Pontiac joined the newly found “pony car” market in 1967 with the Firebird. As another GM product, there were some similarities to the also-new Chevy Camaro except under the hood. While the Camaro had an “ordinary” inline six-cylinder engine as the starting point, the Firebird had an overhead camshaft six that was developed by none other than John DeLorean. That motor developed more horsepower than the one in the Chevy, so the base Firebird was a bit peppier. This ’68 convertible has the OHC engine and a manual transmission, but the car looks to have been sitting outdoors for a considerable amount of time. Located with a dealer in Lincoln, Nebraska, this drop-top project is available here on eBay for at least $3,050, the current bid.
At its heyday in the late 1960s, the Pontiac SOHC-6 was perhaps the most sophisticated engine ever produced by GM. As the Tempest/LeMans products were getting bigger, Pontiac wanted to squeeze a little more power out of its powertrains. Along came DeLorean and the belt-driven overhead cam motor that also found its way into the new Firebird for a few years. It used the Chevy 230 cubic inch L-head six as the foundation, but nearly all its components were either modified or of a completely new design. Eventually, the size would be increased to 250 cubes.
The SOHC produced 25 more horses than its less sophisticated Chevy counterpart. But the cost of producing the engine was higher and ultimately it still wasn’t as powerful as Pontiac’s smallest 326 V8. So, Pontiac would discontinue the use of the motor after 1969. Yet, it had been reasonably popular. During the Firebird’s second year in production, 18,494 copies of the engine would be used out of the total production of 107,112 pony cars.
As the seller points out, this Firebird was “recently restored by Mother Nature.” In other words, it’s a mess, especially in the interior where once you dig around all the debris, you can see daylight through the floors. So, you’ll have a ton of bodywork to do along with restoring the interior and putting on a new top. And then there’s the cool motor, which is likely going to need help, too, from sitting so long. We’re told that entertainer Jay Leno owns one of the SOHC Firebirds, so it must be a special car to attract collectors like Jay.
In my opinion, as we move forward in years, these rare cars of interest will start becoming “hidden gems” that will attract more and more market activity.
If the engine is not seized, I would consider a purchase, with the understanding of the time and money it will take to bring this one back.
It is a very unique OHC engine and manual trans Firebird, and I think it is very cool!
If I remember correctly, Jay Leno’s car is a Sprint, which had a 4-barrel carburetor, higher compression, and other changes to bump horsepower from 165 to 207. Even this base-model car is an interesting and unusual car though.
When I was in high school I worked at a local liquor store, and the owner had a ’67 Tempest with this engine and a 3-on-the-tree. I often drove it for making deliveries, and it was a surprisingly peppy car.
Fred flintstone model
Neat motor, way back in the early 70’s Road & track put one of the in a XKE. It made more power and was lighter than the Jaguar mill.
It would be nice to have a firebird like this, but this one needs more work than I want to put into it.
This really is a wonderful car. It’s going to take a lot of money, but would be the perfect long term project. These models are as the commenter says “gems”.
Why does BarnFinds log me out when I’m in the
middle of posting a comment?It’s happened quite a few
times now.
I find that engine really interesting-not what you’d expect
to find under the hood.I also like the design of the rear side marker-
lights.
Not even a good parts car based on that truly crappy ad. Someone’s even stolen the trim tag off the firewall.
That was a good eye! Gonna be harder to verify and wo the tag…?
Flyingturd
Poor car… outside storage in Lincoln Nebraska during the summer is torture sufficient to melt the thing. That place is like a toaster oven with street lights.
I talked my mom into buying a new 67 coupe with the sprint motor, 4 speed and positraction. It was a surprisingly quick car. I once raced a Belvedere ? ( I was so not into chrysler products i’m not sure) that was a 4BBL 8 cyl. he could jump off the line thanks to his automatic and I was only 1 car behind at the end each time 3 out of 3 races. He had to see under the hood to be sure I wasn’t lying.
Jay does indeed have one. It’s a 4 barrel overhead cam Nordic Blue convertible. I know because I sold it to him. I owned it for 32 years before he came looking for it in 2018.
Were all of these SOHC Pontiacs “Sprints”? I think Jay Leno’s is a “Sprint.” If there were Sprint and non-Sprint SOHCs, was the Sprint version more potent than the “non-“?
Steve, looks like you could order a base Sprint Fire Bird, or a high performance version, the “Sprint 6”.
From Hemmings:
Displacing 230 cubic inches, the 165-hp OHC-6 had a 9:1 compression ratio and a one-barrel carburetor.
