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I'm new to the 3rd Gen sphere but I love working on cars and this has been one of my dream cars ever since I was a little kid (I was born in 1980 and of course my favourite TV show was Knight Rider), I fell in love with the 82 trans am but now that I'm a middle aged man I cringe at the sight of KITT replicas with all their cheap and cheesy LED lights and wobbly fibreglass bits and pieces, I still love the car though and have always been on the lookout for the right one, I really don't like the look of the ground effects kit or the Trans Am hoods after 1984, I like the power bulge and the sleeker look of the early 82-84 models and so when I realised that the 87 and up Formulas basically looked the same just without the heat extractors and now with a not so nice looking wing I knew that's what I wanted, I eventually found this incredibly low milage (and also incredibly expensive) 1990 formula 305 TBI 5 speed (I need to have manual) with T-tops, I even love the colour! This is my "Knight Rider" car without me looking like a bellend driving around pretending to be Michael Knight, this is my own personal midlife crisis cure, this is my "formula" to happiness!
I bought it sight unseen and had it shipped from Ohio to SoCal and the car ended up being quite a bit rougher than expected, especially mechanically! I'm sure you'll see me posting a lot about how I've been fixing it up, I had a real battle getting it to pass SMOG, even though it has so little miles on it, it was badly maintained and the cat had been cut off and the car wasn't idling properly to name a few of the issues (there are plenty, both mechanical, electrical and some questionable bits and pieces) either way I'm still incredibly happy with it and this car will be a lifer for me, I'm not selling it ever, I'll just keep fixing it up and changing it up to be my ultimate ride:
Here are my plans for the car:
- First fix it! It still has mechanical and suspension issues, the engine can't idle properly, it surges, I've almost got this problem sorted and I've been documenting the fix here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tbi/...ging-idle.html there is a noticeable gear whine when driving, the steering is iffy at full lock (bushings and ball joints), the clutch is slipping, there's a strong smell of gas coming from the gas tank area, an aftermarket alarm is playing havoc on the electrical system and the car doesn't start sometimes, the rear hatch motor is broken to name a few of the things I'm going to have to fix.
My first big planned modification - Functional hood scoop! I have ordered a complete air induction system taken off of an old 82-84 305 HO motor, this includes the air cleaner housing, the hood insert, the actuator, the grill, everything! I'm going to have a lot of fun getting it working (what is it with American cars and fake hood scoops anyway?), I think it'll be so cool to have a functioning hood scoop, I doubt there are many formulas out there with one.
Next I plan to put heat extractor fenders and inserts on it, I plan on keeping the Formula decals, I'm not trying to build a fake Trans Am here, I want a formula that has the bits I like on it... Like I said this is going to be my ultimate ride
Although it's starting to grow on my, that Arrow style wing on the back isn't my cup of tea, I want the original D80 spoiler and that's going to happen at some point (this current wing is a lame fibreglass replacement anyway and it rattles a lot).
Following that I'll be slowly upgrading the entire suspension system to suit my driving as this is now my daily driver, I want better brakes and for it to be lowered a bit as the wheel-gap is just a tad ridiculous!
I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone here on this forum who keep this thing going, I've already received a wealth of knowledge reading posts here that have helped me fix a host of issues already and also to those who have given me solid advice over on the idle surging issue thread! You're all Awesome!
- Stay Awesome!
Looks really nice and clean, I'd keep that style rear spoiler, the base bird one doesn't look right on a formula. Trans am fenders will have holes for the ground fx that will need welded up. Also sounds like the power steering fluid may be a bit low on fluid? (the whine).
Good luck!
Looks too original (and has low miles) I'd say to keep it all original, if you want to modify one, I'd say look
for another car to mod......just my 0.2 cents.....I know everyone has different opinions on this.
"there's a strong smell of gas coming from the gas tank area"
Any ideas about this? I can smell gas with mine too, after driving it when the tank is fairly full. After it's been sitting in the garage for a while, the smell goes completely away. I don't see anything wrong, nor did my mechanic. This has been the case since I bought it two years ago. There's no leaks and I think the gas cap seals well (if it didn't, I'd probably get the check engine warning).
"there's a strong smell of gas coming from the gas tank area"
Any ideas about this? I can smell gas with mine too, after driving it when the tank is fairly full. After it's been sitting in the garage for a while, the smell goes completely away. I don't see anything wrong, nor did my mechanic. This has been the case since I bought it two years ago. There's no leaks and I think the gas cap seals well (if it didn't, I'd probably get the check engine warning).
Gas tank vent, dirty or sticking open, bad gas cap seal, bad vent hose or charcoal canister hose
Looks too original (and has low miles) I'd say to keep it all original, if you want to modify one, I'd say look
for another car to mod......just my 0.2 cents.....I know everyone has different opinions on this.
