I bought a firebird for $300! It wasn't running but the body is PERFECT. It is now running and I registered it and got insurance. However, I'm not really sure what kind it is. The VIN number tells me it is a normal firebird (has an S for the 5th digit), but it has all the formula parts. It has a formula steering wheel, WS6 wheels and performance suspension, a 350 TPI converted to CARB. I'm really confused. Could it be a normal firebird just with all the emblems and the wheels?? What else can I look for that would tell me for sure?

 

run the vin and RPO codes

 

Sounds like a conglomeration of parts.

It's just some car somebody slapped together, it's not some special edition or anything. Don't worry about whether it's a Formula or not. It probably isn't, but it doesn't make much difference now.

 

I agree it doesn't make much difference now... however, I am looking into putting a shift kit in it. I want that B&M shifter, but it says it can't work in the 88-92 formula's. So if it isn't a formula then great, if it is I have to start looking for something else.

I'm stuck...

 

Wrong way to go about figuring that out.

The fitment issue has to do with the console that they used in it, not the badges they stuck on the outside. Look at your console. Nobody can tell you, given that you already know that you have a cobbled-together random parts car, exactly what console is in it. I can almost see it though, if it was a little closer to your monitor maybe I could make it out; but even if I could see it better, I'm not sure what the difference in the consoles is. Sounds like you need to do a little research, maybe get out and look at some cars and figure out which console they stuck in it.

But even at that, the console doesn't affect a shift kit, which is a collection of parts that go inside the transmission.

 

Ok then I think the problem's solved. I want a new middle console anyway. So I'll just make sure the console pull from some other car and stick in there will fit with the shifter I want!


P.S. I'm thinking about one out of the 4th gen like what some of the others guys in here are doing. Looks goooooood.

 

It wouldn't matter if it's a Formula or not anyway because obviously so much has been changed at this point that the parts you're checking could've been changed before.

 

Exactly.... try looking at some other cars, in junkyards or parking lots (same thing???) or wherever, and see what you've really got by comparing. You might already have something that will work and you won't have to do a thing.

 

I will need a new console anyway. The one in there is a bit worn. I would post pics of it but I don't have a camera right now. I really like customx's setup. I don't know about the colors and all, but the dash and console look good.

 

I should really email B&M one of these days. They say 88-92 Formula, but they mean 85-92 Firebirds. 82-84 Firebirds used the same console as 82-92 Camaros- the rectangular plastic black console with hex screws on the top. 85-92 Firebird got a console with vinyl on the sides and a one-piece top, no hex screws.

It "doesn't fit" because it's not a drop-in fit. You have to cut the console top with either a dremel or (what I used) a cutting tip of a soldering iron. And B&M didn't want anyone destroying their console lid and trying to sue them.

It fits the car. It fits the trans. And with careful cutting, it Will fit the console. My B&M Megashifter's plate fit between the "top" of the window switches, and the "bottom" of the ashtray button.

 

do you happen to have a picture of this??

Does anybody know if the B&M Shifter will fit if I put a 4th gen console in?