I am curious how many of you all have saved our beloved thirdgens. If you have brought one back from death buzz in. If you have junked one buzz in too I am curious if we are doing any good lol.

Myself I have saved a 1988 Sports Coupe from the crusher.

 

Id say anyone who owns one in the snow belt that doesnt drive it in the salt has saved one from certain death.

 

I have 2 that I have saved from the crusher, however eventually they will find there way there once I get done picking off parts.

John

 

Well that doesnt help

 

I have 2 saved from the salvage yards... and all are garaged in the winter (never going to see any salt as long as i can help it, nor snow)

 

let me guess, they were your 2 berlys , if i didnt buy my berly it would have gone to the Junkers in preaty much Mint shap (a year ago before its daily driver abuse days )

 

the previous owner I got mine from never drove it in the winter nor have I, its damn clean for being in the nations "rust belt"

 

273013 a 1984 trans am gone to the scrap pile

 

 

I feel for you guys in the rust belt as I now live close to the beach and am fighting the effects of salt. As for me, well, we have come within an RCH of losing ours to theft (It was recovered), a slew of clueless but well meaning mechanics, and being virtually homeless for a year due to our family being poisoned by pesticides, so, yes, ours has been saved more times than I can count. It's funny, for awhile I was paralyzed fully and partially and could barely wipe my own *** but I kept our IROC's engine detailed and she always had a fat coat of wax on her!
-Please pardon the female references but it was originally my wifes car, that she gave to me on fathers day some years ago, and she always called the IROC her "Pretty girl" and truly she's black and she's beautiful!

 

I'm pretty sure I qualify for this thread. My car belonged to my uncle and didnt run when he gave it to me. Body work+getting it running, and I had myself a high school car. Originally it was a 3.1 auto FE1 car.. now has a tpi 350, t56, and doesn't have a single piece of FE1 left..

It would've for sure ended up in a socal salvage yard if I hadn't taken it.. probably woulda been a part of one or two korean cars by now..

 

I qualify for this thread as well with my silver 1983 Trans Am. I purchased it for $421 on 3/4/04 and it has gone through a major transformation since.

 

Yes indeedy. both are the berlinettas. one standard, and the 84 with the full digital "Starwars" OEM option.

The z28 I saved from becoming a dirt track car.. I jsut had to save it from being cut to pcs and smashed all over the place.. no way for a good car like that to die.. i say if they have to go, let it be in a stupendous ball of fire...

 

I got my self a new qoute , Yea thats how i see my berly dieing

 

I saved my gta from sure death. I seen it sitting in a field under some trees one day. I went to take a look and it was mostly there. No engine or tranny and the windows were down and most of the intior was shot. I talk to the guy(closes house near by). He told me the car had been sitting there of around one year. I told him I'd like to buy the car, he gave me a strange look but sold it to me for $200. I towed it home later that week and started working on it. I had a 88 formy 350 with frame damage and swaped most of the parts to the gta. A year latter it is not a bad looking car, most of the interior has been fixed or replace. Many hours have been put in to it and many more to come. Oh hey, the guy that sold me the car had told me it was going to the crusher in the soon because they were moving, so lucky me .

Laters,
Conrad

 

I paid $500 for my firebird back in 1998. It was sitting in a field next to a guys house for the 3 years. Rust had started to take effect in several places. The motor was good but it wouldn't start. "Needs a new battery" said the owner...yeah right. It needed most of the fuel system replaced; gas tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, injector. Threw all that in and some other things (brakes, shocks, bulbs, etc) and she came back to life. Been driving it ever since.

It's been repainted (1998) and interior has been updated with 4th gen seats. Swaybars upgraded to WS6 units from a Formula (wheels too).

Needs to be painted again.

 

Bill, of all the 82-84 Firebirds and Trans am's here on TGO, I like yours the best... I guess the 16" rims really do something for these cars.

John

 

I have an 88 IROC-Z that i bought out of a field where it had been sitting for around 2 yrs, restored it, sold it to a friend who totaled it and I got it back and fixed it again and I am now driving it. I also have an 86 IROC-Z that I bought right before it was going to be sent off to the junkyard. The 86 was a tow in and was never claimed so the motor and tpi was pulled and sold, it is now in the process of being restored. I also have around 15 3rd gen f bodies that are parts cars or can be fixed also.

 

Thanks man. I love the styling of the 82-84 birds. My vote for the best looking 82-84 trans am goes to 1tinindian. His car is what I want mine to look like!

I've got a bunch of plans for my ride but no money to do it. With my wife and I expecting our first baby this december...$$ a little tight.

