I'm looking at buying a 1982 trans am for near dirt cheap. It has the 4bbl carb. What stood out is that it had the functional power bulge hood, similar to what was on the crossfire engine. Is this very common for the year?

Some articles from back in the day state that the power bulge hood would be function on carbureted engine equipped T/As about mid-year production but I have never seen one. All the power bulge/carb '82s I've looked at have a blank off plate just like the '87-92 Firebird Formulas. I would check to see how "original" the wiring harness looks. What is the build date on the car?

mine has none of the parts for the hood function, and doesnt have a block off plate in the hood,
its an LG4 305 car,
has screen in the opening