General Motors entered the “pony car” market in 1967 to compete against the highly successful Ford Mustang. And they came at it with two offerings, the Chevy Camaro, and the Pontiac Firebird. The two cars were based on the same platform, so they both experienced a production overrun in 1969 as the all-new 1970 models were delayed in getting ready. This ’69 Firebird is a convertible which only comprised 13% of production. Unfortunately, the car looks to have been sitting outdoors for ages and is far from complete. Located in Somonauk, Illinois, bidding here on eBay has not been brisk at just $560 which is not close to reaching the seller’s reserve.
As was the case with the Camaro in 1969, the Firebird received a refresh of the original styling. Unlike the Camaro, the Firebird saw a decline in sales even though the production cycle was 17 months longer than usual. 11,657 copies would be drop-tops, of which just eight would be the new performance edition called the Trans Am. That model would go on to dominate the sales of the Firebird throughout the 1970s.
We don’t know anything about the history of this Pontiac other than the seller bought it to restore and thought better of it. It has a 350 cubic inch V8 with automatic transmission, but there is no indication if either is original to the Firebird and the auto doesn’t look as though it has moved anywhere under its own power in a long, long time.
The body appears to be in rough shape and incomplete. For example, there is no sign of a trunk lid and the hardware for the convertible top may not be complete (the canvas has long since disappeared). No doubt rust is abundant, and some new sheet metal will be required. To help with that, the seller has new floor and trunk pans that are new and stored indoors. They will be included in the sale. Is this car anywhere near viable for restoration or even as a donor at this stage?
I see a car like this, and sometimes I think about when the first owner took delivery at the dealer. It had maybe 5 or 6 miles on it? I bet they had a mile on their face when they drove it home!
Why do some people even list things like this?? Let her die in piece.
I’d take $560 and say good riddance.
wholly hanna!! Some nerve listing this basket case ,,,
If you squint really hard. This car resembles a Dodge Dart.
If you squint really hard you see a car.
A few good chrome pieces in a pile of rust!
re-body
I had a 1969 Firebird hardtop in high school in 1986. It was a total piece of junk, and very dangerous to drive, now that I look back on it. We put it up on the lift in auto shop in school and the front end dropped down a foot on one side because the unibody bolts were gone. The floors were also gone, so you could see the ground through the rips in the carpet when we would drive down the road. I told my friends to just keep their feet on the frame and don’t touch the exhaust pipe with their feet. The exhaust also had holes in it that filled up the car with smoke as you drove. At the time, that’s what $300 bought a poor high school kid.
I later bought a 1969 Firebird convertible in similar condition, but in 1997 put it temporarily in a towing yard in Wantagh Long Island NY so I could in-process into the Army, and never saw the car again. I wonder if it’s still sitting in the towing yard after these 26 years..
$300 then is $835 today – imagine what transportation kids could buy for $835 in today’s insanely greedy world – oh wait, kids don’t want to drive these days, let alone maintain or fix any vehicle – hard to do that or hold a job as a teen to pay for insurance, etc. when you are looking at the phone all waking hours in any location – & they want parents to drive them around in 4 doors to make it ez to get in the back seat – & God forbid if the vehicle does not have a/c, p/w, power seats & video screens.
The engine, transmission, bucket seat frames, under carriage parts and dash parts are worth the current bid, along with additional new parts that go along with the sell. After that has been exhausted you still have title and vin decor that many collectors use as pin and frame ups by model visuals. Then you have the final sell for scrap! There is a lot of value here if you know how to utilize it!
beautiful car back in the day, too bad they left out in the elements for decades. You’re essentially buying a VIN, everything else needs to be replaced!
In a normal situation you’d buy something like this for the drive train, but with the engine sitting for years with every hole open to the elements you can’t even justify that. Junk at it’s highest.
Really. Needs to be cubed and recycled. Would probably cost 50-60K to turn this back into a car.
I still am confused, if this were a Camaro in this condition the price and bidding would be in the ionosphere but since it’s a Firebird it is basically junk. No doubt a rotted Camaro convertible will absorb this car. Granted this car is a parts car or junk but so are dozens of Camaros that float across this site that folks get all ga ga over.It is what it is. Ride on.
Camaros are Americana, firebirds are after thoughts! No lady ga, ga, to figure that one out!
Many parts here needed to complete a new dynacorn body.