It is hard to tell what color this 1973 Pontiac Formula 400 is due to the rot and rust but it was originally Code 29 blue. The car is obviously a project and has been off the road since 1988. Located in East Greenbush, New York, the Pontiac Formula is listed here on eBay. There are 4 days remaining in the auction and the car is being sold at no reserve. There are currently 18 bids and the high bid is up to $3,050.
The interior looks much better than the exterior. The car is not a highly optioned Pontiac Formula and came with a black standard interior. It looks to all be in place and stock except for the center console that should be between the front two bucket seats. The original Turbo 400 automatic transmission was replaced in the 1980s with a Muncie M21 4 speed manual transmission. The original automatic transmission and console come with the car. The amazing thing is that the dash is not cracked. It may be dried out and brittle but it is not cracked (yet). The seller is optimistic when describing the “rust in the usual places” for a Camaro/Firebird.
The Pontiac Firebird Formula came in three models based on the engine selected. The models were designated as the Formula 350, Formula 400, and Formula 455. The L30 350 cubic inch V8 engine was the low performer of the group and was rated at 175 horsepower. The original buyer for this car selected a 400 cubic inch engine which was designated as the L78 motor. It was factory rated at 225 horsepower. Only 731 buyers selected the 455 cubic inch engine, which was rated at 250 net horsepower. A buyer could also order the Super Duty 455 engine in 1973-74 in the Formula. This engine was rated at 290 horsepower and came with a shaker hood. This car has the 400 cubic inch V8 and is said to be numbers matching.
This side of the Formula 400 looks more solid than the other side. I wonder if it was sitting in a field and the snow piled up on the other side. The seller prefers if the car is not parted out but with the amount of rust in the body panels and floorboards, I can’t imagine that the frame is salvageable.
Love that strap holding the trunk closed!
If you go to see this,you might want to get a shot first.
or shots, plural.
Is it holding the trunk down or is it holding the exhaust up?? haha
@ Bruce: Is there an eBay link??
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Pontiac-Firebird-Formula/224342505194
Thanks for catching that! All fixed.
Yes,and the pics are quite ugly when it comes to the floor/trunk and rest of the under!carrage
Wow I see over $5,500 in parts alone without selling the carcass of the car after the fact. With the engine being in good shape and not seized adds a big plus to the value. W66 on the trim tag does verify it as a Formula and the numbers matching 400 engine and VIN verification solidifies this car as a legit Formula 400. Numbers matching is also a huge up side. I will definitely be watching this as bidding progresses. Lots of money to be made here in parts. Hopefully somebody is willing to put in the labor to save it. Definitely a very awesome car! Best of luck to the seller and prospective bidders! $3050 is a steal!
Really rusty, too expensive to make sense as a parts car. Better to keep looking.
Steve R
How do I bid on this car?
Another one that will come back from sand blast in a cremation urn. A parts car at best and only a few at that. Sad
There’s an easy $5000 worth of parts on this car. Engine, (2) trans and nose are worth the current bid price. Lots of money here in parts.
Might be a 72. The 73 grills were egg crate and slightly recessed. The 72 is the rarest Gen 2 Firebird doe to the UAW strike that year. If the rust is repairable, this is a great builder.
The trim tag says it was built in the first week of February 1973.
Steve R
Appears to have 73 grills I’m not sure what you’re looking at in the photos. 72 grills are drastically different.
Looks like the correct grill. 72 was a honeycomb grill.
Everything is repairable, if you have the money, but you may have a white elephant on your hands when done.
Wow,I checked out the eBay link provided! Looks as though it may have been picked on as a parts car by the look of the other Pontiacs in the background pics.
Just because somebody owns many pontiacs does not mean that they’re all picked apart. This car appears to be very complete and original. Could you please further explain your comment and or rational?
not really, Camaro/Firebird sheet metal is extremely affordable
Yes, the sheet metal is affordable, but the labor at $100+ per hour is not. Better to find one that does not need this much work, unless you can do it yourself. Not many can do it, correctly.
Wow I see over $5,500 in parts alone without selling the carcass of the car after the fact. With the engine being in good shape and not seized adds a big plus to the value. W66 on the trim tag does verify it as a formula and the numbers matching 400 engine and VIN verification solidifies this car as a legit Formula 400. Numbers matching is also a huge up side. I will definitely be watching this as bidding progresses. Lots of money to be made here in parts. Hopefully somebody is willing to put in the labor to save it. Definitely a very awesome car ! Best of luck to the seller and prospective bidders! $3050 is a steal!
In the full side view photo, a rare 1977 Pontiac Can Am in what looks like equally rusted condition can be seen in the background.
Beyond knackered
cool car but its cheaper to buy one done, compared too what it will cost too do this car,
A friend of mine bought one of the 455’s in 73. His was a dark blue, pretty car but much slower in the 1/4 than the 73 z28
Depends on the options in both cars – trans, rear end ratio, etc. & that ’73 bird front bumper is heavy as hell.
So is GM a/c, p/w, radio, etc. back then.
& i’m sure that 455 was not an SD. lol
that color is Admiralty Blue, are really sharp color only offered for a short time, end of 73 to early 74. Yea, the car is ROUGH, but at least the seller is being honest, and showing it all, I’d rather buy this car, than some overpriced bondo bucket, that is nothing but pop-rivets and bailing wire underneath.
My college roommate at Penn State had a blue one like this. He bought it from the original owner in about 1976. He was and is still very mechanical skilled and took extreme measures to take care of it and preserve if from the horrible State College winters. We got where we had to go in my 63 Plymouth beater, as I kept my 71 Corvette in my parents barn during the winters. These cars rot to the windows. Terrible build quality, yet 100 times better looking than any garbage coming out of a GM assembly plant these days. I am now retired and working part time at a Dodge Jeep dealer. Yesterday, a woman traded in a 2017 yellow Camaro. What a butt ugly pile of plastic and computers. Thank the Lord I lived through a great era of cars and owned and drove them. Any car can be saved, but the cost to do so is not financially prudent. At least it wasn’t crushed.
I don’t know why more people got the delux shorter bloated heavier seats. These std seats look better & have that tuck & roll look.
Passenger door upper panel is delux one that does not belong.
Don’t see this dash panel often with no aux gages AND no a/c.
Surprised the std non hidden wiper frames are silver & not black in ’73.
Also surprised the steering wheel, dash & seats are in decent shape.
I’m willin to bet the floors rotted more from water leaking ON them INSIDE the car, as opposed to splashing up from the outside.