Say for example you owned this car:



1991 SLP Formula Firehawk #003. It has only 1,304 original miles and is 100% EXACTLY how SLP delivered it to the original owner. It also has the "Compitition Package"!

Now, what do you do with such a car?

Do you:

A: Park it, show it, and wait 30 years for it to be the Firebird version of the ZL1 COPO Camaro.

OR

B: Drive the living heck out of it! Take it to the drag strip, auto x it, drive it to cruise nights and shows and use it for pleasure driving. Basically use it for what it is intended for and enjoy and of course keep it in concourse condition.

What would you do?

WELL.... A mix of both limit the # of miles you put on it in a year so it holds it value like say 250-300 a year, and trailer it to long shows / out of town.... BUT enjoy it take it to the local cruise night, autoX it once or twice a year, drag race it to get some time slips, JUST BE VERY careful and make sure you detail it often to preserve it, and buy a set of matching tire NOW so you have a set of 0 mile originals to put on it...............

Anyways hopefully I'm going to get see the "only" (we think) 3rd gen firehawk in UT this weekend, if it goes through I'll post more info about it suppose to be a 92' #17 well see......

Drive it to my house, and let me run it 5 miles round trip through a couple twisty roads...

;-)

A
Hey, I'm all for HOT RODDING, but with this car it would be a huge waste. This car is a piece of history, I hate guys that take their 1984 LG4 Camaro Z/28 and keep it stock and never drive it, but this car isn't something that common. So if I had it, it would stay in my garage and trailer it to shows so the trophies could be stored in my trophy room. Sorry guys but it's just not worth trashing.
Later, Garrett

hmm the smart one in me says B
but if i had one of these then the story would be i had another car possibly 3rd gen of course and a garage to put it in and all that stuff

I would drive it like 500 miles a year once or twice a month maybe cruise alittle. i would drive it but not alot, i wouldn't mod it at all, just keep it all original.
biker

At best, it's a 1 of 25. Honestly though it's probably a lot more rare than that, maybe even a 1 of 1, given the Firehawks' fragmentation of options, engines, comp pkg or no comp pkg.. It's definitely destined to be garage kept and driven as little as possible. Its value will only go higher and higher. I say store it.

hmmm, that is a tough one, if i had the choice though i'd go out and get another one!!! woohoo! one for each choice, but in reality if i could only have one prob keep the firehawk stored away for shows and such and buy another thirdgen to tool around with and have fun in that

i say drive it.that what cars are intended to do. if ya dont drive it get rid of it. the value of something is only what someone wil lpay for it at that moment. so drive it just dont abuse it.

I'd continue to do exactly what is being done in the picture.

Like most good things, I'd use in moderation
Maybe 2000 kms a year. I'd defenately take it to the strip to see what she'll do- but only a few passes a year- maybe addd a driveshft safety loop and try slicks..hmmm...and I igbht run it through an autocross- but a few laps and that's be it.

So, other then very limited racing, no mods and drive it in nice weather.

Oh yeah_I'd go looking for a Mustang Cobra R to race

I'd buy it and the place it is stored at!! Looks like lots of room there! Of coarse, I'd put up Pontiac signs and Firebird/Trans Am posters!! Heck, I'd even park my 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am next to it!!!

Why? Is it for sale????

Later,

George

Drive it as little as possible, but still have some fun !
You guys are right since its very very rare, keep the lowest miles on it. But if your someone with money you most likely have even faster cars that you mess around with.

ok i have a few questions about the car
there were only 25 made for 91-92 right?
how many are still out there?
they went for like $40-$42K back then in 1991 dollars
thats $10 grand more than a 02' SS i was looking at today
and there are a ton of them on the road.
what is one of those cars worth today?
anyone ever heard of one being sold recently?
what is the market value on that.

and what would one of you pay for the holy grail of third gens
$20-30-40-50 Gs????
is there a rarer third gen out there than a firehawk?
thanks
biker

I'd basically store it, although I'm sured I'd thrash on it once in a while. If I wanted a car like that purely for performance, I could arrive at my goal for a lot less money than a Firehawk is going to cost.

If that was mine it would be really hard not to drive it every once in a while but I probably wouldn't as I'd feel so guilty so I'd probably just preserve it. It's one of the baddest F-cars ever produced. I guess I'd just look at it a lot and take lots of pictures.

well i have saw an acution for one of those and it only went for like 19,000 dollars, the guy got a h$ll of a deal/steal.

but the price will surely go up after a few years!

no one really knew what is was, not many people bidded, if i had the money i would of bid way past that to at least 28,000 dollars, the car was basically new! very low miles.

The last 2 on Barret jackson went for a low price too, sad when you see all the 40k and up prices. Andy ( I want one)

For this situation, I would preserve this car. You can have just as much fun in a regular production run thirdgen that has been modified, and you won't be jeapordizing a very valuable and very rare car.

