If you had a beautiful bird, would you but it in a cage for 10 years where it never sees the light of day? Well that is what happened to this 1971 Pontiac Firebird. Now, this bird is out of the cage and ready for a new owner. The Firebird is listed here on eBay with 4 days remaining in the auction. The car is currently bid to $12,100 with the reserve not being met. There is a Buy It Now Price of $21,995 if you are ready to pull the trigger now. That seems a little steep for a base Firebird but it is a California car and located in Pleasanton, California.
Pontiac offered several trim levels or models of the Firebird including the base Firebird, Esprit, Formula and Trans Am in 1971. The interior is blue and contrasts well with the cameo white exterior. The car is equipped with an automatic transmission that is operated by a column shifter. The interior appears to be the base interior that has had the seats recovered at some point. The dash is cracked and there are some aftermarket gauges built in to the dash bezel. This car does not have a lot of creature comforts such as air conditioning, tilt steering, rear defrost or power windows. The seller states that the car was sold at a salvage yard as a project so it might have a rebuilt title.
Under the hood is a Pontiac 350 cubic inch V8 engine with headers and stock air cleaner. The seller has cleaned the fuel system and worked on the brakes. The master cylinder and vacuum booster look new. If you ordered the base Firebird in 1971, you could get the 250 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder engine. The 350 cubic inch V8 engine was rated at 255 gross horsepower and the 400 cubic inch V8 engine was rated at 265 horsepower with a 2 barrel carburetor. The Formula could be ordered with a L78 400 cubic inch V8 engine with a 4 barrel carburetor rated at 330 gross horsepower or a L75 455 cubic inch V8 producing 325 horsepower. The LS5 HO455 engine rated at 335 horsepower was the only engine installed in the Trans Am and was optional on the Formula.
The body is described as straight with good gaps and no signs of prior damage. The Firebird is said to run and drive well. It rides on Pontiac Rally II wheels and BF Goodrich Radial TAs. The wheels looked to be aftermarket 15×8 not the factory 15×7 but it may be because the car does not have chrome wheel rings that the wheels look wider. This was the first year for the tall back bucket seats. It is also the only year of this model (1970-1981) that had faux vents on the front fenders behind the front wheel wells. This could be found on the base Firebird, Esprit and Formula. As can be seen a Formula hood has been added to this Firebird which looks pretty good.
I like it.The wheels give it a nice stance and look.I could see this being a 15- 20k car in todays market from the pics.Put that converter cover back on.Glwts.
Never, I say Never, seen a column-shifted bird before.
I have seen some 67-69 column shifter Firebirds, but only 1 time did I ever see a 2nd generation with a column shifter. In my high school days, circa 1984-5, I worked at an Arby’s in the drive through. We had a regular customer who drove an early 70s Firebird that was the quadruple threat of goldish brown, with a vinyl top, NO spoiler, and column shifter. I always liked Firebirds, but that one really did not have much going for it. Can’t recall if it had an Esprit badge, but definitely did not have a formula hood.
It looks weird doesn’t it. If you ordered a 1970-1973 Firebird with an automatic and no console, the car would come with a column shift. I have seen a 1971 Trans Am at the Trans Am Nationals in Dayton Ohio with a column shift!
many, many were built … even Trans Ams … if you ordered automatic transmission and didn’t order the optional console, that is where they put the shifter, on the column.
I believe you, but I must also say I have never, ever seen a second gen column shift… And I go to ALLOT of car shows and owned several 2nd-4th gens. I remember a friend from the late 70’s had a 70 Challenger with a column shift and that was the only one of those I’ve seen. But I now know they do exist. I’m just not sure WHY they exist.
When I started getting into cars circa 1976, got a Camaro Brochure from the Dealer. The pictured “Standard Interior” had a Column Shifter.
If you’re going to add a hood with non-functional scoops, at least paint the inside of the scoops black.
I owned this exact car in 1970 version with console and floor shift. I trashed the engine by putting a engine cleaner in the oil and really loosened it up, to loose. I have a friend that built race cars and had him build the engine. What a fast car. I truly regret letting that one go. The column shift would have to go.
The car would look better with the hood scoops opened up. Easy to do with a Dremel tool. For everyone that’s going to say it’s not required because of the closed air cleaner, those headers put out a lot of under hood heat. Open scoops help exhaust the heat.
Chrysler autos were all column shifters. Road runners, super bees, GTX. All the cougars console shifts.
I do remember seeing 3 firebird 67, 68 & 69TA …67 & 68 were column
I’d never buy any sports car with a column shifter.
I wouldn’t buy a sports car with an automatic. But if it is an automatic or a manual three on the column, then why not put in a bench seat so your girlfriend can cuddle up next to you? Anybody ever see s bench seat in a Firebird or Camaro?
There was a factory center armrest optional for the BACK seat in second generation Firebirds. Not sure about the front bench though.
In my very youth i saw an early 70’s Camaro with column shift and said awesome. First time i ever saw a bird like that. Total cool. 21 g’s is way out of line though with the interior though.
Nice looking car, but that shifter! Ugh. It’s as out of place as a vegan at a bbq.
Chrysler autos were all column shifters. Road runners, super bees, GTX. All the cougars console shifts.
I do remember seeing 3 firebird 67, 68 & 69TA …67 & 68 were column
True, the Mopars were mostly column shift. But it looks normal on those cars and I believe it made the cars lower cost which is what Chrysler was trying to achieve. I also believe some folks dislike them for that very reason.
So is there any performance advantage for a floor automatic shift, other than it sort of looks like a manual shifter?? In the 1990’s drove a few minivans in Europe that had 5 speed Column Shifters. Actually worked pretty well.
Frank
It depends if it’s a stock shifter or an aftermarket unit. The key is the detents. The factory shifter had weak detents, that if you weren’t careful, could blow right past third gear (Drive) into Neutral when shifted manually, like at the drag strip. Do that at full throttle during a drag run and you could blow the engine! Aftermarket shifters had positive detents with a lockout mechanism to prevent this. For normal street driving, it’s a non-issue, but for the stoplight dragsters, it’s a concern.
True but not true. Several cars offered or came with either a “race floor shifter ” in there autos. The Hurst Oldsmobile 442 , the Judge, and I believe you chould get it in the chevelle SS. All factory equipment
My dad had a column-shift Firebird, and it was a 1971! Metallic blue with a black vinyl top, no AC, black vinyl interior with no center console. Aluminum slotted mags. Something seems off about this white one, maybe the part about “salvage” points to something evil lurking with the frame. I can say the fit and finish on this car leaves something to be desired. Hood has a rise about 2/3rds of the way up. Front driver’s fender may be catching on the door, the rockers look wavy, and that rear bumper has been nudged upward.
this one would make a great “rescuemod”
455/4speed and fix the cosmetics etc …..
BUT, at $21,995, that is more than all the money for me anyways
It needs too much work for the price.