Hey folks, long time ghost here. I have finally decided to pull the trigger on a third gen, specifically a Firebird Trans Am of some sort. Honestly, my favorite 3rd gens are the 1984 White on Blue Anniversary edition and then the 1991-1992 style Birds...but honestly, finding a clean bird in Miami Florida is a pain. I have looked around for a while for a clean stock car, and what i came across is a 1989 red Trans Am 5speed 5.0 TPI with 145 on the clock. From what ive seen in photos and spoken to the owner. Never modified, been in the family for years, everything words (head light motors and such) all it needs is a complete paint job.

WHat do you guys think about it? Whats a good price? should i hold out for one of the models i dream about?

Pix pix pix! Spunds like a cool car, LB9, 5-speed is always fun. Is the car are T-top car? is it a GTA or just a TA? I mean without seeing the car and knowing more details it's are to put a price in it. Also there are always more issues than you think, at least that has been the case on both my 3rd gens. Paint is not bad if you can do it yourself, but if you want a nice paint job and have to pay a shop to do it then it can cost alot. Being in FL the car should not have much rust if any.

Hey folks, sorry for the slow response, actually went out to see the car. I was a little scared of it to be honest.

The entire car needs a repaint, like, BADLY, lots of little patches of rust and the spoiler is cracked and falling off. The trunk release motor is completely in pieces. One head light motor is out and the roof is gone.

The pros:

The car runs fine, engine cranks, no over heating, ac is cold, windows and power mirrors work, 5 speed is butter smooth and the clutch is fine, no tears to the seats, gauges work.

The cons: The entire exterior, trunk motor thing, headlight motor, rust patches, needs exhaust work

Welcome to the world of shopping for a 20+ year old F-body. The issues you are "worrying" about are quite common on a car of that age. If you were closer to AZ, I'd sell ya my 91 Formula

I am still kind of torn about the car. While i am dying for a 3rd gen and do have some funds set aside to make it nice, I think of it this way, in this case, that car would need a lot of attention, while it is a 305 tpi with a 5 speed (best combo IMO) I would much rather a Formula body style or a 1991 or 1992. I do however understand that all these cars will have issues, its hard to pull the trigger on it considering a few weeks ago i lost the opportunity on a 1990 Formula auto 5.7 with ttops that was in great condition for a little extra cash.

Yea welcome back to the forum good sir. Yea its hard to get ahold of one in good shape, for a good price. All the things seen the pictures that need replacing isnt that expensive,the t top headliner is 299 on ebay buy it now, the spoiler non painted 399,i have the same issue with my car with the t top headliner. I am very sad to say because you said your looking for a 91 or 92 formula. I myself have a 92 formula 5 speed as seen from my pictures in my album. Sharper lines,more aerodynamic. This trans am your looking at is still decent though. Did you get a chance to look at the underbody at all. The floorboards love to rot out, and the rear wheel wells. Im just giving you helpful hints good sir. It may need some work but it all depends on the rust, and how bad it is. It sounds like a good runner. So you just have bodywork to do and a little interior work. Are you going to use it as daily driver or pleasure.

Looks like $2k tops and that stretching it. Do the T-tops leak? How bad is the rust elsewhere?

If it were me, I would hold out and buy the car you want. It would be one thing if this car is immaculate and you made some concessions. But just by reading what you said in your original post it seems you have a specific car in mind and you are now compromising because you have been bitten by the "bug" and just want to pull the trigger. Sit back, take a deep breath and look at the big picture.

This particular car will be an expensive project just to have a decent driver. Pass on it.

Yea i will agree with you if he states he wants a 91 or 92 to wait for one. There still modern.Between the 82-92 firebird/camaros i looked up the production numbers for all of them years ago there were millions produced. lol There not really rare but the 5 speed option is whats most rare about it.From the pictures it looks like the hatch is rotted and outside appearance thats about it, besides faided paint. I would offer 1,500 becasue a decent paint job will cost some good money. But the hatch you can find at a junkayrd.The parts needed for the hatch arent expensive. Thats the beautiful thing about the 82-92 f bodys there not expensive to maintain.There still pretty easy to work on compared to a 4th gen. lol As for the exhaust all the more reason to buy aftermarket, give it a good tone flowmaster 40 series sounds very nice on them.

I would also hold out for the one you're looking for. You know what you want and when you find it, you'll be glad that you held out. This car really isnt that bad. All fixable. Would depend on how much rust there is but rust can be repaired. I also like the 305tpi 5 speed combo. Much more fun to drive with the 5 speed. The headliner can be recovered for about 50 bucks if you do it yourself. Looks like mostly clean up on the car. Few things here and there and a little elbow grease can make this car really nice. I've seen alot worse cars that people fix up. Keep looking and if you cant find the one you want, you'll know where this car is sitting.

