acole88

Well, first off, I'm going to introduce myself. This is my first post on this forum as I'm new to third generation Firebirds.

I bought a 1984 Trans Am about a month ago and have been working away at it since. From what I have seen, I would say it is in rather nice shape for it's age. It is a t-top car and the floors are 100% solid. It has 103,000kms, automatic transmission, 5L 4BLL, power locks, power windows, power seats, a/c, and is red with black trim. The car also has what I have heard called the "aero package".

The car needs things that are typical of it's age. I'm replacing the lock switches, power antenna, hatch shocks, drivers door handle, headliner, t-roof center plate, and shift cable. The passenger fender, front valence, passenger ground effect, and rear quarter ground effect all need replaced due to the previous owner running over something.

The car came with an aftermarket fender to replace the damaged one on the car. However, right away, I noticed the new fender had no hole for the antenna. I tried fitting it anyways, but it wasn't a very nice fit and left a 3/4" gap between the fender and the door no matter what I did. I mean, I've used aftermarket panels before and I know they don't usually yield the best results, but you are usually able to at least MAKE them fit. Any idea what fender I have? I was assuming that all fenders between 1982 and 1992 were interchangeable but now I'm second guessing myself. On the same note, what years interchange as far as the fender vents and ground effects? From what I've been reading, it seems as if only parts from between 1982 and 1984 will fit my car. Of course, by "parts", i mean ground effects and fender vents. Seems as if cars between 1982 and 1984 have a rather unique trim package.

Thanks.

eightTfourTA

iTrader: (3)

Hello, welcome. I'm really no expert when it comes to body stuff, but I recently did have to search for parts for my car and learned a little during the time. I'm kind of a junkyard dog when it comes to this stuff, so I don't know what's going on with your aftmkt fender. You're right about the early trim package, it's pretty much proprietary to these 82-84 cars. I have seen other 82-84's that had the later gfx and bumpers mounted on them, the early stuff is kinda scarce. The fenders, judging by what I found in the junkyards during my search, should be interchangeable between years with some modification; I have an '85 TA pass. fender on the car pictured in my sig. However, these post-84 fenders will have different mounting holes for the gfx because they're mounted higher. Those would need to be filled and the proper ones drilled down low where they would need to be. The 91 and 92 TA's didn't use the fenders with vents so you're limited to 82-90 for fenders. Also, there were two gfx trim packages on the 82-84 cars, one was small that just had accent panels on the corners, and the other the wraparound like you and I have. On my driver's side I ended up getting a fender off an '82 that had those small accent gfx, and I had to drill different holes on that, too. I much would have rather had the proper fenders in the first place, but to find one that's not damaged beyond repair and/or rusted out was pretty tough.

acole88

Could anyone tell me for sure whether this car would have the side skirts and front & rear valences I'm looking for? This car is a 1983 and mine's a 1984. I have a feeling that the car in the ad is just a base model Firebird and won't have the "aero" package I'm looking for.

eightTfourTA

iTrader: (3)

Looks like someone tacked on a front valence from another 83-84 gfx car, but I don't see any other pieces on there. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like there may be an S/E badge on the sail panel.

acole88

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. Also, if you look at the fender badge where it would normally say "Trans Am", there is clearly a "Firebird" emblem. I just wasn't sure if the car had the ground effects I was looking for or not. Like you said, you can tell it has the front valence, but I wasn't sure about the sideskirts either.
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Really, it's only three pieces that I need. So maybe I should just track them down individually. I need the front valence, passenger side skirt, and the piece that wraps around to the back of the car from the passenger side rear wheel.