[unruhjonny]

I just noticed a typo in this post;
I have fixed it and for this post, it will be highlighted red:

Honorable mention:

• F1) 1971 Front fender "Formula 400" script emblem; nearly identical to one-year 1970 part except that the 1971 part has the mounting stud locations changed from the 1970 badge (#483625); the two forward mounting studs have been spaced out further with the first stud being placed behind the "F", and the second stud being placed behind the "L".
• F2) 1971 Front fender "Formula 350" script emblem; one year part cast as 1970-style “Formula 400” badge.
• F3) 1971 Front fender "Formula 455" script emblem; one year part cast as 1970-style “Formula 400” badge.
• F4) Front plastic valence; This was used on pre-production, and some very early model year cars; Listed in 1970 Firebird supplement, and master parts catalog; became regular production item for 1972 & 1973 model year Firebirds (but the service replacement was the steel setup).
• F5) The rear spoiler was NOT an option for 1970; standard on Trans Am, not available on others.
• F6) Some 1970 & 1971 base model Firebirds received the incorrect hard plastic Camaro arm rest (w/rubber pad) assembly on the correct Firebird door panel; this is hte part which is reproduced, and incorrectly listed as being correct by pretty much every vendor right now.
• F7) rear seat back frame and seat bottoms are 1970-1973; metal spring construction with cotton and burlap construction for 70-73 - went to foam padded design for 1974
• F8) Early second gen cars used yellow throttle return springs
• F9) early cars use larger (read: longer) exterior door handles
• F10) heater control lens on non-AC cars; 1970 reads “DE-ICE”, changed in 1972 to read “DEFROST”
• F11) speedometers and gauge clusters are unique for 1970 through to early 1972 model year cars;
  These speedometers have a single small horizontal blue bright lamp indicator at the top, and a single red horizontal parking brake indicator at the bottom; the brake indicator has white stenciled “BRAKE” lettering so it can be seen when not illuminated; the bright indicator is near invisible when not illuminated.
  The 1970 fuel gauge has from empty to 1/4 tank colored red; 1971+ does not have any colored section near "E"
• F12) Combination oil pressure & water temperature gauge for ‘Rally Gauge’ opted cars; center water temperature reading at twelve o-clock is 210 degrees for 1970 through to 1973, while latter (and service replacement) gauges read 220 degrees at twelve o-clock.
• F13) Wiper switch; black button with “WASH” in script in used for 1970 through to 1972; changed to chrome edged button with “PUSH” on black background for 1973.
• F14) swaybars; it appears as though most 1970 model year Trans Am’s left the factory with the Formula specified sway bars installed; this may have been a supplier issue as the Trans Am was initially slated to have the same suspension as the Formula, but was changed just before the long lead press review; if it was a the supply problem, it seems to have been resolved before the end of the 1970 model year as late cars all appear to have had the right parts, and there are no documented 1971 model year Trans Am’s with the “wrong” bars.
• F15) Base/Esprit/Formula dash insert; other than what was mentioned in point #C10, these dash inserts are actually made from a different press-formed piece with different indentations, and they all use unique gauge surrounds (rings) than 1973+ dash inserts.
• F16) 1970 through to mid-1972 Trans Am hoods;
  a) Identified by two square-ish holes on the bottom leading edge - possibly as early as mid-1972 this changed to four holes.
  b) also identified by round holes on the drivers side in the structural bracing, while later hoods have oval shaped holes.
• F17) 1970-1972 cars with ralley wheels used the same style lug nut used on 1967-1979 cars - they were a two piece chrome lugnut with a black plastic insert; service replacements were cast with the end hole covered, and black epoxy(?) which looked like hte older placstic cover.
• F18) 1970-1972 non-A/C cars used chrome pull knobs for the vent controls; they became black for 1973.
• F19) the dash pads for 1970 through 1972 Firebirds are a slightly different grain & texture than the 1973-1977 dash pads.
• F20) Power trunk release button; aqua-green or green; this is a 1970-1974 part
  Green power Trunk button

