1976 Pontiac Firebird
1976 PONTIAC FIREBIRD BACKGROUND
Of course, 1976 was right in the middle of the Dark Ages, as far as performance was concerned. Ever more stringent smog and safety laws, along with unleaded gas was forcing Detroit to drop compression, reduce engine size, putting in taller gearing, and do all sorts of horrible tuning magic to get their cars to comply. It wasn’t pretty. Somehow, Pontiac seemed to weather these times
better than any of its contemporaries, solely on the shoulders of the Firebird and Trans Am. By this time, the Trans Am was just about the only muscle car left, other than the Corvette (which is technically a sports car, not a muscle car). In fact, the last ‘big block’ V8 in an American passenger car was in a Trans Am.
1976 FIREBIRD CHANGES, UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES
The ’76 Firebird was the first to get the new body-colored front and rear bumpers, replacing the metal ones on the 1975-and-earlier models. 1976 was also the first year that Pontiac offered factory T-tops on the Firebird. This was also the final year for the mighty 455 engine option.
1976 Pontiac Firebird PRODUCTION NUMBERS
| MODEL
Base Firebird Coupe Firebird Esprit Firebird Formula Trans Am |
PRODUCTION
21,209 22,252 20,613 46,701 |
PRICE WHEN NEW
$3,906 $4,162 $4,566 NA |
1976 Pontiac Firebird SPECIFICATIONS
| Wheelbase
Length Width Height Track, front Track, rear Weight V8 ENGINE OPTIONS M, H-code 350ci V8 w/1X2bbl S-code 400ci V8 w/1X4bbl W-code 455ci V8 w/1X4bbl |
108.0 in / 2743 mm
191.6 in / 4867 mm 73.1 in / 1870 mm 50.2 in / 1276 mm 61.3 in / 1556 mm 60.5 in / 1537 mm 3,540 lbs / 1605 kg 160 hp / 270 lb/ft net 185 hp / 320 lb/ft net 200 hp / 370 lb/ft net |
