memories were made in that car!
Brainchild of John Delorean. Wanted a car to compete with European sports cars. The engine was designed to mimic one in a Jaguar E Type. Problem was, the cost was similar to a V8. They didn’t sell well.