So, for reasons many and varied, My Firebird has been sitting out in the driveway since December, 2007.

For most of that time, I started it and let it run for awhile every other week, or so, and drove it a few miles once a month, or so.

I changed the oil and checked the fluids once a year. The battery that was in it when I parked it died in 2009. I replaced it with the cheapest one they had at Wal-Mart. I have a Battery Tender Jr, and kept it on the car sometimes, but I have an old motorcycle, too, and used it more for that.

In 2012, I wrecked the motorcycle, breaking both arms, a couple of ribs, a kneecap, and my favorite pinkie toe. I went about 6 weeks without starting the car, went out to do it, and the battery was dead. Wouldn't come back up. I fell while I was messing with the battery and re-fractured my arm. It ended up being another couple of months before I was healed up enough to get a new battery.

By that time, it wouldn't start. Wasn't getting any fuel. Turned out the fuel had turned to gunk and ruined the fuel pump and the sending unit. Had to clean out the tank, replace the fuel pump, and rebuild the throttle body. Ran great. Had to fix the trunk pull-down, too, but that was from my best friend Brian ignoring my yelling "Don't!" and "STOP!!!" while he slammed the trunk 3, or 4 times trying to close it. Hey, free help ain't cheap!

Since then, I've been pretty religious about starting it, and keeping fuel stabilizer in it.

For the past year, the car's being off the road has been all Bruce Hawkin's fault. I emailed him last April to see if begging would work in getting him to produce a 17" GTA wheel. He emailed me back telling me he already had it in the works, and would have an announcement to make around the 1st of the year.

The tires on my car are pretty much shot, and there was no way I was going to put a new set of 16" tires on it when those wheels were on the way, so I decided to wait.

So, my Jeep needed some work, and the guy who works on it was really covered up, so I knew I'd have to leave it with him for a week, or more. I could rent a car for 20 bucks a day, or so; the tag for the Firebird was going to be 200 bucks from the fine for not black tagging it. With the Hawk's wheels out, I figured there's never gonna be a better time, and by not renting the car, I'm essentially getting the tag for half-price, so I put the Firebird back on the road.

I'm amazed at how well it drives and rides after being off the road for so long. The trusty old L03 may make less horsepower than every single V6 minivan being sold in the USA, but it sure is reliable!

Inexplicably, back in 2012 when the guy pulled the gas tank, cleaned it out and replaced the fuel pump, he put it all back together without replacing the sending unit, so I have no fuel gauge. He said the only ones he could find were over 200 bucks, so he'd figured I wouldn't want one. Sigh.....

So, my questions are:

a) What is the best option for a replacement? I looked back in 2012, and I remember seeing a few for a hundred bucks, or so. If the good one is 200 bucks, though, that's the one I want. I don't want to have to pull the tank again.

b) How do you get that @#$%^!!!! Passenger-side sun visor to quit falling down?

 

Wow! at least you can enjoy your thirdgen now.

b) maybe these? http://www.top-downsolutions.com/Bod...n-visor-sleeve

 

A lot of times the sun visor's pin comes loose from the metal casing and spins, which is what happened to mine. Easy to check, just loosen the screw on the sunvisor until you can pull it off and try spinning the rod (it shouldn't move). I fixed mine by tapping out as much metal dust as I could, then filling around the pin with superglue. I also drilled a hole through the casing into the pin and hammered the end of a nail into it for good measure, it's never coming loose again!

 

Pics!