1971 Formula 455HO
 

I found this car in Medford Oregon last June. It wasn't advertised, but I received an email from a guy I knew who told me the car belonged to a "friend of a friend" who was thinking of selling it. Needless to say, as soon as I found out about it I jumped in my car and took a road trip to Oregon.

The car was originally from Ontario Canada, and from some of the work orders I received with the car, it appears the car was in the Trenton Ontario area until at least 1994. Sometime after that the car went to Long Beach, Washington. In 2015, the owner sold the car to his cousin in Medford, and I bought the car from him.

The car was built in the Norwood plant during the second week of February 1971 (02B). The GM of Canada Vintage Vehicle paperwork (PHS) shows that the car was shipped to Hogan Pontiac Buick Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 12, 1971. The invoice shows the car was equipped as follows:

A01: GLASS TINTED - ALL WINDOWS
B42: MAT, LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT FLOOR COVER
B80: MOLDING, ROOF DRIP
B85: MOLDING, BELT REVEAL
B96: WHEEL OPENING MOLDING
C24: WIPERS - RECESSED PARK
C49: DEFROSTER: REAR WINDOW ELECTRIC
D35: MIRRORS: LT REMOTE AND RT MANUAL CONTROL - CUSTOM SPORT
D55: FRONT COMPARTMENT FLOOR CONSOLE
G80: REAR AXLE: SAFE-T-TRACK
H05: REAR AXLE - 3.73 RATIO
J50: BRAKES - VACUUM POWER
LS5: ENGINE: 455 CID - 4BBL - HO V8
M22: TRANSMISSION - 4 SPEED MANUAL HEAVY DUTY - CLOSE RATIO
N30: STEERING WHEEL - CUSTOM CUSION
N41: STEERING: POWER (VARIABLE RATIO)
PM7: TIRE: F60-15-B (2+2) BB B/WALL WHITE LETTERS
P05: WHEEL HONEYCOMB
U05: DUAL HORN
U30: RALLY GAUGE CLUSTER, CLOCK & TACHOMETER
U58: RADIO: AM/FM STEREO PUSHBUTTON
V01: RADIATOR: HEAVY DUTY
WU3: HOOD - RAM AIR INDUCTION
W54: DELUXE TRIM GROUP (BUCKET SEATS)
W66: MODEL OPTION: FIREBIRD FORMULA
W84: ADDITIONAL FUEL FOR DELIVERY
Z49: MANDATORY CANADIAN BASE EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS

The formula steering wheel and rear spoiler are not on the invoice, so they've been added at some point. The VIN stamps on the engine block and transmission case match the car, so they're original. The heads, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds and crossover, carburetor, distributor, air cleaner, cooling fan, radiator shroud, and alternator are all correct and probably original to the car. The rear axle gears have been changed to 3.08’s, (which I don’t care for). I doubt I’d put the 3.73 gears back in it, but I like the 3.42’s in my trans am, so I’ll probably put a set of those in this car.

The master cylinder is an aftermarket, but the original (EB code) master was in a box in the trunk. The radiator is incorrect, but I have a correct four core manual trans (FP code) radiator in the attic, so I’ll be installing that. There is an aftermarket am/fm cassette deck in the dash, but the original am/fm stereo radio and faceplate came with the car and they're in nice condition. The car has a mini starter in it, so unfortunately the 1108436 starter is missing. Other stuff that’s missing are the bumper jack, trunk mat, wheel opening moldings, and the rocker moldings.

The rear leaf springs are incorrect, and the car sits too high in the back for my liking, so I'll need to address that. The tires on the car are 225/60/15’s, which are too small, so I need to get some bigger tires to fill out the wheel wells. Sheet metal wise, it looks like it’s all the original stuff, and the body is really solid.

The odometer reading is 65,682, and considering the condition of the car, it would not surprise me if that was the original mileage. The car has had an inexpensive repaint, and the color is just a bit too dark. The original color is Lucern blue, but it now looks more like Atoll blue to me. The interior is black deluxe.

