54 years old live in Michigan and new to this sight. well i finally will be getting my dream financed through JJbest but are asking for help with my purchase questions. looking for a first generation convertible with lots of power but not strip type.just something that i can really impress my riders with. would love a 400 manual but so far hard to find as most are coming with 350 and automatic. price under 30k. i have found about 4 so far but who do you trust when they say it was restored but cannot say who did it or etc. i understand PHS documents and are more that mechanical and used to own a 1977 years ago and lost alot of research i used to have. If there was someone i could really talk or a company that was willing to look at it before i buy that would be great. thanks dave

Welcome.....as like many of us it's hard to tell what to believe
when buying an old car. Don't use the service that ebay offers, not good at all with old cars. You may want to make a trip to look at what you may come across. There are a few companies that offer the service which are good at it. But even when using a service it not always going to tell what has been done in the past. When I got mine I had no idea what I was getting until I started to work on the car. The car had a great paint job done to it,,,,good.....got into the motor to find the carb. was jetted the wrong way, was wondering y the car had no pick up. Checked the plugs to find good bit of carbon, rejetted carb. car run great like, plus found the motor was running high compression. So it's hard to find out when u use a service to inspect a car, they only go so far. Good luck

You don't really say where the 4 cars are that you found. The best thing would be to join a local car group. (wouldn't necessarily need to be Pontiac, but would be nice) If the cars are relatively local to you, it may be possible for one of the car guys to look it over. There are at least four or five site members that live in Michigan. That may be another option. There are also members all across the country.

When it all comes down to it, these cars are 45 years old and most have had many Owners ofer the years. God knows how many half-assed things have been done to them. But the good news is that there ARE still nice fgf's out there. You just need to dig them out of the racks.

I'd suggest start looking at all the ones close by to you that you can. Get to know typical rust areas, key part numbers and factory stampings, engine codes, etc. There is a ton of infomation in the FAQ's section of this site. Quite a few members here have recently aquired 'birds within the past year that started here on this site with relatively your same question. Ask questions, post pictures. Most will take the time to answer - comment.

Good luck with a successful purchase!

thanks for getting back. jjbest has also as of today put the word out for me to decent companies they trust and are watching for me. they include daniel smith classic cars, pj's auto world etc. thats good advise at starting local and should be good research. knowing what you want exactly helps right? so i will post my add as 1967-69 firebird, recent body off with receipts or pictures, pontiac 400/455 manual stick, ps,pb,pt. can handle most colors but some like red orange,black blue are favorites. under 35k ug! but what the heck thanks again dave

thanks for the advise, just glad i'am financed and can take my time. i dont mind ebay as long as there are tons of pictures true facts etc. i have seen some sold ones that would fit the bill. i have sold many car parts and yes you get some winners but most are decent. ill stay away from no descriptions and little pictures thanks dave

At least you are in the ballpark on expected price! That's usually 2/3 the battle!

anyone know the cost of converting a auto on the tree to a 4 speed on the floor. to old to do this myself so just a guess/anything close. Found the car I want but its a auto .... thanks

Welcome to fgf. I am newer to this site also about three years. I have learned so much from this site. I got a sub. To high perfomance pontiac also. I am novice with family budget. I know you will find a great carjust do'nt pull the trigger to quick. Cragislist was pretty good for me. Best advise from me see and driver if possible. The pics and dialog do not do justice ( squat) compared to seeing and talking to the owner and getting the story and or angle on the seller. I do like what one the other members said about joining a car club. Have a good friend go with you if you use craigslist because of the freak factor. After you buy your car for some reason more great firebird deals will come your way hence I have two now and always say I need to sell one and just can't do it yet. Good luck. Life is to short to keep saying one day. Sounds like you are moving in the right direction.
Mark