We haven’t seen very many second-generation Firebirds here. This one and this one are the only full-on CCs I can find. And we’ve certainly not seen such an early example. That small-box eggcrate grille identifies this one as from 1970 or 1971.
The badging along the side says it’s the up-level Esprit model and packs the Pontiac 350 engine. And it’s no trailer queen. Chips and dings all over the body say that it has been neither pampered nor restored, which is just how we like ‘em here at Curbside Classic. But its antique-vehicle plate suggests an owner who knows what s/he has.
But that owner isn’t afraid to drive it, either. I found it at the Walmart Neighborhood Market around the corner from my house, meaning that on this day it was doing grocery duty. This grocery getter isn’t good for a major shopping trip, though – the trunk is pretty tiny.
If the seats are original it’s a 1970, low-back seat with a separate headrest. It’s actually a nicer looking seat IMHO. But then again, I’ve never liked high-back seats, to me they always looked kind of low rent.
Looks like that one has the low back buckets, so I’ll guess it’s a ’70. I’m 99% sure that F bodies got the high backs only in ’71. I knew a guy with one trimmed this way, even had a column shift.
It’s nice to see this hasn’t been turned into a “tribute” Formula or Trans Am. It’s easy to believe that all pony cars had scoops, stripes, fancy wheels and big engines but back in the day most of them were just like this. These were very nice cars to drive in stock form, even with just a 350 2 barrel.
It is a ’70, the only year for the low-back Strato bucket seats with separate headrests in the second-gen Firebird/Camaro. For ’71, those seats were replaced by the high back Strato buckets with built-in headrests similar to those found on the new Chevy Vega.
I love when I get to see one of these today – especially the base or even rarer Esprit model – that hasn’t been altered, destroyed, mutilated…well you get the picture. We sometimes forget that these were ever so popular daily drivers – even older folks drove them – my mother-in-law is an example – and Moms and Dads too. This is a Firebird in its purest form. Great find.
I think James Garner aka Jim Rockford might like that Firebird Esprit.
Whenever they needed to blown up his Firebird on the show they always switched to an early one like this.
And he always had another one in the next episode!
Another cool old Generous Motors Product .
-Nate
I think that these are the best model of the second gen, Camaro included. The roof line and rear window is just perfect. I wish that GM would use this as inspiration for the new Camaro. I’m tired at looking at those horrible flat rear quarters!
The Bill Mitchell school of design was always very sculptural. I love how they integrated the roof and the sailpanel and rear as one integrated form. I love how they worked with the form of the entire car as one coherent single entity. This is not engineering, this is automotive art. This is a very artististic way of sculpting the form of the car like it was made out of one single piece of steel. I’m actually very impressed how artisticly done it actually is, I don’t know if artists has ever gotten so much freedom over the final form of as in that era. It seems to me now unprecedented before or since, because there were and are so many constrictions that has to take precedence.
+1. Love his designs from this era.
Great find! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Love it. It’s so great to see a second gen Firebird without Trans am faring alone, but an Esprit with in tact factory wheel covers is a miracle.
Actually those are ’68 lmpala wheel covers.
Not bad substitute at least, they’re design is pretty similar
Back when everyone else seemed to want a Trans Am or later a Bandit clone, I wanted a “clone” of Rockford’s Esprit…but with a vinyl roof.
And for all the folks that admire the styling, I think these were also great looking cars INSIDE.
What about a clone of McQ’s Trans-Am driven by “The Duke” himself John Wayne? 😉
Great find, Jim! This one really takes me back.
Our 6th grade teacher had a beautiful blue Firebird similar to this one, except I think his was a ’73. It was a 350 with 3-speed on the floor. IIRC.
I’m drawing a blank on which wheels or wheel covers it had, though. (Not surprising – it was 43 years ago! 😉 )
CC effect #1. Saw the chevrolet cousin of this car last night at a local gas station with what appeared to be a broken lower ball joint.
Nice find Jim. I find many attempts at aviation themes haven’t translated so well in applications on cars over the years, but the thrusting jet intake ‘nostrils’ do wonders for the look of the nose on these.
That’s such a masterful shape. Impossible to choose between this and the ‘mero. Nice clean uninterrupted hood too.
Those hubcaps aren’t factory issue- they’re ones made for a ’68 full size chevy.
I have nor seen one like this in . . . decades? A neighbor had one like this, gold with a six and dog dish caps. That was the car I crashed my bike into. That panel between the taillights is fiberglass, something I learned after the impact punched a hole in it.
Also, I don’t ever recall seeing a 70 or 71 GM car in this color. This looks like the relatively light metallic maroon from later in the 70s, so likely a color change somewhere in the long life of this car. The color looks good on it.
I believe this color was called Firethorn and was first used on the ’76 model Firebirds.
So it begs the question, did you own up to it or was it a little boy’s first hit and run? 🙂
There was no running away from that one. I was racing a friend and looked back to see how far ahead I was. Simply did not see the car (and this was a street where street parking was a rarity.)
The little front wheel of my Schwinn Pea Picker wedged itself under the rear valence. The spring on the bike fork punched into that fiberglass panel and I went over/through the high rise handlebars, not stopping before my two front teeth stopped me against that back window. I then rolled down the left quarter panel onto the asphalt. A few neighbors came running out and my parents’ homeowners insurance became involved.
I was immediately thankful that they did not drive a station wagon or van.
I had the same experience…I was OK, car was OK, but the tube thru which the fork went to the handlebars was bent, so bike was not rideable.
Welder bent it back.
As for the wheel covers, Chris OBryant is very astute!
I remember several of the Pontiac F-Cars had these wheel covers in the 70s. But not quite…they had the Pontiac variants. At a glance, they look the same. But when one looks closely, those are Chevy wheel covers.
Good catch!
I wanted to buy one a 10-yr old 73 Firebird 350 from my friend, but my father wouldn’t pay for insurance, and I didn’t have the money to insure it as a college student…
Superbly styled. Were the body cloaking an Italian chassis, it would be treasured.