I choose coice A, and since you're able to afford this car in the first place, own another one to play around with.

Well, I've owned my 91 since new. It has 60,900 miles on it now. The first couple of years I put 24k on it. Since then, I'm averaging @ 4000k a year, with the last couple about a 1000. Of course, it's been garaged and driven only in nice (California) weather. And a car cover when parked for an extended period. I would treat it just like any other of my cars. Like Jay Leno said: "What are you doing, saving it for the next person? No, I'm going to enjoy it!"

I'd say drive it...why keep a car if you aren't going to do anything but keep it locked up. Are you going to keep it as an investment?? Are you going to try and make money off of it later down the road? If you aren't going to get rid of it then drive it like it was meant to be. I wouldn't use it as a daily driver or in winters...I don't do that with my '82 TA even though it probably isn't worth anything and I don't expect it to be. Sometimes when you have a rare car you almost feel obligated to keep it as original and low mile as possible, I can understand to a point. But when does it get to the point where you are only storing it just to say "yah, I have one" Usually it's the people who want to make money off of the car who keep them locked up in pristine shape. Bottom line, Drive it...but not as a daily driver.

Either way,
Just figure out what you will do before you buy one!
I'd drive it abit, like maybe 100 miles a year!

George

The thirdgen firehawk was by far the rarest, most powerful (350 HP) thirdgen ever made. If I owned this car it would be in a bubble where nobody knew about so I could look at it and giggle. But don't get me wrong, thats not what everybody should do because these cars were meant to drive. Don't quote me on this but I beleive this green one was the only green firehawk in 91.

I'd have some fun with it and jump it. I'd also video tape it, for the net...














Just kidding, I would drive on very nice days, and make sure that nothing happened to it!

I hate people that buy a car and do not drive it.
This is just not meant for you personally... but I have seen SO MANY cars just sit and fall apart because the person did not to drive it, but did not want to sell it either.

I mean... I can understand the rarity, and the value... but jezz, it is not like some land that will shoot up in value... it is a car. It was built to be driven.

I honestly cannot see the point of buying a performance car just to have it collect dust (figuratively). My neighbor has a nice 92 vette 'vert... by no means a collector car, but it might and I mean MIGHT seen sunlight 3-4 times a year. What the hell is the point? You can tell others, yeah I have the best 3rd gen ever made, but I never drive it....

Yeah you might get lucky in 10 years and find a collector looking for one... and you will make some money off the car... meanwhile the cars sits and does nothing...
and the only enjoyment you get out of owning it is looking at it...

Sometimes I really hate this bird, working on it and such... but that does not mean I am not gonna drive it once whatever I was working on is fixed...
Hell I love popping out the t tops and taking a drive. It is by no means a rare car in the grand sceme of things, but it is the only GTA in this area that I have seen.

And after I finish this latest project, it will just get more known... as something that you better think twice before messin with...

Because it is my car and I will do with it what I please. Why do you have any right to tell me what I should do with MY car? Just because you would beat the living crap out of it doesn't mean that is what I want for MY car. I'd rather just have it and not worry about rock chips, door dings, cleaning the dirt off the undercarriage, etc.

Just making my point, don't take it personally.

I went to look at Firehawk #026 last year, it is the only one with a 383. They wanted $32k for it at the time, I was willing to pay $28k. They would not even hear of reducing the price, raised it up to $34k after I left, and now I see it is $26k. I would have bought it for that! So I found me a nice straight '91 Formula and landed the deal of the century on a low-mile built stroker motor for it...funny how things work out!

I would buy extra wheels, tires, shocks, struts and some wear items so I could remove the stock stuff for a restoration at a later date maybe!?.. Then I would proceed to enjoy the car every now and then on the street, track and shows

I realize that (and am not taking personally)... but it just infurates me when people buy something just to say they own it.
It is like that guy that buys a 2K tool but has no clue even how to use it... or has a well equipped garage, but knows nothing about cars, let alone how to work on them...

I never said I would beat the crap out of it, but I would drive it. Not as a D/D mind you but also not just 1-500 a year either...

That green one has a number of warnings attached to it, go to the firehawk org site and read about it. I bought my 2nd Formula 3 1/2 years ago from a collector who had 8900 miles on it, just like new, EVERYTHING on it new, was one of those that was like that. I still clean and try my best to keep her like that, but I drive the sucker daily, she now has 36,000 miles on her. Andy

Personally if your interested in a Firehawk I would avoid anything but the red ones.

I am not positive on this, BUT I think the ONLY Firehawks that have the B4U option code were #2 thru possibly #21. Its not that there bad cars, but because of the lack of the B4U option code it possibly make them less desirable. The colored cars IIRC were all owner or dealer owned cars converted with all the same equipment, the original price was the same. I would still shy away from them.