[Tellyshavilli]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

I just noticed a typo in this post;
I have fixed it and for this post, it will be highlighted red:

Honorable mention:

• F1) 1971 Front fender "Formula 400" script emblem; nearly identical to one-year 1970 part except that the 1971 part has the mounting stud locations changed from the 1970 badge (#483625); the two forward mounting studs have been spaced out further with the first stud being placed behind the "F", and the second stud being placed behind the "L".
• F2) 1971 Front fender "Formula 350" script emblem; one year part cast as 1970-style “Formula 400” badge.
• F3) 1971 Front fender "Formula 455" script emblem; one year part cast as 1970-style “Formula 400” badge.
• F4) Front plastic valence; This was used on pre-production, and some very early model year cars; Listed in 1970 Firebird supplement, and master parts catalog; became regular production item for 1972 & 1973 model year Firebirds (but the service replacement was the steel setup).
• F5) The rear spoiler was NOT an option for 1970; standard on Trans Am, not available on others.
• F6) Some 1970 & 1971 base model Firebirds received the incorrect hard plastic Camaro arm rest (w/rubber pad) assembly on the correct Firebird door panel; this is hte part which is reproduced, and incorrectly listed as being correct by pretty much every vendor right now.
• F7) rear seat back frame and seat bottoms are 1970-1973; metal spring construction with cotton and burlap construction for 70-73 - went to foam padded design for 1974
• F8) Early second gen cars used yellow throttle return springs
• F9) early cars use larger (read: longer) exterior door handles
• F10) heater control lens on non-AC cars; 1970 reads “DE-ICE”, changed in 1972 to read “DEFROST”
• F11) speedometers and gauge clusters are unique for 1970 through to early 1972 model year cars;
  These speedometers have a single small horizontal blue bright lamp indicator at the top, and a single red horizontal parking brake indicator at the bottom; the brake indicator has white stenciled “BRAKE” lettering so it can be seen when not illuminated; the bright indicator is near invisible when not illuminated.
  The 1970 fuel gauge has from empty to 1/4 tank colored red; 1971+ does not have any colored section near "E"
• F12) Combination oil pressure & water temperature gauge for ‘Rally Gauge’ opted cars; center water temperature reading at twelve o-clock is 210 degrees for 1970 through to 1973, while latter (and service replacement) gauges read 220 degrees at twelve o-clock.
• F13) Wiper switch; black button with “WASH” in script in used for 1970 through to 1972; changed to chrome edged button with “PUSH” on black background for 1973.
• F14) swaybars; it appears as though most 1970 model year Trans Am’s left the factory with the Formula specified sway bars installed; this may have been a supplier issue as the Trans Am was initially slated to have the same suspension as the Formula, but was changed just before the long lead press review; if it was a the supply problem, it seems to have been resolved before the end of the 1970 model year as late cars all appear to have had the right parts, and there are no documented 1971 model year Trans Am’s with the “wrong” bars.
• F15) Base/Esprit/Formula dash insert; other than what was mentioned in point #C10, these dash inserts are actually made from a different press-formed piece with different indentations, and they all use unique gauge surrounds (rings) than 1973+ dash inserts.
• F16) 1970 through to mid-1972 Trans Am hoods;
  a) Identified by two square-ish holes on the bottom leading edge - possibly as early as mid-1972 this changed to four holes.
  b) also identified by round holes on the drivers side in the structural bracing, while later hoods have oval shaped holes.
• F17) 1970-1972 cars with ralley wheels used the same style lug nut used on 1967-1979 cars - they were a two piece chrome lugnut with a black plastic insert; service replacements were cast with the end hole covered, and black epoxy(?) which looked like hte older placstic cover.
• F18) 1970-1972 non-A/C cars used chrome pull knobs for the vent controls; they became black for 1973.
• F19) the dash pads for 1970 through 1972 Firebirds are a slightly different grain & texture than the 1973-1977 dash pads.
• F20) Power trunk release button; aqua-green or green; this is a 1970-1974 part
  Green power Trunk button

I’ve had 71 Trans Am‘s with the fuel gauge showing red empty to 1/4 tank and I’ve had them where it’s not on there so I know they came both ways. Also, I have never seen a 70 Firebird with the Camaro hard armrest, but I have seen it on later 71s. Somebody else might chime in on that one.

