Don Christensen

My 69 year old wife drives the 89' Formula 5.7 that my brother bought new 31 years ago. She used to drive it all over Texas, but then one day she ran over some debris and got a flat. The inflatable spare was used, and it got her home safely. But the spare has long since dry rotted.

She is now afraid to take her Bird out of town, despite the fact the it has all new tires, and is uber-reliable. What kind of spare tire and rim can i buy that will give her her freedom back.

Thanks in advance

ironwill

A 5th factory rim/stock-size tire is the only logical choice.

A better question might be who would be doing the tire change in the event of another flat? If you don't already have one, I suggest purchasing a 'roadside assistance' plan of some sort such as what AAA offers. Some of the large car insurance companies also sell such additions to their policies. That way, you'll both have some peace of mind when she's out cruising.


BTW, good on her for being involved with 3rd gens to the point where she drives one; I can't even get my wife to ride in mine!

Don Christensen

Thanks for the prompt reply, Ironwill. And for the added concern... Yes, she does have AAA, so that problem i solved. Now we just need to know where to buy a factory spare tire.

Since you brought it up, her car is a daily driver, and it immaculate. She teaches Music at two local universities, and parks among the Camaros, Mustangs and Chargers at both schools. They love her car!

I only get to drive it when it needs washing or attenion. Her music friend Sharla drives a ZO-6 Vette, and their cars give them instant 'street cred' with students young and old.

Now it we can just find that spare...

Whitebird75

Have you looked into a 2004-06 GTO Spare? or a fourth Gen Spare?

pg29

While it isn't usually the case in my experience, Hawks seems to have some available for a reasonable price, albeit used. It's listed for a 98-02 Firebird/ Trans Am, this will fit your wife's thirdgen as well.

https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/98-...e-kit-16-used/

Don Christensen

To clarify, we do not want a full sized spare, just a small tire to get her down the road to either a tire store, or home.

Thanks to all of those who replied. We ordered one from Hawks Motorsports this morning.

Don Christensen

The spare tire from Hawk's arrived yesterday afternoon. It's the one listed for a 98-02 Firebird/ Trans Am. They sell it with a jack and everything for $125 shipped, but i told them to keep the jack, so they dropped the price to $100. The rubber on the skinny spare looks pretty good. Aired it up and checked it for leaks.

When she went to choir practice, i drove it around to my shop. The tire is about 1.5 inches shorter than the tires on her Formula. It fits well on the back, and i drove it for one mile, with no noise in the posi. Fits the front also, but is not balanced and shakes above 35 mph. I did a spin test, and the tire is not out of round.

Only drawback is that it would not fit perfectly into the spare tire well. So i got a one pound hammer and slowly streched out the bottom of the tire well for about 3/4". Fits perfectly now and all the trim is nicely buttoned up again.

Special thanks to pg29 and others who helped with this!! And thanks to the nice folks at Hawks Motorsports. I was not aware that Hawk's makes goodies for Cadillac CTS-V's. Will be buying more stuff from them in the future......

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

So funny I bought my car new 31 years ago, same thing, 1989 Formula 350 and I was wondering what people are doing about spares as well!