i recently found my build sheet for my 83 T/A, atleast whats left of it. everything on my car is exactly what a WS6 car should be. 15 turbo fin wheels, 4 wheel disk, big sways tinted tail light lenses and so on but the build sheet dosent say
WS6. it says WY6 and i cant read the first word, only part of it and it says ec perf package.
can the car have all of the WS6 stuff and not be a WS6?

 

It could have all the WS6 stuff without 4 wheel disk brakes but from what it sounds like you might have nothing to worry about. I have all the same things except I have the N78 code wheels.
Could be the printing deteriorated with age, or misprint. Speaking of which, where did you find your build sheet. I've been looking for mine if it even still exists.

 

mine was under the dr seat strapped in the cross wires that go front to back. there is a flap of material that covers this.

 

After 20+ years, if a person didn't originally buy the car brand new & know its history, it not matching its RPO codes, wouldn't surprise me any.

WS6 parts could easily have put on a non-WS6 car.

 

Stephen has a good point. Though the benefit of doubt could be applied here. Just out of curiosity I punched in WY6 in the decoder just to see what it says. It came up as an error, then I went to WildJeff's decode guide of Early Third Gen birds and it came up there clearly. Here is what it says:

WY5 Special Performance package (na w/base Firebird) $313.00
WY6 Special Performance package (na w/base Firebird) (w/o 4 wheel disk brakes) $134.00

I included WY5 because you say you have 4 wheel discs. (though they could have been converted)

 

Exactly what I did, minus the 4 wheel disc...

 

WY6 was everything WS6 had except posi, G80. in 83 there was a shortage of the posi. so GM released WY6 to keep the cars moving.

Check out for more info.
http://www.82firebird.com/images/CDB/83_F_12.jpg and
http://www.82firebird.com/images/CDB/83_F_12a.jpg

 

when i bought this car it was all there even the motor, this was during the early 90s.
i can read the section on the disk on my build shet and it came with the J65 option so i know it wasnt added. i wish the rear ratio was still there but that half of the sheet is gone, i'll eventually send in for further info at PHS.
so Jeff what this means is my car was a WS6 car that got caught in a shortage and was optioned a WY6 car instead?
is it possible i get a copy of those 2 sheets Jeff?

 

never mind, it let me print it out in a proper size.

 

That would be my guess. what is the date on the cowl tag? is it after April?

My 83 T/A was built in June 83 and it also as WY6.

 

just looked at my check plate and mine is a june car as well, second week. body # 226554.
i noticed something, my car has 15 L and 15 U, the lower half of my car is black, shouldnt that code be 19L on my plate ? i also didnt see my engine code in the listing, DTY.
what do you think the chances of my car being a 3.73 5 speed model like i suspect?
i recall when i got the car i could light up both tires with NO effort and then my dumb a** blew up the rear and let it go. if i knew then what i know now the stuff i let go over the years i would still have now, mainly the rear.

 

The upper and lower code in 82 and 83, for the Firebird anyway, are always the same. The color on the bottom of the body is an accent color. Pontiac considered the line at the mid point of the door to be the divider for upper and lower. In 84 you could get a two tone firebird, which would have a different upper and lower number.

Not sure about the DTY, according to http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-ca...es.asp?group=3 it's for a 1979 305. Does the block have the correct VIN stamped on it?

It could be a 3.73, do you know what code you have stamped on the rear end?

 

gotcha.

sadly that motor is long gone and falls in to the "if i knew then what i know now" catagory. i got the DTY code off the emissions stickers still on the rad fan shroud.

and another victim of the "if i knew then" catagory. how rare or common were the 3.73 5 speed combos?
BTW, thanx for the welth of info, you have brought to light alot of stuff i wanted to know for some time.

 

Glade to help. The emission sticker code is different then the engine block code. I can tell you there where 13,928 (that is for the 4 and 5 speed tranny) manual transmission Firebirds producted in 83, but that's about all the info I have. If someone else as more info please chime in but I'm not sure any more detailed info is availble now.

 

my 84 T/A also fell victim to the posi shortage and got WY6. I believe it was built in the third week of January in 1984. It kinda sucks not having the famed WS6 option code, but I've changed everything on the car so the RPOs really have no relation to reality anyway.

 

You could order the PHS documentation for it, which is the factory invoice for your individual car. It would be more readable than the eroded buildsheet.

Last I checked they were $50. phs-online.com. It does sound to me like wildjeff and Kevman have explained it pretty well.

