A friend posted some pics on my Facebook today...




I bought the car in 1999 from a junkyard, and rebuilt just about everything over the course of a couple years. The first two years, it spent more time sitting broken then driving. But after that I used it as a daily driver for 4 years. Had plenty of fun with it, had a 125hp shot of nitrous on it for awhile, a full stereo, alarm system, etc. When I sold it in 2007 it needed paint and a little interior work and it would have been a really nice car. I guess now I know where it ended up.

Here's how it looked when I got it, and what it looked like when I sold it...







I have no idea how beat it was before it got junked, but it had 170k on it when I sold it. It was on it's second 700R4, and third set of injectors. It had a newer alternator, new starter (it was -17* the day I changed it out), newer fuel pump, newer exhaust, newer waterpump, newer belt, nos front fender ground effects, nos cup holders, nos lexan t-tops, newer power window motors, full WS6 suspension... There was just a ton of money in parts spent to make it a VERY dependable car.

Oh well... It's history now. If it wasn't so far gone I suppose it could be saved, but it looks really rough in it's current state. Hmm... It makes me sick, but what do you do?

 

I just noticed the note on the windshield... "trans problem". I guess all those neutral drops finally caught up to her. LOL

 

that sucks man. that is exactly what i fear about selling any of my cars. hope i never see that.

 

Everything ever made is either in a landfill or will be at some point. Some things just seem to get there sooner than they should. I watch old movies and kills me when I see a'39 Chevy or '51 Dodge or a '64 Catalina get wrecked but back in the day those cars were expendable. There were 602 1968 Z28s made and for sure as hell there aren't 602 left. Sickening.

 

Nonsense. Plenty of people have built fakes.

 

Actually, the 602 relates to 1967, not 1968.

 

My '89 RS was a 96k mile beauty when I sold it in 2002. I sold it to a girl who trashed it and totalled it the same summer I sold it to her. It broke my heart watching it drive around town filthy with "For Sale" written in shoe polish on the back window within weeks after her buying it. She didn't care about it, but that car had been part of the family for 13 years.

I'm thankful my '91 went to an adult couple in May, and they promised to take good care of it. It doesn't mean they won't someday sell it to an idiot. I'm thankful I saved my 86, because it easily could've gone to some punk for the paltry $3k I paid for it last year. I understand how you feel...its hard to watch something you cared about get trashed by someone else.

 

I kind of figured it'd meet an unfortunate end... I'd joked that if it turned up again I might be tempted to buy it again and restore it (mechanically) a second time. But there just isn't enough left. 10+ years of 365 day a year daily duty, it's probably rusty as hell.

 

I keep looking at the pics, thinking about what's missing and I have most of the missing parts, just sitting in storage. I would have to find a pair of headlights, a set of GFX, a hatch, and some door panels. I might have to dig a little to find a dirt cheap V8, I've got all the accessories, fuel system, etc to convert it over. I've even got a complete dash, complete uncut wiring harnesses, etc... It'd probably be about a $1000 project to make it a decent reflection of what it was when I sold it. But how far do you go for a base model Firebird with 200k miles? I was never in love with the car, my ex wife actually bought it, I got it in the divorce because it didn't run. I tried to sell the car MANY times over the years I drove it. Just thinking about all the things it shouldn't have survived, it doesn't seem right to let it get cubed over a chunked 700R4. It's 7 hours away, and I absolutely don't need another project. I really wish I had found it again before it was stripped, or not found it again at all. Feel free to jump in and reassure me that it's not worth rescuing...

 

It looks pretty bad. Contacting the junk yard and asking for more pics and some details might not be a bad Idea. If it's really bad, probably better to pass.

 

It ain't worth it; you're looking at probably closer to $2000 to get it really back up and running, and that's doing the work yourself. Not to mention the salvage status (?) or if you can even get it registered anymore. At this point you're looking at a junked beater that's obviously had 4 HARD years of neglect on it. Hurts to see it, but best to let it go--remember, while it was in good shape when you sold it, it wasn't a show car either so don't let the memories be fonder than the reality was--it's too easy to remember things better than they actually were.

 

I'm serious though, I'd have about $200 at the U-pull-it salvage yard for the missing body parts, and probably $150-200 for what's left of the car. I'd have to find a 6cyl 700r4, or a 87-up V8 long block, so figure another $50-150. I've got the rest of the stuff around from when I converted the interior from gray to black, or from cars I've parted. In the past I've dealt with that yard before, they do sell cars. Since it wasn't wrecked there wouldn't be a salvage title. The big problem is that I just wasn't all that hot on the car. I don't personally want to save it, I just hate to see it go to waste. I prolonged it's demise another decade already, is that good enough? Cause I feel like I owe it to the car... But then I threatened to crush it many times out of spite. It's a real love/hate relationship with that car. I would really MUCH rather someone else save it. LOL

 

You threaten your cars too? I thought I was the only nutjob that did that.