[unruhjonny]

It looks like I need to edit where the fuel gauge is - that should be a separate item (I'll fix it in my wordpad file) - odds are you observed like many others, an early 1971 model year car with "1970" parts.
EDIT: this should not be in the "honorable mention" category - I have this listed in the interior items as 'C14'

Regarding the armrest, I have personally taken apart a totally original 1970 base model which had the Camaro armrests;
I have died those door panels (were off white; painted black) for use in my car;
I have understood that the "Camaro" armrests were somewhat common in 1971 Firebirds.

['ol Pinion head]

"F17) 1970-1972 cars with ralley wheels used the same style lug nut used on 1967-1979 cars - they were a two piece chrome lugnut with a black plastic insert; service replacements were cast with the end hole covered, and black epoxy(?) which looked like hte older placstic cover."

RALLY wheels were used by Pontiac Motor Division

RALLEY wheels were a Chevrolet usage item.

Lugnuts w 4 3/4 bolt pattern Rally II wheels:
-'67-70 (& some very early '71 Firebirds) w Rally II wheels used the black plastic center lugnut. Same deal on '67-70 Pontais A-body's & '69-70 GrandPrixs.

Both black center & red center (aftermarket) lugnuts were manufactured & marketed by Motor Wheel. Dealerships sold the black centered ones in both 7/16" & 1/2" thread versions. Both color center lugnuts were also sold in MotorWheel packaging, in sets, by SpeedShops. With the black centered "Rally II" lug nuts first reproduced in the mid '80's, red center lug nuts were also brought to market. My take on the red center rally II lug nuts is they have a special place next to the aftermarket "Buick" aircleaner decals.

-'71 A, F, G, X-body's with RallyII's used the "tall cap" stainless steel capped 7/16" RH thread lugnut. These were discontinued by GM parts system in early '74. Not easy to find in nice used shape.

Of note, the "tall cap" stainless capped lugnut was introduced by Chevrolet for use on '69 & mid '70 14x7 SSI wheels (codes YA & AO), as well as the '70-72 Z-28 wheels. These "tall cap" stainless lugnuts were also installed on what must have been several hundred thousand Camaro's, ElCamino's, Malibus, & Novas up through the '72 production year when running the 14" 6 slot wheels. This style 14" wheel had 6 stainless window trim pieces & wore a big potmetal center cap.

-Short cap stainless capped lug nuts were introduced on the '73 model GM's & used by Pontiac up through the '81 models when equipped with Pontiac Rally II wheels. I bought this style new through local dealers up into the late 90's.

['ol Pinion head]

"F17) 1970-1972 cars with ralley wheels used the same style lug nut used on 1967-1979 cars - they were a two piece chrome lugnut with a black plastic insert; service replacements were cast with the end hole covered, and black epoxy(?) which looked like hte older placstic cover."

RALLY wheels were used by Pontiac Motor Division

RALLEY wheels were a Chevrolet usage item.

Lugnuts w 4 3/4 bolt pattern Rally II wheels:
-'67-70 (& some very early '71 Firebirds) w Rally II wheels used the black plastic center lugnut. Same deal on '67-70 Pontais A-body's & '69-70 GrandPrixs.

Both black center & red center (aftermarket) lugnuts were manufactured & marketed by Motor Wheel. Dealerships sold the black centered ones in both 7/16" & 1/2" thread versions. Both color center lugnuts were also sold in MotorWheel packaging, in sets, by SpeedShops. With the black centered lug nuts first reproduced in the mid '80's, red center lug nuts were also brought to market.

