Frequently Asked Questions

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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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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Short answer: The Comanche appears to have been a central-Canada district/dealer sales package for 1969 Firebirds — cars modified/prepped in Canada before reaching the dealer — inspired by the era’s regional appearance packages (The Judge, The Jury, Royal Bobcat, Mustang “California Special,” etc.). Hard documentation is scarce.

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Short answer: From the 1969 Firebird Pontiac Engine Production Logs:

That’s 5,127 total 350 H.O. engines — so not many originals likely survive. By comparison, 56,052 standard 350 engines were built:

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Short answer: Quick answers on the assembly plants (not the final word):

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Short answer: Yes — some 1969 Carousel Red/parchment Firebird convertibles were built as beauty-pageant cars. One member owns an original Carousel Red/parchment convertible whose build sheet (found under the back seat) reads “TAG NATIONAL COLLEGE QUEEN PAGEANT.” It was sold new in Fort Myers, FL and later moved to Orlando and then London, Ontario.

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Short answer: Settle what the car’s worth before an accident — with the right policy. A standard book value won’t reflect a $5,000 collectible. Members recommend a collector-friendly insurer that allows an Actual Cash Value (or agreed-value) policy; one member has been happy with Nationwide, which (unlike many collector policies) let him use the car as a daily driver without strict mileage limits or “out of sight” restrictions.

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Short answer: “Blueprinting” has two senses. One is matching parts and modifications so they work together toward a defined goal — so the first step is deciding what the car is for (cruising, stoplight drags, street/strip, road/autocross) and your budget. The other is checking all measurements (cylinders, rod and main journals, etc.) to confirm they fall within factory blueprint tolerances. How far you take it is up to you and your machinist.

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Short answer: Building a 1969 Trans Am clone — the key authenticity details (members disagreed on a couple, noted below):

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Short answer: First decide your year, whether you want a finished car or a project, and whether you prefer factory-original or modified — then inspect carefully (a finished, near-original car costs more up front but is cheaper in the long run).

Below: current market prices, what each year means for a buyer, how to inspect the car, and how to verify the paperwork before you hand over money.

What to Expect to Pay

As of mid-2026, CLASSIC.COM’s market tracker puts the average first-gen Firebird sale at about $56,000. In practice: solid driver-quality cars trade around $35,000–$45,000, rough projects still sell for under $10,000, and the best cars — 400 convertibles and documented Ram Air cars — reach into six figures. For a specific year/engine/condition, check the free Hagerty Valuation Tool. Prices move; treat these as a snapshot.

Year-by-Year Buying Notes

1967 — The only year with vent windows, the 326 engine, and a silver grille surround, and the only year without side marker lamps (spotter’s guide). Many 1967 details are one-year-only, so a ’67 missing its trim or glass can cost noticeably more to complete. Verify those pieces are present and correct before agreeing on price.

1968 — Vent windows gone, arrowhead side markers added, 350 replaced the 326. The highest-production year (107,112 built), so more cars and parts survive — often the best value entry point. Watch for mid-year running changes when ordering parts; our 1968 section covers the details.

1969 — All-new sheet metal and a long model year that ran into fall 1969. The Trans Am arrived: 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles, all Cameo White with blue stripes — which means genuine ’69 Trans Ams are among the most cloned Pontiacs in existence. Never buy one without PHS documentation and a hidden VIN check.

Verify Before You Pay

Every serious purchase should include a paperwork check that costs less than a tank of gas:

• Order PHS documentation first. PHS Automotive Services will send the factory invoice or billing history for any 1961–86 Pontiac VIN — proof of the engine, transmission, colors, and options the car was born with. Order it before money changes hands, not after.
• Cross-check the numbers. The dash VIN, the Body Tag Decoder output, the engine block codes, and the PHS invoice should all tell the same story. If the seller’s story requires an explanation for a mismatch, price the car as what the numbers say it is.
• Check the hidden VINs. GM stamped partial VINs in concealed locations; see our Hidden VIN Locations reference. On expensive cars (Ram Air, Trans Am), this is how re-bodies and clones get caught.
• Match the title. The title VIN must match the dash VIN exactly, and the seller’s name should match the title. Check for salvage or flood branding and run a lien check (Auto Appraisal Group lists title fraud among the most common classic car scams).

