1977 Pontiac Firebird

Esprit Coupe

Original Pontiac 350, engine code P

Automatic

2T87P7N235118

Clear

Gasoline

Ok, Ebay sharks, you guys drive a hard bargain. I'm getting serious pressure on the homefront to get rid of this car before the snow starts flying, plus I'm over 50 now and an old fart like me probably shouldn't be the one driving this car anymore. So, here it is again. You guys bid it up to $3250 the last time. I'm going to start it at $2,999 with no reserve, so go ahead and take it. There is an add on Craig's for this car without the wheel flares, scoop and rally gauges. Buy this add and you'll be getting all of it, manuals and original parts, everything all included. This isn't just a deal, it's a steal. The better half doesn't want anyone coming out to the house, so we're going ebay. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Esprit with Pontiac 350 engine, 4 barrel carb and dual exhaust. I bought this car for $4,500 in 2007 from some people in Allys, Michigan outside of Detroit. I bought the tail scoop from Craig's list. The tail scoop is the only part of the car's appearance that I changed. The rims came with the car, the chrome is peeling on one of them. As soon as I bought the car I replaced the steering assembly, tie rods, ball joints, control arm and idler arm. Two new leaf springs (from Yearone) went on the back plus four new Monroe shocks all around. The original intake and carb (Roch 750, 4 barrel) were removed and upgraded to Edelbrock 750, 4 barrel and Performer RPM intake. I bought that stuff from Summit, they included a chrome air cleaner as part of the purchase price. Also pulled off the original exhaust manifolds and replaced them with Hooker Competition Headers. I have put a total of about 13,000 miles on the car during the seven years that I've owned it. The odometer was at 42 or 44, now it's at 55,900. Strongly recommend you go with a classic car insurance company, I use Continental Western Group, they charge me only $125/year for a 2500 mile comprehensive policy. The original parts that were removed have been boxed up and will ship to the buyer along with the car. I bought the GM body manual and shop manual plus the Clymer manual. I also bought the spoiler set, new from Yearone for about $250, 4 wheel flares and lower front scoop, but never installed them. Also, there's a rally gauge set, not installed which I bought for $750, pulled from an old trans am and reconditioned by Potomac Pontiac. The body work and primer were just finished this summer so there's very little rust. The paint that's on the car looks ok, but there are lots of imperfections if you look closely, sags, hairline cracks and nicks. I've done what I can to blend it. There is blue and silver metal flake in the white paint and it is coming off of the hood little by little every time I wash the car. I went over the whole car in 3 stages, spent an afternoon wetsanding with 1000 grit, another day with 1500 and another with rubbing compound. I think it's as good as it's going to get. There's still a few sags I can bring down, but I don't think there's enough paint on there to try to continue polishing further. The rear quarter panels are partially fresh metal, I bought patch panels from Yearone. They extend from the wheel well to the bumper, below the seem, surrounding the side-light housing. I have tons of receipts to verify the purchase of almost every part on the car, probably lost a few over the years. I can't remember off the top of my head exactly when each of the following parts was replaced, but here's most of it: Electric: Thought about replacing the distributor core, I decided to peice-meal upgrade instead, the car now has Accel computer chip, cap, rotor and wires. I put in new platinum plugs just about 2 weeks ago, in September. I replaced the stock alternator with a 100 amp Powermaster. The starter was replaced in like 2010. The rally gauge set includes a harness, new lens covers, dash panel and nobs. Drivetrain: I paid a shop (Monroe) to service the rear axle and tranny, they put in a new yoke, replaced all the seals, changed the fluids and put on the chrome cover, which has unfortunately started to rust and corrode. They also did a valve adjustment and confirmed that the car has an aggressive camshaft. The previous owner claimed there was an upgraded cam in the engine when I bought it, it felt like it when I drove it. Monroe changed the tranny fluid and told me the tranny seemed pretty good, only a small amount of metal flake in the old fluid. I'm pretty sure the previous owner that I mentioned did provide a receipt for the camshaft that he