...there is a rail along the body below the door that it is attached to.

I just bought a 1992 Firebird Formula and am beginning a restoration project on it. It isn't in the best of shape, and the kit is practically falling off.

I don't much like the kit anyway, it just loooks tacked on, and with this being a restoration on a budget, it would be nicer not to have to pay to replace a kit I don't really like. But I see no way of getting that rail off. It's welded down.

Has anybody else run into this problem and is there a way to remove the factory rail?

I realize many of you will probably wonder why in the world I would want to take it off, but the previous owners have already taken quite a bit of it off. In their own way. I just want to take the rest off and not worry about.

The Firebird without the kit looks much cleaner to me anyway. Oh, and I lloked through the threads and didn't see anything else about this. If there is a previoous thread, just point me in the right direction, please.

 

are you talking about the ground effects? if you are, Formulas didnt come with them so im not sure what u are talking about. do you have pictures of the car?

 

Sure, let me get them up here...



Not the best picture, but it did have the GTA ground effects kit on it. From other info I have, all the Formulas from 1992 are supposed to have had that.

I'm so confused.

EDIT: Actually, you can't see anything from that pic. i'll take new ones qwhen I get home. Suffice it to say, this car did have the GTA ground effects on it.

 

i can see that it has ground effects on it. unless someone added them, it is not a formula. check your RPO codes. a formula is basically a stripped trans am with a V8. either way, you should remove them, i think they look better without the ground effects. if it isnt a formula i think you will have to get a front bumper specific to base model firebirds/formulas. from what ive heard the bumpers for the non gfx cars is different in 91 and 92.

i also noticed your car doesnt have the formula hood

what type of engine and what type of fuel injection does this car have?

 

Or, the aerowing.
Or, 16" wheels.
And appears to have just a 'firebird' badge on the fender.

As a guess, it seems to be just a base model with the ground effects.

The bracket on the rocker should be simply spot welded on. Drill the spots out and it should fall off with a slight pull. Unless it was added later on.

JMO though..

 

The VIN lists it as a Formula, and the engine is a 5.0L TBI. Engine code E.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the car hit a deer in 1995 with pretty severe damage to the front end. It is very possible that the hood is not the original hood, since it looks so much better than the fenders. As far as the rest of it, I have no way of knowing if it is original or not.

 

The vin wont tell you whether its a formula or not the only to know is if you look at your RPO sheet.

 

No, but the VIN does tell me what engine I have, and from what I can glean online, this engine came in the Formula. Which is the only reason I am stating it is a Formula. For one thing, aren't the base Firebirds all v-6's?

And for another thing, what's an RPO sheet?

 

Well you are correct that formula's could come with the 305 TBI but so did the firebirds The RPO sheet list all of the cars options, and should be in the locking compartment in the rear hatch(glove box looking thing) since yours is a 92 unless it has been removed which isn't uncommon

 

I'm pretty sure there is nothing in there. This sucks. So, there were base Firebirds, with v-8 engines, and GTA kits?

Why woudl they put a kit for a Trans Am on a base model?

 

You have to pull off the door panel to get the door gfx off, there are 3 speed nuts behind the panel, and 2 speed nuts on each edge of the door.

the rear Gfx bolts are accessed from behind the inner trim inside the car next to each back seat and in the sides of rear cargo area (spare tire well and the small locking compartment).

You will need to change the front and rear bumper covers if you decide to not run gfx.

Another note, that looks exactly like my friends 91 Firebird, had the LO3 motor, 15" gold wheels, standard spoiler, and the gfx.

 

It's called the "Sport Appearance Package." It was for people who wanted the look of a T/A but decided to buy a base model.

 

Again, what is the RPO sheet? Sorry to sound so ignorant, but I've never dealt with this before, and I would like to pin this down.

There is a sticker in that compartment that says something like Parts something or other. Nothing that would spell out RPO.

 

yeah thats it, it should be a list of numbers and letters like L03, G92, Z03, B4C etc

 

Shall we add a tinge of clarity to the question, what is a 'RPO sheet', for our inqusitive member ?...



( http://www.deadbird.org/z/wa3.gif )

hth

 

I know that to most people this is/was obvious, but the Formulas also had the word "Formula" written on the doors. I don't see that on this one. I would really be interested to know if this is an "all numbers matching" car.

 

Okay, mine looks like that small do not remove chart at the bottom. Anyone want to tell me where to find a site or something that can tell me what the codes mean? I want to pin this down and determine if this is a base model or Formula. In the end, it really doesn't matter, but I would like to know.

 

I can't recall what the RPO code is for the Formula option, but if it is a Formula you should have the code WS6, which was the performance suspension that all Formulas received.

Do a Google search for Firebird RPO decoder and you should find a site that breaks down the codes...that's what I did.

 

I a couple RPO decoders for you, if you already haven't found one.

Firebirdnation.com your one stop for firebird, trans am, pontiac firebird formula discussions

Team3rdGen

Let me know if either one helped at all.

 

also just to clarify for you it is the "aero package" or "ground effects" not a GTA kit. as GTAs T/As and base models could come with them. infact, after 1989 a base model was just as likley to come with GFX (ground effects) as it was to come without GFX. before 89 you could only get GFX on a GTA or T/A.

enjoy your fbody

 

I will enjoy the heck out of it. The t-tops are awesomely awesome. They feel so unsafe, but fun.

Ultimately, finding out Carfax and my insurance company are lying, and its not a Formula just means I won't feel as guilty about ripping it apart and making it the way I want it to be. it won't exactly be a "limited production" vehicle.

I'm getting the power bulge hood and stripping that kit off. If I can just find front and rear bumper that don't have the "aero package" molded in.

 

Carfax is sort of useless, and your insurance company probably just uses the VIN to tell them what the car is. If you punch the VIN# for my '92 Trans Am into Carfax, it comes up as a GTA...which it isn't. That's why you need the RPO codes to know what your car really is...the VIN just doesn't contain that info.