Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions for First Generation Firebirds that have been asked and answered on FGF. Special thanks needs to be given to all the FGF members who took the time to respond to other member's questions.
Miscellaneous - Year Changes
Short answer: Despite the name, the “bird” isn’t etched into the glass — it’s a silkscreen-type paint that sits slightly above the surface and can be scraped off. If it were truly etched it would be engraved below the surface, not raised. Check yours: if you can feel it standing proud, it’s the painted type.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The Banshee was John DeLorean’s pet project — a sporty two-seater that borrowed styling cues from the upcoming third-gen Corvette but used a solid rear axle (to stay cheaper than the Corvette) and a unique clamshell door. GM nixed it to protect Corvette sales, and DeLorean was handed the Camaro to build a Pontiac version — also to be called Banshee.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The 1967 console top had a satin-black “camera-case grain” finish. For 1968–69, Pontiac added a burled-walnut metal applique (with matching door and rear covers) and eliminated the rear ashtray and light.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The 1968 Custom Trim Option is code 554, and the trim-tag style number tells you what your car has. Note that the Custom Trim Option (554) and the Custom/Deluxe interior are separate — you can have the option with standard interior.
| Coupe | Conv. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 22337 | 22367 | Standard interior, no Custom Trim option |
| 22437 | 22467 | Standard interior, with Custom Trim option |
| 22637 | 22667 | Deluxe (Custom) interior, with Custom Trim option |
Custom Trim Option (554) included: deluxe wheel discs, deluxe steering wheel, molded-vinyl door and quarter trim, vinyl-and-weave seats, roof-rail moldings, wheel-opening moldings, instrument-panel grip (grab bar), pedal trim, and dual horns. It also came with different (longer) window regulators.
Speculated as included (not confirmed): 160-mph speedo, “BIRD” emblem on the glove-box door, custom/deluxe seat belts (brushed-metal buckles), the small white “BIRD” etched on the front side glass, interior windshield A-pillar moldings, and wheel trim rings (when ordered with Rally II wheels).
Any of these items could be ordered individually on a standard-interior car (22437/22467) — except the deluxe interior itself, which defines 22637/22667.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: All three years technically had different glass. 1968 and 1969 look identical installed, but the concealed bottom edge differs — 1968 is straight across, 1969 has a curve. In practice they’re often interchangeable: the July 1969 parts book lists the 1968 and 1969 replacement glass as the same.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: No official start/end production dates for 1967–69 Firebirds have surfaced, but here’s the collected timeline (corrections welcome):
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec 1966 (2nd wk) | First Firebird produced |
| Feb 23, 1967 | Firebird debut at Chicago Auto Show |
| June–July 1967 | Production period for 1967 Ram Air Firebird |
| Aug 1967 (5th wk) | Earliest known 1968 Firebird (in Registry) |
| Oct 1967 (2nd wk) | Earliest known 1968 Firebird RA I |
| Aug 1967 – May 1968 | Production period for 1968 Ram Air I Firebird/GTO |
| Jan 1968 | Fiberglass belted tires begin on Firebird |
| Mar 4, 1968 | Van Nuys, CA plant begins building Firebirds |
| Mar 1968 (4th wk) | Earliest 1968 Van Nuys Firebird (in Registry) |
| May 14, 1968 | Approx. last 1968 RA I Firebird produced |
| May 20, 1968 | Ram Air II becomes available for Firebird/GTO |
| May 21, 1968 | First Ram Air II Firebird (and GTO) produced |
| June 6, 1968 | Leather option becomes available on Firebird |
| July 7, 1968 | Latest invoice for Van Nuys 1968 Firebird (in Registry) |
| July 29, 1968 | 1968 Engine Production Log report released |
| Aug 6, 1968 | Invoice date for last 1968 RA II Firebird |
| Aug 1968 (2nd wk) | Latest build date for 1968 Firebird (in Registry) |
| Mar 1969 | Trans Am option became available |
| 1969 | Norwood, OH plant added for F-body production |
| Feb 26, 1970 | 2nd-generation (1970) Firebird debuts in Chicago |
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Collected 1968 running / mid-year changes (not in strict order; corrections welcome).
Running / mid-year changes:
- Tall hood tachs early (using up 1967 stock), later two different lower-style tachs with RPM and face changes (V-8 and OHC-6).
- Two-bulb front side marker (gone around September).
- Glovebox “Bird” emblem early (using up 1967s), later discontinued from standard (and possibly custom) interior doors.
- Knit-weave vinyl inserts in Custom seats (early hardtops got the all-Madrid-grain inserts too, not just early converts).
- Standard fuel gauge gained 1/8-tank increments.
- Outside mirror changed to the rectangular style; switched from a black to a white washer-fluid jar.
- Added the trunk (decklid) release option; spare-tire lock; tire inflator (V-8); “Spring colors” added in April.
- RA II substituted for RA I; H.O./Ram Air exhaust manifolds; VIN began being stamped on engine blocks.
- 4-bbl intake manifold (9790140 early → 9794234 mid-year); 4-bbl throttle bracket (9792242 early → 9797415 mid-year).
