Hi everyone, I am new to this site again and was hoping that you guys could help me out. I have a 1982 Firebird and 1983 Trans AM. The Firebird's body and interior are in real good condition. It has the standard fuel injected 90hp 2.5L 4 cylinder Pontiac Iron Duke with automatic transmission. The Trans AM is for parts and has the 305 which smokes a little out the exaust. I wanted to hear some opinions if I should rebuild the Iron Duke or swap in a 350. I want to hear about keeping manual or automatic as well thanks.

What are your goals?

swap in the 350

Not trying to be a smart-___ here, but, if you do not want the iron duke firebird, PLEASE sell it to someone who does. V8 cars are a dime a dozen, but there aren't that many of those cars in decent shape still around. While not highly sought after, and while they do not command a price premium, they are a fun and interesting piece of history and should be preserved if possible.

I know I'd love to get my hands on one in good shape, as would several other forum members.

Either do what the duke needs, or, sell it to someone who will and just buy a sbc car - its easier and cheaper by the time to swap everything else the car needs changed anyways.

I agree with KennyC. How many people do you know that have a 4 Cylinder Camaro/Firebird or even know one exsists? When i tell people that they made a 4 Cylinder Camaro, they give me a look like i just told them a Whopper! It's not Yenko Rare, but it's worth saving in my opinion. Who knows, you might be able to get a BETTER V8 Version for it.

I am of the opposite opinion. IMO the 4-cyl was about the dumbest thing that GM ever did to these cars. They're supposed to be "sporty", "exciting", "fun", maybe even "peppy".... that POS fails on all counts. It should be yanked out and melted down ASAP, so that this disgrace and blemish on the history of these cars can be more easily forgotten or at most relegated to a footnote in the history books (I can see it now... "... and in a drug- and alcohol induced coma, a psychologically damaged intern in the engineering department, as a joke, is rumored to have slipped this design through the product approval process while his supervisor was on medical disability leave... ") without causing anyone the pain of having to witness one in person. The 6-cyls were bad enough; that other was ... just .... vile.

Nobody wants those things, except for people who already have one and are dealing with this problem right here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance, and are trying to rationalize why they haven't already done something about it. The notion that someone would actually trade DOWN to get one, just because it's "rare", is beyond ludicrous. Human beings don't work that way; not even Firebird owners in the agonizing throes of the terminal stages of "rarity" disease. That's just crazy talk.

Anything that can be done to de-4-cyl an otherwise nice car, is a heroic act worthy of praise.

Just my humble opinion.

If you want to put a 350 in that car, I approve.