I found a 92 Formula today for sale. Does anybody know how many are 305 TBI and Auto.? The car is red, complete, and in very good shape all-around. But it has a worn out engine. 200,000+ miles on it. Everything else is in good shape WS6 wheels, powerbulge hood, great dash, t-top headliner pieces, fiberglass spoiler. It was female driven and taken care of until the engine just wore out. It was priced to me for $800. Is it worth it or should I pass? It is definately a real Formula.

 

If its a REAL '92 formula go for it,Not many made.

Check your rpo codes to make sure

 

$800 sounds about right. Some people have payed more or less for the same "car" I'm sure. With the enging already in bad shape, you can upgrade to something with some *****.

 

Errrr, I thought TPI was the only motor on 91's and 92's

 

According to the Thirdgen.org Tech Data you are correct.

 

I've seen 91-92's with TBI and drums!

Kevin D.

 

Drums are common, but show me a 91/92 Formula/Trans Am U.S. model that's TBI...

 

I have seen the TBI 90-92 Formulas, they more common on the street than the LB9s. They are usually red, auto and have the funny "strip" type spoiler. I came across this one the other day:

http://screamingbanshee.com/TransAmC...hp?topic=369.0

I called and verified it was TBI. I was first excited I might be getting some spare parts, not so.

 

Uhh, I don't think the wrap around spoiler was an option. Those 305 TBI Formys w/ the strip spoiler are just Firebirds...

 

Here's one.. Not completely stock, but hood and spoiler are correct.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PONTI...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Wow, crazy...

 

Really, you trust someone that calls the TBI a High Output 305?

 

Yeah when I'm tired and need sleep for work tomorrow, lol...

 

From 88-92 the BASE engine for the Formula was the LO3, the LB9 and L98 were both options.

Disc brakes were also an option.

I owned a 1991 LO3 Drum braked Formula.

I Cannot believe how in bad the Thirdgen.org Tech Data is. I find it amazing that someone has not gone through and fixed it by now I do not use it for anything anymore. Especially in regards the the Firebird line.

As for RoadThrills question:

I do not think the price is out of line, if it runs at all to where you can work on it especially.

To replace the LO3 engine, you can upgrade to a 350 Crate for reasonable, Or just get yourself a 350 from a Junkyard and go from there. You might consider the 97 ish Vortec Engine from a Truck that was essentially the same Block as a Gen 1 SBC But there were some nice HP upgrades with the Vortec Heads.

Or if your nuts, get the car, buy a junker that has TPI and convert it over... A big job, but lots of fun.

I guess it would depend on how much time you have to work on it to finish it.

 

Cool, I was hoping you'd chime in on this. I'll trust you :-)

 

The car does have the wraparound 91-92 Trans Am style spoiler on it, and the Formula letters on the doors are present too.

 

I have driven a few 91-92 Formulas in the past and each one I drove had the TBI engine in it. Seems pretty common, at least here in northwest Ohio. Sounds like you've got a good platform to build up from.

 

The ONLY thing I can really see for the LO3 Formulas and Trans Ams for that matter is the Insurance. The insurance on my LG4 was about 15% lower than my LB9 or L98 cars.

Whats really odd is my License plate is the lowest for my L98 out of all 3 cars ... Perhaps because it was a Hard Top, but they would not know that... I am not going to argue...

John

 

It's a thankless job. When I rewrote the Tech Data 5+ years ago there was maybe two paragraphs of Firebird data between 1982 and 1992 and most of it was wrong. If it says that TBI wasn't available as an option on the formula in 91-92 its because someone else put that in there. Also most of the problems that people find with it are bad interpretations of what's written. Just because it says something was available doesn't mean it was the only option.

All it was intended to be is a primer, in a lot of ways its more accurate then 90% of the commercially available books on the subject. No one ever says anything good about the tech data, they only trash talk it and use it when backing up their arguments.

 

Sorry Drew, I know you put alot of work in it, and I know there is a lot of info take care of, but as of late as things seem to surface it does not add up any more. Its like the Camaro White book, because 1 year (1987 specifically) is soo far out of whack, who is to say that the book has any usefullness at all???

