I haven't washed the car in about 2 years, since it was parked for that long. I've got it back into running shape for the fuel economy. My wife and I moved further outside city limits and well since gas prices have go up so much I got my bird out of retirement and put it back into the driving routine in an effort to save money. How many of you can say that about your thirdgen.

Anyway, I had to wash the car twice to get all the dirt and grime off!

















My next effort is to fix the rust on my driver's door and strip/polish my wheels. I also hope to pull the motor out in an effort to clean up my engine bay from rust and dirt. This will hopefully be done in this summer.

-bill

 

That is one fine looking bird dude! Ever think of an engine swap?

 

only every time i drive it.
unfortunately money doesn't permit at this point.

 

It looks like it is just a detailing away from being a real head turner. Wax that Bird!

Looks good

 

Your bird is awsome!Very nice Now you need some tinted covers for your tailights

 

Good job on getting the 'bird back on the road! I think you should keep it as is!!!

 

I had some tinted covers on my taillights at one point. They never really fit well. They looked good but due to the ridges in the taillights it trapped dirt and other junk behind them, so when you had the lights on or hit the brakes you could see the build up. Plus I was always afraid one would fall off or get stolen, so I took them off.

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a good set of 91-92 Trans Am taillights.

I don't plan on replacing the motor in this car unless I come across a parts car that I just could not possibly pass up. That hasn't happened yet so the duke is safe for now.

I'd love to build it up a bit and put a turbo on it just for kicks.

The car looks pretty decent in the pics but the paint is not so good in some areas. I'd like to repaint it again. Original color of course.

 

why does your car look like its sitting so high?

 

that's a good question. Im not sure why it sits so high. It's always had that ride height. I guess being the 4 cylinder base model, it was built that way.

 

Looks normal to me. The 82-84 birds seem to have a little more ground clearance than later models and with no T/A ground effects they do look high. The 16-inch rims in place of the 14-inch pizza cutters may have raised the car some too.

 

The car originally had some aftermarket steel 14" wheels with some pretty tall tires on it. I put on 15" stock 20 slot firebird rims with some wider beef and they filled the wheel wells pretty good. I noticed it was riding a little high then. Got the 16" wheels not too long after putting on the 15's and the wheel gap seemed larger.

 

Probably because it's a base model with the base suspension (non F41 or WS6) and the 4cyl.

 

Iron Duke! awsome!!

 

I have upgraded the sway bars on this car from a WS6 equipped Formula. Im still running the stock springs. I'd like to lower the car a bit but would putting lowering springs on it work since it's running such a light engine? I know the spring rates from V6's and V8's are different....right?

-bill

 

definitly keep it as it is!!! how many iron duke birds do you see?

 

You will end up with your front end higher than your rear. I doubt that anyone makes a spring for the 'duke. The only solution I see is cut springs...

 

Looks good!
I would putthe 14s back on!
With that engine, and the wheels, it would look good.
Granted, nothing looks better than 16s, I would go with the stock look!
Now, to top off the good looks, you could always detail the engine bay, and enter some car shows this summer!

Nice job,

George

 

Did the dukers come with the tinted tail light covers or no

 

Only SEs and Trans Ams did.

George

 

What kind of tail lights did the 85-86 and 87 dukers (if they were still around )get then?

 

Hi 82knightrider!
Are you talking about the base Bird taillights?

George

 

i think the iron duke was a one year thing right? like 83- 84? not sure which one.

 

Yeah,thanks

 

'82-85 Firebirds got the ribbed tail lights. '86-92 has the smooth tail lights with orange turn signals. You can spot an '85 Firebird as it has the old style ribbed tail lights but the newer style bumpers with the black bumperettes.

I'm pretty sure the Iron Duke was offered from '82-86.

 

Hey bill,

You got any pics of your car with the lights in your grilles turned on at night?

 

That looks very nice

 

I did have a set of 14" steel rally wheels from an S10 pick up on the car one summer, I was in a pinch financially and they had the best tires on them. So I took off my balding 15" stock bird wheels and put the 14" ones on. It was ugly! I noticed though that I got the best gas mileage with the 14's on.


-bill

 

I have a picture somewhere. I'd have to dig it up and scan it in.

I disconnected the fog lights behind the grilles. For some weird reason I kept melting switches. Im no wiring guru but even when I had them connected properly the switches would melt. I had the proper fuse in and everything.

I still haven't figured out a solution to the problem...mostly lazyness. They look pretty sweet being lit up though.

Im going out on a limb here, but I think I may have been one of the first one's to put the fog lights behind the grill openings on the 82-84 style nose. I say that because I haven't seen anyone on TGO or in my area with them before or since I put them on in 1998.

To me its a simple solution to add additional lighting to the car at night. I hated to see how some people simply bolted the lights to the under side or even to the front of the bumpers. I sat and stared at the front end of my car one day and tried to think of a way to best fit the lights. Then it hit me. I took of the front grills and the impact plastic right behind the grill opening is at just the right level to mount the lights, and there you have it.

They are consealed during the day and shine bright at night. There is hardly any deflection from being behind the grills, and yet they are slim enough to allow the air to continue to flow through the grill.

-bill

 

We did a very similar thing to my brothers camaro shortly after I did the mod to my bird.

He since sold this car but he had an 84 Sport coupe. We mounted lights behind the little grill areas on the nose too. Mine used to light up much like these.

 

wow, thatsa clean bird.

what kinda exhaust note does it have?

 

Wow Bill!Thats coolness The reason I asked was because I wanna install some lights there also but always thought the grilles would be in the way .I guess not though.Im gonna do the same thing ,that extra light would help.Maybe if someday you could post a pic of the light or tell me what kind it is that would be great.Also,Did any 82-84 birds get lights in there from the factory?

Thanks

 

No 82-84 bird got factory fog lights. It wasn't until 85 with the introduction to the new Trans Am ground fx that the fog lights were installed.

The lights I used are Pilot brand. It has been years ago since I purchased them, so I don't know if they would be discontinued or not. I got them at Auto Zone and they carry a bunch of different kinds.

As long as you mount the lights far enough back from the grills, I think it would be okay. I mounted them in the center of the impact plastic. I never had any problems with my lights, aside from the switch deal. I accidently left them on for about 3 hours one day and they did not over heat the nose. When you drive you naturally get air passing over the lights to cool them. It was good to know that they didn't over heat just sitting there for so long. my battery drained pretty bad though.

 

its much like the 4 banger S-10 sound.

These motors are loud naturally. The exhaust isn't all that great either. I have a very poor video clip if you want to hear the car. I was using my kodak digital camera for the video so the quality isn't all that great.

I'll try and get a better video of the bird if I can find a good hosting for it to be downloaded by everyone.

http://www.thirdgenfbodies.com/webpages/moviesnew.php
Here is the page with a video link on it. It's the one listed under billsfirebird.