-bill

 

Hate to be the bearer of BAD news... but wife + kids = NO CAR

kinda sucks, but I guess we have to grow up some time, I am just going kicking and screaming best I can. Its amazing I got married, my wife WAS a nurse, she made as much as I did, I thought I would be set for money. She has decided to "Retire" and now she is running an in-home day care, I am having a hard time making it from month to month, by the time I have enough money to get a car that I really want I will be too old to care.

John

 

Well I'm sending this one (86 Trans Am) to the wrecker, pulled the LT1 out of it and taking everything I can. Unfortunately the car is too far gone to salvage.

 

Your salvaging the Vert????? whats wrong with it?

 

for me.....girlfriend-fiance-wife+kids=NO CAR! Ever since I started dating my wife the funds for car stuff were diverted. Don't get me wrong...she isn't the type that says spend money on me or else. It's just, if we wanted to do anything (go out on dates) it cost money. Plus I was in college at the time. So part time job/full time school left me with low funds all the time. I sold the only Trans Am (1981) I've ever owned just to get an engagement ring. (I still bring that up to my wife every now and again...in hopes she'll get me another trans am someday. )

We bought a house right after we were married and I needed a more reliable vehicle. So mortgages other car payments....my bird took the back seat to all of it.

I wouldn't trade anything I have right now for a silly car anyway. I prefer having a wife and kid to a car any day.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't say I wanted my bird to be the best it could be.

[/ramble]

-bill

 

My 87 would be in a junkyard for sure by now if I didn't own it. Originally a V6 it has been changed to a 305 TPI. The body has over 182,000 miles on it.

Here's a few random pics.

 

Wow, nice looking car! Love the color!

 

both the 3rd gens i have owned have been litterally minutes away from the crusher when i bought them. The first was a 84 Z28 with t-tops, originally 305/5 speed, no motor or tans, paid $350 for it, had to sell it a whilke ago but still regret it. The current one is a 85 bird with a blown 2.8. Palns to go with a mild 350 and 4 spd manual. this one won't be goping anywhere soon. Also only paid 250 for this one. like fixin too much to but a good one, plus it nice to see what it looked like b4r and what it looks like when done and now that i did it all.

 

j

 

I saved my 87 GTA from the crusher also. I bought it after it had a major engine fire, everything burnable from the firewall forward was gone. I saw it in the local auto trader at a dealer and that weekend I went up to look at it and put my down payment on it the following monday. The seller told me that a salvage yard from nebraska was going by with a trailer right after I put the deposit on it and wanted to buy it. Lucky for me the dealer stuck by his word he would hold it till the following weekend. I paid 1200 for it an He delivered it to me for $75. After I got it to the point of powering up the electronics I descovered it had only 68055 miles on it. And here is how it looks today. (I can't get my stupid picture to load right so I have to attach it)

 

I have saved three from the scrap heap my 86 the 87 i am buying and my 89

 

I bought my 82 SE from a private party that said later after the purchase" if I didnt buy it that day it was going to the junkyard "
When I bought it I got it home and all it needed was a battery.Owners thought it was shot out because it didnt start Oh well,there loss my gain I got it for 500$ .It had 65000 miles on it too. Now it has 108,000 though
Shes ran strong since the day ive owned her.

 

my camaro was almost broken before i bought it - a dealer took it in as a trade in, but the person who traded it in almost sold the engine and tranny to someone wanting to put it into a plastic hotrod replica.





some thorough detailing and a few mods later, this is what its like.

no serious mods, but unfortunatly it costs a lot more to modify a thirdgen over here.

example - i put 4th gen seats in it (out of a euro spec 99 Z28, so actualy firebird seats) they cost me £550 - about $1000

 

Picked up my GTA for $300 bucks, no interior, no motor/tranny, no driver side door (the previous owner sold it) and the wrong hatch, plus a quarter panel a little wrinkled. Luckily this car has never been hit directly in the back or front and still has all of the VIN stickers on the panels (minus the driver door)I have my '86 which is hurt pretty back in the back so I'm swapping the LT1/6-speed to it, putting the black interior into it and painting it Gunmetal which should look pretty good. Here's a pic just after buying it. The amazing thing is, it sat outside for 5 years with the door missing and no hatch on the car, and not a spot of rust inside anywhere that I can find, and I've been all over the car looking for some.

 

Thanks Bill, thats very nice of you to say that
I have always thought your car was very interesting for its drivetrain, and how it kinda looks like my car

I have been very fortunate to have owned both of my T/As for as long as I have. One was before I was married,(1982) and the second one was 2 years before my first kid was born,(1988).

NOW,,, he's 15 yrs old, and just bought his first GTA from stiers, here on TGO.

He(stiers) said if the car didn't sell, he was going to part it out, so in a way, I guess you can say, we saved this one

We just got it home today, and stopped on the way, at this spot to snap a pic. It needs some work, but will make one H311 of a first car for my son.