 

As Dennis said to Arnie, "Hey it's your funeral man."

 

I didn't just threaten... The dent just off center in the middle of the hood was from a jack handle. I tried to kill the 3.1 on multiple occasions, they die hard. Killing a 2.8 is a cakewalk in comparison. I'd bet the engine would still fire right up with a good battery. That 3.1 took multiple nitrous hits, in that form it was the fastest thirdgen I've ever owned. One night it beat a VERY nice 5.0 Mustang so bad, the three of us in the car still laugh about it. It hit the 115mph speed limiter several times. It made it through snow and ice storms so bad that 4WDs were staying home. Donuts, brake stands, burn outs so long and thick I couldn't see the dash lights through the smoke... At different times while I owned it, it had 4 different sets of wheels, and more used tires than I can count. As much as I hated the car, it took everything I could throw at it. When I first found the car, it had a blown 700R4. I got a $150 used transmission off the classifieds here, and ran it the entire time I drove the car. In all honesty, the transmission was acting up 6 months before I sold the car, and kept going for years while my friends kept telling me about seeing the car around town... It's just sad the last owner gave up on it so easily.

 

In real life, I'm a pretty sensible guy. But I'm really the wrong guy to give any sensible advice on topics like this. I should tell you to F_O_R_G_E_T about this thing. But I can't. If you can ressurect this car for afew hundred buck, then you should. Start a thread and share it with us, get it running, do one last burnout and sell it to someone.

 

I will back up that statement Charlie. You ARE the wrong person to give sensible advice on topics like this.

With that said LOL, I like to tell people that if you have the time, the means, and the desire, do it no matter what it is as long as it's something positive.

 

Well said...I can offer no sensible advice, either. I'd love to see it saved simply because its a third gen in a salvage yard, and frankly it looked pretty damn nice while Drew had it. Its safe to say I'm a sucker for medium grey metallic third gens!

 

It goes double for you my friend.....

 

 

Yeah, Drew had it nice.


BTW Drew, No dust covers on your strut bearings? I bring that up because I put new AC Delco strut bearings on my '83 and my factory dust covers wouldn't fit on them. I could never figure that out.

 

I don't know... After sleeping on it, it makes more and more sense to let it go. I'd have to take the trip (7 hour drive) to go look at it. Then I'd have to convince them to sell it to me. Then either put the suspension back together so I can get wheels under it, or pull it onto a flat bed. Then I'd have to find a place to stow it until I could get it running and drive it back, or find a way to haul it back here. There's no room for another project around here, and money is tighter then ever. It wouldn't be impossible, just a major pain in the *** with a high probability for failure AND when it was back together I'd still want to sell it.

One of my friends put it best last night, I was the only one that ever gave the car even an ounce of love. I was probably silly to save it the first time. I think I'm just going to put the thought on the back burner, and keep it as a reminder of why I still have the other three cars. Maybe after a few more nights if it's still bugging me I'll try to figure something out.

The strut covers were missing, because an old school trouble light got up against (melted) one of the covers on my Formula. Rob from the Firebird to give to the Formula was pretty common back then. After that I got several NOS covers from the dealer, but I can't remember if I put a pair on the car before I sold it, or if they were bare.

 

You think I don't know that??

Drew,
Based on reading previous posts of yours, if YOU were giving advice to ANYONE about that car, you'd be telling them to run the other way because of its V6 status, never be worth anything, needs so much work, etc....

With that said, if you can talk yourself into it, go for it

 

It's somewhat attractive to me, because I still have all the parts I accumulated to convert the car to a V8. That and I've got a bunch of parts I'm not currently using, that no one wants to buy. It'd be a way to take a bunch of parts out of my storage and put them back into a car. I've just got other commitments right now, and no extra money. I'd have to get serious about coming up with the money and doing it. It'd cost me a lot less then it'd cost someone without a stash of parts, but even being a relatively cheap project, it's still more then I can afford to spend on something like that.

 

My advice, let it go.

My '89 Firebird was hit and totalled by someone who ran a light. So, why important? It was a stroked and built 2.8 L, with a 5-speed (with 425,000+ on the odometer, 50,000 after the build),

But I digress, after getting $3800 for the insurance, I replaced it with a '91 Firebird, 5L tbi, 5-speed with 197,000 km - no rust, custom re-paint, which I can live with for............$1,000.

So, sentimentality aside, they are still out there, and they are still inexepensive.

 

I've always endeavored to sell my better cars to fellow enthusiasts (which will surely increase their long term chances) but you have to accept the fact that once it leaves your hands, you have no control over it. From what it sounds like, saving this one would be folly.