I was just looking through the sticky about posting about your care being rare or desirable etc.

I noticed at 46 was the 1991 Base Firebird with M5.

I just bought a 1991 Base Firebird, and I remember the lady saying it was a leftover custom order that she bought. The original window sticker from when the car was on the lot was included with all the service records she had. It says in the standard equipment it has an auto tranny, but in the options it says 5spd manual.

The car is a 5spd manual, but I don't know if it's the M5 or T5? Can anyone help? I'm guessing I will need to find the parts number, or is it easily identified by the shifter? Thanks.

 

M5 and T5 are the same thing... M5 = Manual 5 Speed...

 

Oh. haha. I am just learning about mechanics, and I thought the M5 and T5 were two different 5 speeds. Sorry about that.

So that means I've gotten extremely lucky and bought a rare firebird?

 

I dont know where people come up with these numbers, but I am sorry to say that there is nothing rare about a 91 Firebird with a V6 & 5-speed. I have seen lots of them and GM made a ton of them. As long as you like it and are happy with it that is all that matters.

 

How can any third generation f-body be considered rare when there are so many supposedly rare thirdgens in that list?

 

It is what I'd refer to as "less common" than other third generation F-Bodies due to the fact that 1991 and 1992 cars were produced in smaller numbers than most other years of the third generation production run. (1990 also has "bad" production numbers compared to 1989 and earlier years.)

 

It's a matter of perspective. That car is rare... just like a million other rare ones.

The issue of "rare" really has no meaning though. Rare only matters if it's also desirable. My GTA is one of only 5 GTAs in 88 that came without a power antenna, but who cares? However, a 70 Hemi Cuda convertible, which is roughly as rare as an 88 GTA without a power antenna, is obviously a hell of a lot more desirable. Lots of people care about 70 Hemi Cuda convertibles.

One's worth $5 million, the other is worth whatever a nice 88 GTA is worth these days.

 

Exactly. According to one Ebay auction one TRANS AM (GTA) that was for sale was one of 2.88% of cars to not have adjustable steering. (Tilt.) He was using this to claim that it was "rare" but the fact is lack of adjustable steering isn't remotely desirable even if it is odd. It was a curiosity at best given that the car was a GTA and lacked such a basic feature.

 

When people come on here and ask if their car is "rare", they're never really asking if the car is unique as a snowflake. They're asking if they just won the lottery by buying some run of the mill 20 year old used car. The answer, 99.9% of the time, is no. There's no flood of Barrett-Jackson bidders that are going to beat a path to your door to buy a V6 Firebird just because it's a 5spd. This isn't a flame directed to the original poster of this thread, just a statement that it gets a bit silly to see these type of threads all the time.

 

I was asking if it was unique pretty much. It can be worth dirt even being rare/unique, but the fact I like it and there aren't many cars exactly like mine adds a little more 'cool' factor to it(even thought I already thought it was cool prior to coming across the sticky with the list). I never mentioned anything about how much it was worth or that I would sell it. I was simply wondering if my car was rare, and then I said I've gotten extremely lucky. The only time I said anything about being desirable is that I used it to describe the title of the sticky I was reading where I found the list.

But I do agree with everyone's comments about the entire rare AND desirable thing.

 

I couldn't agree more. To add to that, basically there are only a handful of truly rare & desirable 3rd generation F-Bodies. The 1989 Pontiac Turbo TRANS AM and the 1991-1992 Firehawks. 1LE cars are somewhat pricier than normal cars but not by much. A couple grand is all they are worth over the average cars and that's being generous.

 

agreed.....rare cars are not something you usually run across. even my b4c I don't consider rare.....not common yes.....(made 562 of them I believe). stuff like firehawks and R7U (I think thats correct rpo, players club race cars) are "rare"

V6 t5......very not rare....sorry

 

I was going by the numbers on the sticky. So they're incorrect?

 

I honestly don't see how that number could possibly be correct. I bet I can find more then 46 V6 5-speeds on craigslist right now...

 

Your options for that year are rare.
Firebirds are common.
1991 Firebird is common.
1991 base Firebird is common.
1991 base Firebird with v6 and 700R4 are common.
1991 base Firebird with v6 and T-5 are uncommon.

Your car (1991 base Firebird) is common. The options list on it is uncommon. The options list does not override the car.

 

Rare is all relative. My car is one of less than 50 CFIs in the UK, one of less than 5 still working with flaps. Its the only one with Bumblebee paint job and Torque thrust 2s so its rare. Not valuable,not special but it is rare!

 

According to the compnine website, there was:
747 of 47,612 vehicles in their database that have both LH0 and MM5 RPO codes for 1991 model year Firebird. Those are the correct codes for V6 and 5-speed, right?

 

As far as I know those are the right codes. How many LO3s? When it says Base Firebird I would assume that includes the non-Formula LO3s, too. But either way, 747 is a lot more then 46.

 

Okfoz probably has some 'splainin to do... There's a lot of gray area in 'base Firebird'. There are three option levels and two different engines that would fall into that catagory, and perhaps one of those combinations works out to 46 units.

The problem with 'rare' as it applies to cars is the context in which it's usually used. Some people use rare to describe a 1 of 6 type car, and some people focus on some obscure pointless option like a radio or tires, saying the car is rare. If we're talking about unique, just about every thirdgen is unique in it's individual combination of options. Any car can be rare when you break it down to the most basic components. At the end of the day, the people that make a big deal out of that uniqueness are the ones trying to get a premium price. 'Rare' is a catch phrase for "You won't find another one like it anywhere, that's why my price is a bargain!". For that to apply to a thirdgen, it's gonna have to be in exceptional condition, about 1 of 10 cars or less, and fully loaded with performance equipment.

 

Compnine database shows:
2,111 of the 47,612 vehicles in their database having both L03 and MM5 RPO codes for the 1991 Firebird. 282 of them show to be Formulas.

 

Yeah Drew I agree. The word I should have used was unique as far as just the engine and transmission combination, unless that 46 has more behind it than just a base v6 and a 5 speed.

 

Just want to add for information purposes to myself......

A4U, and R7U are the player's club rare cars link is https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...e-players.html
just in case someone was wondering.