If you’re gonna restore a car, might as well do one that has max potential for value, and this 1972 Pontiac Firebird Formula 455=HO would seem to fill that bill nicely. The car is needy to be sure, but its value is apparent when you look at the bids to date: 48 of them pushing the tally past $30K, and this with six days left in the auction here on ebay. Note that this is still under the reserve price. If you win out over the volume of competition, you’ll get to Lincoln, NB to pick up your prize. Better bring a trailer.
Let’s be clear that this is going to be a “down to the studs” re-do. Everything needs going through, and no claims are made as to mechanical fitness for purpose of the car. That’s OK, though, when you look at the stats: This car is one of 276 made like it. It has more than two dozen factory options, including AC and power windows. It’s got that monster engine and dual snorkel hood air inlets that couldn’t look more menacing if they tried. And the color is one you might pick if you were plucking the car off the showroom floor.
This brings up one interesting question, which I hope some of you with prior experience bringing this model back from the dead (or who spend an inordinate amount of time trolling parts catalogues) can answer: Which bits and pieces from such a well-optioned car are likely to be made of “unobtanium”? Any chance that a steering wheel for this car costs two grand, that kind of thing? Or does it matter in a car that, by looks of the photos, is pretty correct and original? That last impossible to find trim part might already be attached. Do you eagle eyes spy anything that shouts otherwise?
The journey this car has made took it from California to Alaska, where the current owner found it. The good news there is that it hasn’t been exposed to road salt the way a non-Cali car might have been, and the seller says that it’s solid underneath. What matters as much as that and what your eyes tell you about this car is the documentation. You have Pontiac paperwork, third-party decoding information, and a stack of receipts. Man, would I love to dig through those and put together a history. This Firebird has taken whatever number of proud owners through 106,000 miles of sporting and handsome fun. Now it’s your turn to wheel it through the next decade or more. How much do you think you’ll have in it when you run your first post-restoration mile? Will it matter given, how much fun you’ll have with this Formula?
Were I younger, I’d stretch every resource I had to get it. I don’t know why this calls to me more so than the Trans Ams of its vintage but it does.
This very rare Formula 455 Firebird is a great car..Not a Trans Am..
Lots of torque w the big motor optioned and Pontiac equipped these with a 3.42 gear ⚙️ to really get this Formula moving. No spoiler, Jim Rockford approved 👍
That baby right there is a gem. If it was a 4 speed it would be absolutely perfect!
Nice well equipped car. I see a eight track player under the radio and a/c.I also see a few other firebirds in the pictures!
The sellers website doesn’t show a price, but does show an estimated monthly payment of $556.14.
I like this car, I had a 1970 Formula with the same color combination, but with more options such as remote trunk release, power door locks in addition to those in this car. It was a great cruiser.
I grew up a few miles from this dealership, but don’t remember them being a bastion of performance.
Steve R
A good candidate to drive as you restore but it also could be pridefully driven as-is with just a little love. Sure, it’d look beautiful restored with a fresh and lustrous application of Lucerne blue against a re-trimmed white interior but I’d probably get the car sorted out mechanically and start enjoying it immediately. I know for sure option B would be a helluva lot less money and worry too. Either way, nice Formula in a desirable color combo.
Be still my beating heart ! I have seen & read of the 455 H.O. and admit it’s not a fire-breathing dragon but for the Poncho faithful there can be only 1 motor higher in rank the sacred SD 455! You can say whatever you want there is a cool factor that goes off the scale when your talking this year car with those lovely nostrils perched to breathe cool air to the 455 HO that just can’t be beat! Yes Pontiac somehow beat Chevy in the wow factor with the design of this car & its a shame I don’t have the coin for this car but I’m glad to see it survived & some lucky person will lavish it with the proper attention to once again rule the roads as Pontiac royalty for all to see & hear! God Bless the USA !
My friend had same year and color Formula but with Ram Air III motor and 4 spd. One of the only stock cars that could keep up with me and my 87 GN with Hypertech stage III chip, 160 Degree thermostat, Kenne Bell ram air and gutted cat on stock Gatorbacks. Back then (late 80’s) we would plug in device(Vericom) to cig lighter and it would calibrate ET & Speed. Not sure how accurate it was but GN ran between 13.6 -13.8 on multiple runs and he was neck and neck with me the whole way till almost the end, I would pull away slightly. Always liked that car. Another buddy had 74 350 Motion built Formula which was also a great car. Love the hood and scoop on them. Maybe one day with pick one up. GN is long gone, sold it in the 90’s. Great times!
