The fact that I have to rebuild the whole car from the ground up because of the (severe) abuse endured at the hands of it's previous owners

 

The only thing that I dont like about third gens is that it is the only generation where GM made the 2.5 IRON DUKE 4 cylinder as a standard engine for the sport coupe camaro and firebird!!! But please dont be offended 2.5l third gen owners!!! Just sharing my opinion.

 

I hate the white trash sterotype. Also I really hate the rear end ratios these cars came with. 2.77's for a 350 come on now.



BTW- Im pretty sure the the l03 puts down around 120-130 hp to the wheels. Not an l03 expert so someone correct me if im wrong.

 

i have a 84'bird. i hate the headliner sagging, the rust problems, door hinge issues, 2.8l engine, hard to work on(engine cramped). but it has a lot of good points like chick magnet. also hard to find parts.

 

what i dont like about mine is
-the passenger side power window dont work
-rear carpet in the trunk well is all cut up
-no a/c
-starts and idles rough when first started
-crappy paint it looks newer but someone just painted over the bubble rust and its pealing off
-it sits real low to the ground i call it a low rider
-crappy tires
-brakes or master cil.
-rear hatch dont pop up switch works but motor is weak
-passenger side lock is picked off and dont work
-drivers door rotted out on bottom
-both doors need weather stripping someone put tape to hold them on
-needs a headlinner just took my old one off sunday
other wise i love my car
-

 

LOL yea right on the chick magnet maybe back in the 80's when they were new

 

It seems to me that everybody is complaining about the same things, yet I have a very limited budget and have gottin' most of those "little" problems fixed. I do dislike the design of the windshield and A pillar. When it rains you can't even crack the window a little bit cause the winshield wipers send all the water into the window. Why didn't GM put a channel there so we could crack the windows when it's raining. Or at least reverse the wipers so the pass side got all the water.

That's all I've got to say.

 

That it won't start twice in a row.

 

I pretty much like everything about my 91 bird but u can never have too much power.

 

There were too many posts to go through them all so it may have already been said lol,

No drip rails .... When you open the window while raining all the water just pours in ...

 

Lol if that isnt the truth i dont know what is!!

Im 6'4 and my knees hit the dash.. but thats my problem i guess..

No Drink holders come with the car..

Exhaust Crossover pipe is a joke... Majoir restriction!

Most camaros dont have anthing on the hood but paint.. like mine.. they shouldve had the louvers on the hood, Standard for all camaros..

and is it me? or is it harder than hel* to clean the Inside of the windsheild?

My Dash has a Crack in it, Not the Pad, the dash, right next to the ERS emblem. goes all they way up.. Every 3rd gen ive seen has that problem...

Even Though i said all this bad stuff about my car... I still Love it!

 

Rattles
Squeaks
5.0L
Weak Suspension
Window Design
L.S.D.
Small Brake Rotors
110mph Cluster max reading (when v6 hondas have 145mph)
Weak Chasiss

 

Haha, I used to have a 2.5 Duke Camaro! That thing was SLOOOWWW, when I got it the spark plug wires were shot so it was runnin on 3 haha.


My Friend has the 2.77's, but I have 3.27 so I have no problem with my axle lol

Otherwise, The wind noise, creaking, rattling, ect of it drive me nuts, but love my car to death anyways

 

Not around here, a nice one is still considered really a hot car...


Things I dislike:
It's loud
It's HUGE, yet TINY
Gas mileage (Ok, it's not horrendous, but come on, 30 mpg is nice)
I want a leather interior, but I'm working on that.
I got rid of my sqeaks and leaks, so that's good.

 

Hahah! I think everyone would agree:

Can't drive it with out getting pulled over for something.

 

 

I HATE the messed up painting they used, my friggin car peels like an orange! Mind the fact its been just sitting.

