1970 Exterior Moldings

Firebird Decor Trim remained the same throughout the second generations 5 year run but teh way in which specific trim was offerred varied from year to year. In some years the trim came in predefined packages while in other trim was offered individually. For 1970 The Esprit's complete trim package was offerred on Firebird, Formula, and Trans Am. However, roof drip moldings could be ordered separately. Door Edge Guards were a separate option on all models except Trans Am.

Option

Description

431/Y80

Decor Option Group (standard on Esprit). Includes:

Roof Drip Moldings

Hood Rear Edge Moldings

Wheel Opening Moldings (except Trans Am)

Belt Reveal Moldings

684/B93

Door Edge Guards (not available on Trans Am)

741/B80

Roof Drip Moldings (Standard Esprit, included with Decor Moldings and Cordova Top (SVT/C08)

Note: Body side moldings to protect the door from dings were not yet available from the factory. Door Edge Guards were not yet available on Trans Am.

Rocker Panel Covering

The standard rocker panel for the Base Firebird and Formula was the spear shaped chrome piece shown at the top right. Trans Am rocker panels were plain and never had chrome trim. This rocker trim had a single part number (481546) since it could be used on the right or left side of the car.

Esprit came standard with a wider chrome rocker cover that butted flushly against the standard chrome wheel lip moldings. This trim was wider than the standard and carried separate part numbers for right and left (481539 right and 481540 left).

The wider chrome piece was an Esprit only item but it is common to see these on restored Formula's. Do your homework because most times when you see this rocker panel you are looking at an Esprit cloned into a Formula and not an original Formula.

Roof Drip Molding/Belt Reveal

Roof drip mouldings were one of the few trim selections offerred as an individual option (741/B80) but was also insluded in the Decor Option Group (431/Y80). At the far left is a car without the option, note that the vertical chrome trim piece is still present which is correct. To the right is a car with the chrome drip moulding installed. You will find that most cars had this option installed. Without it rain would drip over the roof when you opened the door.

Also seen at right is the wider belt reveal molding that came with the Decor Trim group. Cars without Decor Trim had a rubber seal with a very small bead of chrome where the Belt Reveal moulding was a wide chrome piece.

Hood Rear Edge/Wheel Lip

Completing the Decor Option Group (431/Y80) for Base Firebird, Formula, and Trans Am are the Hood Rear Edge Molding and Wheel Lip Molding (wheel lip moldings were not installed on Trans Am with the Decor Group).

Shown at right is the wheel lip molding on a Formula with the correct spear shaped rocker molding. It is common to see wheel lip moldings installed without Hood Rear Edge or Belt reveal moldings. If you have a build sheet showing a 1970 model with this combination then please contact me.

The Wheel Lip Molding was not available on Trans Am.

Hood Rear Edge/Wheel Lip

Option 684/B93 is the only trim piece for 1970 that was not included in the Decor Option Group. This trim was merely a strip of chrome that attached to the edge of each door on the outer side and was designed to prevent the door edge from being scratched or chipped when the door inadvertently made contact with an object.

Not available on Trans Am.

Cordova Top Molding

A unique pice of trim came with the Cordova top option. For 1970 to 1975 this trim piece capped off the vinyl top in brilliant chrome.

The Cordova top also included the Roof Drip Moldings (741/B80) to complete the chrome surround.

The Cordova Top option was not available on Trans Am.