not sure if this is the right place to post this but, i have an 85 firebird that came without a rear lock for the hatch and doesnt have a hatch motor but still locks down in place. Now i assumed all firebird of this era have hatch motors. Now finally for my question.

Do i have to buy a new hatch motor to put a lock in. or do i have one the apparently came without a hatch motor?

 

I have seen earlier 3rd gens that did not have a hatch motor on them from the factory, I believe that it was only certain models though. If you don't have one, you should be able to mount one on your car as long as the mounts are there for it. If they are not, I believe you can weld some on. The cars I have seen without the hatch motor have a smaller receiver for the hatch pin and I believe the lock mechanism mounts on that.

The lock mechanism sits on top of the hatch motor and can be removed. It sits on the front (toward front of car) and bolts on. It is black with a wire that goes to the actual lock (where you put the key in). A power release has a silver solenoid with a black wire going to the actual lock.

You can get a full pull down unit from the junk yard for pretty cheap, but there is a risk that it won't work.

Hope that helps

 

The pull downs came on 86-92 Firebirds and Camaros

82-85's were the good old reliable manual "Slam" latch

 

thanks for the info, i just though it was odd since i was told that they all came with the pulldown motor.