said was in there. I think it's in my collection of receipts, though it's been a while since I actually held it in my hands. Stability: I put on SSBC cross drilled stainless steel rotors with metallic pads, do not replace with stock pads. A couple of damaged lugs were replaced and the rear brakes are now correctly assembled and functioning properly. The car drives straight, fast and true. And it's surprisingly smooth, it rides as nice as my '06 Honda Accord. Interior: We reworked the springs in the car seats, it's very comfortable to sit in. The interior is in good shape with scuffs and scratches mostly down low on the kick plates. The visors are worn, the seem is coming loose on one of them. Headliner is clean. What else went on the car.....There's a Summit brand fuel pressure gauge and fuel filter which sit behind the carb....Gates belts for the accessories....I put an X pipe (Summit brand) this summer, it gives a little more power and reduces noise level.....6 Kenwood speakers were already in the car when I bought it, I had Best Buy put in the CD player......Bought a few emblems, you still need one more Esprit emblem for the Driver's side, I've seen them on Ebay for 15 - 20 dollars. Here's the list of stuff that I never got around to or has recently broken: The windshield wipers need a new motor/transaxle. Monroe printed me a receipt for the exact parts required. The key sometimes sticks in the ignition, you'll want a new cylinder there. The passenger door has recently decided it doesn't want to open, you'll have to remove the panel, it's probably a latch or spring. The aftermarket temp gauge that I put in has stopped working, however the original warning light still works. The fuel sender gauge crapped out this summer, I replaced the circuit board behind the dash thinking that was the problem, bad diagnosis, $90 mistake, sort of. The old circuit board was getting corroded and worn, so replacing it wasn't such a bad thing. Now that the new circuit board is installed, I'm getting the trunk open light on the dash. This car is the same style as Smoky and the Bandit, so that's how it will look if you put on the wheel flares and scoop. The rally gauge set for the dash that I mentioned came from Potomac Pontiac near Wash, DC, this is an authentic part pulled from an old Trans Am. It will be an all day project, that's why I put in the aftermarket gauges, much easier and faster. I bought the aftermarket gauges right off the shelf at the nearby parts store for about $20 each, the colors match well, but the bulbs are a little too bright compared to the other interior lights, you'll need a few new bulbs because the light in the PRNDL is out right now. The wires for the dome light come up through the trunk, I think you'll need a fuseable link there, it's burned out on me twice. Wiring diagram pages come with the shop manual, patience is required. The front tires are new, maybe 1000 miles on them, 225's, the back tires are 255. The original configuration of the car had only 175 horses according to the manuals, I'm guessing you've got 275 now, never dyno tested it. The trunk needs a liner, looks pretty clean. My plan was to put the battery in the trunk same time as installing a new liner. The car handles great, that would make it even better. I checked the Blue book value at NADA online. Obviously, this car has not gotten to the point of 'everything working.' But on the other hand, there are some nice upgrades to go along with it, like the engine and exhaust upgrades, spoiler set, rally gauges and manuals, so I'm going to let the market decide what the fair value is with some things above par and some things still below. Almost forgot, the engine is a Pontiac 350 from the 1977 era, it is most likely the original engine. I got with a GM mechanic by email a few years ago and gave him every serial number I could find on the engine. He said that it probably was the original engine, all the numbers matched up. I was happy to hear that. It has the 350 transmission. I put a slightly oversized March brand pulley on the new alternator, which peaks at 104 amps. I'll be busy polishing the second rate paint job while you consider your bid. Remember, the original parts might be important to somebody someday, even if they're not important to you right now, you will want to keep them with the car. And finally, the carb is manually adjustable from inside the car. We installed a silver nob that looks just like the cigarrette lighter by the driver's left knee, pull it out and close off the air flow, push it in on the highway to open it up. For more details and pics check my add at Craig's.