1977/78 Pontiac Firebird Esprit Last ever seen Rockford Files
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- If anyone has details on what ever happened to this car please post here. This is dated April 20th, 1999 when it first aired titled 'If It Bleeds... It Leads'. This is the last time this car was ever on TV. I know the first version of this car was an Esprit in 1974. Among Rockford fans the 1977-1978 Firebird Esprit is the most popular used on the show. I personally owned a 1979 Esprit which I regret selling in 1982.
The below web site gets into some more details:
www.oldcarmemor...
jimsuva.typepad...
There is a 1 second scene where the car is seen from the front that I didn't have but you can see the entire episode on utube 240i clarity at : • Video
I used to watch this show with my dad, good times. I'd do anything to go back in time,I miss my dad.
You and me both! One more episode of Rockford with dad! Wouldn't it be great!!
@@alansach8437 You and you and me both.
So enjoyed the Rockford files with James garner as Jim Rockford great viewing back then
I also used to watch this show with my Dad. God bless our Dads in heaven!!!
@@jonathangrant6138 God bless you and your family 🇺🇸
I always liked "Rocky's" truck on this show.
Yes,, That was a sweet Jimmy.
Love that Angel is selling the trailer for Jimmy!
I believe he was renting it even letting the renter use Jim's laptop computer and TV while Rockford was away on a case. Angel was such a scammer.
There's a guy here in Australia near where I live who owns one of the screen used 77/8's, he purchased it from Garners daughter.
That is awesome!
1 of my absolute favorite actors and place I want to live !!
This car was a 78' and was sold at Mecum back a few years ago for a bit over $40000 if memory serves me.I was there in Kissimee FL that day and saw the car up closeNice restoration that wasn't used much in the Rockford movies
I've been to Kissimmee a couple of times. Man, that would be something to see. When I watched 'If It Bleeds... It Leads' or the first TV movie 'I Still Love LA' I could have sworn it was restored because of the white door guards and the paint seemed to reflect a little less perfect as the original TV show did. Paint was a little rippled I would say. I don't think I saw the other movies. I'll be looking for them now since there were 8 total after the series ended. Saw a clip of 'If the Frame Fits' from 1996 and that was nice restoration. Thanks for the update!
@@mrwebber35 The movies are available on DVD now .Jim Suva has a nice blog about the Rockford Firebirds.He also has a Rockford tribute car that he drives .Enjoy
@@mrwebber35 The movie cars were not the same cars from the series. They had to "make" "new" ones. As the originals had been sold.
@@ronald8673 Yes you are right. I have the book 'James Gardner's Motoring Life'. They had to find 3 1978 Firebirds, one was a Redbird and repainted them in close but not factory gold and didn't update the engine to the Oldsmobile 403 because of California emission standards. The Pontiac 400 was higher HP but too much emissions for California. These 3 restores were left as the 350 c.i. (I assume since the book only says V8) because the chase scenes were not a good look for the aging Jim Rockford. That was a mistake I'm sure everyone agrees. There was a 4th car which was just a shell good for sitting there. I wonder if that is the one last shown in the clip? I think the clip is from 'I Still Love L.A.' where the book says that 4th restore was that shell Firebird. I haven't seen all the TV movies. Were there no Firebird chase scenes?
Best looking Z71 they ever made.
I think you mean; "If It Bleeds... It Leads". And the episode that you're referring to where the Firebird goes over the cliff is; "The Trees, The Bees, And T.T. Flowers". It was a 2 part episode with Strother Martin as the guest star.
It was called "If It Bleeds... It Leads" I know, I got it wrong too.
There should be a chapter on the Firebirds. Pat McKinney and I have been helping Matt with the book.
I got the book 'James Gardner's Motoring Life' which I special ordered. Loved the fact it had on the inside cover a picture of Gardner with his beloved 1978 and a new 1979 Type K Kammback Wagonshow car. There was a 1978 Kammback but I suspect this was the first time Gardner saw the new nose which he refused to put on Rockford Files. I personally loved the new nose since I owned one. The 6.6L was available on the '79 so power wasn't the issue with Gardner.
