Considering its cult status in the late 1970s, it’s hard to believe that the Firebird was in danger of cancellation earlier in the decade. With a long strike at the Norwood plant in Ohio and lukewarm sales, General Motors apparently considered pulling the plug on the recently released and strikingly beautiful F-Body. Luckily for us, it found its second wind and we enjoyed 12 model years of second-generation Firebirds, which means that there are plenty to go around today, even considering the not inconsiderable attrition that is inevitable with sporty cars. This ’71 here on eBay has seen brighter days, but any 1970-1973 Firebird is worth the effort. How would you build this one?

It is a bit of a blank canvas, because it’s too banged up and rusty to “revive and drive.” The ad labels it an Esprit, but the trim tag seems to disagree, with the “22387” code denoting a base Firebird. A bit of internet research claims that discrepancies between the trim tag and VIN were not uncommon on Norwood-built cars, and the seller unfortunately doesn’t give us the VIN to verify. Honestly, it probably doesn’t matter too much, because the seller is including a Formula hood and parts to repair the front end, so the new buyer will most likely restore it into a Formula tribute (which was the seller’s original intention).

I’m inclined to think it’s an Esprit based on the seats, steering wheel, and strap above the dashboard. The underdash gauges and aggressive shifter imply that it was a street fighter (or a wannabe street fighter) at some point.

But those days are gone, and they might be responsible for the owner’s assertion that a 301 rests in the engine bay. If you know anything about Pontiacs, you know that the 301 didn’t come around for years after this Firebird was built, so it’s not original. The Esprit got the 350 two barrel as its standard engine with a 400 two barrel as an option. This is a “factory A/C car,” but it’s missing its compressor.

There’s no denying that restoring this Firebird will be a big job; the seller includes some closeups of the lower body panels, and it’s going to need quarter, door, and fender patching at a minimum. There’s an ominous addendum to the eBay ad telling prospective buyers to message the seller for pictures of the “trunk and undercarriage,” so that could be good news, could be bad. Whatever the case may be, early-’70s Firebirds are cars with a financial upside, so if you have the capability to perform restoration tasks on your own, this could be a good buy. The current high bid is $4,050. With a lot of work, this blue-on-blue Firebird could be a beauty.