What Happened To The Pontiac Firebird From The Rockford Files?

When discussing popular and influential cars on television and in movies, the Pontiac Firebird should be in the conversation. Firebird Trans Ams starred in "Smokey and the Bandit"and on "Knight Rider," and the Firebird made hundreds of other film and TV appearances during the '70s and '80s. From 1974-80, private detective Jim Rockford James Garner) of "The Rockford Files" drove a gold Firebird during investigations and pursuits.

Rockford's Firebird was the more refined Esprit variant and not the performance-oriented Trans Am used on "Knight RIder" or in "Smokey and the Bandit," but Autoweek quotes a passage from Garner's memoir The Garner Files explaining why he insisted on the Esprit for his character. "Well, he would've liked [a Trans Am]; it's much sexier," he wrote," but I don't think he could afford it." As with most film and television productions, the crew used lots of different Firebirds to make "The Rockford Files." Some were wrecked during filming, but others have been restored to camera-ready and bad guy-chasing condition.

Along with being one of the most prolific actors of his generation, James Garner was a serious car enthusiast and capable stunt driver. After Garner starred in the 1966 movie "Grand Prix," the experience seemed to revive his childhood love of all things automotive. Garner drove a four-wheel drive Oldsmobile 442 to a second-place class finish at the 1969 Mexican 100 (now known as the Baja 1000), and he co-founded a sportscar racing team that finished second at that year's 24 Hours of Daytona. When Garner brought his acting talents to television in 1974, he saw Jim Rockford's understated pony car as a key character on the show. 

After using a Firebird Esprit for the first season, producers later modified a Formula 400's body to match that of the Esprit and left the 400 cubic inch V8 under the hood. The Sierra Gold paint was a non-factory option chosen by Garner for Rockford's Firebird, and he felt it was the perfect car for a budget-conscious private investigator who wants to fly under the radar. Pontiac provided three new Firebirds for each year of the show: a "hero car" kept pristine for close-up and interior shots, one for non-destructive action sequences like chase scenes, and a damage car for stunts involving jumps or crashes.

Rockford got new Firebird models each model year through 1978, but the star decided he didn't like the 1979 version's new front end and stuck with the old design. A 1978 example that was outfitted for sound recording went to Garner after the series ended, and he drove it until May 1981. In 2019, that car was sold for $115,000 through auction house Barrett-Jackson. This particular Firebird changed hands a few times between Garner's ownership and its six-figure sale, and owes its fully restored condition to Hollywood car expert Steve Reich and Pontiac restoration guru Mike Flaherty.

Jim Rockford's Firebird might not be known for wild stunts like the black Trans Ams driven by the Bandit or Michael Knight, but Garner turned an old moonshiner's trick known as the "J-turn" into Rockford's signature move. He drove fast in reverse then used a hard turn of the wheel and a pull of the emergency brake to make a fast 180-degree turn, and this move is now known as 'pulling a Rockford'. Many of the Firebirds used in "The Rockford Files" were destroyed during filming or have passed through the hands of multiple owners since then, so it's nearly impossible to track all of the dozen or two cars used for the series. 

Fans of the show keep a close eye on the known surviving examples, and Pat McKinney showed off his 1977 specimen on an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage." This was his second Rockford car, one he bought on eBay in 1980 and set about restoring to its former glory. McKinney told Leno, "It was in terrible shape ... Not a lot of rust, it's just everything on it was just worn out ... The suspension bushings were gone, the body [and] chassis bushings were gone, the interior was history." "I took it all the way down to the shell, that's how I discovered the microphone plugs in the quarter panels and the fenders." McKinney went on to educate Leno about Garner's paint choice, which he says was inspired by a shade GM offered for the 1962 Cadillac lineup.