-'71 A, F, G, X-body's with RallyII's used the "tall cap" stainless steel capped 7/16" right hand thread lugnut. These were discontinued by GM parts system in early '74.

The "tall cap" stainless capped lugnut was introduced by Chevrolet for use on '69 & mid '70 14x7 SSI wheels (codes YA & AO), as well as the '70-72 Z-28 wheels. These "tall cap" stainless lugnuts were also installed on what must have been several hundred thousand Camaro's, ElCamino's, Malibus, & Novas up through the '72 production year when running the 14" 6 slot wheels. This style 14" wheel had 6 stainless window trim pieces & wore a big potmetal center cap.

-Short cap stainless capped lug nuts were introduced on the '73 model GM's & used by Pontiac up through the '81 models when equipped with Pontiac Rally II wheels. I bought this style new through local dealers up into the late 90's.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Just an off-the-shelf tidbit on 70 low back seats .

A local friend replaced his rusted out frames with 69 F-Body repop frames.
The headrest slots were direct fit also.
He had to have springs made by a local manufacturer - I believe for the bottoms.

None of the repop tracks are right , he ordered 2 or 3 variations.
Think he said the 69 tracks are closest , and is modifying those.

I can get more info if anyone needs more details.

[unruhjonny]

@ OPH: That 'F17' group for sure has a typo of sorts in it;
I will edit it, and reference your helpful post on aftermarket vs OEM lug nuts.
I believe I had intended to say something along the lines of that the lugs used on rally II's in 1970 were the same ones as used from 1967 through to 1969 - and this was the last year they were used.

@ Baron - thanks for this, I am not terribly surprised, but am wondering if the frames are interchangeable, or the same - I would guess that the foam pads make up the differences in the 69 & 70 seat frames, because my gut reaction is that the 69 seats have a much more curved "shoulders" than the 1970 counterparts.

I have taken apart a set of 70 seats (I believe I still have all the parts except for the actual frames) in the past;
I also have a spare still intact set of those seats sitting behind me, and I believe I have at least on complete set of OE seat tracks in the garage;
I find it odd that your friend is going such lengths to use incorrect reproduction parts when I have offered the parts in the past, but have never received interest in any of them...

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The seats / frames worked out nice for him.
He bought new foams and covers and has already recovered them in bright blue standard.

I can check and see what he is doing on the tracks.
He might want to buy yours. Thanks

[unruhjonny]

if he's alread bought tracks, then I'm guessing he should stick with them.

Incase it matters, iirc mine have chrome knobs - I cannot recall if it was an early car - but I think it was;
The seat track handle was chromed, and the head rest levers were chromed as well... I normally see these parts in natural (black) plastic.

[unruhjonny]

being added for pending update:

Coronado Gold


Atoll blue


Polar white


Lucerne Blue

[unruhjonny]

I'm combining some items within groups, and trying to clean up other items which more or less overlap.

Reguariding this reply:

Originally Posted by Tellyshavilli

I’ve had 71 Trans Am‘s with the fuel gauge showing red empty to 1/4 tank and I’ve had them where it’s not on there so I know they came both ways.

Noted, I will look into this further... I thought it was covered earlier in this thread...??

Originally Posted by Tellyshavilli

Also, I have never seen a 70 Firebird with the Camaro hard armrest, but I have seen it on later 71s. Somebody else might chime in on that one.

I parted a 70 base model years ago which had this;
I have these door panels still - I dyed them black (from beige), replaced the vinyl on the lower half, and mounted my original (cracked) armrests on them.
I was going to describe them more, but instead here are some pictures (they safely sit behind me where I work every day (see attached images).

If you look closely, you can see that the vinyl on the top was not always black, you can also see that a different armrest was clearly attached to this door panel;
The first attached image is an upside-down black ink stamped "22387" at the large opening;
I would guess (I haven't looked it up) that the debossed part number shown in the second attached image was the number for the door panel.