 

It still is $50. I ordered my documentation and window sticker for the 84 TA I own for originality purposes. Mine is pretty much the way it left the factory other than an engine swap (was blown) and the fact that time took its toll on the interior and paint and etc. For the shortage issue, my 84 TA was built in July and I have the WS6 package on it. (was shipped to dealer on July 13th so it could be Late June as well)

I have totals for the Trans Am only production figures. Were 11,328 manual transmission cars in 1984, 4,277 with LG4, 7,051 with L69. As for rear end gears didn't all L69s get the 3.73 gears? I know the WS6 was mandatory with L69. Don't know about 83s though because the L69 was a late year option so it could have been built with WY6.

There was an issue that I noticed with the wheels. I have the N78 rpo code on my SPID sticker and I have those wheels on my car but it didn't come up in the stuff that PHS sent me. Because I have the N78 RPO code in the SPID sticker I think its safe to assume that it originally came from the factory with the Deep dish N78 wheels.

 

The dealer invoice will only list cost options. If it was a no cost option or included with the vehicle model or option package it won't be listed. I'm pretty sure the N78 "Hi-Tech" aluminum rims were part of the WS6 option.

My '84 T/A was built 5th week of August '84 and it also has WS6. One of my friends has a late '83 built '84 T/A and it came through with WY6.

 

Thanks Dens71TA, I figured it probably did but I wanted to hear other opinions first.

 

L695speed, in your documentation, did it list the rear end ratio in any of your info by chance?

 

I'll have to go back through it and double check to be sure. But to give you a piece of information off the top of my head. In my RPO codes G80 is limited slip (as mentioned before in this thread) and GT4 is the 3.73 rear axle ratio. If you have GT4 in yours then it came with the 3.73. As far as production figures go I have no idea but I know on some RPOs if you order one you have to order the other and that is one way to try to determine how many were built.

Anyone else have anything to add to that? My body tag is missing (don't know how or why) which is why I went to the PHS in the first place. I still have the SPID sticker and the VINs match that along with the fact that the car was in the family for the better part of its life (got it in 1990) is why I feel good about the originality of it I know work was done on the rear end by Dad and the Motor by me and him but he kept everything stock like it was.

 

im not sure what the story is but when i got my 83 it was all orig and i recall when i would stand on the gas both tires would fire up and im suspicious that i "possibily" had a 3.73 car but i wont know till i get my info. i know the rear ratio dosent have anything to do with posi action i got back then.

 

Only mention of the 3.73 gear in the stuff I have is in the Press Release. Unless I missed something. I think it is part of a group option or just a build code. In the Press Release they discuss the improved performance of the Trans Am when it has the L69 with the T-5 and 3.73 gears resulting in low to mid 7 sec 0-60 times and low 15 sec 1/4 mile times. Your best bet on finding out for sure is to look for the RPO codes for 3.73 gears GT4 is one of them. As for rarity I don't think anyone knows.

 

unfortunatly that half of the build sheet is gone so its up to whats in the stuff PHS sends me.
im actually more curious why my car would lite both tires when i nailed it and i have the WY6 option whech ment the G80wasnt there to make this possible.

 

I believe that in 1984, the only way to get the 3.73 gear was with the L69 and a 5 speed transmission. The L69 engines with slushboxes got 3.42 gears. The other place you can find a 3.73 gear is behind any of the 4 cylinder cars with a manual transmission. Of course those were drum brake rears with open differentials.

I know that both of my 1984 15th anniversary T/As came with L69s (standard) Automatic transmissions, and 3.42 positive traction disc brake rear ends.

I don't think that you could just order a 3.73 gear on any car.... They pretty much specified the gear ration given for each engine/trans combo. please correct me if I am wrong.

 

I had a 84 Z28, L69/700R4.aluminum drummed 3.73 posi rear.

 

You could get a 3.73 on a L69 with auto trans. I have a SPID label off a '84 L69 Z28 and it has RPO GT4 on it. It also has G80 posi and J65 rear disc.

I know on the early LG4 cars with a 5-speed manual trans if the G92 performance axle ratio option was ordered the rear axle ratio was upgraded to a 3.73.

 

My GM parts catalog has a gear ratio/trans/tire/engine chart that shows all MD8 auto L69 cars as having 3.73s standard. In fact, it shows 3.42s as only being available with manual transmissons. Funny thing, I looked at & almost bought a really, really clean L69 auto 84 Z28 about 15 years ago, & I "coulda swore" that the SPID said GU6 for 3.42s. Go figure!