First a big hello to everyone! I am considering buying an 83 T/A. I am a little curious about some of the equippment on it. 1. engine, original 305 with what looks like a fresh air package on it.It has a round rubber duct on the air cleaner that seals to the hood. Is this an L69 thing or a LG4 option. I can`t tell which motor it has. 2. It has a 4 speed auto w/overdrive. Is this the 700r4? or a weaker sibling? 3. How do these early 80`s `birds stand as far as modifications are concerned? I seem to hear a lot of negative about the 305. I do have an 86 issue of hotrod magazine where they installed a 400 smallblock using the 305s heads and an edelbrock intake,on an early carbed `bird. Can this be done with a 350? I am really relying on everyones input here. I have allways admired the `bird styling,shoot,when this car was new I was 14! The asking price is $1400. Is it worth it, or should I pass? It is a rust free car. Thanks to all!

 

1) the air thing was standard on the LU5 crossfire injection engines... both the camaro and the firebird with the LU5 had a functional hood scoop/cowl thing to suck in cold air at WOT... it is a dual TBI setup instead of a carb like the L69 and LG4...

2) yes i think it is a 700r4... i think they did use the 200r4 that year, but i dont think they were in the crossfire cars...

3) they respond ok to mods, but youd be better off buying an aftermarket intake and carb, and putting the crossfire stuff in a box on a shelf to possibly restore the car later, or if you didnt want it you could sell it to me... if you are REALLY serious about going fast, then i'd ditch the 305 altogether for a larger motor... like the 350 or 400... easier to get more power from those than the smaller bore 305... yeah you can put the heads on a 350 too, but they dont flow the best...

for 1400$ if it is a solid car in good condition, decent interior, and is mechanically sound id say go for it...

 

Along with the crossfire engine, the cold air intake was also
used on the LG-4 and the L-69 carb 305.
I know, because my LG-4 5spd 83 T/A has this
air cleaner/hood arrangement

Without going into great detail here,
I'll just say that this has been outlined
in great detail in a resent post, you might
try a search.

As far as the price, sounds good, go for it
the key to a car this old is the fact of it being
clean of rust, and if your happy with how it looks,
then have a great time with your new purchase.

And the LG-4 should be VIN code "H", and if I recall
correctly, the 83 L-69 was only available with a 5spd.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

i forgot firebirds had the carbed engines with the air induction hood too DOH!

its the camaros that only had the air induction on the crossfire...

 

Sorry `bout that! I shoulda specified, it is carbed! I remember the old crossfire injection though,if I remember right,it never quite lived up to what it was supposed to be. So is the fresh air thing a bit of a rarity then? Are there numbers that I can check to confirm what tranny it is? And if so where? I did notice a number plate on the core support,in front of the radiator.

 

1983 Trans Am + Carburetor + Automatic Transmission = LG4

4 speed automatic = 700R4

 

:hail: Thank you!

 

The fresh air induction wanst at all rare on an 83 TA. All the LG4's had it, as did the L69's in late 83. That car has the LG4 because of the automatic. The 83 L69 cars were 5-speed equipped. It does in fact have the 700R4 trans which is not too bad of a performer unless you beat the poop out of it. The 700R4 was the only overdrive trans available in an F-body in 83...V8 anyway, not sure about V6's. As far as modifications...the carbed 82-87's are very easy to modify and the computer systems and components are very forgiving as far as driveablilty and emissions. I swapped a 350 into my old 83 TA and had to change nothing. Where the LG4 sucks in in bone stock form. My 83 ran a 14.92 with nothing more than headers, a 3" catback, and 3.73's....with an LG4/auto. Not a great performance motor, but it has potential.

 

Thanks again for the info! I put a down payment on it today!