kentuckyKITT

iTrader: (4)

This car is for sale locally to me and I went and looked at it and it's a pretty nice car. What's the story on these? It has wheels I've never seen before. They are 15" and similar to GTA wheels, but spokes are concave instead of flat. It's listed as a Firebird with a Trans Am Appearance Package. The ad has tons more pics. It is a really nice low mile car for sure, was just wondering about the appearance package. Was thinking about selling my 89 and buying this one.

https://owensboro.craigslist.org/cto/5963362792.html

Vanilla Ice

Looks identical to the car I had in high school.
It's a firebird with ground effects and 15" gold cross laces. That's about it.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

In the mid-80's GM figured out they could make base Firebirds and Camaros look like Z28s and Trans Ams and sell a bunch of them...

There were more Firebirds with gfx in 91/92 than without. The gold wheels were optional toward the end. They're just the 15x7 diamond spoke wheel from 1985, but with the centers painted gold.

Not really anything special, just a base model Firebird. Price is high for what it is... IMHO.

88Greg

Insurance reasons. Appealed to people who wanted the look of the high end car but didn't want the V8 insurance premiums.
I remember seeing those on the lots back in the early 90's in WA state. Never seen any in Canada.

Vanilla Ice

That is a v8.
And worth every penny of that asking price here in az.

88Greg

Hm. Right you are. Never seen one like that.

KMK454

Could you get polo green on the firebirds in fully loaded Trans Am/Formula models? I know on Camaros it was limited to the base RS.

navy02ws6

I don't think there were any restrictions on Polo Green on the Firebirds...seen it on a TON of GTAs, as well as Formulas. Can't say I've seen it on any T/As though, but don't know why they'd restrict it on the T/A and not on the GTA.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Just... Barely.

Let's just do a quick run down...
Is it a 350? no.
Is it a 305 TPI? no.
Is it a 5spd? no.
Is it a GTA? no.
Is it a Formula? no.
Is it a Trans Am? no.
Does it have the WS6 suspension? no.
Does it have the F41 suspension? no.

So what is it? A base model Firebird with a virtually default appearance package, and a 170hp V8. 2.73 peg leg rear, V6 sized exhaust, 15" wheels, small sway bars, soft springs... It photographs nicely, but the paint is about to give up on the bumper covers, and the front GFX have been bottomed out.

Call it a 8 in condition, maybe a 5 in desirability. It's like a first gen Camaro with a 307. It's a car that looks the part, but completely lacks any semblance of Pontiac Excitement. It's the car you got when you were young and thought it was FAST! because you didn't know any better. It's a performance car that could get schooled at any stop light by a 15 year old minivan.

I'm not trying to be hard on the car, but it is, what it is.

Vanilla Ice

I'd trade my vert for it.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

You must mean Dark Metallic Green.

Ironically, the 1991 Pontiac Salesman's Guide shows code 45 Dk Met Green available on the entire Firebird line-up EXCEPT with the sport appearance package. It's VERY common that the sales materials printed in 1990 don't include items that became available later in the year. The crosslace 15s aren't in the early materials either.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

If your Trans Am was in the same condition, it'd be worth considerably more than this Firebird. Performance wise it'd be nearly a lateral move from a 305 TPI auto convertible to a 305 TBI auto t-top, but the T/A would drive with considerably better "feel"...

Still feel the car in the OP is overpriced by a few thousand.

Vanilla Ice

That's the thing, I don't care about resale value. I don't plan on selling. That firebird is almost identical to the 92 I had in High school. It's worth far more to me than this car based off nostalgia. The only difference is the year and mileage, mine was mint condition (and 90k miles!)

...and I disagree about the performance being a lateral move. A potential 14 second car vs a 16 second car is not lateral. My car hasn't seen the 1/4 but I've driven enough cars down the strip to know where it's performance is.
I suspect it's in the 14.9@91mph range (with Drag Radials). That's worlds better than a TBI.

bjpotter

Nice car. Not the one I would be looking for, but looks like a good, solid unmolested car. I don't think the car is priced all that high. Sub 50k miles, 305 tbi (better than the base 6), and we are going into spring. Asking prices are always higher this time of year.

