The 1967 Firebird has the signal lamp under the bumper, inside the front valance opening, whereas the 1968 model has a curved signal lamp moved out to the corner of the valance panel. Front side marker lamps show up for the first time in 1969 with a small, round lamp below the front fender line.
The headlights on the 1969 model are outside of the front bumper chrome, whereas 1967-’68 are encompassed in the front bumper chrome. Although the grilles look identical, the ’67 grille surround is silver, and the ’68 grille surround is black. The easiest way to distinguish a ’67 and ’68 from the front is going to be the turn signals and the grille surround color. The 1969 Firebird has a sharp body line extending to the front headlamp bezel. The front side marker lamp first shows up in 1969 (right), you can see the small, round lamp below the fender. Looking at the front lamps, the 1967 (left) and 1968 (center) are harder to tell apart, but those front signal lamps help determine the year. The 326 and 350 models had badges on the rear edge of the hood bulge for all three years. Likewise, the HO models for 1967-’68 will have similar stripes broken up by “H.O.” on the front fender. You can identify the 1967-’68 Sprint models by the thin stripes down the side, while 1969 Sprint models have an emblem at the front edge of the rocker panel. The differences are more visual for these three packages. For this guide we’ll stick with identifying the differences between the three model years, listed below as the Base model, Firebird 400, and Firebird Trans Am. Other than the Firebird 400 and Trans Am, there were a few trim packages that can be identified simply by a decal or emblem, but are otherwise identical to the Base model from a visual perspective. 1969 models can easily be identified by the horizontal body lines extending from the top of each wheel opening. Likewise, the vent window is gone for 19 Firebirds and the 1969 Firebird has a complete new set of sheetmetal. Starting off with 1967, the vent window is a dead giveaway on the Firebird, just like it is on the 1967 Camaro. Some of these details will help you determine what year a Firebird is – especially when you don’t have the car in front of you, such as seeing a picture on the internet. The 1967-1969 Firebird differences are pretty simple, and for many of the same reasons as the first gen Camaro. 1969 (right) brings all new sheetmetal and lots of differences to the table. But there are some differences that allow you to tell them apart. Looking at the first two model years, the Firebird is almost identical for 1967 (left) and 1968 (center).
That’s what our “ At A Glance” series is all about, and we hope it helps give you the confidence to show your knowledge next time you hit a car show. Since not every car on the road has the correct or original parts, this spotters guide is to identify how each car came from the factory. We reached out to Classic Industries for some assistance on this series, and to view its vast online catalog. While many thought that the telltale signs were easy for the Camaro, our goal is to help those who are not yet able to distinguish the differences between the model yearsĪfter all, nobody is born with this knowledge, and anyone who knows the differences had to learn it at some point. We figured it would only be natural to follow it up with the other F-body – the first gen Firebird. How many times have you looked at a Firebird and you thought it was a ’68, but maybe it could be a ’67? For our first article in this series, we brought you the differences in the first gen Camaro.