 

crappy paint
cheap plastic panels
crappy stock jack and jack point locations
open rear ends
white trash BS
last but not least
!ls1

 

no cup holders
no glove compartment
heavy doors
HUGE hood and fenders
weight distribution sucks
torque arm gets in the way of a true dual setup
overheats without the front airdam
front airdam scrapes everywhere
my head can touch the roof and i'm only 5'8"
stock t-5 is weak
stock rearend is weak
not much interior upgrades, if any
passenger floor pan limits foot room
aftermarket firebird headlights are weak, not to mention the stockers
biggest rims that can be used are 9.5 inches wide
my front upgraded front swaybar rubs on 17X8 rims with only 245/45R-17 and 4.5 inch backspacing
unibody sucks
weak engine options
and almost everything on the car is heavy

wow i have a big list.. thats all the things i dont like about 3rd gens

 

I'm pissed off at my 3rd gen right now cause of the moronic former owners

There was no thermostat in it, so while putting one in, the housing bolt hole stripped out, so to drill,tap,helicoil it I gotta remove the top intake, and one of the runner bolts stripped and WILL NOT come out

The Spark Plugs were finger tight, all but 2, the wires were junk, and tons of other ghetto rigging

 

Are you referring to the crack that is part of the 82-89 dash design or is it a damage crack? I've never seen a thirdgen with the problem you describe..

 

most of what I'm reading isn't a design flaw at all but neglect. If your windows don't work, or your headliner sags then fix it. The car is 14+ years old of course there are going to be problems. I love my v6 automatic firebird. There are things I would change and will once I have the money. My car get's like 8mpg which is worse then the friggn explorer I just totaled but still, I love my firebird.

 

Your car is in HORRIBLE condition then.

That's not just bad, that's damn near unexplainable getting 8 MPG in a v6 car.

My L03 gets 25 MPG... and I thought that was bad.

 

I'm aware of that. I have a 3.4l I want to put in just need time to build it and someone to help me build it and install it.

 

I wouldn't doubt an old 2.5 or 2.8 getting terrible gas mileage. That's a lot of weight for an old weak engine to be pulling. You probably have to put the accelerator to the floor for most of your ride.

Nocturnall ... if you're going to replace the engine with a non-original, why wouldn't you put in a 305 or 350? Seriously?

 

Although I love my car, i'd like to slap the genious who designed the rubber rear spoiler with a wire frame. Who'd of expected rust problems with that bit of design, oh yes, everyone else.
The other thing I hate is i can't get a fibreglass spoiler in the Uk without forking out $400 for postage.

 

This is easy to answer.

Its in Australia, and I'm in Canada.

Sucks to be me.

 

it rattles.
it squeaks.
its an automatic.

 

No cup holders, How I survived without em all those years I'll never know!
Then again, that's the least of it's problems right now.

 

-Rattles
-Heavy doors
-Friends make fun of me for owning a Third gen
-Hood likes to stick despite how much I grease it, despite the fact the latch is in good condition and also despite the fact I put new hood shocks on there...
-Doesn't like wet pavement nor Chicago winters...I'm grateful for the beater Jeep I am able to drive during inclement conditions!

She's still my baby.

 

I agree with you on the exhaust!

I can't believe GM couldn't design a nice True daul system and that stock Y-pipe is more of a "T" than a "y".

other things are:

Body panel fit and finish
Creaks and Squeaks

Overall they're a typ. 80's and early 90's American Car.
I love em, but they just weren't built or designed as well as they could've been.

 

Cup holder isnt a problem for me. Drinks go in the car, drinks come out of the car, but unsealed drinks dont go into the car, and sealed drinks dont get opened in the car...except beer. lol I dont mind the ******* stereotype. I think its funny when people see my car and ask why I dont have a ******. I dont care much for the 20 slot wheels, and it would be nice to be able to do a proper tire rotation. (damn marked 16 inch wheels! I hate you!) What doesnt make any sense to me is why my passenger side window is slower than my drivers side. whenever i put one down, i put the other down with it. sure, someone owned the car before me, but then again, wouldnt the drivers side window get worn out faster? Another thing that annoys me are the lack of aftermarket stuff for it. I wanna do some dressup to the car to make it look original. Nothing at all like rice, but it would be nice if people made parts for these cars what were wel made that werent above my paycheck, never mind my budget. True duals would have been nice too. It would have been nice if the interior had been given more thought than a 10 minute drunken stupor. Also, I'd like to figure out my fantom t-top leak. Heavy rain is no problem. its drizzles that soak my drivers side seat. And i'm hoping that hood pins will make it easier to get the hood open, and make it so i dont have to break my hand getting the hood up. Also, am i the only one who notices that no matter how many times i try and fix the drivers side floor mat, and no matter how carefull i am, it always gets scrunched up by the brake?