Of coarse asking price and selling price are two different things. Bet the seller wants around 7, would probably take less with cash. I just shaved 2k off a car because I had the cash in hand.

muswp1

I think there was a similar package for the 91-92 Camaro too. I seem to remember one of my neighbors having a Camaro RS with the fog lights and spoiler of the Z-28 on it back when I was in high school.

kentuckyKITT

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the all of the good info! I just didn't know anything about these. I really like the car and I looked it over pretty good, just haven't driven it yet. I figure if it's still around in a couple of months, I might go put a cash offer on it. I'm thinking around $6k. I've never seen a thirdgen that wasn't a show car with less than 50k on the odometer, much less a one-owner car. Of course this can be a good thing or a bad thing. It even has all of the factory materials, manuals, cassette tape, window sticker etc... that we found in the rear storage compartment when I was looking at it.

I'd be buying this for a driver, not something fast, just a nice sunny day daily driver like my 89 is, except my 89 has over 168k on the odometer, but it's pretty dependable and I've had it for almost 5 years fixing it up cosmetically.

JT

iTrader: (1)

I must not have that - just the order sheet that shows the color available across the line.

There was a bulletin in 1991 adding the color to the Sport Appearance:

Drew

iTrader: (58)

I was being lazy and just went to the 1991 Pontiac Salesperson's Pocket Book. It's the checkbook size, spiral bound quick reference guide with all the options, color chips, etc. I'd never seen one until I came across this one a few weeks ago. 18 years collecting 1991 Firebird documentation and I'm still finding stuff I've never seen before. I still need to get the 1991 Pontiac sales 3-ring binder, and a Firebird parts & illustration catalog, but it's hard to justify the expense.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Still a nice car even if it cant outrun 15 yr old minivans. Honestly many daily commuters whether it be pickups or sedans can outrun most stock third gens even the super high powered 5.7 TPI cars.. yes they can I know this is sad. Don't let it bother you that this car is sort of a "budget" Firebird package because its a great platform that can be easily changed into whatever you want it to be. Great looking car.

DLV555

iTrader: (1)

I had a '92 like that. Same ground effects, same spoiler, same wheels, but the car was red. 305 V8, auto. Sounded good, ran fine. Wasn't a special car but it looked nice. I slapped some 3.42s in it and she ran a lot better. That's a good looking bird, but $8k?

Drew

iTrader: (58)

But it's been listed for at least a month and it hasn't sold. That alone tells you there's something wrong, in this case it's the price.

Sure, even a 5.7L is slower than an average modern car. It's still a rocket ship compared to a TBI Firebird with a tuned port price tag.

To each his own, I guess... -shrug-

Vanilla Ice

You live 9 hours from there and you know the local market?

blacksunshine'91

iTrader: (10)

I still find stuff from time to time that I've never seen as well. I'm sure you probably have things I didn't know existed. I wish we were able to maintain a thread in the History section that allowed us to post up the items we've collected over the years. A few people have tried, but they get locked and told that is what the Media section is for. Only the webmaster can update that section though. I don't think it would be too much to ask for to have a thread for collector info.

90 GTA Black

It has appeal - The green paint is a big draw for me. Kind of like a 73 Brewster Green TA. The 49K is pretty low and I'm sure the seller will negotiate after a month on the market.
Can't hurt to have a look at it.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Do I have to know the local market to know that if an item is desired and priced right it'll sell in less than 30 days?

I'm not sure that local market really matters all that much on a 25 year old car. NADA shows the same high retail value (just under $4500) whether searching with my zip or an Owensboro zip.

So by NADA standards, it's only $3,500 overpriced.

Vanilla Ice

30 days for a summer car on market in winter is no big deal. If it doesn't sell in March it's overpriced.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

I think its worth $5500. Nice car but I doubt it brings 8k.

Jason E

Its too bad so many V8s had TBI, and so many TPIs were small cammed autos with 2.73/2.77 rears. After owning my mint 86 TA TPI with 2.77s for 2 years, and enjoying the smoothness but rolling my eyes every time I floored it and it literally didn't pull at all past 4,000 RPMs, it limits my enthusiasm for so many I see for sale.

One thing I will say about TBI...its pretty much dead reliable. The only third gen I've ever owned that idled smooth and never threw a check engine light was my 91 RS TBI.