zombienerd

Hello folks!

Been posting for the past week or so, while I waited to pick up my new car. Finally picked it up tonight!

1982 Pontiac Firebird Base V6 with 3955 Original miles. (Just added that 55 tonight driving home)

It has Vinyl Seats (Pretty sure they're vinyl, but they feel leather-ish), Power Windows/Locks/Driver Seat, Has the cargo cover with a keylock, the gas cap has a keylock as well (not sure if it was factory, but it looks it)

The exterior is in 8/10 condition. It's a 20 footer for sure. It was owned by an old lady in NY, and has some battle scars for sure. Both fender tips have been dented/previously repaired, and dented again :P The passenger side mirror has a dent in the top. There's some chips, and a few scratches as well, but from 20 feet, she looks perfect.

Engine looks brand new, as does the interior and undercarriage. I'll be posting some good hi-res pictures tomorrow, but I'll toss a few up here from the sale ad.

So far, there are only two issues.

1) Tires - I don't think they're original, but they're definitely dated, as they are starting to crack on the sidewalls and around the tread blocks. I don't think they're balance either, as I was getting some good vibrations on the drive home.

2) Carburetor / Fuel Filter/pump - The car pulls well as it should, but at 75MPH if the throttle is down hard, she starts bucking pretty good, definitely a fuel issue. I'm going to replace the filters tomorrow, and put some cleaner in with the gas, if it doesn't clear up, I'll rebuild the carb.


Plans for the car include a new audio system (already purchased), a performance upgrade (Cam, intake, carb, headers, possibly replace the crank) in the next 6-8 months, and eventually a KITT front bumper, scanner, and turbo-cast wheels. I don't think I'll go for the dash or electronics, as I love the interior the way it is, but who can honestly have a black 82 bird without thinking of the bumper?

Got the car for right around the NADA "Average" retail for the car, so I don't think I overpaid too much at $7000.

So, without further ado, here's a few pics the PO shot of the car, I'll post some nice Hi-res shots tomorrow.

zombienerd

A few more pics

zombienerd

Here's some good hi res pics I shot today. Got the new Head unit in, as well as the dash speakers. Still need to install the 6x9's in the sail panels, and the subwoofer under the passenger seat (if it will fit)

zombienerd

zombienerd

In the last two pics, you can see the "Old school" security system. I don't think it works right, as when I tried to push the lock cylinder in, it started the air-horn alarm.. Woah, is it loud!

You'll also notice on the head unit picture that the install kit that Crutchfield sent, I can't screw down the face plate on the bottom, the darned thing sticks out too far. I'm going to have to call my guy and find out if they can send me a better one. It's about 1/16" too thick, and I don't want to break my face plate.

midias

Ohhh a ravelco system have not seen one of those in a LONG time

http://www.ravelco.com/

T/A

Wow! very nice! I like that cover you have for "the abyss" is it original?

zombienerd

I'm guessing you're talking about the cargo area cover thingy... Yeah, it's factory, has a keylock that uses the door key. The little smuggler's hold on the left side also has a keylock that uses the door key.

zombienerd

Dear god, after reading what that is... I'm not too sure I like that in my car lol.. It's as good as a "Wire randomization system" when it comes to troubleshooting electrical problems

midias

A wire randomizer that uses all the same color wire

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Hi - do you want to sell the dash pad? Just kidding - good luck with it.
BTW - do yourself a favor and install that radio trim correctly. They are extremely fragile, and hard to find in good shape.

kymmee

Very nice! I've seen the car for sale several different places recently. I also have a base V-6 1982 bird. You have me beat on the mileage though, mine has 22k. I have the more stripped down model, no power stuff, but i have the PMD seats.

The cars are not real fast off the line, kind of have to wind up and then after 40mph the V-6 cruises pretty good. Your carb may need rebuilt. I had mine done and it made a big difference.

zombienerd

Yeah, after a while on the phone with crutchfield, I ended up modifying the installation kit a bit, and it now sits flush like it should. The fascia is now sitting properly

OdieTurbo

iTrader: (1)

Sweet! Man, it makes me rethink buying my '82 Berlinetta - it was in pretty rough condition. Yours looks great though!

kitt_me

iTrader: (3)

Beautiful car indeed

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

WOW so weird seeing a thirdgen with wire hubcaps haha, but unique nonetheless! Now just imagine that thing with a crazy LS powerplant under the hood while keeping the exterior totally stock, down to the wire hubcaps... now THAT would be a sleeper!

zombienerd

I thought they looked pretty goofy when I first saw them lol.. But I looked it up, and they are an Original cap for the car. I don't know what GM was thinking, but now that I've been looking at them for a week, I kinda like them lol. They have locks under the center caps as well, and came with a special little tool to take them off. I find it hard to believe that thieves used to steal hubcaps.

One of them is missing a center cap, and they're pretty darned hard to find alone. I found a source for the whole hubcap with the center cap, but it's $100.

I'm thinking in the near future, I'm going to get some stainless steel "Full Moons" and paint them black, kinda like a faux bowling ball look. I'll photoshop it up before I do it though, don't want something that looks horrible.