I do think Rockford inspired much of the Lethal Weapon franchise, even though Jim Rockford was vehemently anti violence and Martin Riggs was controlled psycho violence, the violence bit of it was imported from Mad Max
I love that bird so sleek
Of the many DVD sets I own I have to say that the Rockford Files ranks 1 with Gunsmoke a very close 2nd.
Laptop computer? What year was this?
1999. It says so in the description.
too bad they never a rockford tv movie of Jim retiring and selling the trailer.
Did he sell the car with the trailer?
jimsuva.typepad.com has this information.
I don't recall a double wide mobile home in any Rockford episodes?
That was for the Rockford movies in the 1990s. 🤳
I was drunk one nite and bumped into the back of a neighborhood girls 77 spirit , lite blue , she got pissed off and threw a beer bottle at the windshield of my 75 vw scirroco.
It pocked the windshield . Didn't shatter .
.
Those were the daze 🥃
Where is it
I think you would have to do some real Rockford investigation. Doubt Barrett-Jackson would let anyone know. th-cam.com/video/dlf9L-SeN7g/w-d-xo.html
I miss Jimmy.
That's what Angel called him. Everyone else seemed to call him Jimbo, Jim or Mr. Rockford. I think the only other person to call him Jimmy was his father Rocky. Now I think about it certain girl friends on the show called him Jimmy like Rita Moreno. I believe she is still alive at about the age of 80. Don't remember anyone else. James Garner certainly had an excellent screen image persona that drew in all types of viewers. Now a-days that is a rare thing.
Lap top computer ?
The firebird was his first car why did he sell it
+Fauzia Vohra Don't see him selling it. It was kept under that protective temporary shelter you see in this video. I have a 1979 Camero that I don't drive but keep it high and dry on a lift in my garage. He had earlier years of the Esprit but they met an unfortunate end in the show. He had a 1974 but that may have been shown to die on the show but I am not sure. I remember the 1975 going over a cliff and exploding on the show. I don't remember which show. I do recall the one that went over the cliff was a 1975 but the next shot of the actual explosion and going over the cliff was a really old model like a 1972 or a 1973. Guess they could not really destroy the car Garner loved so much in real life. He did drive a 1976 and then a 1977. I Know he probably drove a 1978 but it was not shown to have happened as far as I know according to the script of the show. the 1977 and 1978 look identical.
@@mrwebber35 The 74' went over the cliff in the 3rd season episode "The Trees.The Bees and TT Flowers"
love that gm truck body style
interesting
Curious how many Firebirds they went through during the course of the show. Were these like the Dukes of Hazzard Chargers where probably over 100 were scrapped?
As far as Jay Leno says there are only two, and one was auctioned off in 2018 as the original sound car. James Garner kept that car for himself
There were several cars '74 - '78... high performance Formula models repainted gold and badged as Esprits...
There would have been several but not nearly as many as there were Chargers on the Dukes of Hazzard. The Chargers had a high attrition rate because of the kind of stunts done on that show. I recently saw an old picture showing one Rockford Firebird with cameras mounted on it for interior shots and another one used for exterior shots sitting in the background. Plus I'm sure there were additional spares.
@@289Mustang67 After tv episode wrecks some of the stunt cars were repaired and repainted. If you look close enough you can see bondo marks and color mismatches in certain shots on the birds. Even Rocky's truck had a stand in stunt double.
That year sucked. 0-60 was two days.
I rode in a 1979 Mustang that went about 0-60 in 8 seconds with two people in the car. Buddy juiced it up a bit. The Firebird Garner had was a 6.6 L or 400 ci which was supposedly reported to only do it in 11.9 seconds. It was really a Firebird Formula. 1976 was the last production car with the 455ci that could do it in 7.0 secs. I wonder what the real story is on the car. Did they put a 1976 455c.i. in the 1977? The story I heard was they needed a bigger engine so Garner could do his stunts.
Laptop computer! In 1980!
This 1st aired in 1999.