Good morning all, I'm new to this board and currently live in Coolidge, AZ. I'm picking up an 88 Firebird project car (pic below). 305 TBI, 700R4, the usual. I'm an active member of several other automotive related message boards including: NastyZ28, 5thGen.org, Challengertalk, Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts, and Tucsonmoparclub. I'm "Devryn" pretty much everywhere. My real name is Josh. I'm a 28 year old Air Force Veteran. I currently work for a County government (hopefully I'll get a contractor job in Kuwait soon). I've had a few project cars in the last 15 years or so all Fbodies except 1: 78 Camaro, 79 Z28, 77 Type LT, 86 IROC, and a 70 something Monza. I hope to make the 'bird a Pro-Touring type car. I'd like to do the power tour in 5 years. My first obsession with cars was the third gen 'birds. There was this red 89 Formula 350 for sale at the Blockbuster in SV when I was a kid (owned by Angie) that I absolutely drooled over constantly. When I turned 18 and sold the car my parents gave me for graduation (a 90 Taurus Wagon...yeah...I know) I looked everywhere for a GTA, TA, or Formula that I could afford, to no avail. I ended up with a 78 Camaro, and have fond memories of that POS. That car got me into the world of cars and learning to do my own work, and for that I'm greatful. I've owned a number of 2nd gens, and one other 3rd gen. I can't wait to get going on this 88. Hopefully it'll be drool worthy in a couple of years. That's about it. I'm an open kinda guy, so if you have any questions, just ask. And, if you hear about a TA wrap around spoiler for sale anywhere, shoot me a PM. That'll be my first purchase. Cars I've owned since I could drive: 90 Taurus 78 Camaro 84 Citation 85 Celebrity 01 Kia Rio 86 IROC 79 Z29 77 Type LT 00 S-10 Xtreme 03 Corolla 04 RAM Hemi Quad Cab

For the GTA wraparound spoiler, I'd order one from Hawks in fiberglass. It'll last a lot longer than a used factory one.

I completely agree. Also it will "Hold it's shape" better and not warp. I am currently searching for the 91-92 "Aero-wing".
My 85 T/A is going pro-touring and will be in the hot rod power tour eventually as well as the fall 2010 silver state classic.

OH, And welcome to TGO!

Welcome to this site. The spoiler is a very hard item to come by from here. We do have a bunch of other parts to help you out with if you need. I have 2 Tuned Port Injection systems for sale right now, if you decide to change up the fuel system. Jason (drknow90rs_ss@y) and I do a lot of things together, especially working on our cars. We just finished rebuilding a 355 for Soocrispy today. Curious to hear it running in the next few days. I have some other engine parts that might help too. What else are you in need of? Maybe we can help.

Thanks for the reply and welcome. My major issue right now is electrical. It has a new battery, and I put a reman'd alternator from Pep Boys in it yesterday, and it still won't hold a charge. The alternator may be bad, so I plan on pulling it back off today and having it tested.

Oh, there is a bracket that holds the alternator on that is broken. I'll take pics later today. It doesn't seem to effect too much, but I'd like to replace it.

Let's see...What other things have I noticed in the 24 hours or so since I've had it:
-I haven't crawled underneath, but I think it's leaking power steering pump fluid. It MAY be oil, but it is coming from right under the pump.
-Domelight doesn't work
-Someone did a hack job on the stereo and it doesn't work
-The button on the dash doesn't do anything (I can't tell what it's supposed to do...but I think it's for the hatch)
-It needs a new nose
-It needs tires in a bad way
-I need a gear for the left headlamp motor
-It may have a bent control arm or rod. The guy I bought it from slammed the right front into a curb and now the alignment on that side is way off.
-It needs a nose cone
-It needs the stuff that holds the bulb for the plate light.
-It needs seats in a bad way.
-Oil pressure gauge doesn't appear to work.
-It has an exhaust leak on the drivers side
-Its "painted" in what looks like do it yourself bed liner (that should be fun to remove).