Buying Long-Distance: Red Flags

Most first-gen purchases now start online, and scammers know it. The recurring patterns (Auto Appraisal Group, FTC):

• A price well below market on a desirable car, usually with stolen photos. If the seller won’t allow an in-person look, walk away.
• Seller-suggested “escrow” services — scammers build fake escrow sites they control. Verify any escrow service independently; never use a link the seller provides.
• Urgency — another buyer waiting, an overseas deployment, a family emergency. A legitimate seller gives you time to verify.
• Payment by wire, gift card, or crypto. Don’t.

If you can’t inspect the car yourself, hire an independent pre-purchase inspector — and ask in our forums; there may be a member near the car willing to look at it.

The Purchase Price Is the Entry Fee

Before choosing between a $15,000 project and a $45,000 finished car, price the distance between them. Professional restoration labor runs $85–$150+ per hour in 2026, and even a driver-quality restoration typically totals $20,000–$50,000 — see the numbers in our Restoration Guide. That’s why the cheapest car is rarely the cheapest project: a finished, documented car at a fair price is usually the better buy unless the restoration itself is the hobby you want.

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Short answer: One member’s approach to buying: do a nationwide search (he used a Hemmings search agent, “The Locator,” and also combed two years of old Hemmings at the library — many advertised cars never sell and owners become eager months later). Once serious about a car, learn all you can by phone, get photos, then hire a local auto appraiser near the seller (~$100) as your eyes for an independent, documented opinion before you negotiate.

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Short answer: Get an “agreed value” policy, not a “stated value” one. With stated value, you state a maximum and the insurer’s adjuster will try to appraise the car for less after a loss; with agreed value, you and the insurer settle the car’s value before any claim, so a total pays out what you insured it for.

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Short answer: A list of parts and service companies recommended by other First Generation Firebird owners is kept in the Forums.

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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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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.

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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Short answer: If you want a diecast of your year, contact the makers directly. Diecast model-car makers include: ERTL, UT, Vitesse, Herpa, Detail Cars, Best, Brumm, Bang, Burago, Jouef (Eagle Race), Anson, Solido, and Revell.

A few examples:

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Short answer: Functional (cold-air) Ram Air induction came on the 1969 RA III; 1968–69 400 H.O. cars did not have it. Apart from that, the RA III and 400 H.O. are 100% identical — same carb settings, cam, heads, and exhaust manifolds.

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Short answer: A fun first-gen sighting: in the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, there’s a barbecue near the end made from the front end of a 1967 or 1968 Firebird — which inspired one member’s idea of turning a parts car into a BBQ (front end) and a trailer (trunk end).

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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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Short answer: A member shared this passage from Ben Hamper’s Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line — a vivid account of Family Night at the old Fisher Body plant in Flint:

I was seven years old the first time I ever set foot inside an automobile factory… The assembly line did indeed stink. The noise was very close to intolerable. The heat was one complete bastard.

…we found my old man down on the trim line. His job was to install windshields using this goofy apparatus with large suction cups that resembled an octopus being crucified. A car would nuzzle up to the old man’s work area and he would be waiting for it… Car, windshield. Car, windshield. Car, windshield. No wonder my father preferred playin’ hopscotch with barmaids.

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Short answer: The only firm figure is from the 1968 Engine Production Log: 2,099 total Firebird H.O. engines (1,415 4-speed + 684 auto). Everything below is estimated from the coupe-to-convertible ratio:

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Short answer: No official start/end production dates for 1967–69 Firebirds have surfaced, but here’s the collected timeline (corrections welcome):

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Short answer: Collected 1968 running / mid-year changes (not in strict order; corrections welcome).

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Short answer: Collected 1969 mid-year changes (a starting list — additions welcome):

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Short answer: More year-by-year information is in the dedicated sections of the First Generation Firebird site:

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Short answer: NOS = New Old Stock — leftover factory replacement parts.

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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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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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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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Short answer: A firsthand account from a member who raced a 1968 Ram Air convertible (with Pontiac engineering contacts) — on the 400’s special engineering and how the Ram Air engine behaved.

