After a late start the 1970 Firebird made it's mark on the automotive industry. On February 26,1970 the Firebird received its first restyling. About the only thing that remained the same from 1969 was the wheelbase, at 108 in, while the overall length grew by 61 in. Pontiac came up with a winner that remained for the next 12 years. What Pontiac did to the firebird was take the Firebird from a Mustang competitor to a sports car leader, that was aimed at the Corvette.

The engineer's at Pontiac gave first gave the firebird a new look outside. It was extremely clean and smooth-lined, with a semifastback roof, a all new Endura rubber nose, single headlamps and a smartly tapered tail. Other changes were not as visible. Front disc brakes were standard, also new was the redesigned front suspension and improved steering linkage.

Gone for 1970 was the Magnificent Five. Pontiac offered only four very different models. First up was the base Firebird. The base offered a inline six, this time though Chevy made the six and not Pontiac, and horsepower was down to 155hp. Next in the lineup was a new Esprit. The Esprit was more a luxury car. It could be had with a 350 2bbl, custom interior and other trim items as standard equipment.

The Formula was more a "road car." With standard options that made the Formula perform as well as its trendy name. The Formula package included as standard equipment a 400 V8 that put out 330 hp, Hurst shifter, 3 speed manual trans, front and rear stabilizer bars, high rate springs, special wind-up axle controls, manual front disc brakes, rear drum brakes and new dual snorkel scoops swept the length of the hood and terminated just short of the Endura grille piece. Sport mirrors and concealed wipers helped maintain an aerodynamic appearance. The interior was attractive as well, carrying front and rear bucket seats and carpeting and a new center console that intergrated into the dash. The Formula could also be had with the 345 hp Ram Air IV 400.

The Trans Am had the same styling as other Firebirds but with more flash The Trans Am option added a front air dam, rear wheel opening air dam, rear deck lid spoiler that added 50 lbs. of force at highway speed, a front fender air extractors that helped reduce air pressure and remove heat from under the hood. The Trans am also saw a new shaker hood scoop that was opened by the throttle. The shaker hood scoop faced toward the windshield, the reason for the "backwards" facing scoop was that the scoop would received air from the high pressure that build up at the base of the windshield, similar to Chevy's cowl induction.

On the Inside the Trans Am came with standard interior. Although it could be upgraded at extra cost to the Custom interior. Also included was the Formula steering wheel and full rally gauges, tach and clock. The dash featured a real engine-turned instrument panel trim plate. On the underside the Trans Am also featured many other performance features, such as 15" rally II wheels which did not include trim rings, power brakes, Safe-T-Track differential, and handling package that had better shock and thicker front and rear stabilizer bars.

The Trans Am came standard with the 335hp 400 V8 and the 345hp 400 Ram Air IV was also available although not very many choose this option, which was probably due to the fact that it required using the Special Equipment Order Form and many probably unaware of it. The total production was up for 1970 for the Trans Am which was good but the total production for all Firebirds was down to only 48,739 units produced.

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This Home Page was created Sunday, January 05, 1997
Most recent revision Friday, January, 31th, 2003