Your not alone, and no one blames you, matter of fact I thank you for at least setting something up, unfortunately there is soo much bad information out there, that its difficult to determine what is good and what is garbage. I know that on my personal site, I am always updating my historical information as things come available, I had some really awful stuff on there at one point. As I work with it and correct things it just gets better.

John

 

I sent an email to the admin email address offering to go through it and clean it up again... haven't heard back yet though. I haven't contributed anything to this site in a long time so I'm not sure who to contact directly. Even if they're open to it, its not easy to put all the information together. It's not just 10 years of yearly changes and miniscule details, its 20 because there are both lines of cars. It won't happen quickly or easily.

 

I would be willing to help out with the Formula Info, and I possibly FrankieRider could add something in regards to the GTA...

We have enough knowledge around here to really put together something awesome...

Although it might be a PITA, we might consider breaking the Firebird and Camaro stuff up and make 2 files.

John

 

look in my sig

 

Wow, a white 91/92 Formy! What does that prove?

I admit that there are 91/92 TBI Formys out there, but your signature proves nothing. You may as well of said "There are 350 5-speeds from GM, look at my sig!"

 

you said show me a us model formula with tbi... so i did, want me to go take a picture of the engine ?

edit: it wasnt you who said that, but stillt hey asked to see one and i showed it to them, what do you want from me ? you didnt have to be a dick about it

 

If you wanted to prove it go take a picture of the SPID label. Simple as that. The exterior of the car proves nothing.

 

well when the 10 inches of snow we just got melts i will

 

Not to mention the ttops and crosslace wheels... ooohhh... ahhhhh...

BTW what was the question again? drums on a L03 Formula in 91?

 

Debate on if 91/92 Formys got the L03 engine as the base or was the TPI engine the base.

 

This is a really bad picture, I apologize. It's late and I don't want to wake anyone up running my scanner and to be honest even if it wasn't I don't really want to put a stapled press release from 1989 in my scanner to begin with. Anyway... the following is quoted from a Pontiac press release dated 12/26/1989 detailling the new for the 1991 model year Firebird. As should be commonly accepted the 1991 model birds came out early in 1990. The picture is just to show this is an actual document not something I just cooked up...

I'll skip the basic info and the marketing garbage and cut right to the Formula section (the other models don't matter anyway, GTA's are boring.)

I'd say that pretty much covers drum brakes, posi, and L03's... The options and equipment info a few pages further in shows the 5.7-liter TPI V-8 engine with a * that matches the note below "not avail. with manual trans." and the '5-speed manual transmission' with a # that matches the note below "not avail. with 5.7-liter engine". Also of note is that the # notation is also marked next to 'hatch roof' even though its been documented many times that the 5.7, & ttops could be had on the 91-92 Formula.

Also the promo folder for the 91 Firebird has a similar chart, as does the sales brochure for the full Pontiac line. They're handy reference materials for this kind of thing and can be found pretty easily on ebay.

 

I'm bored... in case anyone wants to know what the page I photo'd says...

Pontiac News

Public Relations Department
Pontiac Division
General Motors Corporation
Pontiac, Michigan 48053
Telephone 313-857-1567

For Release December 26, 1989
FIREBIRD

Pontiac is launching a dramatically restyled Firebird as an early 1991 model. From the affordable Sport Coupe to the all-out performance machine --GTA-- the Firebird tradition continues as a sporty car renowned for aggressive styling and outstanding performance and handling.

Shown publicly for the first time at January auto shows, the new exterior styling changes give the 1991 Firebird a more contemporary look. Production of the new model is slated to begin at the Van Nuys, California, assembly plant in early February.

With distinctive fascias, lower aero packages on uplevel models, and rear decklid spoiler, the image-conscious Firebird buyer will have the ultimate in aerodynamic styling, no matter which Firebird model is chosen.

The 1991 Pontiac Firebird continues with the four-model lineup:
Firebird
Firebird Formula
Trans Am
Trans Am GTA

Changes for 1991:
Redesigned front and rear fascias
New aero package and taillamps on the Trans Am and GTA
New rear deck spoiler design on the Formula, Trans Am, and GTA
Smaller retractable halogen mini-headlamps

 

Cool, now that is good info