I might not be in the right place but.

I'm slowly thinking to get myself a 1982-1983 Firebird. My dad bought one for my mom when I was a kid but they had to get rid of it when my mom got pregnant with my brother (3 childs does not fit well in the car).

I want to identify the year. I remember the cassette radio not being auto-reverse, the seats behind were split style. I'm not sure, but I think the shifter was with the button at the top. It was all navy blue with the base seats (The one with no headrests). I think I heard my dad says it was a V6...

I was young, but I loved that car. Chilling to the music in the backseat.

If someone could tell me, I would be happy !

It has nothing to do with the case, but my dad had a funny problem with that car, it also prompted him to sell it. Apparently, driving at 100 -120 Km/h and slamming the brakes would make the "Oil Pressure" light turn on.

They took the engine apart, try numerous things, but they never found...

 

It was just low on oil level.

 

I doubt it. Engineers took the whole engine apart... They never found...

 

Engineers missed the pickup on the oil pump either installed too high or fallen off.

 

Well, second hand diagnosis of a problem 30 years ago is pointless.
To the original question:
Nothing you told us will tell us what year it was.
If you can find an old pic of it we might be able to help.

 

Actually the button on top of the shifter would clearly identify it as a 1982, as the 83 had a one year only T-shifter and 84-92 had a more ergonomical T-shifter.

From what you're describing, this is the interior your father's car had :

 

That looks like it. Seats were fabric as well as the door panels though. The steering wheel hub didn't have the small plastic insert. It was just blue rubber with the Firebird on it.

What is the main difference between 1982 and 1983 ?

 

Good catch solar gold. I was going to ask him what tranny it had, forgot about the shifter.
Is 82 the only year with the vents in the front bumper cover or was that 83 as well?
I can't think of any other differences between 82-83 except wheels and decals.

 

It was automatic. According to some of his friends my dad used to act like it was manual because he was enjoying that make believe shifting gears.

Legends has it that my dad first ordered a camaro to one dealer but drove by another dealer a few weeks after and saw that firebird on display. He went in asked for the price and bought it on the spot. My guess was that the camaro was BO because it was the transition period between 1981-1982.

At 4-5 years old. I was the first front seat passenger with my mom driving it.

For some of you, a v6 firebird automatic (navy blue) is probably a very pedestrian car. But I remember so much things. I want one.

 

The 83 had the vented front, except for the Daytona 500 version, which came with the solid grilles and aero package.

The 82 was the only year with the round, button shifter and the PMD seats, aka reclining viscount bucket seats. A few exterior/interior colors were exclusive to 1982.

 

I have a 82 V-6 car, but its color is maroon. Not many left in good condition, and yes most were used and abused as pedestrian cars.

If interested, there is a thread in this section about it.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...k-car-1-a.html

 

Forget vents, radios, *****, maroon, pics, and all the rest of that.

Any g00b can unbolt any trim part like that out of or off of any car and re-bolt it to any other car. (and all those g00bs out there frequently seem to do just exactly that)

Look at the 10th digit of the VIN. 1980 = A; it cycled through the alphabet after that. 82 = C, 83 = D.

 

Yes, us enthusiasts know to to identify the year from the VIN. But.....

The OP was 4 or 5 years old at the time, and wanted to know what year the car from what he remembered as a kid. He doesnt have access to the VIN.

My comments were based on the things he remembered to try and identify the year.

 

Not to mention he said the car was bought new. Lessens the odds of it being changed around much.