I've thought about switching to TPI, but before I do, I want to build up a 350 block. Anybody know anything about the heads on this 88 305 TBI? Do they breath well enough for a 350?

They are a little restrictive, but are not bad. I have 305 heads on my 350 right now. It boosts the compression a bid because of the smaller combustion chamber. Are you wanting a flat tappet cam or roller cam? The block you choose can help in this area. I just got my new block back from machine shop and it's going to sit until I get my heads ported and polished with bigger valves installed. If you want, you can get a 350 block from pick-n-pull at Chandler and 56th Street. That's where I got mine. Wednesday and Saturday are half off days, so turns into little Mexico, but go early and scout it out the day before. Get there early so you can get an engine hoist and be able to get to the engine you want. Try to find a core to bring in. The engine will be about $80 with a core. I have seen trucks and vans there with 350s, so that would be your best bet. Trucks have 4-bolt mains and vans have 2-bolt mains. That should help you get started.

For the rest of this stuff, this yard may help you find everything else you may need. Some west siders can chime in with what they find on the west side.

Thats awesome. I had no idea there was a pick n pull in Chandler like that. I will definately be heading there in the next couple of months.

Yeah, Pick-n-pull is the best/cheapest place to go for motors. Plus lots of other parts. How does the paint job feel? By that, I mean, does it feel like primer? It looks like "Rat rod black" to me.

It's textured and thick. I'm 99% sure it's bedliner.

I'm still having the charging issue. The alternator tested great. The battery was bad, but they replaced it. It still only hovers just above the danger zone on the guage.

Sounds like a wire issue.

If you have a bad ground anywhere in your system it is gonna drain the hell out of your battery. The alternator could be shorting to ground or even a bad ground at/ on your battery.

I agree with that. Check all your grounds.

Well it looks like this weekend I'm going to break down and just pull the motor and start stripping the car. It'll be easier to get the wiring issue worked out that way. Also, there seems to be an oil leak, possible tranny leak, and power steering leak. I will also have the chance to paint the engine bay and make it look since it looks like crap warmed over now. May also start stripping the interior of the car. See if there are any power wires under the carpet that were cut and are contacting the body. Wish me luck, pictures galore this weekend, I'm sure.

Sounds like you are gonna have a fun weekend.. I have a feeling with my heads being bad.. that i to am gonna pull my motor this weekend or here in the near future and just redo the engine to my liking. but anyways Have fun and good luck with the wiring..

Thank you. Good luck to you as well. Maybe I'll go ahead and throw a 350 blocked underneath the top end before I reinstall. :P

I would! If you are going to have the motor out, you're halfway there (Labor-wise)!!!

Look what arrived today!

What are they?

GM service manual for 88 Pontiac Firebird.

OH!! Ok, I have those for my camaros, but they arent red, LOL!!

Those are really good to have.

Welcome to the site, I dont post often here. Though it
says Phoenix is my name plate, I reign in Mesa.. Im sneaky!

Good luck with your project!

LOL, well most people know where phx is, but mesa... Mmmm... Not so much! LOL.

Haha! yea I know right, I used to throw Mesa/Tempe in there for
some kind of identification.

Hey, while I got you on, is your '85 car TPI?... Im getting a fool
made out of me over at the TPI forum. ROFL!

Yes, it was TPI. It will be single plane with twin-turbo's sort of like anesthes corvette (Found over on the alternative-port intake board) I will be using the same intake and a similar elbow (Except my elbow will face forward) to him. What are they saying on the tpi board? You always come off as very knowlegable, imo!

This guy with a '85 IROC is having a hard start issue, I try to trouble
shoot his fuel pump operation.. and the story goes on, the thread completely
owned me in everyway.

EPIC fail whether im right or wrong anyway, hahaha!

Sorry Devryn, please excuse my nonsense.

Yeah, I went looking for that earlier and didnt find it. Most IROC's were TPI in 85 but a few (I think 850 or so) were carb'd.

I seem to have gotten some fire support!
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tp...fuel-pump.html (fuel pump?)

I think you gave sound advice!!

Thank you, thank you very much ^ ^

lol, love it!!