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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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Short answer: The 1968 Ram Air Firebird totals are genuinely uncertain. Fred Simmonds (PMD) once published a matrix listing 12 Ram Air convertibles for 1968, but later it was said the totals are unknown because only RA II VINs (May–Aug 1968) were searched — no full search of RA I (Aug 1967–May 1968) was done. So most figures carry a “?”.

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Short answer: You can reach concours quality without shipping the whole car (and a blank check) to a big-name shop — the trick is to pay pros for what’s truly hard and do the research-driven parts yourself.

Below: how to plan the project, what it really costs, how to pick the shop for the work you hire out, and where to find the factory-correct details for the work you do yourself.

Plan Before You Wrench

Most stalled projects die in the planning stage, not the garage. Before the first bolt comes off, settle three things:

• Define your target. “Restored” means different things to different people — a reliable driver, a show car, or a concours-correct original are three different projects with three very different budgets. Write down which one you’re building and let every decision flow from that.
• Off-frame or rolling? A full off-frame (subframe-out) restoration gives the best result on a rusty or long-neglected car, but it multiplies cost, time, and the risk of a stalled project. A solid, running car is often better served by a rolling restoration done in stages — you keep driving it while you work.
• Budget a cushion. Plan on 10–20% beyond your estimate for what teardown reveals — hidden rust, missing hardware, and parts delays are the rule, not the exception (Coastline Restorations, 2026 cost guide).

The proven sequence: document everything with photos before and during disassembly → bag and label every fastener → structural metal and rust repair → body and paint → drivetrain and chassis → wiring and interior → final assembly and detailing. Fight the urge to jump ahead; paint before metal repair, or interior before wiring, means doing work twice.

What It Really Costs

Honest numbers, so nobody starts a project they can’t finish. As of 2026, restoration shops bill roughly $85–$150+ per hour, and typical full-restoration totals run about $20,000–$50,000 for a driver-quality build, $40,000–$120,000 for high-quality work, and $100,000+ for show-level, frame-off restorations (2026 industry figures). A professional concours restoration can absorb 4,000–5,000+ labor hours.

Two facts to internalize before you start (Hagerty):

• Unless the car is rare and high-value, you will probably not recoup a full professional restoration at sale time. Restore because you love the car.
• The DIY strategy on this page — you do the disassembly, research, and reassembly; professionals do metal and paint — is exactly where the big savings live, since labor is the largest line item.

Choosing a Body & Paint Shop

Since body and paint is the work you’ll hire out, picking the shop is the highest-stakes decision of the whole project. Distilled from Hagerty’s guides on choosing a shop and avoiding a rip-off:

• Find candidates by word of mouth — car club members, show judges, other Firebird owners (our forums are a good place to ask). Ask past customers whether the shop hit its timeline and estimate, and whether they’d go back.
• Visit the shop and look past the showroom. Organized parts storage, engaged employees, and in-house equipment are good signs. Dusty customer cars used as shelves, and parts from six projects mixed on one rack, are not.
• Get a written contract covering the exact work, quality standard, total price, payment schedule, start and completion dates, and confirmation the shop’s insurance covers your car while it’s there.
• Insist on itemized invoices (parts and labor, with descriptions — not just hour counts), and visit regularly. Never let more than a couple of weeks pass without seeing the car, and photograph progress every visit. Resistance to visits or vague billing are the two loudest red flags.

Getting the Details Right: Your Research Toolkit

Detailing is research, and these are the primary sources for 1967–69 Firebirds:

• PHS documentation for your VIN (PHS Automotive Services) — proves the car’s original equipment, so you restore what the car actually was.
• Factory literature: the Pontiac Service Manual, Fisher Body Service Manual, and Firebird Assembly Manual for your year — reprints from Firebird Central or National Parts Depot. The assembly manual’s line drawings answer most “how does this mount?” questions during reassembly.
• Club expertise: the Pontiac-Oakland Club International judges cars at its annual convention against factory-correct standards — judging sheets and members are a deep well of originality knowledge.
• Our own references: the year-specific technical pages, factory paint codes, and Body Tag Decoder on this site, plus unrestored original cars photographed at shows — the ultimate reference for factory-correct detail.