I've thought about this, however fear not! All the original parts that I take off I will be keeping nice and mint so that I can take it back to stock whenever I want, I don't want to do any permanent damage that can't easily be reversed.
Once you pull fenders off, all the factory paint will be disturbed, keep that in mind. Rear wing change will require a decklid change or weld up holes and drill new plus the window trim will need mods too.
I myself am partial to white formulas! I say go ahead and modify it as you like. You’ve already purchased a functional hood system which isn’t original and must’ve cost a pretty penny.
Just make sure to keep your original parts or at least offer them to guys on this forum looking for originality.
I myself am partial to white formulas! I say go ahead and modify it as you like. You’ve already purchased a functional hood system which isn’t original and must’ve cost a pretty penny.
Just make sure to keep your original parts or at least offer them to guys on this forum looking for originality.
i’ll be watching your thread!
Thanks mate! Yeah the hood scoop stuff was ridiculous, with shipping it cost me $437 buuut it looks like it's all there and that's all that matters, these are the pics off of ebay and of course I'll post better pictures once the whole set arrives, this is a mod I 100% want to do so even though I cringe at how much I paid, it will be worth it in the end for me to see that little flap opening on the hood!
And another pic:
I will be making sure that whatever mods I do are done right, I'm not out to ruin a car that's in good shape, appreciate you watching the thread!
Once you pull fenders off, all the factory paint will be disturbed, keep that in mind. Rear wing change will require a decklid change or weld up holes and drill new plus the window trim will need mods too.
Yeah, noted! There already has been some sort of paintwork done in the engine bay (badly) I'm thinking it was to cover some surface rust or something but the paint under the hood is some horrible powdery stuff and doesn't match the factory paint on the outside so I'm not worried about wrecking a factory perfect finish, the rear hatch will be the biggest challenge and I may as you say simply get a new hatch with the D80 wing already attached if I can find one in good shape, that way I can keep the original unmolested, but keep in mind it already has a replacement fiberglass arrow wing so it's not original in any case.
I've already removed some white overspray that was on the distributor cap and plug wires etc as well as the wiper motor so whoever was messing around with paint in the engine bay did a very poor job...
I'm slowly going through the whole engine bay and replacing any part that looks worn or neglected and I'm removing overspray as I go along, still not sure as to why it was painted as I can't find any accident damage, I honestly think it must have just been surface rust as the underside of the hood as well as the wheel fender wells have been painted in this crappy powdery paint and they badly masked the engine etc as there's bits of overspray everywhere...
I'll keep posting updates as they happen, but it sure is a beauty of a car and I'm still incredibly happy with it!
Congrats! Your Formula Firebird looks sweet!! I picked up a white 89 Formula with t-tops almost a twin to yours! Just wish mine looked as nice as yours!
Anyways, I really like the detailed pictures you've taken! Good job on the work you're doing!
Looks too original (and has low miles) I'd say to keep it all original, if you want to modify one, I'd say look
for another car to mod......just my 0.2 cents.....I know everyone has different opinions on this.
I've done a whole whack of work to the car, I'll keep updating you all on how it's going but this morning I removed the aftermarket alarm system that was really playing silly buggers on my electrics
Here's a quick update on what I've done so far:General Service:
Oil flush and change / Mobil1 5w30 Fully synthetic (this is a low milage engine, will check for leaks and seepage later) / STP oil filter
Coolant flush and replace
Milage: 19,682
Work done (not involving installing new parts):
Initial Engine clean
Cleaned up dirty rotor and cap (MUST REPLACE) Replacement ordered
Hood gap alignment (Hood latch adjustment)
Reconnected electronic timing advance wire (was disconnected for some reason)
Lubed up and tested stuck EGR valve
Cleaned and reconnected VSS sensor (code 24 now cleared) Speed still misreporting (reads 80mph when doing 75 gps confirmed)
Inspected front rotors, pitted and corroded! Sanded and cleaned and ordered new upgraded set
Cleaned up wiring harness (removed aftermarket alarm siren and re-sleeved loom)
Removed aftermarket splice from rear hatch solenoid, re-positioned and secured latch switch, re-connected trunk light (rear motor is broken and rails have been damaged, new parts ordered)
Air cleaner lid, removed rust, cleaned and painted with high-temp calliper paint (this will be replaced with the cold air hood induction unit so not too concerned with pitting)
Removed poorly installed aftermarket alarm system, installed misaligned clutch pedal switch and patched up wiring harness, reverting to as stock as possible
New Parts installed (so far):
Magnaflow CARB Catalytic converter (old cat had been deleted, I live in SoCal, need a bloody cat!)
