I have fallen in love with a thirdgen (i think). If I am correct, and thirdgens are Camaros and Firebirds from 1972 to 1992. At Leo's Corvette and other Used Cars (or somthing like that) there is a :hail 1979 Pontiac Firebird TRANS AM :hail: with the big bird painted on the hood and all that. I'm only 14 soooo I can't drive YET. But at 15 I can get my learners permit. I told my Dad I wanted this car, but he thinks it's stupid. I know I can't get THAT car, but how can I convince him that third gens are not junkpile cars? Basicly what I'm asking is this: Are thirdgens good cars? Do they break down alot because they are so old? Are they fun to drive? Are they powerful? etc, etc, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

please help . . .

 

first thirdgens are from 1982-1992 so that trans am would be a 2nd gen , but hwo can i convince him it isn;lt junk. well if the car is junk then it is but u can take and show him others that looks good. another way of being able to get it would be by workign hard for it, go for all the opportunities you can gte to make money . thirdgens are good cars i don; tknwo mcuh abotu 2nd gens but there both fun to drive and a blast

 

'82 to ;92 got it. I'm go'in with my mom today to see it, I donn't know what condition it's in. YET.

 

79 trans ams are sweet But BEWARE if it has the 6.6 litre. I doubt youll be daily driving it as it will only get around 8mpg. Prolly less. LOL Unless its got an LT1 in it or something which I doubt. I also think the 6.6 litre will be too much for a 15 year old who hasnt drove a car yet. Let us know what condition, engine, bodywork etc its got. if your serious about it practice driving it on a road with noone on it. You dont wanna drop the gas and fly sideways into a tree or worse another car.

Also it should say 6.6 on the hood scoop too if its one. How much they asking. these cars can be at least a few grand in decent shape

Nate

 

Yeah, thnx. It's really THAT powerfull? whoa. . . I'll let y'all know about it when I look at it.

 

Learn something new everyday, didn't know they were 6.6L

What kind of HP numbers do those put down?

 

 

1970: RA-IV 400CI: 370 hp, 430 ft-lbs of torque.

1975-1979: 400CI: 185 hp, 310 ft-lbs of torque .... blame the epa.

 

Yea they're pretty quick i looked at alot of em out here. With the right parts they can be super fast. It's gonna take work and patience as with any other car but you have two years to basically get it teh way you want it before you get your liscence anyways. I bought my first firebird when i was 15 and did alot of perfoemance and appearance mods before i could even drive it and its nice to have something cool teh day you get your liscence. I never really cared for the 79-81 t/a's i think the front ends look goofy. Look for liek a 77-78 trans am those have the best front ends on them. Let us know what it needs we all know what it cost for parts for f-bodies so we can find ya what u need to convince ur dad its worth it.

 

6.6 Liter with only 185 HP........For the love of ***, that's terrible......I thought 170 HP from a 305 was absolutly insane for GM to produce...

But if i'm getting 8 mpg, I better be having enough HP to make that fade to the background.....lol

 

hehe. Well my ex's fathers 79 t/a got 8mpg but he prolly also had some work done to it. I know he had a blower on it to say the least. But with a 6.6 litre I wouldnt expect too good of mileage none the less.

Nate

 

i have a 79 formula, and parts are not cheap! but i just love the persona of these cars!

 

They say that most 3rdgen are turds,well as far as mid to late 2ndgens engines go they're piles of crap.

 

they are good cars if you take care of them, just like any other.
they break down and have certian problems just like anyother older car.
THEY ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST CARS TO DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!
Get a V8 and yes its powerful. there are more powerful things out there but compared to a v6 its night and day (thanx TORQUE )

the first one i had was a 92 RS with the tbi in it. man i had never driven a v8 before and it is quite an experience......especially with the 5 speed. i suggest you learn to drive a manual and get one if possible. blows an auto away completly. id say set your sights on a thirdgen......you wont ever go anyway else.

but beware, once you catch the fever you can NEVER get over it!!! :lala:

 

310 ft-lbs of torque is more than any 3rd gen LB9 engine ever put out (stock), and approaches the figures for the L98. The phrase "There is no substitute for cubic inches" has some merit. Another thing to consider; during the 70's, with the gas crunch and insurance companies jacking up the rates for "performance" vehicles.... auto makers routinely underrated their horsepower specs. A young person shopping for a factory hot rod could not afford the insurance rates for something outrageously powerful, and GM and the others knew that. That's the main reason they put crap on good engines to choke the power out of them. (And why they lowballed the actual HP figures.) So folks could still afford to buy and insure their products. But those big inch engines from the late 70's were no slugs. Get behind the wheel of a T.A. with the mere 185 HP engine and you will understand that there's more power there than they are telling you about.

