Enjoy The Original Plumage Of This 1977 Pontiac Firebird Esprit Sky Bird

You never know what you’ll discover for sale at the annual Rhinebeck Car Show in New York’s Hudson Valley; whether your tastes run to barn finds, restoration projects, customized rides, or everyday-usable original classics, you’ll have plenty to choose from. This head-turning 1977 Pontiac Firebird Esprit Sky Bird, spotted on offer in the car corral during the 2024 show, fit into that last category.

If you’ve never before come across this car, we’ll let the 1977 Firebird brochure give you an overview: “You can order the Esprit’s new blue Sky Bird Appearance Package. It features luxurious blue velour seat trim. Two-tone blue exterior. Blue cast aluminum wheels, Accent stripes. And more.”

Breaking it down, the Sky Bird -officially RPO W60- was a special option for the Firebird’s luxury-themed variant. Buyers who opted for this Esprit in 1977 paid an additional $391 (including Doeskin vinyl upholstery) or $418 (with Lombardy cloth upholstery) and received Lombard Blue paint over darker blue sills with complimentary vinyl striping and accents, along with color-matched grille trim and painted/machined 15 x 7-inch snowflake alloy wheels. Depending on when a Sky Bird was built, it may have had woodgrain dash trim and a blue three-spoke “luxury cushion” steering wheel, or Trans Am-style engine-turned bright silver (later, blue-tinted) metal trim and a blue Formula sport steering wheel. Naturally, all the interior upholstery, plastics, carpets, and even the seatbelts, were blue.

Sky Birds could be motivated by a 105-hp, two-barrel-carbureted 231-cu.in. V-6, 145-hp, two-barrel-carbureted 301-cu.in. V-8, or a 180-hp, four-barrel-carbureted 350-cu.in. V-8 (other engines were available depending on location), with output reaching the rear wheels through a three- or four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission.

The colorful option would return for 1978 and be joined by the gold-accented Red Bird of 1978-’79, then followed by the similarly themed 1980 Yellow Bird.

Have A Seat While I Take To The Sky

This first-year Sky Bird was a ray of sunshine in the corral at Rhinebeck, and it remained in very tidy, unmodified condition with a little over 100,000 miles on the odometer. Motivated by a 301 V-8 mated to a Turbo Hydra-Matic, it looked very honest both outside and in. The old Oregon license plates in “Jim Weston GMC – Gresham” frames, bearing 1990 registration tags, indicated the car had an interesting story: we had to know more.

The Pontiac’s current caretaker, a Dutchess County resident, told us he’d found the car online, offered for sale in Portland, Oregon. It was coming out of single-family ownership, the original seller’s mother having purchased it new in 1977 as a special treat to herself and using it until her death; her son then daily-drove the car locally for a few years before taking it off the road around 1991. It was parked under a cover in his garage, where it sat for more than 30 years before he advertised it online.

The current owner had driven from New York to Oregon to deliver another vehicle, and he was able to purchase this non-running car upon his arrival. A mechanic by trade, he had it towed to an auto-parts store lot and proceeded to recommission the Sky Bird, replacing all of its belts, hoses, and fluids, and fitting new tires- even the radiator would be swapped for new. He then set out on a 5,000-mile road trip back across the country, documenting the journey with pictures and videos as he went. The Firebird performed admirably, proving capable of 80 mph through the Moab desert with the factory A/C maintaining 65 degrees in the cabin.

While it attracted a lot of interest in Rhinebeck, this storied Sky Bird ultimately did not bring its asking price, so as this was written, it’s still in the care of its adventurous first non-family owner.

We weren’t able to pin down the number of Sky Birds built during the option’s relatively short run, but we’d guesstimate around 2,500; that means they’re a drop in the bucket of 65,000-plus Esprits produced in 1977 and 1978, and more than 343,000 total Firebird variants from those years. These cars do trade hands periodically, though: classic.com indicates that, since 2020, three 1977 examples and two 1978s have gone up for public sale, with selling prices between $7,250 and $26,000. Those figures largely correlate with J.D. Power’s retail book values that range from $6,168 to $29,820.

If you appreciate this rare Esprit and want to find a classic F-body of your own, visit the Hemmings Marketplace and search for Pontiac Firebirds– you’ll find hundreds of fine examples to choose from.

1977 Pontiac Firebird Esprit Sky Bird 

Asking price: $22,500 

Seller description: “1977 Sky Bird” 

Known issues: Paint chips and scuffs, minor scratches in decals, section of damaged drip-rail trim 

Why buy? This V-8-powered Firebird was eye-catching with its cheerful, bright paint and decals, and the tidy cloth interior looked welcoming. These special-edition F-bodies don’t turn up for sale often, and this very original example was ideal for a Pontiac collector. 

Price new: $5,336 ($27,780 in 2025 dollars) 

Value now: $6,000-$30,000 

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