A friend of mine is currently looking to buying a 3rd gen advertised in the paper. He looked at it once before...the owner says that is a Formula, but he had removed all the exterior badging for a cleaner look. He doesn't know if it is a Formula for sure..and I'm not really sure what to look for either to determine if it is in fact a Formula either. I believe its either an '88 or an '89...so if someone could tell me some tell-tale signs of whether it is or isn't (any RPO codes??) I'd appreciate it.. thanks

 

basically it'll look like yours
it'll lack the ground fx and low front bumper seen on a trans am and gta, and from the front and sides you should be able to see the air dam that feeds air to the engine bay unless his got ripped off somewhere

 

lol, well i know that... :P

like I said, i wasn't too sure exactly which year it is, so im just wondering if there are any changes made within the few years around '88. Is there an RPO code I can check? TIA

 

I think the formulas got the "power buldge" hood and a different looking rear....and as far as I know, most got TPI so check for that too...RPO code LB9 or L98..if it was built with TPI, then I'd say it is safely a formula....if your still in doubt, you can always check the RPO decoder on this site..

 

Carfax, my VIN showed it up as a Z28, and one guy in the past ran a VIN, and it came up as a Formula 350 on the Carfax report?

 

The Formula RPO is W66

 

Also look for WS6 suspension, all Formulas had it.

 

When I bought mine it was also stripped of the decals, but the best things to look for are the 16" wheels, rap around spoiler, cowl hood, no GFXs, and I think they only put 350s in TAs and formulas. And of course the vin #.

 

Not true, I've seen 305's in Formulas, the 350s have a Formula 350 decal on the door (same spot as the IROC Z on Camaros) but since there's no decals, check the VIN.

 

A guy at one of my autozone store meetings had what looked to be a formula, but then he pulled up next to me, popped the hood and it was a 2.8L! Is that possible? It had the suspension, decals on the doors, wraparound wing, hood, and the paint looked factory.

 

I wish you were right man. I really do.......

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Couldnt have said it better myself, Redbird.

My 88 Formula's got 305 and TBI. So definately dont base your decision on if its got TPI or not.

Also I have an open rear and brake drums in the rear. So dont judge based on that.

You should however look for the 16 inch rims, wrap around spoiler, no ground effects, and the bulge hood. I am pretty sure that they came with 245/50/r16 rubber as well. But there's no telling how many times they've been changed.

HTH ...

KZad