Thank you all for your posts and I really appreciate your feedback and opinion. I think I will hold out for the model i really like (91-92) Although i do agree that this one at a specific price is not too shabby, but I do intend on using it as a near full time commuter ( i do have an older volvo i daily)

The gentleman was asking around 3.2k for it, obviously the right number is 2k and below for the car, but I had a feeling he wouldnt go below 2.5k for it so I just walked, as much as it pains me =(

somehow i missed this post but you nailed it on the head here!

Well, I don't know. LB9/T5s don't grow on trees. Especially Trans Ams. Is this a G92 car? If so even more rare.

With that said, if it's not the one you really want, that's a different story.

I say what you truely want, is worth more then how rare a car is. So hold out for the rite one or you might regret settling for this one. Besides $3000 is way to much for it

It was in Homestead Fl. 154XXX miles on the car. I understand about its rarity, and I think thats the main part of why it was so difficult to walk away from a tpi 5 speed...but it was just too far gone to warrant the kind of money. The hatch wouldn't even close because the little motor was destroyed.

A few weeks earlier I had been looking at a 1990 Firebird Formula 350 with only headers. Super clean exterior with very very minor rust on the edge of the passenger door. The interior was just fine minus some weather stripping and the radio not working. Now thats something I can easily work with lol I don't mind doing a door, some electronics and such, this car had 111k miles and was for 3700$ so In my head, a much much better deal.

I'll toss some more advice out there. AVOID RUST AT ALL COSTS! From everything I've seen on these cars, if you can see rust on fender lips or door bottoms, there are MANY other areas with rust. In other words, by the time you see it on fender lips and doors, there is a 90% chance the floor and rear wheel wells, front kick panel areas and pinch welds along the rockers actually have holes rusted through. In my opinion rust permanently devalues these cars. yah you can fix it, but it's difficult to patch them so you can't tell they've been patched. It's just one of those irreversible things. If you want a driver to modify, some mild rust is not a problem to fix. If you want a stock original to keep nice, don't buy anything with ANY rust anywhere.

This is great advice. Don't EVER touch a rusted third gen. A rust free one can be had for a reasonable price.

I am actually shocked everything you said is 100% true. My car was driven daily from 1992-2009. With 136k miles on it, the rust has literally spread soo much that its not even worth it to me,sentimental wise to pay all the money to fix it. It took 4 chicagoland winters to rot the car out, when i got it the only rust on the entire car was on the drivers side door. I dont care what any1 says about as long as you keep it clean and waxed it wont rust. LIES, i worked at a carwash, washed it all time including underbody wash everytime.Even with it ice cold i still would wash it. But the rust came and conquerd. lol

Let this TA go, it isn't what you really want. Needs to much work. You'll easily spend more with paint and body than the asking price of this one.

You can find better cars out there that cost less...and you won't have to deal with the frustration in the long run. Always pays off to buy the best car you can afford. Despite what some think, these car aren't particularly rare and super nice ones can be found for $5-$7K if you spend the time looking.

I have done what you are trying to talk yourself into. It never works out, you'll spend years and more money than saving for the nice car you wanted originally. And each time you see the car you wanted originally, you'll wish you would have waited.

A "rare" third gen sitting in the garage needing a ton of work and money isn't as much fun as a functioning turn key car that is one of thousands.

Thank you all for the posts! I really appreciate it all! I am focusing on that search now! Looking for either a 1984 Anniversary edition T/a or a 91-92!! If anyone knows any for sale in Florida! PM me please! i don't mind a little traveling!

-you guys are awesome!

Check the "FireBirds For Sale"thread,I seen a few in there for Florida.

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/ctd/3622519922.html

Obviously the price is up there, but I wouldn't pay anything close to that but whats everyone think of this one? Being its a 5.0 TPI t-top car, is it really a Trans Am? It really dosent look like a GTA at all, especially missing the hood. The thing I like about this car is that it seems that all the ground effects are intact, it has the nose of the 91-92's i really like and the color is good ( although i will ask about the repaint ) My intentions with the vehicle are to simply return it to as close to factory form as possible. Being it looks like the tpi 5.0 looks to be in decent shape, I would simply to a tune up. Is it possible to install a Formula hood with the turbo hood bulge on this car?

Do you have the right pic?the car in your pic has a hood?

Save your breath, and just look at the matching door jambs and engine bay.

Oh ok sweet, i didnt know about that. In the photos, I see a base model Firebird hood, I called the owner and he said he purchased it with that hood and did not have the original. I am not sure when I will be swinging by that car, I do have another trip out to see a 84' out in Boyton Beach tomorrow! Wish Me luck!!

I Wish You Luck.