By coincidence, my 1971 Trans Am is also an 02B Norwood car. The body sequence numbers are only 684 units apart, so these two cars were built pretty close to each other (time wise). The date codes on the two cars are within days of each other on many of the parts. Both cars were shipped to Ontario Canada, with the Trans Am going to GM of Canada in Oshawa, and the Formula going to Hogan Pontiac in Toronto, a distance of about forty miles from each other.

More pics...

Looks like a great car.

I think the word is SCORE! Nice looking car. Good luck with it.

Some times buying a car like that turns out to be a really good transaction. Instead of even buying a car off this site that turns out bad. You know the story you get verbally and then there is the story the car tells you. Both stories are different.

At any rate, looks like a really good condition car.

Jim

You mentioned the car had a cheap repaint. Is there any of the original paint on the bottom side of the trunk lid?

Beautiful car! Lots of cool options.

The 70 Mustang and the Saleen Fox are also sweet!

Very Nice!


:)

wow, congrats on such a nicely optioned car!! It looks like a once in a lifetime find!

Lov'in it! best color combo, M22, non AC, gauges...

Glad you pulled the trigger Chris.

3.73 in 71? I didn’t know that was even an option. Nice


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Cool Chris!

When you can give us some dates on those parts.
What's the Alt number 927 or 928 with rear defogger.

Congratulations. A very nice score and you should be thrilled. I look forward to seeing what you with the car. Much more rare than a TA and it only lacks the Y99 Handling Package.

Looks very presentable like it is. I would focus on getting the mechanical bits and small details right and drive the wheels off of it. Of course this comes from a guy that blew a perfectly fine ‘72 Formula 455 HO into a million pieces and made it too nice to drive. Whatever you do, it’s your car and I hope you enjoy it.

Nice find with great options! Good to see that it wasn't destroyed here in the southern Ontario winter weather.

Cool to see the Canadian Forces Base Trenton sticker too.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...6&d=1581265832

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...0&d=1581265894

Hogan Pontiac Ltd. was one of the first and largest Pontiac dealers in the Toronto area until GM destroyed that in 2009. Reinvented as Hogan Chevrolet Buick GMC Limited and remains operational today but at a different location.

Would be cool if they still had paperwork for your car; might be worth a call (416) 291-5054 even though they moved from the Danforth to Sheppard Avenue East in the early 80's .

Photos of Hogan Pontiac Buick (Acadian GMC Vauxhall) circa 1968 and 1972 below. Grand Prix, Lemans, and Buick Wildcat to name a few are visible.

There may be a possibility to get the prior owner's names (from Ontario only) with the VIN. If you want me to look into it Chris, send me a PM.

Beautiful ride and well optioned car. Gotta love the M22 in any ride let alone 455HO.
Hope to see it in Dayton Ohio this year at the nats. Its worth the trip especially with a ride like that. I think they even give an award for those who travel the furthest away.

Congrats, Chris - definitely a holy grail car! And a perfect pairing with your T/A :)

Awesome looking Formula!

Need more pics of that 93 Saleen SSC.. probably the best looking Saleen ever made.

Wow Chris! One of the very few with digger gears and Ram Air from the factory! That is such a great find and numbers matching just adds to the WOW factor. Congratulations!

Interesting that it doesn't have the Y99 handling pkg. that BWB pointed out, but has the 15" HC wheels. Is the N30 Steering Wheel - Custom Cushion not the Formula Wheel? How is the sheet metal?

Dennis

What an amazing car and score for you. Perfect drivetrain combo and no AC. Out of curiosity have you verified smaller Formula sway bars? Like others am surprised at the no Y99 with the big honeycombs. No matter, just a perfect option and color car. "WOW".

wow!!
looks like you hit the jackpot!!
Congratulations!!

WOW very cool car!

GM of C sometimes create their own wording for equipment - that differs from conventional enthusiast lingo.

Buildsheets will list N30 as DLX STRG WHL or DLX ST WHEEL depending on Plant.
NK3 was the code for Formula Wheel

That is one hell of a Car in amazing condition for a Canadian refugee .
Pretty sure we're all jealous or envious , or both.
But genuinely happy for you Eaglesan - Congratulations Man !

JACKPOT !
Thanks for sharing

I guess that is where I was going with my "Check the sway bars" ask.

That is one killer combination. Still looking for that elusive 4 speed with no AC package.

