83DaytonaTA_Ian

Well, as the title suggests, I am now the proud owner of a 1983 Daytona Pace Car Trans Am. I have my wife to thank for finding it thru CL. She's still all original, except for your typical wear out items. It's got the CFI 305 and 4 speed auto.

She's beautiful to look at, minus the minor blemishes. Cool part is got a whole slew of records and memorabilia to go with her, including full dealer RPO sheet, sales contract and maintenance records. Even has original mats and T-top bag. Can't describe all now but here's a pic of it from the seller and it definitely sold me... helps that it matched what I took home.

Did notice she does idle a tad fast around 800 to 1k... and she chomps at the bit to be free of her brakes... for near 164000, she's gorgeous! Arizona was good for her thru 2000-ish until she migrated to Washington State.

Now I have the pleasure of fixing her up even more. AC is in a bin, complete and original, awaiting reinstallation.

Will send up more details and pics when I can.

Ian

Eric-86sc

iTrader: (18)

Very nice car. Any more pictures of it to show off?

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Sadly, I'm on my tablet on lunch, and I don't have any of my own... yet. Got like 8 more the seller provided - all exterior. Promise - will provide more pics ASAP.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Congrats! Great looking! And welcome!

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

Looking forward to more pics & welcome to the board!

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Welcome aboard Ian.

That's a great looking car!

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Thanks for the welcome all!

Finally got a chance to hop on from home.

As promised, here are some of the other pics I have on hand... Weather is a bit miserable today, so none I've taken myself of the car, but still good ones all the same.

Will have to get some of the interior and engine... especially the engine. Its a little old and worn, definitely some vacuum lines are have gone brittle on the EVAP can that I've found. Previous owner was kind enough to recreate all decals you see on car currently. The bulge got an original decal out of a dealer pack that hadn't been used. Firebird on driver post is still original decal. One thing I've found is the gauges don't reset to bottom limits when you shut it off - only way to do that is to cut it off then turn key on to do that.

Even cooler is the exhuast is the original N10 dual system... looks different with the two mini mufflers in series... dual out always looks better I think.

Thankfully no CELs. Been maintained pretty well. Rear hatch key lock don't work and I think its motor is done too (do they have motors? looks like it). Passenger power lock is toast. Cruise control is non-functional. High beam won't engage (click) on the multi-function. Dash pad needs a replacement - 2 cracks almost making 3 pieces out of the thing.

Did I mention the bowling-ball caps are missing? Yah, I'm disappointed... maybe I'll get lucky? I hope...

Guess that was a long one, but figured I would share while I had the chance.

Until later on...
Ian

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

Great looking car!
Hopefully, the cruise will resolve itself after you take care of the vacuum lines.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Very nice car! Something ive never seen in person either. Great investment I would imagine.

Galaxie500XL

iTrader: (1)

Those are nice. My brother in law owned one new back in the day. IIRC, they came with what I remember as very comfortable Recaro seats.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

N10...didn't know these came with that. And the first time I saw that muffler arrangement you are talking about, I was sure it was aftermarket.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

It's surprised me too... thought it would at least be one solid muffler... I'll post some shots of the RPO sheets later on... hopefully tonight... just because I can lol

Motown

Nice car, and nice sign collection!

eseibel67

Seller used sign collection for advertising. Good tactic. There are too many really horrible pictures attached to "for sale" ads.

aaron7

iTrader: (7)

Very cool! Love the car. I thought those side skirts and front/rear lips were 84 only on the anniversary cars. I didn't know it was 83 too!

IMissMy86TA

beautiful! Congrats!
I remember these in the showrooms back then. I have seen a couple new and set in them. I wish someone would remanufacture the bowling ball hubcaps again

91 zeee

nice find. Looks great . You don't see those everyday. Welcome to thirdgen.org.

okfoz

My 83 has the dual muffler setup... it is kind of strange looking but it is there. Not sure of the RPO for it... It might be N10, not unusual for GM to re-use RPOs

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

Nice car and welcome to the forums!

simo

N/A

Brother Al

SIMO beat me to it as I was taking pics.
LOL.

Yep, RPO N10.... "Dual Resonator Exhaust"
It was a Pontiac-only item available on the '82-'84 Trans Am with the LG4 and the '82-'83 LU5 "Crossfire"... I have also seen this on two LG4 Firebird S/E's... one in a junkyard and an '83 at a car show. The owner of the '83 said he thought it was original but didnt have a build sheet to verify it. I have heard of these being found on a couple Camaros, but these were very likely dealer/owner added, as this was clearly a Pontiac-specific option.
This was not a performance part, just a resonator system to make it sound faster than it was... attached are pictures of a system I have.


.