#18 - Cancelled
#22 - Blue
#23 - Cancelled
#24 - Green - Owned by Hawk
#25 - White - also has T-tops
#26 - Aqua - I would definately avoid this one.
#27 - Red Convertable T/A

I have seen this car in person - what are your thoughts?

I'd never buy or own such a car, except possibly to re-sell quickly.

If you want an investment buy an index fund, if you want a car, buy a car - this isn't a good investment, and it's not a very good car if you can't drive it without having white knuckles all the time about the other fools on the roads.

My iroc isn't particulaly rare - which for me is a great thing, I don't care what pops up on carfax, I don't care if the numbers match, and if there's a big dent in my door when I come out of Wal-Mart, I can yell at my insurance guy and he can get my car repaired quickly and cheaply.

I know a gentleman who has an 87' Grand National with 1k miles - it's literally never been washed with soap (he pulls it out of the garage and rinses it off with a hose once a year), original tires ( he stopped at the tire store on the way home from the Buick dealer and had them changed), original battery in a baggie in the garage, etc. It's a complete waste - He paid I believe $17k 20 years ago for it, and it might be worth double that on a really good day now, if he looked all over the country for a buyer, or paid some stiff fees to run it through one of the big auction houses.

The dow has went up 450% in the same period of time. DOW Return

Even the best cars are a terrible investment.

^^^^ well said. I can't understand anyone who enjoys staring at their car parked in their garage year-round and never, ever drives it.

There are cars at the TA Nationals here in Vandalia with over 150,000 miles that look and drive better than many low-mile originals I've seen. Are they worth as much? Probably not...but how do you put a price on enjoyment? There's nothing I enjoy more than seeing an awesome thirdgen meticulously maintained and find out it's got well over 100k miles.

There was also a guy at the nats selling his 21K mile all original 87 Trans Am for $13,500. Said he was too scared to drive it anymore and avoided highways at all costs. Sure, it was a great-looking car, but how is that any fun? And at $13,500 he's not even getting what he paid for it in 1987 dollars, not even close.

The 88 Trans Am I'm getting this saturday has 31k miles and is built to the teeth with mods. I plan on driving it any chance i get (nice weather evenings, weekends, etc). Even if it was stock it would be a shame to let it sit in storage and not be driven.

drive it. thats what it was built for. and if you cant drive it/ or scared to, you shouldnt be owning it.


i HATE trailer queens

I guess I am very different. I want to buy a 15th, 20th, 89 GTA drop top and Firehawk and never let them see more then 100 miles in a year.

Don't feel bad, anyone! We all have different ideas as to what to do with our cars and what we would do with cars we covet. Do what works for you and be proud!

Personally, I simply wouldn't have bought the damn car in the first place, to avoid dilemmas like this.

If I were to choose, I would keep it locked up. Maybe have some fun every once in a while, but keep it as mint as I can. And buy another third gen. If I had the money to buy one of those babies, I would also have more than enough to buy another third gen to trash.

I'd say drive it here and there on very nice summer days to keep the seals well lubed and to enjoy it. Drive it to local shows etc. but overall keep it garaged. It will be nice to have it just like it is when you are older and will turn even more heads then. Oh but buy another 3rd gen to waste all you money on as well.

I did the last thing you said! My Formula completes me!

thats a tough one, if i had the money to get one or go one handed to me , i dunno , thats tough . Id probably not drive it much , it much be fun to drag race it once or twice a year , maybe auto x it , but i dunno .

Just quickly without taking alot of time:

IMHO The car will be woth less than most of the others

When I looked at it in 1999 it had TPI, before that it had the T-ram, now it has a miniram... The T-ram is what gives the Firehawk its identity.

I could go on... but not now

John

Drive it...

When I get a car, I wanna drive it. So when I have free time, I just get in it and go... doesn't matter why, doesn't matter when, doesn't matter where, doesn't matter for how long--smiling from ear-to-ear all along the way.

Drive it, definitely.

I would park it, show it, and drive it on rare occasions. I belive in enjoying a car as much as the next guy, but something that rare shouldn't be ran into the ground. If you wanted something to take out and beat on you could build a car that would perform as well for 1/2 the price. I would probably continue to drive my current bird and take the Firehawk out a couple times a month.

well im gonna have to agree on this, i mean if the car made it this far in life with next to no miles, it should stay that way..

A firehawk should be left in a garage. If I had the cash to waste on buying one, I'd put it in my ****ing living room in a bubble so everyone could see it.

If you've got the cash to buy one of these, then you have the cash to buy something faster to thrash as a DD whilst leaving the birdie in the garage