Jegs OE Radiator Expansion bottle
Hastings Breather filter
Failsafe Thermostat
TBI Spacer and Air cleaner gaskets
FRAM Air Filter
Duralast Idle Air control Valve
New Duralast PCV Valve installed
New hood gas struts
Continental Serpentine Belt
And so far, that's it! I still have a whole lot of parts on the way (the holidays slowed things down) and I'll be posting more updates as they happen, also I'll post a total cost of all the parts etc once I'm done with the main stuff! So far only labor I had to pay for was for the cat to be welded on as I don't have a welder at home, all the rest I have done and will be doing myself.
You're going to have a great car. Looks like you're really making progress.
What is that button to the upper left of the radio? Aftermarket security?
Thanks mate! Yes that is the extremely bright blue LED warning light which half blinded me before I disconnected it, I've left it in there as a placeholder as they've drilled a hole. I'm thinking about putting a toggle switch there to activate the cowl induction flap once I have that installed since it'll be a cool little "performance booster" (that does little but looks cool).
I love my GTA. When I purchased, I thought it was the best Firebird that was available at that time. But truth be told, if I had seen a Formula in the same condition and price range, I might have bought it. I kind of wanted a Trans Am, since my two prior 3rd gens were both Formulas. But that sleeker Formula body still really catches my eye.
I love my GTA. When I purchased, I thought it was the best Firebird that was available at that time. But truth be told, if I had seen a Formula in the same condition and price range, I might have bought it. I kind of wanted a Trans Am, since my two prior 3rd gens were both Formulas. But that sleeker Formula body still really catches my eye.
Yeah, I was honestly about to get a trans am GTA (it's a better car in almost every aspect except weight and looks) and then take off the ground effects kit and install a power bulge hood but then I realised I could just get a formula and the formula is a lighter car too so I could potentially get better performance out of it with less modification down the line. I'll be taking a few more pictures of the car later today with an old camera of mine and I'll post them. Really glad you like the car!
As promised, here are a few more photos from this afternoon, apologies in advance! The lighting was waaay too harsh so I couldn't get any really good shots (I just only managed to squeeze in a little time during lunch break to head out and shoot these),
I also was using my old ancient camera from 2008 (I wanted an older feel to the pics), but alas they kinda just turned out bleh... I'll make sure to try again during golden hour next time!
I'm going to have way more motivation to go out and shoot this car in nice locations once it's running properly and I've fixed up all the little niggles (note the hatch not being properly aligned and the passenger door not aligning in the pic below, I will defeat these alignment issues!)
Also I need to polish the rims! Don't worry there's no curb rash, just some discolouration and left over adhesive from wheel weights (I'll be putting on better tires once I've done the suspension bits)
I'm looking forward to lowering the car slightly, it's going to look awesome!
Thanks for following along guys, more updates as they happen (and better pics next time I promise!)
Some say that white is an undesirable color, but I think that white is one of the best Firebird colors. Really shows the lines well.
One bad thing about living in California is the front plate requirement. Nothing you can do about that. My second '90 Formula came from Ohio to where I lived in PA and had a front bracket too. I got used to it but I think it does hurt the look a little. I'm glad that I'm in a no-front-plate state with my GTA.
Only bad thing about the 1990 is that steering wheel. The airbag did not make for a good looking wheel.
Some say that white is an undesirable color, but I think that white is one of the best Firebird colors. Really shows the lines well.
One bad thing about living in California is the front plate requirement. Nothing you can do about that. My second '90 Formula came from Ohio to where I lived in PA and had a front bracket too. I got used to it but I think it does hurt the look a little. I'm glad that I'm in a no-front-plate state with my GTA.
Only bad thing about the 1990 is that steering wheel. The airbag did not make for a good looking wheel.
I agree about the white, I actually can't stand white cars usually since they look like mobile refrigerators to me but for some reason it really works on this car, especially with the black accents! The front plate is a real bummer agreed!
Fear not! I already have a three spoke wheel I got off of eBay! I'm going to need to have it re covered but there's no way in hell I'm keeping that Toyota looking wheel, it's so lame and also is doing the whole peel open thing they all do
nice and clean car! but it is 30 years old so they still need work seems like there's lots of 90 Formulas with build threads on here now mine included.
nice and clean car! but it is 30 years old so they still need work seems like there's lots of 90 Formulas with build threads on here now mine included.
An update, spark plugs and nasty old distributor have been replaced, She's running a lot better now!
