There were not many changes for the 1971 Pontiac Firebird Esprit, which was the second year of production for the 2nd generation F-body that was produced all the way until 1981. Pontiac added taller bucket seats and faux fender grilles behind the front tires on the Firebird, Esprit, and Formula. This example has been in storage and was recently pulled out and is now listed here on eBay and is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The car is listed for a starting bid of $8,500 and there have been no bids to date.
The seller doesn’t say much in the listing but the pictures tell a story of a car that is worn out and has been sitting for a long time. While the car is now located in Nevada, it has Oregon plates. The seller states that this car has the “Chrome” trim package which I don’t know where that comes from. The car is blue with a dusty blue interior. Here is the best picture provided by the seller of the interior.
Pontiac offered their Pontiac 350 cubic inch V8 and 400 cubic inch V8 engines in the 1971 Firebird Esprit. If you ordered the base Firebird, you could get the 250 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder engine. The 350 cubic inch V8 engine was rated at 255 gross horsepower and the 400 cubic inch V8 engine was rated at 265 horsepower with a 2 barrel carburetor. The Formula could be ordered with a L78 400 cubic inch V8 engine with a 4 barrel carburetor rated at 330 gross horsepower or a L75 455 cubic inch V8 producing 325 horsepower. The LS5 HO455 engine rated at 335 horsepower was the only engine installed in the Trans Am and was optional on the Formula.
The iconic front end of the 1970 to 1973 Firebird still draws the most attention from Pontiac enthusiasts. This car is equipped with an automatic transmission but the car will need a complete restoration to safely drive it on the road again. The seller says it’s ready for fun but suggests bringing a trailer.
One of the Generals best models along w the Formula.
Suggest cutting the price.
Yep, Frank….like in half
With all the available goodies for cars nowadays , why pay more for a trans am when you will end up changing the suspension and brakes and probably sway bars
The sky is now the limit , well your bank account is the limit
I’ve always been a fan of these, especially the esprit and formula. More understated and curvy than the trans am. My grandmother had a white one, 70 or 71. I was a little kid, but remember it had a black vinyl roof, manual transmission and rally IIs. White interior, she loved that car, perfect thing for a relatively young widow. In 78 she got T boned in it and dad called it a total, leaving her with a sunbird. Such loss of cool, she always told me when I turned 16 it was mine. Too bad, I really liked that car.
Keeping it relevant, check behind the back wheels. Frame rust back there killed many of these.
Great story Jim, too bad the car was totaled before you were able to get it. Sounds like you had the coolest grandma in town!
The extra chrome would be drip rails and wheel well moldings. Might have been part of the Esprit package.
I would want the year with the two air scoops in the hood though
As long as it is structurally sound, it would be fairly easy to make a Formula 350 out of it…
That would be the Formula hood, not a particular year.
Maybe I have watched to many crime shows being on lockdown for the last two years but I would run a vin check with Oregon DMV to make sure that its not stolen before bidding last registered in 99
THe cards don’t line up right for this hand in Vegas
I don’t see the bids starting with a 8500.00 starting bid