JTS

Nice Car!!!! You might want to put new tires at the top of the list. I had some questionable tires on a suburban that were cracked how you described and had this happen to me on the freeway. This was the left front tire and it felt like the tires were not balanced before it blew...was acting like that for a couple days now that I think about it. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast at the time so I didn't lose control of the vehicle...and I had already replaced the rear wheels/tires.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Beautiful car, it's survived way too long to be modded and turned into a cheesy Kitt replica. If left stock, I guarantee you get more looks than any GTA/IROC at any car show, bar none.

zombienerd

Already done New rubber went on the day after I brought it home. The Uniroyal tires shown in the first post were from 1992. You'll see in the newer pics that the tires are different. The ride home was shaky, for sure. It felt like they were all unbalanced.

When I had them changed out, the tire shop could barely get the old tires off the rim, they had so much armor-all on them, the tools kept slipping off as they tried to remove them.

zombienerd

In some ways I agree, however, it is not a perfect survivor. The pictures make it look a lot better than it is from 3 feet away. Both front fenders have damage at the front end, the passenger side is rippled, and starting to rust, the driver's side has been bondo'd and it's cracking. There are several decent dings in the car that stand out pretty good when the light hits it right. Body work is high on the list to make it right, and my body man quoted me 3 grand to make it perfect.

I'm thinking the car may have been completely resprayed before, as there is orange peel (and some cracking) on the driver's door, and orange peel on the rear hatch, although it could have very well come from the factory like that.

I wasn't thinking of doing a full KITT replica, either. I just kinda like the scanner look, and it's not that big of a change from stock, imo. And even that would be at least a year from now, as I sank most of my play money for the year into getting the car in the first place.

I understand your concern, and I am a purist at heart. Everything that I remove from my vehicles gets saved, and I never modify a part I can't restore to original later. If I'm going to cut something, I buy a new/used one and cut that one, saving the original piece.

I can be pretty quick to make decisions that I end up regretting, and I learned that early on, so now I prevent myself from self ***-kicking later

kymmee

Dont let the paint fool you. If it is a Van Nuys car, the 82 cars have horrible paint jobs. I am the 2nd owner of mine and know the orig owner, so my paint is original. It has spider cracking and checking on the hood and hatch and a few spots on the driver door. Like yours, it looks great from 10 feet away, but up close not so good.

I would encourage you to keep it original. Most of the 82 base cars and V-6's were trashed or motors were swapped. I have changed nothing on mine, just maintenance and cleaning. I did put turbo fin rims on it, as the orig were hubcaps called "rally v wheels", but I have them in a safe place.

zombienerd

3 Month Update

I have her up to 4600 miles now. Just some weekend cruising and grocery runs.

I've done a little work on it here and there. Recharged the A/C (I was surprised to see it was already retrofitted to R-134), and it's blowing cold again.

I've had the air cleaner off to inspect the carburetor, it looks like I'm not the first one to have done it. The electric choke thermostat has been replaced, and the PO obviously didn't do it right. The thermostat was disconnected, and when I reconnect the wire, the Choke light stays illuminated. I've got the service manual, so when I get up the guts, I'm going to pull off the carb for a rebuild, and fix the coil alignment. It's really annoying to stall out trying to take off from a red light.

Everything else seems to still work great. It's awesome to have a "brand new" classic. Now if I can just save up 3 grand for some body work to make it perfect.

2007xl50

Cool car for sure, but if I was going to spend $7k on a third gen it would be a TA, GTA or IROC. If you like it that is all that matters and it sure is a neat car.

zombienerd

I can understand that point. I looked at quite a few 3rds after seeing this one on Autotrader. Many were in great shape and lower price, and had the V8's.

The thing that sold me on the car was it's PERFECT interior and low mileage. Where else can you get a 4000 mile car for 7 grand? Nowhere. Sure, I'm probably still going to put 2-3k into it making the body perfect, but even at 10k, it's still a steal.

It's a great looking car, I love the body style, and even a stripped down model is better than getting a Hyundai or Kia

I was comforted by the NADA website that listed the value at $9000+ for a perfect specimen V6, and the average at $7000. I figured somewhere in between for this one was fair.

2007xl50

Like i said cool car, and I do like the simple looks of the 82-was not ******* the car. BTW bring your car out and try to run with my Kia and then you can let me know what the rear end looks like from way far away. hell my Kia will smoke my TA in every way.

midias

I think the only car an auto 2.8 firebird can beat is an auto 2.5L firebird.

2007xl50

I will agree 100%. My buddy had an 82 Bird 2.8 auto about 9 years ago and it was slower than slow. he got the car for free, we beat on it for a month and then he sold it for $500.00. The car was loaded, PMD seats, bowling ball wheels, but all the caps were missing. Car was kinda rough for only 80K miles, but most stuff worked and it was a T-top car. It's like someone ordered a TA, buit with a 2.8 LOL!

SweetRevelation

nice car.