Endura headlamp bezels
The headlamps sit in square body-color Endura bezels, and a more prominent chrome «bird beak» grille is surrounded by Endura. The 1968 looks much like the 1967 in front, apart from its wraparound turn signals.126
Class of '69 · Pontiac Firebird · 1969 body · first generation
1969Pontiac Firebird
A new front with the headlamps in body-color Endura bezels, the key on the column, the Ram Air IV, and from March 1969 the Trans Am.
The year in brief
The 1969 got a new front: a more prominent chrome «bird beak» grille surrounded by body-color Endura, and the headlamps in square Endura bezels. Unlike the GTO, the bumper itself is not Endura.126
The restyle added 2.3 inches of length, to 191.1 on Pontiac's sheet, and some weight. The ignition key moved from the dash to GM's new locking steering column.123
The Ram Air II gave way to the 345-hp Ram Air IV. The Sprint six now made 230 hp with the manual gearbox and 215 with Turbo Hydra-Matic, by Pontiac's sheet.23
The new 1970 Firebird was late, so Pontiac went on building the 1969 car into the early months of the 1970 model year.16one source
Wikipedia counts 87,708: 75,362 hardtops, 11,649 convertibles and 697 Trans Ams. Consumer Guide's rows give the same total (our sum); Over-Drive's table has one hardtop more.125
The story of the year
The Trans Am
Pontiac introduced the Trans Am package on 8 March 1969, by Over-Drive's date. It was named after the Trans-American racing series, though the car never raced in it, by Consumer Guide's account.46
Every Trans Am was white with blue stripes. It had a hood with air inlets the driver could close, rear-facing fender scoops that vented the engine bay, a 60-inch spoiler across the deck lid, and the 335-hp Ram Air 400 as standard.46
697 were built, 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles. The package cost $725 by Consumer Guide and Over-Drive, or $1,083 by Wikipedia, which cites Hemmings.146
How to spot a 1969
What tells it apart from a 1968.
Fuel filler behind the license plate
The fuel filler is behind the rear license plate, by Over-Drive's account.6one source
New body sides
Flatter wheel openings and wind splits on the front fenders, by Over-Drive's account.6one source
Key on the steering column
The ignition key is on the steering column. On the 1968 it is in the dash.1one source
Production125
87,708 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | Firebird | 75,362 |
| Trans Am | 689 | |
| All hardtops | 76,051 | |
| Convertible | Firebird | 11,649 |
| Trans Am | 8 | |
| All convertibles | 11,657 | |
| Total | 87,708 | |
Wikipedia's rows. Consumer Guide's 1969 figures include the 697 Trans Ams; its rows match Wikipedia's only if all 697 sit in its hardtop row, 76,059 = 75,362 + 689 + 8 (our reading and arithmetic), with the same 11,649 convertibles. Over-Drive's table has one hardtop more, 75,363, and a total of 87,709; see the ruling. Production of 1969 Firebirds ran on into the 1970 model year.
Engines1236
8 engines. Pontiac's option codes, from Wikipedia's engine table, which cites Sessler's Firebird Red Book. Over-Drive gives L30, L76, L74 and L67 for 1969; for the 400 it prints W-S6, not W66. «Std.» is the standard engine. Pontiac's AMA sheets name the engines by model, not by code.
Advertised (gross-era) ratings from Pontiac's AMA sheet. The Sprint six had two ratings: 230 hp with the manual gearbox and 215 hp with Turbo Hydra-Matic, by Pontiac's sheet. Pontiac's sheet calls the L74 the Firebird 400 H.O. and names no Ram Air version. Wikipedia calls it the «HO Ram Air 400» and says the name «Ram Air III» was never Pontiac's; Consumer Guide says the engine «came to be called» the Ram Air III; Over-Drive lists a 340-hp Ram Air III and calls the L74 package the Firebird 400 Ram Air II.
Price when new1456
Base retail prices in 1969 dollars, before options.
Over-Drive's table; Consumer Guide gives the Trans Am a base price of $3,600. Over-Drive's 1969 table repeats its 1968 prices and weights for the Firebird hardtop and convertible to the dollar and the pound, so we do not show them as 1969 prices. Its own Trans Am rows less the $725 package give $2,831 and $3,045 (our arithmetic), not its 1968 figures.
Colors46
18 factory colors. The color names come from one source6one source; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Starlight Black10
Mayfair Maize40
Cameo Ivory50
Liberty Blue51
Matador Red52
Warwick Blue53
Crystal Turquoise55
Midnight Green57
Limelight Green59
Expresso Brown61
Champagne63
Antique Gold65
Burgundy67
Palladium Silver69
Carousel Red72
Verdoro Green73
Goldenrod Yellow76
Windward Blue87
Over-Drive's list of 18 colors for the 1969 Firebird, with Pontiac's two-digit codes. No source we have gives the number of cars per color, so the counts are left empty. Every Trans Am was white with blue stripes; Consumer Guide calls the white Polar White, a name not on Over-Drive's list.
