Here is the deal. just bought a 88 trans am, hit hard on the drivers side... 305/5spd, runs great, all new a/c blows cold, new radiator, alternator, starter.. good car before wreck.. I bought it from the original owner who let his daughter drive it and was txting on her phone and pulled out in front of a suburban. He damn near cryed when I towed it away.. he drove it around the block one last time before I loaded it...yes it still drives lol. OK, I been wanting to build another nice car that looks fast, gets good gas mileage etc to replace my 97 mustang gt convertible when I sell it.. The mustang is all stock except flowmasters,hood, bumper, and color.. looks good and gets great gas mileage. I am just not a big ford fan, I just built the car because I got a good deal on it. SO I decided I want to build a firebird, I have several, a 87 GTA, no motor or trans, 86 SE 305/700r4, 90 3.1/auto, etc. But I really want a 5spd car. I spotted this wrecked one of craigslist so I snagged it... I originally thought I'd stick everything in my 87 gta but then I remembered I had a DAMN nice 86 firebird body. I bought the car for the front clip.. I need the fenders and nose for my 86 SE and the hood for my 90. The car was a v6 but its now just a shell, no interior except for dash and dr panels. but the body is great. I want to take everything off the 88 trans am and stick in the 86 firebird shell... dash, motor/trans/ a/c, ground effects, hood and drivers fender. I will have to get a passenger fender because the one on the TA is trash. And I will still get to use the front clip off the 86 for my other projects so it all works out. I would either like to use a set of weld prostars I have or a set of GTA wheels I have on it.. haven't decided, maybe both. OK, I read the stickys and a few builds on here...most say its best to start with a car same year or newer. since I am swapping from a 88 to an 86.. is there any major problems I will be running into? Or is everything as simple as explode the rest of the 86, explode the 88, install gas tank, fuel lines, change front brake lines, motor mounts, harness, entire dash and a/c box. harness and computer, engine and trans, and body parts???? Are the brakes the same? How about front springs? if they are softer thats cool, I would like it a little lower. I just dont want to jump into this and find I have to to ALOT of fabrication.. I just build my dad a Honda delsol out of a wrecked car and alot of junkyard parts, it should be gone to the paint shop in the next week or so, so whenever its gone, I am going to get to work on building my firebird/trans am.. here are some pics of the trans am on the way home.. they are crappy cell phone pics, I will take LOTS of pics as soon as I start and the weather is nice... Here are the pics of the firebird body. I will use this as my build thread and a place to ask questions along the way as I am sure I will need some help.. And opinions, comments or whatever is greatly appreciated!

car it will be replacing..


wrecked 88 t/a


the good side.


the 86 body, was parts car now project!

 

It's basically unbolt, transfer, bolt in.

Some things are "interesting", like getting to the nuts inside the K-member for the engine mounts.

 

thanks man, I will keep yall updated.. I will take a **** load of pics.. hopefully make a good build thread out of it.

 

Front brakes are the same. Rears, you'll hafta check. Using the TransAm front springs is worth the effort, don't cut more than 1/2 a coil per side to start with. Both times I started with 1 full coil per side, I ended up wishing I'd cut just a little less.

 

so keeping the v6 coils is out of the question??

 

No, but the TransAm coils are higher rate. If you don't want them, PM me a price.

 

when I am done with the build, whatever I have left over will be cheap or free...thanks!

 

I just can't understand not running the best stuff available to you, especially since you have the choice sitting right there in your yard.