Brother Al

PS. The Headpipe is the same size as the Tailpipes... the Y to Resonator balance tube is spindly... resonator part numbers are visible...

okfoz

That is it, yes indeed.. Seems strange to split it into 2 pipes only to join them once again... The only thing I could reason would be to split the exhaust into 2 pipes, and then have uneven length tubes (which it has) to smooth out the exhaust so that only half of the pulse hits the muffler at a time to reduce back pressure.

When I looked at mine, I figured it looked A bit too complicated for an aftermarket conversion, I am not sure why they did not just use a dual muffler at the split... Of course I have heard for years that when people take a true dual exhaust and make it into an H it does improve performance...

Brother Al

True, it may have helped slightly to even out the exhaust, but the problem with resonators is that it chokes the exhaust to give it more of a rumble... back in the late 68 through 1970, Chevy offered the "Chambered Exhaust" on Chevelles and Camaro's... This was another variation on the idea... Sounds incredible, but you cant flow better with impediments and tighter restrictions... the Y-pipe diameter off the exhaust manifolds is larger than than the Y diameter on the headpipe, plus you have the pipe folds to contend with... its an aweful restriction in the system. They knew these cars had no guts in '82, and Pontiac had pretty much forced the actual 3rd Gen prototype forward... This also may likely have been a last minute thing, as they had geared up for the 301, only to have it rescinded months before production.
All Flash and no go... even the LU5 was a half-hearted creation... dropping the Crossfire system onto the LG4...

Maybe it was a forced restriction by GM Brass? Chevy vs Pontiac team rivalry issue? Who knows... but clearly, if they had at least used the same size dia pipes between the headpipe and resonator balance pipe, it might have flowed marginally better than the stock LG4 because of a pulse-scavenge effect of the uneven pipe lengths.

Brother Al

...ps. Ive read several statements, by various Pontiac people involved, that Pontiac had to fight with GM Brass, just to allow them to use the LU5 in the Trans Am, so my idea above about a "purposed" restriction would be a possibility... after all, Chevy had its vaunted Vette and the Z28 out sold and out-run by the Trans Am for 4 years at this point and Pontiac had also won out on the 3rd Gen design and purpose... Thank God! A RWD J-Body or later FWD J-Body platform derivative would have been sad indeed.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Sorry been gone so long... work bites and I just can't find time when I want to.

Sadly, my passenger window decided it wanted to stay in the down position, so its garaged until I can solve that problem... Washington suddenly got very rainy, "Up" is a must. Seems to be electrically related. Dunno if its the switch, the motor in the door, or something in-between... fuse in the panel not an option, since both windows share the same fuse and the driver side is perfectly fine (if I'm wrong, please... spare me some pain!!!)

Anyways, here are some of the docs that came with the car...




A small selection of documents that came with the car





Original options sheet for customer (1 of 2)





Original options sheet for customer (2 of 2)





Dealer RPO sheets (1 and 2 of 2)





Original advertising book (front cover)





FIrebird Trans Am pages





FIrebird Trans Am pages





Original advertising book (back cover)

Really awesome that these came along with the car and are in such awesome shape! The dealer docs are actually laminated.

Totally awesome pieces of history right here!

Will include some better ones of the car in my hands as I can.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Nice documentation Ian!

Interesting that the N10 on the window sticker is a no-cost option.

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

That's really cool.

Could possibly swap the window switches and/or meter it from there. I'm sure you're wanting to avoid pulling the door panel and plastic/s unless you have to.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Thanks Dave and Scorpner! I was surprised by what all came with the car!

The bigger win here is the underbody seems really clean and free of rust - mind you, i have a bit of a oil leak generating grease on both of my pans, so it could be hidden, but it seems like I lucked out big time! As for the leak, seems likely between the pan and the block, but i'll have a shop lift it and take a peek - don't exactly have one in my garage and don't wanna try jacking it up just yet.

I was thinking switches too... just a pain trying to get them out w/o cracking anything... might try swapping the plugs between the two switches to see if that answers my question.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed... it sounded good up until it quit on me. My seals/felt strips for windows are toast, so I'll want to do those soon too.

eseibel67

Check the build sheet - Why would a dealer in Van Nuys, CA get a car assembled in Norwood, OH when there was plant assembling the same car right next door?

simo

N/A

Polo Z03

iTrader: (1)

Neat car . . noticed those wheels for sale on eBay recently . . .

yo soy el warg

Cool car and its great when you get the documents from the original owner. I think I live in your area. Hope to see it sometime. I sent a private message to you in that section. Welcome to Third Gen.

okfoz

I have a set of those wheels in Gold from my 83... they are in reasonable shape...

Were they called "Turbo Fin" or something like that?