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Short answer: Which to do first (body/paint vs. engine/suspension) depends on your approach — DIY vs. farming out, and how detailed you want the engine bay. Here’s a middle-of-the-road order (adjust to your situation); 6 months between phases isn’t much in the long run.

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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).

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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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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Short answer: One member shipped a 1968 350 convertible (Boston to Seattle) with Intercity Vanlines (intercitylines.com), which uses fully enclosed trucks — very careful and recommended, though pricing competitiveness wasn’t confirmed.

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Short answer: A real 1968 Sprint has single exhaust but a dual-outlet exhaust manifold (a Y-pipe joins the two outlets into one header pipe), so single exhaust is correct. Confirm it by engine code ZD with a VIN matching the car — that’s the correct Sprint block. Most other Sprint parts could be added to a base 1-bbl car, so verify the block and get PHS documentation.

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Short answer: Yes — car storage bags work well for controlling humidity. One type seals with a small fan; another seals tight and you purge the air/moisture with a shop vac, then a desiccant controls moisture inside.

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Short answer: General winter-storage recommendations are on the First Generation Firebird site at firstgenfirebird.org/car-storage-information/.

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Short answer: There’s no reliable count of surviving Firebirds — the best you can get is state-by-state registered-car data, and there are likely more first-gens sitting unregistered in garages, fields, and backyards than restored ones on the road.

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Short answer: 1968 Firebird production (some figures from Fred Simmonds/PMD research; others are estimates based on the Engine Production Log and the coupe-vs-convertible ratio):

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Short answer: Two member tips for shipping a car: ask the driver/haulers hanging around a large wholesale auto auction — they have good logistics and try to fill their rigs. And be cautious with transport brokers: one member’s experience with “Best Discount Shippers” (BDS) went badly — brokers sometimes don’t pay the actual truckers, making loads hard to fill, so he canceled and disputed the charge through Visa.

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Short answer: A reader, Mary Jo Poston, wrote in about winning her 1967 Firebird convertible on a TV game show. In her words:

Dear Geoff,

… In 1966 or early 1967 this Texas family (my husband, six-month-old and I) resided in NYC for a six-month period… I enjoyed… live taping of TV programs. Bill Cullen, a popular TV personality of the ’60s, hosted a game show called “Eye Guess.” It was sheer luck to be picked from the audience… then luck to beat my dentist opponent… As winner I began to pick hidden prizes, and if I could pick seven in a row without finding a stop sign, the bonus car was mine. History was made.

My father suggested I ask for delivery in Texas… Tyndale Pontiac (San Antonio) let me pick the color and add options at cost — so I added a lot, including a power top and air conditioning… My choice of colors was butternut yellow with black top and interior.

… Four children in all drove it to high school, but finally I get to drive it to the golf courses… it stands proud. … honestly it has given me joy all these years — there is no amount of money that could replace it. I wouldn’t think of selling for $10,000, $50,000 or even $100,000.

— Mary Jo Poston

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Short answer: $17,000+ was considered high for any non-Ram-Air 400 H.O. coupe, even a strong #2 car. The 1968 400 H.O. (and 1969 400 H.O./RA III) bring only modest premiums over a standard 400 — the H.O. added Long Branch manifolds and the 068 performance cam/carb (4-speed only), so the auto H.O. cars are close to a standard 400.

One member’s price ranges for a solid driver (high-3 / low-2 condition) — note these are from ~2000; “?” = guesswork, and today’s values are much higher:

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Short answer: For a nice 1967 326 H.O. coupe as described, ~$7,950 was a good estimate. 400 cars and convertibles command more (roughly +$1,000 for a convertible, +$1,000 for the larger base engine), and Ram Airs, Sprints, and H.O.s draw top dollar. Ultimately it’s worth what a buyer will pay.

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Short answer: For a 1968 400 convertible in good shape, ~$9,500 was a reasonable asking price, adjusting for options (roughly −$1,000 for a coupe, −$1,000 for a smaller base engine). Ram Airs, Sprints, and H.O.s draw top dollar.

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Short answer: For a 1969 250-six 4-speed coupe: roughly $3,000 needing restoration (body intact) and ~$7,500 fully restored — more for a convertible or special options. Ram Airs, Sprints, and H.O.s command top dollar; Trans Ams are nearly impossible to price.

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