Don started to clean out some welds in the firewall area to see if it was butchered. It is bad. He thinks the windshield may be cracked because the alignment is off. The firewall is bad, and not economical to rebuild. The good news is he found me an 87 TA for a good price to put the engine and trans in, so I'll be switching from Camaro to Firebird. The right front fender is probably a replacement, and is in excellent condition if anyone needs a fender for a Camaro.

 

STOP THE PRESSES
Russ with a Firebird.
The 9th wonder of the world.

 

 

IMHO firebirds are better anyways. the interiors are better. Mine in particular is an 86 TA and the nose looks like a nascar nose. also, with the lights closed the body looks cleaner.

although my friend irocster has an 89 iroc and those look meaner with thier nose, however, all the way to 92 they never updated the interior from 82. they should have done something with that box of a center counsel and the huge gap where where the firebirds have the dash pocket.

 

If my IROC had been in good shape, the center console was going to be replaced by a custom aluminum console with fresh upholstery. The TA looks good, but has been sitting for two years so it needs a good cleaning. The Aero wing is in bad shape, but I hate those things anyway, so I'm going to look for a low wing to replace it. We saw a bunch of low wings at the P.A.P. yards we went to in Wilmington looking for Camaro parts.

 

as for the crappy aero wings that like to rot out, i am thinking of replacing it with the 4th gen wing, except, i dont like the attitude of theguy, rex i believe, that makes them. it seems that it would not be to hard to get a fiberglass wing close enough to fit, yet many people are complaining about the poor quality of the wings. anyone have an opinion on the matter?

 

Tom Keleher got one of the fiberglass aftermarket wings for his formula, and it seemed good. I don't know who made it, though.

 

Who is Tom Keleher? I do not remember seeing that name around here.

 

My fiberglass replacement aero wing is awesome. I bought it from Classic Industries and believe it is a GT Auto wing. The fit is great and it also weighs half as much as the stock one.

Personally, I don't care for the 4th gen style wings on 3rd gens. The lines just don't match. 4th gens are very curvy while 3rd gens are more angular. It just looks too mismatched IMHO.

 

Tom Keliher is the man who started this club. He had some personal issues to take care of a couple years ago and was unable to continue the club, so we took over. He owns a 1989 Formula 350, and has performed a lot of upgrades and mods to it over the years. I tried to go to his website on Geocities but it looks like its not there anymore.

 

i see. good history lesson. i know that a lot of people think that the lines should be kept but IMHO i think that the 4th gen wing and ram air II hood look awesome together along with some 17 in Torque thrust II's. feel free to flame those items but you wont change my mind.

 

IMO if you want that stuff, buy a 4th gen.

 

Styling is strictly subjective in my opinion. I think the aerowing looks r i c e, but that is my opinion.

 

im pretty sure you have driven a 4th gen.

reasons why i dont want a 4th gen:

they handle half as good as a thirdgen.
they cost more.
they cant be worked on easily, the engine sits under a freaking dash.
they cost more to insure.

i would buy one becasue of the power and ride comfort but i rather have some fun doing what i like and play backyard mechanic on my car.

 

and just becuase of reliability and becasue i have to go to college, my parents might be getting me a 4th gen trans am anyways. im hoping i can get the new engine in my car before college so i can drive the thirdgen.