I did not record that car's information, but I still have other parts from that car.

[unruhjonny]

I was wondering is anyone has a good picture of the rear defog setup - namely a nice picture of a rear dash with the rectangular on-year vent grille clearly seen.

Could anyone share with us an image of the 1970-only stainless roof drip edge moldings(?) - I have this item listed, but there was no clear reference as to what makes this part unique.

Thanks in advance!!

[Transamric]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

I was wondering is anyone has a good picture of the rear defog setup - namely a nice picture of a rear dash with the rectangular on-year vent grille clearly seen.

Could anyone share with us an image of the 1970-only stainless roof drip edge moldings(?) - I have this item listed, but there was no clear reference as to what makes this part unique.

Thanks in advance!!

I'm confused (again). You state roof drip molding but pictured a door edge molding. Which are you needing info on?

[unruhjonny]

Sorry for any confusion, that image had NOTHING To do with my question;
I am adding images so that I can create hotlinks for a pending update;
The image is for the early door edge item - which I could not find being hosted as an clear-image here (I try to avoid external hotlinks).

I believe the roof drip edge molding was referenced earlier in this thread as a 70-only part;
I don't recall a description, or how to identify it as a 70-only part - and if anyone can help out, I'd like to add an image to the item line in the pending update (I have a wordpad file that I have been picking at from time to time in format to accommodate this site).

Warning(!) more images being attached for pending update...

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Transamric

I'm confused (again). You state roof drip molding ...

I found the very first mention of it... post #1 from 2008(!)
And the very first item!!

Originally Posted by RAFormulas

Just a start... lets add all the "known" differences in the 1970 cars.

01 stainless roof drip edge moldings
...

I don't recall ever seeing what made them different, or this ever being expanded upon.

It is quite possible that I don't know the difference, because I have only held that item off of my car - and never thought to look at them off a later car... ???

[7t4mula]

I’m not 100% sure these are the stainless drip rails you are referring to, because my 70 had a vinyl top and that may have provided a different molding? If you look at post #76 and 77 in this string, I show pictures of mine.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...=880555&page=4

[72projectbird]

I know the blowout clips on 70s are different, but they're mounted to the weather stripping channels. I have stainless drip rails on my 71, which was built in December of 70.

I think I have a few sets of drip rails hanging around, I might have to dig them out and see if I can spot any differences.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 7t4mula

I’m not 100% sure these are the stainless drip rails you are referring to, because my 70 had a vinyl top and that may have provided a different molding? If you look at post #76 and 77 in this string, I show pictures of mine.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...=880555&page=4

Oh!!

Those I believe were a part of the chrome 'decore' package - something my car was not built with.

If these are the parts, I had previously thought I added these to my car, but I believe I must have been mistaken, and am instead remembering R&R'ing the parts of my former 73 Formula when I painted it;
I looked at my cars weather strip retainers (no drip edge with them), and went out to the garage to find that I did have a spare/matched set of these window drip edge parts;
The ones I have here in my hand appear to be polished aluminum, and are visually different;
They have extended portions where they tuck under the weather strip retention screw locations - as opposed to what looks to be notch out's on your parts.

These parts are great by the way;
In light rain ect, they prevent water from dripping into the car - specifically on your interior door panel.

Unless someone posts otherwise, I will consider this matter resolved!

Thanks guys!!

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

I know the blowout clips on 70s are different, but they're mounted to the weather stripping channels. I have stainless drip rails on my 71, which was built in December of 70.

I think I have a few sets of drip rails hanging around, I might have to dig them out and see if I can spot any differences.

if yours match what 7t4formula shared, then these might be another 70-71 part?

December 1970 is somewhere around the half way point into the 1971 model year.

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

if yours match what 7t4formula shared, then these might be another 70-71 part?

December 1970 is somewhere around the half way point into the 1971 model year.

So, there was no strike in the fall of '70?