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Collector Classics: 1978 Pontiac Firebird Esprit

Vancouver film location scout pays homage to classic show with 'Rockford correct' resto of vintage Firebird

Alyn Edwards
Jan 23, 2021  •  April 21, 2021  •  4 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Film industry location scout Dave Small with his restored ‘Rockford correct’ 1978 Firebird.
Film industry location scout Dave Small with his restored ‘Rockford correct’ 1978 Firebird. Photo by Dave Small

For the past 25 years, Dave Small has been a searching out the best locations for movies and TV series to be filmed. It’s a dream job that leads him through urban back alleys, country roads and into remote areas of British Columbia.

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Among the challenges he has overcome was the need to find the interior of a rustic lodge in the Vancouver area. It had to match exterior shots of a woodsy retreat taken in Squamish for the Al Pacino movie Insomnia, set in an Alaskan town.

“We looked for weeks, and it was getting tense. Then I found the perfect wood interior in a closed Earl’s restaurant in a Tsawwassen shopping mall,” he says. “It was all old wood and it matched the rustic lodge perfectly.”

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In 2011, he was working on a TV series with most of the locations he had to find in downtown Langley. One day while driving through the area, he spotted a 1978 Pontiac Firebird with a for sale sign on the windshield parked in front of a small house.

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“I burst out laughing. I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls. “I’ve been a crazy huge fan of the TV series Rockford Files and always loved Jim Rockford’s Pontiac Firebird Esprit. But, at no time, was I actively looking for one.”

Actor James Garner played L.A.-based detective Jim Rockford in the series that ran from 1974 through 1980. He always drove a ‘copper mist’ Firebird Esprit which was renewed every year up to the 1978 model year.

The continuing location searches caused Dave to drive by the Firebird for sale in Langley three weeks in a row. He finally stopped to have a closer look.

“It had faded paint, bad rims, lousy tires, worn-out front seats and damage to the rear fender. But it felt like the car was calling to me,” he says looking back 10 years. “And, just like that, I owned a 1978 Firebird.

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  1. Actor James Garner playing detective Jim Rockford with one of the Pontiac Firebird Esprit cars used in the Rockford Files series.
    Actor James Garner playing detective Jim Rockford with one of the Pontiac Firebird Esprit cars used in the Rockford Files series. Photo by Submitted
  2. The Firebird Esprit was sitting outside a home in Langley with a for sale sign in January 2011.
    The Firebird Esprit was sitting outside a home in Langley with a for sale sign in January 2011. Photo by Dave Small
  3. The rear fender had damage and the entire rear end of the car proved to be badly rusted.
    The rear fender had damage and the entire rear end of the car proved to be badly rusted. Photo by Dave Small
  4. The entire rear end of the car was badly rusted and had to be replaced with new sheet metal.
    The entire rear end of the car was badly rusted and had to be replaced with new sheet metal. Photo by Dave Small
  5. The 1978 Pontiac was completely disassembled for restoration.
    The 1978 Pontiac was completely disassembled for restoration. Photo by Dave Small
  6. The restored 1978 Firebird owned by Dave Small is a lookalike for the cars James Garner drove in the Rockford Files TV series.
    The restored 1978 Firebird owned by Dave Small is a lookalike for the cars James Garner drove in the Rockford Files TV series. Photo by Dave Small
  7. Dave Small’s 'Rockford Correct’ 1978 Firebird is a ringer for the Firebird Esprit used in the popular Rockford Files TV series.
    Dave Small’s 'Rockford Correct’ 1978 Firebird is a ringer for the Firebird Esprit used in the popular Rockford Files TV series. Photo by Dave Small
  8. Dave's restored Firebird is like it just rolled off the factory floor in 1978.
    Dave's restored Firebird is like it just rolled off the factory floor in 1978. Photo by Dave Small
  9. The Firebird fender badge show’s this is a sporty model produced by Pontiac similar to the star car for the Rockford Files from 1974 though 2000.
    The Firebird fender badge show’s this is a sporty model produced by Pontiac similar to the star car for the Rockford Files from 1974 though 2000. Photo by Dave Small
  10. The Rockford tribute Firebird looks aggressive from any angle.
    The Rockford tribute Firebird looks aggressive from any angle. Photo by Dave Small
  11. This 1978 Pontiac Firebird Esprit used in the Rockford Files TV series and later owned by actor James Garner sold at the Barrett-Jackson Auction last year for US$115,000.
    This 1978 Pontiac Firebird Esprit used in the Rockford Files TV series and later owned by actor James Garner sold at the Barrett-Jackson Auction last year for US$115,000. Photo by Alyn Edwards

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So began the slow ‘Rockford correct’ restoration, which began with new valve seals so the car, could be driven without the engine belching blue smoke. Next came correct Rockford Rallye II mag wheels procured from Classic Central in California. He then swapped out the worn front seats for Rockford correct camel tan buckets. New whitewall tires would be a recent addition. The paint job was badly faded and needed to be redone.

“I had hummed and hawed for a good five years. As crazy and extravagant as it seemed, I figured that life ain’t no dress rehearsal, so I decided to go ahead with it,” he says.

Dave sent the car to a professional shop for the work to be done. It was soon discovered the rear body and frame were badly rusted and the whole rear of the car would have to be replaced.

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“We blew through the money I had set aside and the contingency,” he says. “The whole project became ten times more than I was ever expecting but I was so far into it there was no turning back.”

With eighty per cent of the work completed, COVID-19 hit the project like a sledgehammer.

At times I think I’m nuts for going through with it.

“The whole project seemed to come to a standstill and then the owner of the shop told me the fellow working on the car quit. For a while it all just felt like my car disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle.

Dave kept phoning the owner and asking if he had any idea on a delivery date. The promise of ‘next week’ came and went about five times. It became: Dude where is my car? Work subsequently resumed and the car was completed after a year of shop time.

“They did a good job with the car and I was happy, but the process took forever,” he admits.

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Now that his car sports a new ‘Rockford correct’ sierra gold paint job, Dave drives his Firebird on weekends and days off. The car gets a lot of thumbs up. “Last week, a mail carrier shouted out: “Hey – is that Jim Rockford’s car? I love that show’.”

Reflecting back on his decade-long journey with the ‘Rockford’ Firebird, Dave Small has this to say: “At times I think I’m nuts for going through with it. The car is a money pit. But I love the car and it’s a blast to drive. I just never planned to do any of this.”

Dave’s next move may be perfecting Rockford’s famous reverse 180-degree turn called a Moonshiners turn or J turn. Real Rockford fans would expect no less.

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com

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