JohnJacobs

Hey guys Ive been a browser of third gen for some amount of years now and a heavy browser this past couple months since I am now 18 with a job and its always been my dream to own a third gen and project 3.4 camaros thread "how to get the most power out of your v6" is actually what made me decide to get a v6 as i had always been set on a v8 so about a month ago i finally found a good one on craigslist ( i had found a couple in good condition and drove out with cash in hand and although i REALLY REALLY wanted to buy the ones i checked out i knew that if u waited the third gen ive been dreaming about would eventually show up and it did) i found a 1985 2.8 v6 firebird they were asking 1700 and i got it for 1060 (all the cash i had) and i am now a proud owner of a third gen i got my dream car for my first car! She had an oil leak so (with the help of my stepdad) we replaced the valve cover gaskets and intake manifold gaskets and now no more leaking! Then my car dies on me at work( im a dominos delivery driver) so it turns out its the alternator so i replace that and shes dies again so i replaced the battery and shes running strong my only two problems now (yesterday i went to the junk yard an pulled a lock rod out of a camaro and got new locks so i can actually lock my car now! In the process lubricated the driver window gear bc it was grinding and now it rolls up and down smoothly so now my only two problems are i need to put the speedometer gear in i have the part just dont know how and cant find anything online about it an i also have an exhaust leak -srry about the somewhat jumbled long post im just excited and my ADD is showing lol its great to finally be a part of third gen!

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to TGO! Its a great place to show off your ride, learn about it, and get help with problems that arise.

irocwagon

Congrats on your bird...I'd probally tip you if you delivered my pizza in a third gen but not in a civic

JohnJacobs

I took this pic right when i purchased her shes got a nice paint job just needs a little bit of interior work, the exhaust leak fixed (il probably just go ahead and get aftermarket headers and replace the exhaust altogether) and a new trunk emblem but overall a great car fun to drive and my dream car! Shes a little sluggish at first but once i get into third gear she accelerates pretty quickly i have an automatic but i feel like shes a manual bc i have to shift with the pedal (anyone know why that is?) i have to lift my foot up almost completely to hit that sweet spot that allows her to shift otherwise she jus revs up real high also have any of u replaced the speedometer gear? I really cant find anywhere how to replace it in a 700r4 thanks for the quick responses and warm welcomes btw

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Well at WOT(wide open throttle) the car will shift at about 5500 rpm in each gear give or take 300 rpm with that 700r4.

Also there is a TV cable on our 7004r trannys. Sometimes its a good thing to go and reset the cable. Its pretty easy to do and only takes about 2 minuets. If its not adjusted right it can really mess up a 700r4 and also have funky shift points. Heres a link for that.
http://sethirdgen.org/tvcable.htm
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...verifying.html


As for the speeddo gear. Its pretty straight forward, not terribly bad to do. Here's a link.
http://sethirdgen.org/vss.htm

JohnJacobs

Thanks alot fasteddi i couldnt find a link for the speedo gear anywhere

project89

iTrader: (1)

nice looking car and i really like those rims.
would look even cleaner if u had the tires turned around so the white lettering on the tires wasnt showing

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Best trick is using google as the search engine. Just type in what you are looking for and then add "thirdgen" after it or "V6 thirdgen." That is the best way I found to search for stuff.

JohnJacobs

I never thought about turning the tires around but now that u mention it it would look nicer i also am missing one of the ARE rim caps i havent been able to find one unless i buy a whole new set of rims i also cant find the trunk emblem but il try searching third gen trunk emblem and see if it helps

JohnJacobs

Sweet i found the trunk emblem

JohnJacobs

For anyone else looking for the trunk emblem its $35 http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/pr...m%2C-Gold.html

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

nice looking ride, but if it were me, i would leave the white letters out, i always liked the look of them out

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

With the right car I always like white letter tires

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Thats pretty clean, would make a good candidate for a drivetrain swap of some kind. I've always thought the 3.6L V6 out of the 5th gen camaro with the 6spd would make a great swap into a thirdgen.