 

Haha the leaks, too, I forgot about that...It's like a Niagra Falls when I'm in the carwash, but it doesn't leak when it rains otherwise.

 

so how much power does the engine itself produce then

 

Depending on the day of the week, I really like my Camaro (even if it is only a v6! ), other times I wonder how much money I need to really soak into it to make it a show worthy vehicle (which is what I would like to do). So much to do, so little time and money.

 

heh..lucky you.

 

I think the pic explains it well for me

 

GEEEEEZ, first time responding to this thread,
What I don't like about my third gen is it is all black ( Dust and dirt magnet) I hate having to clean and wash it every other day And I hate that my wife hates my car (maybe if I spent more time with her than my car she wouldn't) Other than that I am cool
----------

 

The thing that bothers me the most is the LG4 engine. It's slow as s!@#. I get burned by little 4 cyl cars. My friend's '92 Accord seems like it accelerates 0-60 faster than my car.

There are modifications that can be done to it (i.e. L69 camshaft, better exhaust manifold, etc.) that would make it better but i don't have the skill or the money to do it.

On the other hand, the third gens are in my opinion the best looking firebirds ever made.

 

WOT 3-4 not existing on my car (350, G92, GTA, you'd think the car would have the option of going to 4th.)

 

thats the best complaint I've seen so far. shitty 80's restrictive GM designing...

thats what I hate about 3rd gens. other than that. nothing.

 

I think the things I don't like about my III gen are....
I have upgraded the anti-roll bars springs and dampners and this thing still wont handle as well as a near stock '89 5.0 GT!

Single exhaust?! What is this?!

As heavy as this thing is..... It has no rear wheel traction compared to other sport cars

Crappy hood supports! Things just keep blowing out!

I have four wheel disks and this thing still doesnt stop like my old 'stang

My sun visors wont stay put. They keep falling. I have tightend them and they are damned near new. But alas they just keep droping.

The heater core has gone out in my Daily twice!

The AC-Heater fan could be a little stronger.

Easy to break into these cars!!!!!!!!

Why is there a back seat? Has an adult ever fit back there?

Oh can't forget about the joys of changing the sparkplugs!!!!!!!

I can go on and on for a while..... Some one smack me before I ditch both my cars in favor of a Mustang GT again.......

Thank you I needed that!

 

I don't like how I still have to pass emissions and have not a single stock part on my car. Damn why did I start this build with a 91!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i would like rack and pinion steering.even my 85 mini van has rack and pinion.i wish one of these days somebody would make a conversion kit.the rest of the things people are saying are minor in my mind.

 

Well in defense of the Thirdgen.... Many of the issues that guys are having take little to no $ to fix, or upgrade.

You CAN get these cars to handle and stop well, you just have to try. They will not do it by themselves.

If you truely restored one back to stock, it would be a really nice handling car.

 

I bought my car off my long time friends bro for pocket change, due to the fact that it was being stored at a Hell's Angels hang out and he needed to get it out of there, and he had no room at his place. The only problems I have is that there is a little rust that I'm fixing on the quarters, the Hatch is sagging, and it needs new paint. I don't mind though, because I'd get more satisfaction knowing that I made it look good in the end, rather than buying a car for a s**t load of cash that really doesn't need work. I'm sure others will agree.

 

I'd have to say the lack of cupholders and all the leaking weatherstripping

 

1. No cupholders
2. No glove box
3. Acrylic T-tops (mine has RPO code for glass ones, but they're long gone)

With that said, it's still an awesome car. I am so glad I did not succumb to buying some bland econobox that needed work. At least now when I dump some cash in my car, I know its going to good use.

 

1. squeaks and rattles no matter what you do
2. hatch alignment (i fixed mine REALLY easily)
3. hatch motor (fixed that as well took off the motor and 4 tack welds and shes a slam hatch)
4. small brakes
5. water leaks that NEVER fix
6. T top cars lack of structural integrity
7. ******* stigma
8. all auto GTAs w/l98
9. difficulty doing the most simplest of tasks and upkeep
10. TPI restrictiveness and lack of power (305 exhaust manif on 350)

 

110 mph injector cut off - need I say more