31,394 orig. miles, factory black on black 4-spd car, awesome original interior

Go ahead and make the Burt Reynolds jokes, but late-70s F-bodies are red hot right now. Trans Ams, Z/28 Camaros, and cars like this 1979 Firebird all talk to a generation of guys who grew up watching V8 performance on TV and in movies, and these are the cars that take them back. It’s the same thing that drives the rest of the hobby. What those guys are finding, however, is that most of these cars were used up, raced, abused, wrecked, and just plain neglected by owners who didn’t pay much attention to their future collectability. As a result, clean, straight, unmodified cars can be a challenge to find, which is why we were so excited to find this slick black Firebird.

This is a lifetime southern car, coming to us from Louisiana, and one look at the bodywork and undercarriage is all the proof you need that it has never, ever been rusty or wrecked. Starlight Black is this car’s original color and while it shows just 31,394 original miles, it has been treated to a high-quality repaint in the not-too-distant past. No questionable upgrades, no fake decals on the hood, just some laser-straight black bodywork with a fantastic shine that really stands out in a crown -- I doubt they looked this good on the showroom floor.The Firebird’s clean lines are still aggressive and appealing, and the 1979 facelift made it look even longer and lower than before. On this car, a few of the bright trim pieces were also powdercoated black to give it a slick monochromatic look, and it’ll take an expert to spot the changes because it looks so right. They did include the requisite Pontiac emblem on the nose, as well as a small “PONTIAC” decal on the bumper, Firebird logos on the sail panels, and one more on the rear spoiler, so it does have a performance look. There’s also a Hurst emblem out back that isn’t just for show and because it lived where the sun is hot, the windows are tinted, which makes it look especially sinister. And this is one of those rare F-bodies where the windows don’t rattle in the doors when you slam it. This car is still very tight!

That’s the original black bucket seat interior inside this Firebird and it’s shockingly well-preserved. The low mileage claim is easy to believe when you sink into the supportive bucket seats, which are still firm and comfortable, not tired and saggy. Better yet, that IS a 4-speed manual shifter sticking out of the console, a rather rare option for 1979. The carpets are in excellent shape, the original steering wheel doesn’t have a mark on it, and even the dash pad, which has been exposed to the hot southern sun, isn’t cracked or deteriorated. This car has led a VERY easy life. All the gauges are fully functional except the clock, which isn’t surprising, and the wood veneer on the instrument panel remains bright and crisp. A newer AM/FM/iPod stereo head unit has been tucked into the original radio’s slot, and the illusion is a convincing one. The rear seats are in excellent condition, almost as if nobody has ever been back there, and the trunk is fitted with black carpet and an original Rally II wheel as a spare.

Pontiac’s 301 cubic inch V8 doesn’t get the love and respect of its bigger brothers, but it’s a lot of fun when it’s backed by a 4-speed gearbox. And to be honest, the fact that there are so few hop-up parts for these motors means this car’s numbers-matching engine remains completely stock save for routine maintenance items. It runs great, starting easily and settling into an easy 1200 RPM idle, which kicks down almost immediately to about 700 RPM. It’s really impressive, to be honest. Most of that comes from the ministrations of a Rochester carburetor expert shortly before we purchased the car and his work really did the trick because this car pulls smoothly through all the gears without any hitches at all. The engine bay is tidy but not necessarily detailed, and it appears to still be wearing factory-applied turquoise engine enamel and an original air cleaner. Of course power steering and power disc brakes were part of the Firebird package, and this car isn’t even a leaker!

The aforementioned 4-speed shifts so well, we bet you’ve forgotten they could be this good. The bushings and linkage are tight, so the Hurst cue ball slots through the gates with precision, very unlike the sloppy 4-speeds in most cars. Thanks to the low mileage, the suspension still feels taut and buttoned-down, not loose and sloppy, and the brakes stop the car straight and true. As I mentioned, this car has never seen snow or salt, the undercarriage is in fantastic condition with only slight surface scale on the heavy metal parts like the driveshaft and suspension pieces, and even there it’s minimal. The original catalytic converter has been removed, which frees up a noticeable amount of horsepower, and the transverse muffler exhales through dual tailpipes each with correct twin tips. The only real modification to the car are those great-looking 17-inch replica “snowflake” wheels which look right and carry fat 275/60/17 Nitto performance tires with only a few hundred miles on them. It’s the exact right choice for a car like this.

Affordable fun, that has always been the Firebird’s mission. This 1979 Firebird offers superior bodywork and interior and a classic performance look that will never go out of style. Get this one while it’s hot, because cars like this don’t come along every day. Call now!