- Mid-year options: power LH bucket seat, variable-ratio power steering, leather seat trim (Custom only, after June). Rally I’s deleted mid-year due to a tire-size change.
- Fuel-filler-door emblem (early finger-lift, later flat); seat belts (early metal buckles even on standard interior).
- “Bird” glass — nobody can pin down the criteria; not clearly an early addition or deletion.
Production part variations (from Registry data; subject to revision):
- Dash grab handle (assist bar), color-keyed: included with and exclusive to the Custom Trim option.
- 160 mph speedo: standard on all 1968 Firebirds.
- Headliner side trim moldings (coupe): the stainless moldings were likely unique to Custom Trim; standard was color-keyed or black.
- 4-speed: optional on all models, wide or close ratio (close ratio mandatory with the 3.90 axle).
- Custom Trim option (Sales Code 554): woven-vinyl seats, molded door/quarter trim, deluxe wheel, pedal trim, dash assist handle, wheel-opening moldings, deluxe wheel covers, dual horns, roof-rail moldings, interior pillar/headliner moldings, and the glovebox “Bird” emblem. Some early cars had molded-grain knit-weave vinyl seats (a few colors). Manual window regulators differed between Standard and Custom (crank-rod length).
- Glovebox “Bird” emblem: standard on all 1967s; included with Custom Trim in 1968; also on some early Standard Trim cars; absent on some late Custom Trim cars.
- Custom (deluxe) seat belts: separate option (brushed-metal latches), not part of Custom Trim; inconsistent usage — some documented cars have them without the option listed (possibly tied to “Bird” glass).
- Custom pedal trim: with Custom Trim and separately; noted standard on all V-8 models.
- “Bird” glass (front side): white silk-screened image on some early cars; no factory/dealer literature mentions it; criteria unknown; found on cars built as late as March 1968.
- Burlwood console & dash trim: standard on all 1968 Firebirds.
- Hood tach: early tall-style single-bulb, second type when stock ran out (around Dec/Jan), with face variations.
- Radiator-support filler panels (R/L): with the “400” option and all A/C cars (plus a lower valance panel).
- Rally gauges: unique wiring harness (dash, engine, lamp), fuse box, sending units, and speedo. All 1968 instrumentation had a steel-blue face.
Note: option availability changes (RA I→RA II, tire inflator for V-8s, decklid release, spare-tire lock, special spring colors) are arguably separate from running production changes.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Collected 1969 mid-year changes (a starting list — additions welcome):
- Gas-tank venting changed from cap venting to a vent tube.
- Wire wheel covers discontinued mid-year.
- Head restraints became standard later in the year.
- Power-Flo Ventilation offered.
Production was extended; the latest 1969 Firebird in the Registry (Norwood) has a build date of the 3rd week of September 1969. The exact end dates at all three plants aren’t known.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Trim code 260 is “Parchment” in both 1967 and 1968, but the shade differs — 1967 parchment is basic white, while 1968 parchment has a pearl look. The factory trim albums call both “Parchment”; catalog companies rename the 1968 shade “Pearl” to avoid confusion. So your tag reading Parchment is correct.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The two-bulb 1968 parking-lamp housing was used only very briefly in early production, then superseded by the cheaper single-bulb part. It was essentially a “false start”: some early-September cars have the two-bulb version while some late-September cars already have the single bulb, so it ran only a few weeks.
Why: 1968 mandated front and rear side markers. Pontiac was initially unsure whether the front turn-signal/parking lamp would qualify as a side marker; once it was clear the combined lamp was legal without a separate bulb, the two-bulb design was phased out and a replacement part superseded it. The relevant Pontiac tech bulletin is below.
[pdfjs-viewer url=/dtb/docs/68-I-17.pdf viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true download=false print=true]
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Power-Flo Ventilation was a 1969-only Firebird option (also on 1969–70 full-size Pontiacs and Buicks) for non-A/C cars, about $15 — two blower assemblies mounted in the cowl that push air through the upper vents.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The Ram Air hood baffle physically fits all 1967–69 Firebird 400 hoods. The carb shroud works on all 1967–69 Firebird 400s and 1968–70 GTOs — there were two types, with and without the heat-riser provision (the “with” version is uncommon).
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: For a car with a Dec. 14, 1967 billing date, it could have had either the round or the rectangular remote mirror — the changeover overlapped that period. The most reliable clue is the outer door skin, which differs between the two mirror types (different mounting-hole configuration).
Member accounts differ on timing:
- One: the rectangular O/S remote mirror likely did not reach production until around March 1968.
- Registry research: the rectangular (2nd type) was installed as early as the 2nd week of Dec. 1967 — two documented original Firebirds built that week have one round and one rectangular.
Note also that the 1967 and 1968 Firebird remote mirrors are different: 1967 had a larger, longer base; 1968 is stubby. The round housing itself is shared across Pontiacs, but the base (and casting numbers) differ, and cable length varied by model.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Leather (code 281, Saddle) became available on the 1968 Firebird on June 6, 1968, only with the Custom Trim option and only in that one Saddle color. It’s a very rare option — documented on only a few 1968 Firebirds in the Registry.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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