Chicken or egg? Do I own a ’74 Firebird Esprit because I like The Rockford Files, or do I like The Rockford Files because I like Firebirds? In seventh grade, I’d ride the bus home from school and watch old reruns of Rockford; I didn’t always understand what was going on, but I’d watch it for the car action. Decades later, I revisited the show when my wife bought me the entire series on DVD. Soon afterward, I found my Firebird online within an hour’s drive and I couldn’t resist. Regardless of which came first, there is no way that my pro-Firebird and pro-Rockford bias will not manifest itself in a discussion of this tribute car that is currently for sale on eBay.
OK, let’s get this out of the way right now: You will neither be emulating James Garner’s famous reverse 180 nor running from baddies with this ’77. Notice that overstuffed fan shroud; this is a Buick V6 car. Barn Finds readers may already know this, but only the original ’74 season cars were actual Esprits. From ’75 on, the production company used Formulas painted to look like Esprits; in the second season, you can even see the “Formula” emblems on the front fenders in a few closeup shots. The Esprit was a little too wallowy for the stunts that James Garner liked to do by himself throughout the series, hence the performance upgrade.
If you can accept this Firebird as a cruiser rather than a bruiser, it’s a fine way to emulate your favorite swaggering ’70s private investigator. Like Rockford, this car lived in California (until 2020, when it found its way to New York). It has a new complete paint job (including jams), but the pinch welds, rockers, and undercarriage are all clearly in good shape and suggest that little or nothing was hidden under the shiny new finish.
The seller says that everything in the car works except for the air conditioning. Even that might be a reasonable fix: the seller removed the belt as a result of a noisy compressor. Rockford’s car had a similar tan interior, although as a “Formula,” the gauge package may have been a little more comprehensive.
The Rockford Files ran for six seasons (1974-1980), and Garner decided to use the ’78 model for the final two. Because of that (and the concurrent Bandit tie-in), the four-headlight versions might be the most well-known of the bunch. With its whitewall tires and Rally II wheels, this tribute to a screen icon is nearly perfect. If you like the show well enough to buy a car as a result, or if you just like ’70s Firebirds, this one has not yet met reserve with a high bid of $4,394.44.
Garner. A favorite actor, car enthusiast, he was great. If you haven’t seen Maverick ♠️ watch it 🙌 😄
While the “coming home from 7th grade to watch reruns” pretty much dates the author, which is cool, many of us waited patiently every Thursday at 9pm for this show. Naturally, the car gets all the attention, I happened to like his father Rocky’s trucking, but there was a far more influential device in the opening intro that changed our lives forever,,,,(ring, ring) “This is Jim Rockford, leave a message and I’ll get back to you”,,,the answering machine. For the 1st time for many, you didn’t have to answer the phone. It changed everything. Rockford always took a beating. Every episode he got a zeitz to the head. It also conveyed what S.Cal. was like to us at the North Pole. Ever notice how smoggy it was then? My daughter lives there, and the air quality has improved dramatically for a number of reasons.
Like always, all we see these here days is Trans Am, Trans Am, Trans Am,,but the reality is, most Firebirds were just like this. Secretaries, teachers( cool ones), librarians, nurses, all drove Firebirds like this. Thing is, none of THOSE survived. It’s an incredible find.
+1 on the Cool Teachers. Everyone’s favorite 6th grade teacher, Mr. Ferrand, had a similarly colored Camaro, I believe a 1973. One day, he comes in with a brown Chevette (I think all Chevettes were brown…) I asked him “Where’s the Camaro?”, and he said that he loaned the car to a relative who got into an accident with the car, and it was totaled. The sad look on his face…
All Chevettes were brown. That was the law! Lol
My 5th grade teacher drove a ’70 Mach 1. I used to do classroom cleanup for her after school just to get a ride home in that car.
Things were different back then, for sure.
Friday at 9 p.m., not Thursday, was the Rockford timeslot. It was “appointment TV” for me back in those pre-VCR days.
This is a REALLY nice Firebird, a real beauty, but that has got to be the LONGEST upper radiator hose I’ve ever seen! GLWTA! :-)
Nice one, Aaron! I remember practicing “Rockfords” in the high school parking lot at night. It’s harder than it looks for someone of my limited skills. Having owned a number of GMs with the 3.8 I’d need more giddyup, but this one certainly looks the part. Garner was a serious wheel man, racing in Baja and other places. Thanks for highlighting this slice of ’70s Cool!
My pals & I also tried “pulling a Rockford” from time to time, but could only really do it in the winter, and quite often came closer to 270 than 180 LOL.
Out with the V6 and in with a 455 V8!
Thanks for not disappointing me. There’s always one guy that wants to tear a beautiful car apart and put another engine in it…. ruining it’s originality. I think it’s a sickness.
Yeah, I have to agree with @JDC, no to the 455… I’d personally drop a Cummins in it!
You’d be the only one on the block!
It’s close to a rockford car. All show cars were formula firebirds rebadged as a esprit. The formula cars were equipped with the 400CID/
I haven’t watched the show for awhile but I think they were older than this car too. Round headlights.
@Terrry, according to IMCDB, it looks like they used a new model every season from 1974 – 1978
Would like to see the lower radiator hose.
Can i assume very thin white stripe tires were no longer popular in the later ’70s? They were all over the place in the early ’70s. Makes no sense – a step backwards, IMO.
Beautiful Car! You need to be a “Rockford” fan to understand. The car was the Real star of the show.
More accurately, I think of the car as a perhaps a “co-star”. Granted, it wouldn’t have been the same if Jim was tooling around LA in an “Astre” but with Garner’s charisma he might have pulled it off, as he did in almost anything he acted in.
I don’t remember much about the show since I was young in the 70’s but I do remember the firebird and his dad truck . I more for looks then speed I keep it just the way it is . Too nice to mess with
Loved that Pickup!
Back sometime around 1983 a buddy of mine said to come over and look at the car he just bought. It was a firefird just like this except for the 350 his had. The idiot he bought it off of had taken a grinder to the roof and removed the paint where the T tops would be if this car had them. Did the same on the front fenders and around the trunk lid and tail lights where the spoiler would have been, I don’t know how many gallons of bondo he used to make the rear spoiler but it was too heavy for the trunklid to stay up on its own. That kid took a really nice car and defiled it with his antics, it was his car so he can do with it as he wanted but it was a shame what he did to that car
jim would not stand for the v6
Does it come with a sport coat?
There was one for sale featured here one time that did come with a Rockfish jacket.
Odd IMO to order optional p/w, delux interior, pedal dressup, rally IIs, chrome wheelwell moldings, but no aux gages.
Fun fact: They used the ’78 for the final two seasons because James Garner didn’t like the newer “cat face” front clip, and I can’t say that I blame him!
The seller used the word “Tribute” properly in this case. That V6 definitely rules out calling this a “Replica”.