1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula - sell or build value

[Raszaron]

Gauging if I should sell or move on to building my Firebird... what would the car be worth? As-is? With all the parts? After building it (assume using an GMPP LS3 and Art Carr Stage2 (800hp) 200-4R, and Strange S60 rear axle with 3.73 TrueTrac)?



1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350
Extremely clean car, no rust, factory AC (I purchased out of Texas)
Repainted - Gold (Factory color was Navajo Orange)
Motor: 1978 Pontiac XX400 (W72)
Trans: TH350 (Megashifter - yes, it works perfectly)
Axle: Corporate 8.5 - 10bolt (stampings and tag indicate it is a 1972 - 3.73 Sure-Track)

Have the following items for upcoming build (unless the whole package sells beforehand):
Electronics:
Dakota Digital RTX gauges (and additions)
AAW full car wiring harness

Suspension/Brakes/Steering:
PTFB (GEN II) full suspension (Rear Racing Leaf kit, Front adjustable Coilover setup, Arms, sway bars, bracing, solid subframe mounts, subframe connectors, leaf pockets with anti-squat)
PTFB Wilwood Big Twin 1LE brake setup for front and drum to disc conversion for the rear, including spindles, bearings, bearing spacers, steering arms, etc.

Cooling:
Griffin Radiator and dual fan setup
Vintage Air

Fuel:
EFI ready Tanks, INC. fuel tank with FPR kit for carburetor

Interior:
Morris seatbelts with shoulder straps on all four seats (installed)

Motor: (will need rebuilt - developed rod knock, car is still drivable but I do not drive it right now)
Has the following installed: Wagner dual-PCV valve, Long tube headers, Edelbrock AVS carburetor, K&N air filter and top hat (only way to open up breathing under the formula hood).

Current wheels are factory 1992 GTA wheels in black (rears on the front, front on the rear of the car)


Issues with car:
-planning on LS swap rather than building the Pontiac 400 (the 400 is stamped as a XX400, WC - 4spd manual car, no VIN stamping, this motor belongs in a 1978 T/A)
-car needed new shocks (so I bought pretty much everything from PTFB to not only drive on the streets, but to preform at autocross and road course tracks)
-two cracks in the dash pad (currently has a dash pad over it)
-previous owner mounted a tach into the dash in front of the left gauge bezel
-small cracks in the paint on the Endura front nose and near the functional ram air hood openings (typical areas)

Car is very clean
Car has T/A style front lip and front/rear wheel flarings
Car has aftermarket stereo and speakers
Car ran amazingly good prior to developing a rod knock (I found most of the bolts on intake/headers were not properly torqued from the motor rebuild under previous ownership)

I may have other new items as well that I just can't remember of the top of my head (all parts listed are brand new in the box unless otherwise stated).Attachment 218819Attachment 218823Attachment 218820Attachment 218821Attachment 218818Attachment 218822

[Alponcho]

I love early 2nd gen birds. I've done a couple. You might do well selling the car as is. It would be a nice starting point for someone wanting to do their own build without having to worry about paint & interior...maybe low to mid 20s if it's as nice as you say but fairly limited pool of potential buyers. I suspect your best bet from an ROI standpoint, especially if you can do the work yourself, would be to have the 400 rebuilt (maybe stroke it) or find one, and sort out as much as you can. This would give you the biggest pool of potential buyers. An LS-based build like you described could be nice (I just finished a '79 like this), but costs add up, and finding a buyer might be difficult unless you upgraded other things (e.g., brakes, wheels, etc.), and of course that would push the price up even more.

[Raszaron]

Thanks for the reply Alponcho. A guy I race with and I (plus a few other car builders) would be building the car ourselves in his shop. So, I would definitely save on labor! I already have 95% of everything to completely go through the drivetrain, suspension - brakes, electronics, etc. So I am leaning towards just building the car and enjoying it.

Thanks for the reply 79Camaro. With this car being completely rust free, I would be wanting more than low $20k for it, which just leads me to build it into what I was planning on doing anyway. It was more along the lines if someone said, "Wait... I'll buy the car and all the parts for ..." 'deal I can't say no to' that would lead me in a different direction.

I have two vehicles I need to build still -the 73 Formula and my 78 C10-, plus little things I want to do to my 64 Restomodded C20. Time is the biggest factor as I like doing the work myself (or with friends).

[79 Camaro]

My .02?
I would sell it with the current 400. As said above 20k ish? Around here in (central MN) no rust junk goes for 15-20K.
With all the AC stuff intact I say that's a big plus for the non LS swap folks.
The dash pad cracks hurts it a bit. Replacements are not cheap. That tach is not good. The non-stock shifter hurts its a bit. The non-stock radio hurts it a bit.
Paint on the nose and hood scoops can be an easy fix if you have a good body shop you trust. Would you have the current specs on the paint used?
Does look like a nice car.
GLWS.

[79 Camaro]

On the other hand all the stock 400 engine compartment stuff is going to be worth some cash. Hard to find complete stock stuff in good shape anymore.
I'm an LS swap guy.
98 Wrangler with a LS6/4L60E combo.
73 Z28 with a LS3 swap.
68 C10 with a LS6 swap.
67 Nova with a LS6 swap.
A few pics.

[Raszaron]

79Camaro,
Very nice swaps! We just got done racing this last weekend, so we will be getting my car to my friends shop this weekend to build it.

He has a fun LS Swap of his own, and I just won the region championship in our class with his car a second year in a row.

[boss_hoss]

I say build it. You won't get what you want for it with the motor issues and even if you do sell you might not be able to find another suitable project at the price you want that doesn't have its own issues. Its a beautiful car and once you get it built the way you want it, its going to be an amazing car and well worth the time and money you've invested into it.

[Raszaron]

I say build it. You won't get what you want for it with the motor issues and even if you do sell you might not be able to find another suitable project at the price you want that doesn't have its own issues. Its a beautiful car and once you get it built the way you want it, its going to be an amazing car and well worth the time and money you've invested into it.

Hey Boss_Hoss, yeah, I've come to the realization that I will not find another clean bull-nose 2nd gen like this for the money. Plus doing a ProTouring build will be fun with my racing friends!
I live pretty close to Restore-A-Muscle Car and I look at the cars that they list (and sell) and prices on these cars seem to do well for them, plus I already have purchased the majority of the parts to do the build, doesn't make sense to not go forward with the build. My 1978 C10 will have to wait a year!

[79 Camaro]

Well good luck with your new LS project. Like I said sell off all the 400/trans/AC stuff including all the dash AC stuff and controls. If you need AC go Vintage Air or something like that. It will give you tons of room in the engine compartment.
Finding rust free 70's cars of any type at reasonable prices is not easy.
Again good luck.

[Raszaron]

Well good luck with your new LS project. Like I said sell off all the 400/trans/AC stuff including all the dash AC stuff and controls. If you need AC go Vintage Air or something like that. It will give you tons of room in the engine compartment.
Finding rust free 70's cars of any type at reasonable prices is not easy.
Again good luck.

Thanks! Yeah, I have people who are interested in the 400 just because of the stampings that are on it. I will look to sell of the AC components too as I do have the Vintage Air system ready to go, as well as all the other things listed in my original post. Plus I'll have an 'excuse' to hang out with my racing friends over the winter! LOL