When the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV engines ended in 70, Pontiac took a little two word term from the RAIV and put it on the 455 for 1971. For the non Pontiac people, those 2 words are Round Port. They were used on the 71/72 455HO and then became the 73/74 SD455. These were the best engines ever produced by the brand. And power. Well, I’ll let someone else chime in on that.
Are my eyes deceiving me, or is there no Safe-T-Track rear end on this? One wheel peel from hell.
The 455 HO is what really makes this car very desirable.These are pretty much the same engine as the Super Duty.Both are round port heads and have the larger 1.77 exhaust valve.Differences being mainly with the comp ratio as is got lower each year and by 1973 and 74′ it was at 8:4.1….
Formulas were the best looking Firebirds. And add in the HO engine, and this is the one to spend your money on. What’s really amazing in todays state of the hobby, is that this tire fryer, with handling to boot, is $30k. And a wheezy 4 cylinder German car, with the wrong engine and a Maaco paint job is $75,000.
1. According to the build sheet, this car has(or more likely had – lol) the troublesome UNITIZED ignition. Try finding parts for THAT today, espec the ridiculous “1 piece” cap & wire set! I know HEI wont fit a sd-455, but what about a 455HO?
2. insane that the top dog motor comes with std 14!! inch wheels & tires like this car has – & with no optional posi like this car has, the not so wide rear tires wont last long with an energetic right foot! You can bet tho that the younger the new owner is, the more likely huge wheels & tires will be replacing them – very very soon! & goodbye to the raised white letters too.
Can i assume these tires are 225-70r-14s?
3. It says power door locks on the build sheet, but i see no switch on the dash or doors to control them. hmmh Can anybody explain THAT?
4. Looking at the top sheet metal areas, this car was no doubt out in the sun a lot. For the seats & dash not to have any splits in them or wear on the steering wheel, those have no doubt all been replaced or redone.
5. those huge rear bumper guards are i would think aftermkt.
6. not sure why the front & rear window molding has been removed – there is no rust around either
7. i would think that the test magazine 13.9 qtr mile was from a test car that did NOT have heavy a/c or p/w or even heavy(back then) radio, & possibly had a 4 speed manual & optional posi.
Watch that redline tho! – see # 10 below.
8. missing options – cruise control(of course), rear console(VERY hard to find), rear window defogger, side window drip rails, 8 track, vinyl roof
9. The doors have delux interior door pull straps & the dash has a grab bar for the passenger – yet the seats are not delux interior ones. hmmh
10. C Force, unlike the sd-455 which has FORGED connecting rods, “The 455-HO has typical Pontiac CAST rods that should be limited to about 5,700 rpm in a 4.21-inch-stroke 455. Lightweight aftermarket pistons would help those rods survive, as would ARP bolts (PN 190-6001). Even better would be a set of aftermarket forged I-beam or H-beam rods.”
I ordered a Formula 400 in October of 1973 with every option ( two window stickers ) The power door lock switch was next to the rear window defogger – right below the right, center A/C vent ( this dash doesn’t have either ) Cruise control wasn’t a factory option until after 1974 – mine was added at the dealer, and the parts were ordered for a Grand Prix ) For the 1974 model year, like mine, the 15 inch wheels were standard with the Formula 400 engine – I had ordered the custom finned wheel covers, but the factory only had the 14 inch versions, so that’s what they put on it – I had to pay a “small fortune” at the time, to buy 15 inch wheels, wheel covers and tires to make it the way I wanted it ( I still have the 14 inch wheel covers displayed in my garage LOL )
The owner asked the lease company to put on a white vinyl top on this car. So they switched out the door locks for a top. But if you look at the doors you will still see the power locks still bolted in. The bumper guards are original! How do I know this, I was the 3rd owner of this beautiful formula, and the 1st one that owned it out of the original owners family.
Seats look the same as the one in this car which has the grab bar: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-pontiac-firebird-12/
Pretty nice for a fifty year old. As good as the options are there’s always something “missing”. This speaks to the way cars were ordered then. Everything was an option and stuff was skipped over. Saf-T-Trac is a glaring omission but nonetheless a buildable unit.
“That last impossible to find trim part might already be attached. Do you eagle eyes spy anything that shouts otherwise?
Are you refering to the POGUS badge in the grill. Being in Nebraska and having Alaska tags any possibility this car has seen Europe?
add a 4speed and this would be my dream car
Yep….had the FB 4000….and liked that hood a little better.
The 4000….it was a 1 of 1….haha…
Here’s the video of when we found and purchased the car in Alaska six years ago.
https://youtu.be/q8gBfHHzGAk
Thank you.
I don’t know, they never made a song about it.