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

You're welcome! Yep, any way you can access it with the least amount of damage. If you have them unplugged, then try checking them with a multi-meter if you can.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Well, the good news is the passenger window works again.... took console apart to test swap the switches then reassembled it all again (back in normal configuration)... and magically it started working again.... weird!!!! Well, guess switches and motors are on the list for later.... just won't put it down again unless I really need to lol.

Figured out partly why cruise is out... cable from servo to TB is no bueno... better than steering column to engine bay at least...

Any thoughts on what would need fixing for high beams? Problem there is I get no tactile (click) response when I try to turn them on (spring works, just no click)... I already plan to replace the multi-function switch at some point since all its markings are worn and the wiper portion is twisted WAAAAY out of alignment.

Figured I'd share, sorry so long. Only asked the tech stuff since the thread is still active!

okfoz

It sounds like the switch in the column is just worn out or broken... I have a car like that (or it is going that way) I can turn on the brights but no click... pull it back again and they do not go off unless I get the click Then they will turn off...

It may just be worn.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Well, had it into a shop on Wednesday. They did have a couple things to show me...

My radiator is basically done - sediment build up in lower driver corner caused it to weaken to the point of leaking, so that'll have to go. Upper and lower hoses too, but I figured that anyways.... Fan clutch has a little too much play, so that's on the list.

On the oil side of things, valve covers were worthy of the mechanic's attention too.

The surprising part was where the oil was coming from down lower...
Apparently, the 305 blocks this year were originally built for mechanical fuel pumps and had a plate and plug installed when used with electronic pumps...

MINE had the plate but no plug, so oil was splashing out of the push rod hole in the block. Thankfully, the guy was kind (and lucky) to find and install a plug before it left. Other than those few things, he didn't find anything else in the time he had on the lift.

Good times...

Touareg

The dual resonators were standard on the 82 and 83, if you selected the V8 option you got the dual resonators, this goes for the Camaro as well. They are stainless steel. Very restrictive, but sound very good. My 84 L69 didn't sound as tough as my 82, but in performance there was no comparison.

((Mike))

iTrader: (1)

Wow 19 Grand was a ton of cash for a car in 1983! Nice car! I didn't even know there was a pace car T/A in 1983. I have a question for you T/A guys. Was there an air induction flap that opened at WOT on the Cross Fire Trans Am like there was on the camaro? Ive never seen one in person.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

This one is functional and is sensor controlled. I believe it really kicks in once the engine warms up and is tied in with whatever the throttle bodies are doing (in this one's case).

But I'm just one guy spoutin' ideas lol

The carbureted Pace Car engines had the induction hoods too - same story there, far as I know.

Touareg

The '82, '83, and '84 had functional induction hoods that would open via a vacuum switch at 75%-100% throttle. It opens regardless of engine temp. If you have T-Tops, makes for a nice wide open engine throttle sound.

Also, CFI cars got this setup in '82, and in '83 the carb cars got it as well.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

congrats

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

I just ripped that out last month I got flowmasters now

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Is this different than the "dual resonator" exhaust on all '82-'83 Z28s?

okfoz

Someone might have to correct me, but I think 82 & 83 are the same, but 84 they changed it so you could see it open.

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Well, started on working on the list of stuff from the estimate. Valve covers are proving difficult.... Gotta love them GM engineers! Return fuel line from DS TB running back, right above the valve cover, blocking a bolt and otherwise in the way.... took an overnight soaking in PB Blaster to break the fitting loose then some finagling with a 9/16 to loosen the bracket for that line on the back of the block. With that out of the way, removed the brake booster vacuum line. Just a couple other vacuum lines and then it was on to the actual removal.




Had to move a couple wires, undo some lines... loads of fun and tricky, especially the return fuel line lol. That's the return line up against the brake resevoir.



More direct view of what was necessary to get at the valve covers...



Brake booster vacuum line sittin' up on the windshield.... yah, had to remove it...


Can you see that grey deposit just left of the valve, just under the rocker arm? Next pic got more info...




Found this grey deposit between 2 valves... Feels greasy, but doesn't look normal - plenty of regular, dark oil all throughout the rocker area. Think running some Seafoam added to the oil before the next oil change would help flush this out, plus other deposits internally?

Passenger side is gonna be far more painful, what with the wire harness and other things...

The cork gasket was pretty stiff and hard on the cover.... definitely needed to replace, I think... will post more later

Until later on!

BarryV8

Bowling ball hubcaps can be bought brand new and they're made of steel. I'll try and find pics or a link.

Beautiful car. A keeper for sure.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

link please

83DaytonaTA_Ian

Yes, Barry! Do post that link up - definitely need some replacement caps for this beauty. It would be criminal not to have them!!!!