Then again, I like oddball swaps that still perform well.

A decent PDR guy could probably get that door ding out of the car pretty easy.

If the paint is that clean, did you check the floor pans? Sometimes paint that clean is due to a repaint, and there is rot underneath. Other times its just is that clean.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Search eBay for your center cap. There are a lot of them on there, but I can't seem to find the right one for my rims (of which I have seen exactly 2 sets and one single rim in 10 years now).

Lose the crappy rear wing and put the right one on there. Along with the phony useless hood scoops.

Start with a FULL tune up (plugs, wires, cap and rotor, ALL FILTERS, ALL NEW FLUIDS). And check your belts.

Speedo gear:

Jack car up. Look under the car where the driveshaft goes into the transmission tail and you will see where the speedo cable goes into the cable drive. Remove cable from drive and remove drive from trans with 10mm socket. Gear will either be a single nylon piece or a nylon gear on a steel shaft. And you will probably a, need to replace the o-ring on the outside of the speedo cable drive, and b, lose some trans fluid.

project89

iTrader: (1)

ur car looks good with the white letters out , it always depends on the car/color and wheels

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

wow, way to bash the guys first car

Rainmaster

Here's what my Bird looks like with the white letter tires.

JohnJacobs

I agree with getting the right spoiler but the hood scoops are rivets so id have to get it filled in, repainted, etc the ARE rim cap im looking for isnt on ebay or some of the other sites that ive checked and it looks like a dent on the driver door in that pic but really its just my reflection although there is a small dent on the passenger side at the front fender right in front of the tire

project89

iTrader: (1)

i wouldnt worry about the hood scoops from what i can see they look decent
and its not that much different from the ram air hood u can buy

and hell if u like the spoiler lelave that to , it ur car all that matters is if u like it who cares what anyone else thinks

just as long as u dont put lil 100 spoke 14 inch gold daytons or something like 24 inch rims on it lol

JohnJacobs

Theres quite a bit i want to do looks wise mostly the interior but first i need to get her running good and then performance mods before looks as for being rotted underneath i do have 2 or 3 rust spots smaller than a dime

project89

iTrader: (1)

i like it i always have a soft spot for the older 80's style wheels on theese cars , they just look like they belong on the car for the most part

my iroc is sporting a set of old school 80's solid dish centerline wheels

JohnJacobs

I like the rims she came with but am thinking about putting 78 red bird rims on there i can add pics if u dont know what they look like a guy down the road from me are selling them for 400 with all center caps on goo condition too

JohnJacobs

I was gonna get the ram air hood but its a grand vs making it ram air myself for a hell of alot cheaper

DiabolicalRS

just my 2 cents you should try and make the hood functional by cutting smooth nice lines in the scoops

JohnJacobs

Id definently need some help to do that

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

The wing is sorta close to what's on the back of my 89 , Could it be a wing that did come from one of these but was reworked somehow ?

I'll enclose a crappy cell phone pic of my wing for example .

PS , I know my tail lights aren't "model year correct" , I just liked the look of em better than the actual 89 ones .

JohnJacobs

It does look similar maybe mine was just raised?

JohnJacobs

Better pics of the spoiler

JohnJacobs

Better pic of my car overall

JohnJacobs

Definently not the same spoiler mine curves in the middle

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

The spoiler isn't even close to what's supposed to be there, for one, and for 2, those hood scoops really should go. If you want a RAII look, get the hood and the matching air box underneath. The scoops totally detract from the clean lines of the hood and will never look decent without a ton of sheet metal work to the hood or a ton of body filler to blend the edges in.

IMO, those hood scoops are almost as bad as those roof scoops you see on Jap junker cars. And they have the same point... There isn't one. Yes, I know, I have the 91-92 Z28 scoops on my hood, but at least those were factory...

But, it is your car...