Great find Chris. Well deserved !

yeah the guy who does those sometimes gets the RPO decode wrong, and he also pretty much always lists RPOs for equipment that came standard with a given model...

Chris, Interesting that I don't see the dash 'Bird' emblem and it doesn't look like there are any holes for one either...not that it matters.

Can't wait to see more pictures too! Such a great car!

Dennis

Intake not painted, but waterneck is painted. Also, I forget, but did the electric rear window defogger necesitate the 80amp alternator, or did it require another option such as power windows to trip the 80amp?

I’m looking forward to more also.

bob way back in th early 80's I remember buying and seeing HO cars that had the intake bare and the water neck painted.

That is one of the very best parts about the GMofC data - compared to PHS.
It can confirm some "either/or'' & ''no-cost alternates'' - mostly pertinent just with the Judges and TA's .

Engine Unit Numbers are nice data too , from GMofC

A/C and Rear Defog was the 80amp tripper combo

Very nice car. They didn’t make many ram air, 4 speed 3:73 geared 455HO formulas.

Maybe I missed it, what was s the original colour or the car?

It required A/C and rear defroster to get the 80 amp unit.

Kenny, Lucerne Blue w/Black deluxe interior.

Dennis

Awesome '71 HO Formula Chris!

Thanks to all for the positive comments on the car. It goes without saying that I got real lucky on this one. He’s some answers to some of the questions you’ve posted:

Napster: The underside of the truck lid was repainted when the car was painted, so none of the original Lucern blue is showing on the trunk lid or in the door jambs. There are no decals on the underside of the truck lid either.

72projectbird & 1965gp: The guy who owned the car was named Mark. He has a good friend named Ken Mann, who owns Pacific Pony Cars, a vintage Mustang restoration shop in the Medford Oregon area. When I went to Oregon to see the car, it was at Ken’s shop, which is why there are Mustangs in the background of the pictures. I don’t know anything about Saleen Mustangs, but I think the yellow body shell on the rotisserie is a 1969 Boss 302 (I’m assuming it’s a 69 based on the side stripe). I wish I would have taken some pictures of the cars inside the shop. There was a 1970 Boss 302 and a 1965 Shelby in the shop when I was there. They were both exceptional cars.

ol’ Pinion head: A big shout out to Roger for his help on this car. I’ve owned numerous 1970 Formulas and Trans Ams, and I currently own a 71 Trans Am, but I wasn’t really knowledgable about the specifics of the 1971 Formula 455HO cars. When I heard about this car, I needed some info fast, so I texted Roger and asked for his help. I was aware that Pontiac only built 321 Formula HO cars in 1971, and I knew the car was special, but I didn’t know that only 109 of them had Ram Air, and I didn’t know how many cars came with the M22 (159). Roger helped me out with info and advice. Thank's Roger, I appreciate your help.

Judge273: The alternator is a 1100928 (55 amp) with an open face front case. The date code is 1A28 (January 28, 1971), which is perfect for a car built during the second week of February, so I’m pretty sure its the original one.

BentWheelBob: Based on the options, I’m pretty sure this was a special order car, so you would think they would have ordered the Y99 suspension. At least they ordered the 15 inch rims and the Polyglass tires. Lucern blue with black deluxe interior and honeycombs is just fine with me, so I won’t complain.

I love your black car, but I’m going to resist temptation to try and make this car perfect. Right now the plan is to fix the little things and make it a safe, reliable driver. Later, I might do a body-on restoration and repaint it the correct Lucern blue. I can do all of this and won’t be upside-down (money-wise), because I got the car for a very reasonable price. I like to drive my cars, so if I stick to this plan, the car will be nice, but not so nice that I won’t want to drive it. Just an FYI, If I do repaint the car, I’m going to follow your lead and remove the rear spoiler since this car was originally built without one.

