Needs Rescuing: 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400

There are very few cars that deserve to be left to the mercy of Mother Nature, and this is especially true when you are talking about a classic American pony car. That has been the fate of this 1967 Pontiac Firebird, but maybe its current listing for sale here on Craigslist might save it from a fate worse than death. It looks sad, but it runs and drives, giving its buyer a starting point for a project build. Located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the owner has set the sale price at $8,000. However, he might entertain the idea of a trade for the right vehicle.

The owner of the Firebird plays his cards pretty close to his chest. It appears that the car started life wearing Tyrol Blue, but it has received a repaint in this darker shade at some point. He says that the vehicle has rust to be tackled by the buyer, but he isn’t forthcoming on where this might be or how severe it is. He doesn’t help his cause due to his lack of supplied photos and his unwillingness to remove the cover. I can see some in the rockers and the lower front fenders and rear quarter panels. However, if the car has spent an extended period in its current location with a cover over it, that could be the tip of a pretty large iceberg. It would be worth the effort to crouch down to check the floors and frame because they might have some problems that we can’t see. If I am going to extract one narrow sliver of sunlight from the supplied photos, I can’t see any visible issues with the cowl. That isn’t much, but it’s a start. What can be seen of the trim looks promising, while I can’t spot any issues with the glass.

When we turn our attention to the Firebird’s interior, we find an aspect of the car that must’ve been pretty nice when it was new. The original owner chose to equip the vehicle with a console with an integrated clock, and while the interior remains largely serviceable, it will require a complete restoration. The front seats don’t look that bad, but there are enough minor flaws that would probably motivate a perfectionist to replace the covers. The top of the back seat is sun-rotted, so that is beyond repair. The headliner is shredded, and the carpet is well past its use-by date. A few items are missing out of the dash, and the wheel is badly damaged. I’ve talked about the benefit of trim kits in the past, and one of those would solve virtually all of this interior’s shortcomings. It might set the buyer back around $1,600, but it’s the best option for achieving a factory-fresh appearance.

After all of the gloom and doom, it’s nice to find something positive to report with this Pontiac. Mechanically, the car is claimed to be numbers-matching. It seems that the original owner was happy to splash some cash on the drivetrain because the Firebird sports a 400ci V8, a 3-speed Hydramatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes. This combination would have made the vehicle a lively performer because that 400 would have produced 325hp when the Firebird was new. A ¼-mile ET of 14.7 seconds would have been considered very respectable in 1967, and it still looks reasonable today. Adding to the positive vibes, the owner says that this classic runs and drives. He stresses that it is a long way from being roadworthy, but at least we’re getting off on the right foot with this aspect of the car.

There’s no arguing that returning this 1967 Firebird to its original state will be a long journey. How long the list of tasks becomes will depend on what an in-person inspection reveals. We’ve seen some pretty sad classics revived over the years here at Barn Finds, and some of them have looked considerably worse than this car. I’m not going to claim that it will be easy, but challenging projects can bring their own reward. Do you feel up for this challenge?