All Pontiac OHC-6s featured a deep-skirted block and seven main bearings for strength and durability. Forged rods carried cast-aluminum pistons with deeply recessed tops for valve clearance. Large 1.92-inch intake and 1.60-inch exhaust valves were opened via rocker arms. Though intake and exhaust ports were side by side on the same side of the cylinder head, ports were not Siamesed as on some earlier sixes. The cast-aluminum rocker cover included built-in bearings for the camshaft.
The high-performance Sprint-6 featured 10.5 compression, a different camshaft, double valve springs, a freer-flowing exhaust, and a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor. With 207 hp on tap, the Sprint-6 bested the output of some entry-level V-8s. Pontiac engineers increased displacement to 250-cu.in. for 1968, bringing horsepower up to 175 for the OHC-6 and 215 for the Sprint-6.
From the EBay photos, it appears to have a one barrel carb, thus a 175 hp Sprint, not a 215 hp Sprint 6.
Cheers!
Thanks for that terrifically comprehensive and clear response. I appreciate it!
A minor correction– The Sprint was only the high performance model. It had the Sprint name on the hood and the rocker panels.
The carb was a quadrajet. The free flowing exhaust was a tri-Y system into a larger single exhaust and it had a factory rear axle arm to stop rear axle hop. The 8 cyl had one or 2 of these if I remember correctly. The car really was my mom’s car. she wanted a 6 and 4 speed for economy. She always wanted a sports car and this was as close as she got but it required premium fuel. She always used Amoco premium in her previous VW beetles so that didn’t bother her. Hers was a light green metallic with a white interior custom ordered.
The Sprint engine had a 4bbl carb, hotter cam and few other things. It put out 205 or 207 HP where the non Sprint engine was closer to 160 HP. I am going off the top of head from what I remember. A friend of mine in the early 70’s had one with the Sprint engine and a 4spd, it sounded like 6 but went like a v8. One night he left the rear end all over the road practicing power shifts. It was a long walk home in the days long before cell phones.
My first car was a 67 Sprint 6 convertible Firebird. Mine was a 3 speed on the floor, red with black top and black interior. Do I wish I still had that little gem? Oh yeah! Did I treat it well? No, but what 18 year old ever did? That car was surprisingly quick, especially when the secondaries opened up! Had an AMX (69) race me on the highway. I kept up with him until we got to about 90, then he walked away, but he saw me turn off my exit, took the next one and looped around. Pulled in next to me and asked what I was running in my Bird. He didn’t believe me when I told him it was a 6. Popped the hood and he just shook his head– told me he had v-8’s that didn’t keep with him like that. Said he was very impressed! Nice memory for sure, and that car could handle really well! Lots of fun!
Jay Leno’s car is indeed a Sprint convertible, originally with a factory Hurst four speed and a hood tach. Nordic Blue. I know because I sold it to him in 2018. I owned the car for 32 years. The original owner was one of my professors in business school back in the eighties. Jay had been looking for one for a long time, and found me through the Overhead Cammers subset of the Pontiac Oakland Club. It was indeed a great car. It was on the cover of Hemmings Classic Car magazine in December of 2021. If you’re curious, there’s a detailed history of the car in Smoke Signals, the online Magazine of the Overhead Cammers club. The article is called Never for Sale, because the car never was. The original owner ordered it to his specifications, I spent five years talking him into selling it to me, then 32 years later Jay found it and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. The car has had three owners but has never, ever been for sale.
Easiest way to tell from that single pic there that it’s the 1bbl version is..the air cleaner snout on the 1bbl slants down harder and more to the side than the 4bbl air cleaner snout,also the 1bbl has that venting bit on it..the 4bbl dosnt…thus..this is a 1bbl.
Take the $3k and run!! Another junk dealer trying to get paid to get rid of his trash. Car is in pitiful shape.
It would be interesting to see if this BASE 1 bbl 230 OHC version would be much if any faster than a 1st gen camaro with the OHV 250 & identical options, rear end ratio, trans, etc. The OHV motor makes only 10 less HP, but makes almost as much/max torque at much lower 1600! rpm, vs 2600 rpm for the OHC. The 8.5 to 1 OHV will run fine on today’s 87 octane. Not sure about the 9 to 1 OHC motor.
For the OHV motor, it’s best to swap in a taller air filter for an ’82 camaro v6, & a lightwt turbo muffler under the back seat floor in place of the ridiculous heavy sideways big restrictive silent factory muffler.