Reading the VIN1378
A 1969 VIN has 13 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
224379U10000178 · An example built from our reading of the code tables on this page, not a real car's VIN: a Firebird V8 hardtop, 1969, Lordstown, Ohio, unit 100001.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | Division: Pontiac |
| 23 · 24 | Series: Firebird with a six · with a V8 |
| 37 · 67 | Body: hardtop · convertible |
| 9 | Model year (1969) |
| U · L · N | Assembly plant (codes: Rubber The Right Way; years: Wikipedia; our combination) |
| 100001 → (V8) · 600001 → (six) | Sequential unit number (six digits), by Tin Indian's account for the GTO |
Where to find it: On a plate on top of the instrument panel, driver's side, visible through the windshield, by Tin Indian's account for the GTO of 1968–71; no Firebird-specific source we have gives the location.8one source
Questions about the 1969
How many 1969 Pontiac Firebirds were made?
87,708 by the count we use: 76,051 hardtops, 11,657 convertibles. The sources disagree on the total; the ruling on this page explains which figure we show and why.125sources disagree
How can you tell a 1969 Firebird from a 1968?
Four signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: endura headlamp bezels; fuel filler behind the license plate; new body sides; key on the steering column.126
What engines did the 1969 Pontiac Firebird have?
Eight engines, from the 250 cu in overhead-cam six to the 400 cu in Ram Air IV V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.1236
How much did a 1969 Pontiac Firebird cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: Trans Am hardtop $3,556; Trans Am convertible $3,770; Trans Am package (option) $725 or $1,083 (open ruling).1456
Where is the VIN on a 1969 Pontiac Firebird?
On a plate on top of the instrument panel, driver's side, visible through the windshield, by Tin Indian's account for the GTO of 1968–71; no Firebird-specific source we have gives the location.8one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1969, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Open
1969 Firebird production
Our ruling: Unresolved, leaning to 87,708. Wikipedia, citing Sessler's Firebird Red Book, counts 87,708, and Consumer Guide's rows add up to the same (our sum). But Consumer Guide's 76,059 hardtops are exactly 75,362 + 689 + 8, Wikipedia's own rows with the 8 Trans Am convertibles in a hardtop row (our arithmetic), so the two cannot be shown to be independent. Over-Drive's table keeps the Trans Ams apart as Wikipedia does and has one hardtop more, 87,709 in all. The same standard as for 1967 applies: two against one, independence not shown.
What each source says (3)
- 75,362 hardtops, 11,649 convertibles, 689 Trans Am hardtops and 8 Trans Am convertibles, 87,708 in all1one source
- 76,059 hardtops including the 697 Trans Ams and 11,649 convertibles, 87,708 in all (our sum)2one source
- 75,363 hardtops, the rest the same, 87,709 in all5one source
Settled
How many 1969 Trans Ams
Our ruling: 697: 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles (our sum). Consumer Guide gives 697 three times, in its specification box, in its model article and in one sentence of its profile, and once «697 coupes and eight convertibles», so it disagrees with itself three to one. Wikipedia, citing Sessler, and Over-Drive's table give the split 689 + 8. We cannot show those sources are independent, but none stands firm on another figure.
What each source says (3)
- 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles15
- 697, eight of them convertibles24one source
- 697 coupes and eight convertibles4one source
Open
The price of the 1969 Trans Am package
Our ruling: Unresolved, leaning to $725. Consumer Guide and Over-Drive give $725 over the base car; Wikipedia, citing a 2013 Hemmings Motor News article, gives $1,083. Over-Drive's own Trans Am hardtop row, $3,556, less $725 gives $2,831; less $1,083 it would give $2,473, $308 below the 1968 hardtop's $2,781 (our arithmetic). What else the $1,083 included is not known.
What each source says (2)
- $72546
- $1,0831one source
Open
Trans Ams with the Ram Air IV
Our ruling: Unresolved, leaning to 55. Consumer Guide's text and Over-Drive say 55 Trans Am coupes had the Ram Air IV; a photo caption in the same Consumer Guide profile says 63.
What each source says (2)
- 5546
- 634one source
Sources
- Pontiac Firebird Wikipedia · read 2026-10-12
- 1967, 1968, 1969 Pontiac Firebird HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-12
- 1969 Pontiac Firebird AMA Specifications Pontiac Motor Division, General Motors · read 2026-10-12
- 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-12
- 1969 Pontiac production (the Firebird rows) Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1969 Pontiac Firebird Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-12
- Pontiac VIN Decoder 1965-2002 Rubber The Right Way · read 2026-10-11
- Pontiac GTO VIN Decoding Tin Indian Performance · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1967Pontiac FirebirdThe first Firebird: Pontiac's version of the new Camaro, on sale from 23 February 1967 as five models named for their engines, and 82,560 built.82,560 built (disputed)1968Pontiac FirebirdLittle changed outside, much underneath: a 250 six, the 350 V8, side-marker lamps, no vent windows, and 107,112 built.107,112 builtSee the whole first generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1967–1969.