If you fancy getting hold of a project car where you don’t have to worry too much about the panel and paintwork, then this 1972 Firebird Formula might be a car that’s worth considering. There is some mechanical work and reassembly required, but it does have fresh panels and paint. The Firebird is listed for sale here on Restore a Muscle Car.
The panels and paint on the car look really good. I’m sure that there are plenty of you who are wondering what is hiding under that fresh paint, and that’s a fair call as far as I’m concerned. I guess the main benefit of the car being dismantled to the stage that it is, it does give you a chance to have a good look around in areas where trim and carpet would normally be covering any potential problems. There are some shots of the underside of the car, and they look to be quite clean.
Apart from the dash, which looks to be in quite nice condition, you would be starting from scratch with the interior of the Firebird. What you see is what you get, so you would need to source a complete interior from somewhere. One thing that I find a bit strange, and maybe it is just me on this, for all the work that has gone into the panels and paint on this car, I’m surprised that the floors weren’t cleaned up as part of the process. There are some obvious areas of surface corrosion visible in the car, and I would certainly be addressing these before one piece of trim went near the car.
There’s no engine or transmission installed in the car, but the ones in the picture can be included with the car if the new owner desires. The owner believes that these are the original components from the car, but there’s no indication of their general health. Still, if they are original and can be revived, it would be nice to have a numbers-matching car. There is also a power steering pump attached to the engine, so we do know that the car had this fitted, although there’s no indication as to whether it also had power brakes.
There is no doubt that the new owner of this Firebird is going to have some work ahead of them. One bonus is the fact that they shouldn’t need to worry too much about panels and paint, which is a positive. The fact that the engine and transmission are an unknown quantity, while a new interior will need to be sourced and installed, are both negatives. The owner has set a price of $12,900 for the Firebird. Would you be willing to take it on?
I concur with you on the floors Adam. They should have been addressed before even the first drop of fresh paint was sprayed on the car.
You guys are correct, the first things you do are the engine compartment, interior floors, and trunk. It is possible to do all that stuff after a paint job, but you will take a ton of time more than necessary to keep from damaging the fresh paint while you do it.
I always liked to install the motor before paint. It’s way easier to paint the engine compartment and cover everything so it doesn’t get over spray than it is to put a motor in over freshly painted fenders and then try to get the hood on without banging into things. I’ve done it both ways more than a few times.
When paint was $50/gallon and big buck cars were $5,000, fixing paint was no big thing. Now that a driver quality paint job is $5000 (if you’re really lucky) and driver quality cars are $50,000 at Barrett Jackson, it pays to plan ahead.
I really don’t get people selling a car sans engine, but will include if the new owner wishes. I’m about to sell a 1998 K20 Suburban. Maybe I’ll get more money for it by pulling the drivetrain out.” Engine and trans sold separately”!
Love these early Formula Firebirds even more than Trans Ams but way too much money being asked for what is neeed to get it on the road
I haven’t looked at all the photos, but looks like this car came off the line with a much more desirable yellow-gold color (can’t remember the name). If it had been repainted in this finish, this Formula would be a stunner. As it stands now, metallic blue….meh! Not sure why anyone would paint the grille coves black and it looks like the headlight coves too. $12k would be a lot of moolah especially if that engine hasn’t been rebuilt.
“Brazilia Gold” I believe was the color on a new 1972 Formula Firebird. I had ordered it at a dealership in Wisconsin at the time including wide Gold reflective Rally stripping on the bottom side panels. It was my first new auto and unfortunately I totaled it after only 2,000 miles by wrapping it around a tree. Thank God, I lived to talk about it.
I’d love to find another one in decent shape.
“Gold” or “Arizona Gold” are two colors from the 72 Poncho catalog. Someone will come along and verify using the VIN and PHS archive. I agree it would be more exciting in that scheme. Somewhere I have a 1/25 promo of the Firebird in that color.
Based on the tags, looks like the Paint code is 56 — Monarch Yellow.
I 12k negotiable?
You are 6 months late. Car is sold. Link still works.