And get those tiny rust spots fixed ASAP... Trust me, little spots of rust become BIG problems later. And no, body filler over them isn't going to cut it...

JohnJacobs

The rai with the air box is gonna set me back another grand although id love to do it its not that big of a deal for me right now ive got an exhaust leak that needs to be fixed and the rai would probably be one of the last things i do performance wise the rust spots on the other hand i should probably get checked out before it gets worse i have no idea how much thats gonna cost me tho

Gumby

The re

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

Let me add that if this cable comes loose, it will frustrate you to the point of blowing the car up. I've done this 5 time now. Terrible design, trans just about has to come out to get it back in properly.


That's awesome you are enjoying the V6. Do a 3.4 swap, its super worth it. While I can't say I'm happy with mine, over the last 4 years its been a good motor, just severely underpowered. I honestly believe that if GM gave these motors another 100 HP N/A they could be a great motor. The weight ratio for auto-x is so much better than iron block V8 cars, mine corners like a dream. An extra 100HP and a 5 speed would make all the difference in enjoyability and happiness for me.

The 3.4 swap is super easy and a lot of us have done it put a shift kit in that 700R if you are planning on keeping it. They are slow on 2-3 shifts in my experience. The V6 section of the board is more helpful than the others you'll find. Not a whole bunch of my dick is bigger than yours posts around here.

My opinion on that swap is by the time you spent all the money for a 3.6 swap, you'll wish you had a LS1 because all your friends spent the money on LS swaps and are faster than you.

That's just how I feel about it. Nothing wrong with the 3.6, I just don't feel its worth the money.

BiggTipp7

man if you like the scoops and wing I would leave it..... I personally don't think they look bad I would just make them functional

JohnJacobs

For the 3.4 swap i just need the block and fuel injectors right?

TheEndofanEra

And gaskets, IIRC. There's a thead on here about doing a 3.4 long block swap boogie

Nice 'bird by the way

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

Pretty much. You need the long block, and 3.1 or 3.4 injectors. They are the same.

If you haven't done it yet in a couple months I'll sell you my entire 3.4 swap. All new sensors, gaskets, and accessories. I'm going V8 soon.

OdieTurbo

iTrader: (1)

You'll also need a new tune programmed in to keep your fuel mileage. They tend to run a bit rich after the swap

JohnJacobs

Thanks (;

JohnJacobs

Oh that would be perfect as i need to save up the cash for that could u give me a price? Or is that against rules?

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

This, mine runs rich for sure.
Its a previously rebuilt motor, with something like 90k miles on it. For the complete motor I'd want somewhere between 300-500 bucks. Everything on the motor is new, gaskets, accessories and sensors.

JohnJacobs

Cool let me know when ur ready to sell dont worry il still be around in a couple months and will mos def be asking questions when putting it in as im not a pro yet like u guys

JohnJacobs

So since i have an exhaust leak i figure im going to go ahead and redo exhaust and headers what setup would u guys recommend? The only headers ive really seen would be the pacesetter ones and im thinking something like dynomax cat back but if you guys know of a better setup lemme know!

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

Its super simple if you have a basic knowledge of how to work on your car.
Heads for these cars are very expensive, you'll spend 200-400 on them if bought new.

As far as mufflers go I bought mine from the junkyard. Looks to be a Flowmaster and I like how it sounds. I'd post a sound clip but I snapped the intermediate pipe in two because my car rides so low.

JohnJacobs

Ive got cherry bomb on there now but idk how much its gonna cost for the leak if its cheap well i guess il just get it repaired but if its almost the same as getting all new well might as well go all new

JohnJacobs

My car also came with the spectre cai i dont know much about spectre and was thinking about changing it out to k&n but if its not much different il jus leave the spectre any of u have this intake under the hood?

JohnJacobs

Yeah they are quite expensive u know anywhere u could get good used ones?

Jeffs82TA

iTrader: (1)

looks like a fiero spoiler