Do you think it would be possible to "redo" a thirdgen and make the body feel like it was a new car? GM's quality of construction was absolutely terrible in the 80s and I've been thinking about how one could rebuild these cars to much higher standards.

There's obviously a bunch of things that we can do to improve the construction, e.g. better-designed door hinges, sub-frame connectors, etc. But even with all of those upgrades, the shoddy construction really bugs me... my car is in very nice shape, yet it always seems like it's going to be a big, heavy bucket of bolts driving down the road.

I know we can only do so much and are limited to GM's basic design of the car, but what else would you guys do to modernize the feel and quality of construction? Do you think it's even worth it?

 

"Shoddy" construction?

Wow. Never heard of anyone complain about the way third gen's were put together until your post.

My '88 Iroc's body panels all line up perfectly from the hood to the doors all the way to the rear bumper. Wish I could say that about the 4th gen's.

When they started building the Fbody in Canada, believe me, fit and finish went down hill. When I bought my '93, the gaps between the sides of the hood and the headlights were completely mis-aligned. As have been 90% of all the 4th gen Firebirds I've seen. It took me a week to take everything apart and align all the bumpers/hood/lights etc. properly the way it should have been in the first place.

When I bought my '88, it was my first 3rd gen and I couldn't help but notice how much better it was put together than the later models....

If you really want to make a 3rd gen feel like a new car, do an entire suspension overhaul and throw in some sub-frame connectors.

Yod don't have to go all out with poly-urathane bushing everywhere, but a good rebuild kit, using GM quality replacments would do the trick.

Don't forget the 3rd gen's are still the best handeling Fbody's ever produced. With the right aftermarket parts, they'll run circles around just about any European sports car on the market today under $35G's.

An LT1/LS1 brake upgrade is always a good idea as the factory 3rd gen brakes tend to be pretty "spongy" and don't exactly inspire confedence under hard braking.

These cars also tend to be a little "noisy" inside, especially out on the free-way. A sound deadner of some sort, be it a liquid spray-on or the typical "Dynamat" will do wonders. I've ridden in a GTA that was quiter than a Lexus. I couldn't believe how much of a change a sound deadner made in the over-all driving experience. It was night and day.

In terms of performance, all you really need is a set of headers, cat-back and a cold-air induction set-up and you've got more than enough power to beat most of the "typical" cars on the road, including most of the popular Japenese "tuner" cars everybody loves so much. If you want even more, hey, it's a Chevy small block that powers these cars after all so the sky's the limit as to how much power you want to make.

I have similar goals with my current '88.

I want to have a nice, clean, reliable daily driver with all the modern features of today's cars.

Quite, comfortable interior. Awesome sound system. Great handeling. Ice-cold A/C and really good economy.

I'm slowly building this car up piece by piece to meet my requirments.

Next on the list is subframe-connectors and a few Jug's of POR-15 to paint the underside of the car.

Then some sound insulation for the inside and get the A/C fixed as well.

That should all be happening this month.....

 

I think these cars are built pretty well. The body panels line up nicely. There are a few things interior wise. But I think they did a good job with the bumpers and such. I see old beat up 82 t/as all the time that have held together very well inside and out.

 

That's what I want to do for my GTA. Thus far the plan is for some replacement jute and some type of sound deadener. Not sure what I need to use though...the paint/spray on seems easiest but I'm unsure if its results will be worth putting a permanant layer of something on my GTA. What are your plans? Anybody else?

 

I also think that these cars are very well put together. Not like any newer cars (even new Volvos and Acuras feel cheap compared to my 92 Camaro).

One thing that I love about these cars is the metal door handles. You just don't see that anymore.

 

It depends on how you gauge "cheap," I suppose. IMO, cheap is when the whole car feels like a box made of tin and you get that plasticky sensation with certain interior trim. This year at the auto show, I shut the front door of a Nissan Titan Crew Cab and the whole center post, where the rear door hinges attach, deflected by about 3/8" -- and if I pushed any harder I was afraid the whole pillar was going to cave in. That's cheap.