Cleaned things up a bit since I had to remove the coil and throttle cable brackets to get the distributor off:
All installed and timing set to "0" and she's running good (proper test drive tomorrow)
The next job will probably be the new brake rotors and pads and while I'm there I'll replace the sway-bar end link bushings
My biggest issue with my GTA, really the only significant one I've had, was with brakes. If your car hasn't been driven much in recent years, I'd make sure to thoroughly flush the brake system. Maybe even install new lines regardless of how they look.
My brakes didn't perform very well at first. I got the system flushed out, but otherwise the hardware all looked pretty good (likely original, including pads). Still wasn't getting very good brake performance. I was thinking that maybe the old pads just needed replacement. Before I got around to that, one day I had a fiery hot left front wheel - locked caliper - and ended up getting a full front brake job, pad, rotors, calipers. That made a nice difference, but still not the brake performance that I remembered from my prior Firebirds. A couple of months later, another overheated front wheel. This time the cause was that the only functioning brake was the left front. So I had the brakes lines, which apparently had gunk in them or were just deteriorating, replaced as well as new pads in the rear. That finally made the car perform as it should; these cars had good brakes and it now stops very well - short and straight.
Such a beautiful car. There really are people who not only didn't want one of these cars, but actually disliked them and thought they were ugly. I will never be able to wrap my mind around that. As far as styling goes, this is just perfect to my eyes.
Coming back to my community yesterday, there's a gate with security people. The guy (probably late 20s) talked to me and was just blown away by my GTA, thought it looked like a race car. That front end, with the completely concealed headlights which you don't see on cars anymore, really does stand out now. The poor man's Ferrari.
My biggest issue with my GTA, really the only significant one I've had, was with brakes. If your car hasn't been driven much in recent years, I'd make sure to thoroughly flush the brake system. Maybe even install new lines regardless of how they look.
My brakes didn't perform very well at first. I got the system flushed out, but otherwise the hardware all looked pretty good (likely original, including pads). Still wasn't getting very good brake performance. I was thinking that maybe the old pads just needed replacement. Before I got around to that, one day I had a fiery hot left front wheel - locked caliper - and ended up getting a full front brake job, pad, rotors, calipers. That made a nice difference, but still not the brake performance that I remembered from my prior Firebirds. A couple of months later, another overheated front wheel. This time the cause was that the only functioning brake was the left front. So I had the brakes lines, which apparently had gunk in them or were just deteriorating, replaced as well as new pads in the rear. That finally made the car perform as it should; these cars had good brakes and it now stops very well - short and straight.
Absolutely! I had a massive fright the other day since it's now running pretty well I decided to go for a spirited drive in the mountians, on my way down I was going pretty fast and decided I was pushing it a little too much so tried to slow down and the brakes overheated and faded so much the car wouldn't slow down, I've dealt with this before and luckily a little help from the parking brake got me slowed down enough and I pulled over for a while to let everything cool off, I just babied it home and the brakes were fine at normal speeds once they'd cooled down, it's all that pitting and obviously very old brake fluid, my next big priority is putting on the new rotors and pads and giving the entire system a proper flush! I don't want that to ever happen again!
Such a beautiful car. There really are people who not only didn't want one of these cars, but actually disliked them and thought they were ugly. I will never be able to wrap my mind around that. As far as styling goes, this is just perfect to my eyes.
Coming back to my community yesterday, there's a gate with security people. The guy (probably late 20s) talked to me and was just blown away by my GTA, thought it looked like a race car. That front end, with the completely concealed headlights which you don't see on cars anymore, really does stand out now. The poor man's Ferrari.
Yeah there's something very special about these cars, I have an old 1968 corvette that I brought back from the dead (it had a hydrolocked motor and no interior and whacked out suspension and fried wiring) and although it's arguably a more fancy looking car, I still prefer the look of my firebird.... if you park your car at the shops and don't look back to check it out on the way in... you have the wrong car!
P.S the corvette looks way better in pictures than in real life but the firebird looks exactly the same in pics as in real life because it's truly in good shape all round
Although I'm sincerely beginning to doubt just how accurate this number is (based on the engine and drivetrain wear I've discovered), it still is a beauty and she really has only 20k on the clock:
I have been working on her and making progress and have a whole new bunch of parts, I'll post updates once I've made some significant progress!
Great car, have fun with it. I like all on it, I own 89 Formula, it is in progress of restoration now, but project is on hold because I'm waiting for spine surgery... It is sandblasted and epoxy primed, but other than that will have to wait... And 92 v6 Firebird with wich I did some miles. My first 3rd gen was 92 GTA, dark green and I will always regret the day I sold it. And altought like Formula a lot more, I don't think I could resist another GTA if it would be available. Really hope you'll have a great time and moments with your Formula, I can't wait for mine to be done and I start to enjoy with it. Subscribed!
I agree.....I'd start at the charcoal canister, they always seems to be an issue 