I told him that he has to register here and get involved in the Third Gen world, now that he has that car



Leon..................and son

 

That sounds alot like the story of mine. I bought my 83 Berlineeta for 100$.. was going to go to the junk because the owners thought the transmission was gone, as well as the engine.. All it needed was Coolant (was completely out) and about a quart of transmission fluid sucked out. And I always put a new battery in a car when i get it. The Picture below was 2 days after i got it home from Yorktown, VA About 1400 miles from where i live.. and i drove it back all the way with no problems at all lol

 

This one is gonna be salvaged soon

 

Why in earth would you salvage that black car....???

 

iv sent a 4thgen, no loss there

 

I rescued this 86 Ta t-top ws6 with tpi & automatic. It was sitting at my friends repair shop in STL because it did not run anymore due to engine fire. The previous owner could not afford to have my freind fix it so he was planning on parting out the car. The body was straight but everything else was worn out. Tires were junk, wires were burnt, some parts were missing, and the interior was torn up with stains all over it. I bought it and did the repairs to get it working again, It would barley stop so it had to get ALL new front brakes before it was safe, the pads were worn down to the metal rubbing on the warped rotors and the rear disc braked did not work at all. I also had to replace a lot of the wiring that burnt, the altenator, leaking valvecover gaskets, radiator, waterpump, plugwires, cap/rotor, TPS, and fix 3 different fluid leaks among other things. I then drove over 250 miles to my home in Kansas, I was confident enough in my repairs and evaluation of it to drive it instead of towing it, and it made it fine. Since then it has gotten the original motor and tranny rebuilt, 3.73 gears, sfcs, intake and exhaust mods, rebuilt suspension, total interior replacment, and I just put the original 1986 style hi-tech 16' wheels on it. It is only missing the TA aero wing to be all original. I paid $1,250 in 2003 for it because there was $1,000 already bid on it by some vultures trying to get it parted out for the TPI and body parts.

 

wow... engine fire with everything all ripped up and such.. those people must have been desprate for one.. I can go to the salvage yard and pick up a 3rd gen here. 305 tpi and the who car for $400.....and in alot better condition that that was in lol

 

there were bids from other people with 3rd gens, one guy was going to give $400 for the 9bolt disc rear end and then pay my friend to put it in his car, another guy offered $500 for the motor with tpi and tranny, someone else wanted the hood and other stuff. I have seen similar cars that were sent to the junkyard, but this had a clear title. I could not resist all the tpi and ws6 goodies on a straight body, and with t-tops too Cars like this should not be allowed to die

1tinindian,
I looked at the picture of your car and your sons new car, that looks like it was one dangerous trip home. I wanted to know how much money it cost you to get the big arrow removed from the back of your car?

 

Awsome that your son follows in the footsteps and gets a nice Firebird.

My wife and I are having a girl but that doesn't mean I wont try and get her to say Firebird as one of her first words.

Lord willing, the bird will be around long enough that maybe she could drive it.

-bill

 

Wouldn't it be safe to say that any of us that is keeping our car well maintained and driveable to the code of law (your state may vary) is, in fact, keeping a third gen from the scrap heap?

Third Gen forever.

 

True, True

 

Chiming in from the Mid-West snow\rust\salt belt.

Here is my 89 formula that is still in the process of being "saved".

It was sitting, covered, in my friends garage for the past two years with a dammaged passenger fender, door and quarter.

A semi had merged into the car for which he had already claimed to his insurance and obviously the money never made it back to the car.

Anyway, he lost interest in it and sold the car to me for 700.00 with the stipulation that I "finish" the car. This was a steal as the he had already replaced all the bushings with urathane ones, new lowered springs, borla exhaust and a hotchkis strut brace.

The engine and trans were strong but I have since reworked the engine and trans to my liking.

Additionally, his brother, a body man, is also a good friend, to which he added " I will help you straighten and paint the car". ( -:

The only stipulation is that I pay for the material and do the grunt work.
I will be honest that my intention was not to "save" a particular car but as my interest for the car has grown this indeed will be the end result.

Oh and BTW, when I am finished, this car will never see snow.

 

I cant post the pics but you can go to my black death Trans Am to see the pics of the one I saved from being parted

 

I am buying an 85 trans am this weekend that the previous owners switched the 305 tpi to carb and could never get it running, so it went to the mechanics junkyard. Well, that mechanic happens to be a relative, so I'm getting the car for $350. I guess you could say I saved it.

 

I have sent an 85 bird, 91 bird 92 rs, 89 formula 86 bird to the crusher but these cars where either completely striped or totaled to the point you couldn't tell what they where

 

scrape heap bound 1988 formula totaled thanks to my uncle

 

I saved a firstgen from the crusher.

 

I am in the process of saving another one, it is my 91 RS Convertible. Here are some links to some pics.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=297681
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=324406