I see thirdgens mainly as a big, heavy shell (albeit one that's still prone to rattling). The cars aren't cheap, but I do think GM could have assembled them a little better. Our 1967 Camaro, purchased new by my father, still feels as solid and tight as ever. The doors close nicely, make that satisfying *click*, and really convey quality workmanship of the whole vehicle. And that Camaro is all original, unrestored, and was heavily drag raced for several years.

Good call on the fourthgens, LT1FUN. My buddy owned a '93 and it truly did feel cheap. The dash rattled, the interior squeaked, and the fenders didn't line up at all. Those are also some excellent tips regarding the sound deadener, suspension, etc. Thanks.

I'm curious... if you bought your thirdgen brand new, how did it compare in build quality and overall feel as opposed to a new car of today?

 

hey blue, I hear what your saying I just dont know if its possible to make it "feel" like a new car, and I dont mean feel like a new 80's camaro Im talking about how a new car feels when you close the door or hit a speed bump or even put the window down. these cars are 20+ years old getting that fit and finish would take ALOT of time. the forth gen dashes and consols help a little but they werent made for the thirds so its still leave a little something to be desired.

I just want to make sure everyone knows im not saying our cars suck or even that they were made poorly. I just think with the advances in technology and material sciences a more polished fit and finish is possible.

 

Just taking apart the car and putting it back together will do wonders for the feel of the car. Although nobody will mistake the build quality on an IROC for that of a Camry, the truth is, the build quality isn't that bad. The rough ride is mostly to blame for the way these cars feel. The rough ride causes everything to loosen up, and can cause the metal to fatigue over time. I've had a couple v6 thirdgens that have a much softer ride, and even with 150k+ miles on them, they didn't have the squeaks and tweaks that my IROC has, and it's because they just don't get that constant jarring.

But... if you pull the whole interior out, put sound deadener down on the metal like others have said, then put it back together with fabric o-rings around all the places that plastic bolts to something, the car will be a whole different car. Likewise, rebuilding the suspension and upgrading to poly bushings while you're at it will rejuvinate the suspension on the car and allow it to do it's job better, so that your car doesn't have to absorb as much shock.

On a side note, if you think these cars are poorly built, don't ever buy a C4 Corvette. My 'vette has 73k miles on it, and it reminds me of the old POS malibu wagon my mother had when I was a kid. The cowl shake over bumps makes it feel like the car is going to crack in half.

 

"I've had a couple v6 thirdgens that have a much softer ride, and even with 150k+ miles on them, they didn't have the squeaks and tweaks that my IROC has, and it's because they just don't get that constant jarring."

ditto on that. and i compare this to my gf's 305 RS.

I still have the squeaks and creaks and it bothers me a lot. I really dont wanna do the whole interior again and sound deaden the interior and the rubber rings around each screw/bolt cause its just a lot of time i dont have nor really want to do. Im kinda mad i didnt do it the first time but i wasnt aware of it then.

 

I put a v-8 drive train in a v-6 car because I knew that over the years I did not see the abuse that a Tpi car sees

I also did a complete suspention overhaul and I mean everything from wonder bar to front suspension all bushings sfc and rear components I under coated the bottom with the drivetrain out and forgot about the interior.

I would not trade my car for any new car!

 

There are many different interesting opinions going on here. Having owned both a 3rd gen and a 4th gen this is what I've noticed.

3rd gen:

car squeaks
interior plastic is not the best quality (brittle, tends to crack easily- probably a lower quality ABS)
dashboard has "sunk" in the middle. (there is a dip in the middle of the dashboard)
door hinges sag
t-tops leak
if rubber isn't 100% perfect- you get air noises whooshing in

4th gen:

car squeaks
interior panels made with same cheap abs plastic

I think they improved many things on the 4th gen cars. Except for the ingress/ egress and blind spots. These 2 things are definitely worse.

don't get me wrong, I still have my 3rd gen, I trailered it myself from NY to California and am dumping gobs of $$ into it to perform an LS1 swap. but the above are the issues i have noticed. Many can be fixed with new parts/ can be improved.

I never noticed a fit/ finish panel alignment on my black 1995 T/A. (and I'm a designer, I have a keen eye for things like this)