1978 Pontiac Firebird Formula

Description

This is a beautiful UNRESTORED original 1978 Firebird Formula with only 48,000 original miles! Car was purchased from the estate of the original owner in Southern California who kept ALL of the receipts and original documentation from the time it was new. This includes the original window sticker, build sheet, delivery papers, handwritten dealer sheet, owners manual, service manual, service records, even receipts for detail work (SEE IMAGES)! This car was meticulously kept since new as its condition shows. The previous owner had 4 other Firebirds prior to owning this one (70, 72, 74, 76 and this one) so she had a passion for these cars.

Garage kept is the perfect way to explain the storage for this car over its life span. It was driven regularly up until 1982 when the owner fell ill and could do no more than start it, back it up onto her drive way, and back into the garage. Tags were kept in it until 1997 but it was not driven on the streets again until April of 2017 when we purchased it from the original owners estate.

The straight body has all original black paint covering it with no evidence of repair work or damage. Even the front and rear rubber bumpers are in great condition. After being stored under a car cover for many years, the paint had light surface scratches which were removed with a light buff and polish. It now shines like a black pearl! The wheels are covered in the original paint finishing and have some minor discoloration but the original trim rings are in great condition. When we purchased the car, it had a set of BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires that were installed in 1982 according to the provided receipts and had less than 2,000 miles on them (they looked knew!!). Of course from sitting, they were flat spotted so we installed a new set of the same tires. It drives smooth as glass now. The dealer installed body side moldings are still in great condition and not pulling loose from the body. Also notice the factory to dealer delivery door edge protectors still in place on both doors.

Talk about a nice ORIGINAL MINT black interior, seats, unfaded original carpet, perfect original instrumentation, and original GM mats. The drivers seat doesn't even have wear marks on it from sliding in and out. The console lid still closes easily with no cracks from being leaned on during entry. The driver's seat belt still retracts smoothly and does not hang up as many of these do from years of wear. We did install a new correct headliner as the old one was hanging from age and the California heat. We reused the original board, just recovered it with new correct material. All 4 seating positions have the correct original GM floor mats still in excellent condition. The dash board has no cracks and is in excellent condition. All gauges are clear and have very minimal wear. The steering wheel is also in great condition with only some minor wear on the wood grain where your fingers rest while driving. Door panels are in excellent condition with no tear marks at the bottoms where your feet drag getting out of the car. The original AM/FM radio functions very well and both front and rear speakers work.Overall, the interior is just amazing!! The original R-12 A/C system, surprisingly, still had a charge! Unfortunately, from sitting so long, the bearings in the compressor growled so we removed the belt. A new compressor is included.

The trunk is just a nice as the rest of the car. Original trunk mat, splatter paint, jacking instructions, spare tire and inflation canister, and all of the original wiring still in the factory plastic wrapping... ALL in beautiful condition! The trunk light even works as it should!

As you can imagine, the car needed some tune up work after its slumber. In preparation for awakening, we lightly lubed each cylinder in the 350 4 barrel to avoid damage and changed both the engine oil and transmission fluid (both were very clean, upon inspection of the receipts there were both serviced shortly before the car was parked). The fuel tank was replaced and a new sending unit installed. Also all rubber lines in the fuel system were replaced along with the fuel pump. A new distributor cap, plugs, wires, and coil were installed and the engine compartment was lightly cleaned to remove the dust. The power steering and power brake (front disc) systems were inspected and verified for good operation.

No joke... driving this car... is like driving a new 1978 Firebird. The steering is tight, no slop or bobble in the lanes; engine pulls strong and is silent (no valvetrain or bottom end noise); transmission shifts smoothly (no jerking or abrupt up or down shifts); and no rattles in the interior. With the windows up you can barely hear the car run. This is truly a time capsule from 1978!!

The original California Title and blue tags go with the car along with all of the original documentation and receipts. As you know, it is difficult to find an ORIGINAL, unmolested Firebird much less one with low mileage. They are only original once!