P.S: Sure, there's a huge difference in power from a '70 and a '79, but you can expect to pay for it too, about 5 to 10 times more for the '70!

 

oh thats so true!

 

if im not mistaken... and i might be due to the fact i havent use this in years, but i think the reason for the hp number difference is the car comp's going from a sae net to sae gross
(or the oposite way) and the whole lower compression drop, etc etc.... and be wary of rust on 2nd gens.... their alot worst than third gens...

 

welcome to the love of thirdgens, i bought my car in a dealer down the block from me who decided that my car was going to be the first third gen they would sell . after seeing how many people wanted to give him more then what i payed for , he started selling a **** load of them, now everytime i saw a new camaro or firebird i want to trade my car in for it , i wish i would of never bought my car in that lot

 

Thanks guys (and girls?) Every little bit helps!

 

One thing you should know about the '79 Trans Am:

If the shaker says "6.6 Liter" then its a Oldsmobile 403ci engine. Hopeless dogs they were. Stay away!

If it says "T/A 6.6" then its a Pontiac 400ci engine. Thats a good thing. They only came with some 4 speed cars that year though, so they are pretty hard to come by. But if you find one with a Pontiac 400 in it, it at least has some potential.

If I were you, I'd check into the Z28 Camaros from '78-81. They actually made more power (180-210, depending on year), they got the good 4 speed, the Super T10, a much better rear end gear (3.73 vs 2.56) and were about 200 pounds lighter than a TA.

 

A V8 RS thirdgen is a great starter sports car.

With the LO3 TBI 305, it will be harder get into trouble.
Plus the insurance rates of an RS vs a Z28 are much lower.

My LO3's lack of serious power has probably saved my life, esp. when I was 16 and a "magazine mechanic".

One more thing: TTops are a must. As is a manual trans.
Good Luck

 

3rdgens are OK starter cars, but mechanically, they are probably one of the worst to start with if you wanna turn wrenches on it.

When I got my '83 L69, I opened the hood and just stared. I didn't have a clue what all that wiring and stuff was all about, and all the sensors... oh damn!

I suggested a 2ndgen Camaro, like a '79 Z28 because they can do basically anything a 3rdgen can, but things are much more straight forward, because everything is mechanical. No CC carb and dissy, no sensors, nothing. Just mechanical.

IMO, it would be alot easier to get used to working on a car like that than a car thats over-run with wiring like a 3rdgen.

I wish I coulda learned on a 2ndgen. Things woulda gone alot smoother, lol.

 

Not really... except for having about 30ft-lbs more torque, the older 350s aren't much different power-wise. And the 2ndgen's weigh quite a bit more than a 3rdgen too.

 

Don't look as sexy as a thirdgen either, but sexy none the less .

 

I love the way they look... especially the '70-73 cars. Its very tough to knock the look of a clean IROC-Z or Formula 350 though

 

not for nothing but i feel 3rdgens are tinkertoys. especially compaired to 4th gens.

whoever said "you'd never go another way" when talking about owning 3rd gens wasn't kidding. i've owned 7 so far... i can't stop buying them!

and as for 3rd gens being turds... thats just because the majority of people who own them are. they don't take care of them and beat the bag out of them. the way you take care of your car reflects the kinda of person you are, i believe. its like that with houses also. you have a dirty house with trash all over... wtf does that say about your life style? a nice 3rdgen that has been well taken care of is an excellent car. i don't care what anyone says, 3rd gen is the way to go.

just my 2 cents though...

 

I agree, 3rdgens are cooler, BUT it would be alot easier to get the hang of working with cars on a 2ndgen just because its alot less complicated, and (depending on the 3rdgen you get) can be less expensive because there are no computers involved.

 

You ain't kiddin about that. I've had 2 thir gens and thats litterally all i've ever worked on. working on other cars is a piece of cake compared to mine.

 

well thirdgens are difficult (space issues and computers) compared to say older smallblock cars with no computers and huge hoods but as far as other newer computer controlled cars they arent any harder to work on at all.

besides thirdgens look cooler than any other car, id sacrafice

 

i'm pretty sure the Trans am's only came with a 6.6 right? all the ones i have seen had it. And regarding the which is sexier....i'de go with 79 but not by much!

 

doesnt the firebird that yr also come with a 6.6 , whats the difference then

 

Sorry, but this is thirdgen.org not secondgen.org. PM me if you have any comments or suggestions.