1980 Pontiac Firebird Yellow Bird
New for 1980, the Yellowbird became the third and final color scheme
for the Esprit appearance package. Like the Skybird, the Yellowbird is a
very bright package that's not at all masculine. Yellowbirds are much
more rare than Skybirds and Redbirds. Yellowbirds used RPO W73.
Pontiac had figured out that color-coordinated wheels on a yellow car were great styling, and these wheels really make the Yellowbird stand out. Since there was no longer any reason to use red wheel emblems, the Yellowbird also has the gold wheel emblems like a Trans Am Special Edition.
(source: firebirdtransamparts).
The Yellowbird's most distinctive new
feature was its taillights. It used Trans Am taillights, which have no
hint of red when unlit, and added a yellow accent stripe on each rib.
Yellow snowflakes hadn't been used at all before 1980, but
body-colored Rally II's had been very popular on yellow Firebirds like
the yellow Formula W50.Pontiac had figured out that color-coordinated wheels on a yellow car were great styling, and these wheels really make the Yellowbird stand out. Since there was no longer any reason to use red wheel emblems, the Yellowbird also has the gold wheel emblems like a Trans Am Special Edition.
(source: firebirdtransamparts).
The interior, departing from Skybird and
Redbird practice, isn't yellow. It's Camel Tan, a very popular color
from 1978 to 1980. This interior, like Carmine Red, is all one color.
The Yellowbird continued to borrow the gold accents from the Trans Am
Special Edition, which included a new engine-turned gold shift plate in
1980. This item is very popular with Bandit Trans Am owners, and many
have added it to earlier models. As you can see, Camel Tan interior
looks mighty fine with the special gold accents. Everything in the
interior was now gold, and harmonized better than the earlier models.
The Yellowbird was the first in the series to have its steering wheel shared with other models. By now, it was common for Bandit Trans Ams to have tan steering wheels with gold spokes, the same wheel having been used on all the 1978 Gold Editions (all of which looked mighty fine as well). According to several books on Firebirds, the gold spokes were discontinued on November 20th, 1979, and this Yellowbird has the later black-spoked tan wheel.
You might not notice it, but this particular car has fuzz-upholstered kick panels that are not original. It only has about 28,000 miles on it in these photos, but in Florida, that was enough to fry the tan plastic, so the owner had it all covered.
The Yellowbird was the first in the series to have its steering wheel shared with other models. By now, it was common for Bandit Trans Ams to have tan steering wheels with gold spokes, the same wheel having been used on all the 1978 Gold Editions (all of which looked mighty fine as well). According to several books on Firebirds, the gold spokes were discontinued on November 20th, 1979, and this Yellowbird has the later black-spoked tan wheel.
You might not notice it, but this particular car has fuzz-upholstered kick panels that are not original. It only has about 28,000 miles on it in these photos, but in Florida, that was enough to fry the tan plastic, so the owner had it all covered.
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