pontiac help needed I am looking at a 1971 formula firebird, the guys says it it a numbers matching 350, I decoded the vin on it earlier and it said that it should be a formula 400,the vin is 226871L106377, can someone assist me in figuring out what the deal is with the car? did pontiac make a 350 formula o No: , and what is the difference between a 400 and a 350, as far as looks go, I dont know much about these cars, so any help would be great! thanks alot -Shawn McMullen
Formula Dont know if this will help you, but once upon a time my brother bought a 76 Formula with the 350 2 bbl carb. Looked like the base Firebird with exception of the hood and some scripts and stripes. Think it had 34 K on it when he got it and was the original engine. (We put a 455 in it later on)
Shawn, try giving the guys at JBP (Jim Butler Performance) a ring. 931-762-4596. These guys are good friends of mine and are serious Pontiac Freaks. I'm gonna say they would know the answer to your question.
Shawn they made in 1971 1860 manual and 5942 auto Formulas. The base motor was the L30 2bbl 350 @ 250hp (they did not make 4bbl 350's from 1970 until it returned in '75), the L78 400 4bbl @ 300 hp motor was first option, then the L75 455 @ 325 hp, and finally the LS5 455 HO @ 335 hp. The VIN you listed as 22687 is correct for a formula. The 1 is for 1971, L=Van Nuys Plant, 106377 is the sequence number and the 1 denotes a V8, if it started with a 6XXXXX it would be a 6 cylinder. If the car is a #'s car, here are the block codes you will need to see what the motor is. This is located on the Passenger front side of the motor just below the head on a machined pad: WR 350 2bbl 3 spd. manual (sales code: 34D/L30) WU 350 2bbl 4sp. manual YU 350 2bbl Power Glide XR 350 2bbl t350 WT 400 3 spd manual (sales code: 34L/L78) WK 400 4 spd manual YS 400 t400 YC 455 325 hp t400 (sales code: 34P/L75) WL 455 335 hp 3 spd manual (sales code; 34U/LS5) WC 455 335 hp 4 spd manual YE 455 335 hp t400 Unfortunately unlike a Mopar, AMC or Ford you can not break down which of these motors is correct from the VIN. A build sheet or PHS documentation is your only route. If the VIN matches the car and motor there are a few ways to atleast get you in the correct zip code. One Pontiac's in 1971 had the displacement cast in the side of the block ie. 455, 400 etc. Two the 455's and 350's have a cast in lug that comes up off the back of the block by the distributor. The 400's lack this boss. It looks kind of like a 1 inch tall skinny parymid with the top loped off. If it is a 2bbl. car and the motor is #'s matching it would have to be a 350. Contact Jim Mattison at PHS (Pontiac Historical Soc.) with the VIN and he will work it out for you. PHS can be found on the web and emailed from there. If you have trouble contacting him let me know and I will call him with the VIN and see what we come up with. Not perfect solutuions but I hope it helps some and good luck. Mark
ohhow I wish I could spell:edit well, in all honesty the current owner is a total douche bag, so I am not sure, he wants 5 grand for it which really isnt bad,but once you add the extra $1000 for shipping on a college kids budget :ball: but yes, If I got it, I think a 455 would be in order eventually :3gears: oh how I wish, I will keep everyone posted
could I run that car with a 2 bbl? or is there a setuo of a 4 bbl I could run in the pure stocks, maybe I could work with that, I wouldn't feel that bad meesing with a numbers matching 350 firebird
No 2bbls allowed The first 4bbl allowed is a 400 motor. See my list above. A '71 YS motor can still be had cheap. I bought one for 500 bucks a couple years back on the original bore and deck still. Mark
crappy, hmmm, then if I get it it would probably just be a 383 stroker for a few years untilI could get the cash up to drop a 400 or a 455 in it
no go for the 71, I am going to give up for a while and see what happens.I guess I will tool around with what I got for a while :ball: I really need a real car though, the taurus and lebaron dont cut it anymore, but if anyone finds a 70-73 firebird or a 71 grand prix (400 w/automatic would be nice) let me know. oh yeah a 66 chevelle would work too, my only issue is, no more than $5000, wish me luck