Pepper Judge: I’ve got two Ontario cars now, and they’re both in real good condition, probably because they were well cared for by their owners. When I bought the Formula, I didn’t know what the CFB decal was for, but I did an internet search and discovered that CFB stood for Canadian Forces Base. I received some work orders with the car, and one was dated May of 1994 for an engine rebuild at a machine shop called Straight Line Racing in Scarborough Ontario. I couldn’t make out the signature, (I've since learned his name was Randy MacDonald) but I did a search of the phone number and got a hit on a residence in Trenton which was only a short drive to CFB Trenton, so I’m guessing that MacDonald was either stationed at the base or maybe was a civilian employee. Thanks for the info on Hogan Pontiac and your offer to help find any previous owners. I’ll PM you later about that.

SD455DJ: Dennis, I’ve been wanting one of these cars for a while now. As you know, I was trying to buy the car you bought out of Toronto but shoulder surgery caused me to have to wait, and you got the car instead. I guess it worked out okay for the both of us. It's hard to believe that a Formula Firebird didn’t come standard with a Formula steering wheel, but this one didn't. I'll keep my eyes open for a correct deluxe steering wheel, but won't put it on if I find one. I'm going to leave the Formula wheel on the car. Regarding the sheet metal, it's in good shape and would only require minimal body work prior to a repaint.

Yes, no bird emblem on the dash bezel. We’ve discussed this on your thread for your RA III Formula. I’ve never seen this before except on cars with a/c and rally gauges. I don’t know why there is no emblem on mine, but I already bought an NOS emblem and will probably add it because it should have one. The bezel doesn’t look right without the emblem.

bird72: I just checked the sway bars on both my cars and the ones on the Formula are the same as the ones on the Trans Am, 1 1/4 on the front and 7/8 on the rear.

Baron: I agree that the GM of Canada info is a good thing. For example, my 71 Trans Am only has three options on the PHS, pushbutton AM radio, read seat speaker, and front floor console. However, the GM of Canada document shows all the individual stuff that is included in the Trans Am package, including “N98 Wheel - Rally II Road”, so I know it originally had KR's on it even though it had honeycombs on it when I got the car. I would not have known what wheels originally came on the car if it hadn’t been sold new in Canada. The GM of Canada documents also provides the name and address of the dealer the car was shipped to, which you won’t get from PHS when the car is shipped to Canada.

Johnny: There were a few errors on the GM of Canada paperwork when I got it, but I called them and spoke to George Zapora directly and he corrected them. He said the guy who did my request was new and didn’t have a lot of experience. (They listed my engine size as 454 instead of 455). Anyway, George took care of it and sent me a corrected copy.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

Did the air cleaner have studs? Brackets?

Chris...you do know we are going to need to post more pictures...and lots of them. Seriously, I'm really envious of your new find and happy you got one. It is a fantastic score! I'd leave the dash 'Bird" emblem off if it didn't come with it originally...or just double sided tape it on. Sooo cool!!!

Dennis

Magnetic tape!


:)

That's an even better idea! Thanks John!

Dennis

Thanks.... That really makes the car a TA under the skin and with other options and colors, about 'Perfect". Very happy for you, and the encouraging thing for everyone is that these cars are out there still :)

Mike,

The air cleaner does have the studs. The metal pieces that the studs are attached to are both bent. It looks like someone tried to pull the air cleaner off the engine without removing the wing nuts from the studs. Easy fix, I just haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.

Dennis,

More pictures....

Love both of these pictures.

Sweet Chris....now more! It looks like your hood doesn't have the dreaded 'bow' in it and sits nice and flat.

Did you get the 3.73 gears with the car, or are they long gone?

Dennis

I agree. The pictures and hood look great. My advice is to leave the hood unlatched during garage storage. I look forward to more.

The hood is in nice shape and fits very well. I did not get the 3.73 gears with the car. I still need to call the guy in Long Beach Washington to talk to him about his ownership of the car. Maybe I'll get lucky and he will have the old gears (and starter).

More hood pictures. The underside picture shows that there is no metal brace, so this is an early (1970 style) hood, which surprised me since I do not consider this an "early" car. It has the early 524 and 525 hood hinges too. I then looked at the hinges on my trans am and they're the early hinges too.

Chris, Bob (BWB) offers sage advice to keep the hood unlatched (while in the garage - lol), especially for your early unbraced hood. Can't wait to see more detail pictures as you give it a thorough examination. It seems to be very complete and original...amazing after 49 years!

Dennis

Very interesting !

The hard fix will be replacing the missing hose clips.