ok 3rd gen owners, i need some help and suggestions on what you think i should do. a few nights ago i was driving and saw a black 3rd gen firebird/formula/trans am? sitting in a driveway with paint on the windsheild reading "FOR SALE $800." i remebered the houses location and went back to talk with the owner about her. i asked him the year but he said he wasnt exactly sure.(i guess it was about an 88-89?) he popped the hood and said it was a 350 and pointed to the label under the hood that had 5.7 liter on it.(question: how is mileage on a car like this? gas is a pretty big issue for a teen like me.) he started her up and she sounded load as hell. he said she needed a new exhaust. i could smell the fumes, it musta been old gas or somethin. after looking over the car i saw that there was a b&m aircleaner with a chrome edelbrock holder. it looks kinda rough. besides being in need of a wash, i noticed some rust in the whell wells. i had him pop up the lights and one was burned out(how much is a new one?) i also saw that one of the rear tail lights was not on(i think the bulbs burned out) but i saw the actual taillight thru the hatchback glass. he said she needed a new o2 sensor(price?) the tires looked new and had tread on them. the transmission is AUTOMATIC and the seller said it was the original from what the previous owner said which may or may not be true. i sat in the drivers seat and i could feel the power as i revved the engine up a couple of times. soon and much to my surprise the car went out! he said it was probably out of gas. when it shut down the "Check Engine Soon" light flashed on.(is this just because the gas is out or what?) i noted that the miles where well over 100,000. i think in the neighborhood of 112,000-115,000. (what are these cars able to live up to?) he said the car has been sitting the for a year or two and he hasn't had the cash to fix it up. i saw that the speedo only went up to 80mph which surprised me because i thought with an engine like that, it could achieve higher speeds. what i am asking for, 3rd gen owners, is if this car is worth buying. i know you cant come and see it for yourselves but from the info that i gave you what do you think? tomorow im gonna get the VIN# and carfax it and see what i get and ill report back. if i think of anything else that i may have forgotten, ill post it. i need all the input i can get from you ladies and gents! thanks again!

 

All depends on what you want out of the car, the more you want the more work you have to put into it. Don't get me wrong, I have an 86 IROC and I love it, but I've spent some time on it. With 100,00 miles it has some life left but not all that much in my opinion. Main things I would look for are leaks, sounds during driving (knocking especially), blueish smoke from exhaust, or major body work. You should find out whats up with the exhaust, is it the muffler, pipe, or manifold?
Oxygen sensor costs 25 bucks, easy to put in.
Halogen headlight around 20 bucks, easy fix.
Also plan on oil change, spark plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, air filter, and fuel filter (tune up)
800 bucks is cheap but if you want to learn something about cars and want a project then I think its cool. Best thing to do is get your dad or someone that knows something about cars and have him give you a second opinion, good luck either way.

 

On second thought, since I just read your sig, drop the mustang 4 banger and get it. Use the cash you get from the other car and fix it up. Like I said before, if you want a project and like working on cars then go for it. Just remember that things can get expensive Had my fill of that on my car.

 

"after looking over the car i saw that there was a b&m aircleaner with a chrome edelbrock holder."

is this car carbureted?

"i saw that the speedo only went up to 80mph which surprised me because i thought with an engine like that, it could achieve higher speeds. "

i thought 5.7 tpi had higher speedos also.

 

Some do but I'm not sure what years have them. Mine was an 86 IROC and it came with the lame 80 mph speedometer. I swapped it for a 140, not too hard to do.

 

"soon and much to my surprise the car went out! he said it was probably out of gas. when it shut down the "Check Engine Soon" light flashed on.(is this just because the gas is out or what?)"


It could be out of gas (gauge???) . If i remember right (from experience hehe), it does go on. But was it flashing like morse code? If so, something is wrong. If it just lites up it means it stalled.....but then you have to see why it stalled.

For me in another GM car, the thing shut down and the SES light flashed a code...turned out to be the computer.....thats at least a couple hundred to fix and you need it to make it move.

 

oh yeah i forgot, it is a carb'd engine and if my memory servers me right it was not stock. possibly a holley or edelbrock 4barrel???

 

just to add on... its summer here now but i would like this car to live. i would want it to be a daily driver that i could use on the weekends to take to the track and actually have a pair on it for racing. but thinking long run... how do these rear whell drives fair in the winter? rwd are notorious to be sub effecient in foul weater. i most likely wouldnt use it during the winter because i have a 91 pontiac fwd at my disposal. just my 2 cents for now

 

Walk away...no wait...run.

Rust

*run*

Kluged fuel system (thing the last carbed 3rd gen was '87????

*run*

But most defitely no 350 carbed third geans in '88...(if it is carbed), if TBI, then it's had the 350 added to it...you can't mistake the L98 (350) intake, looks like a big 8 legged spider...definitely wouldn't see an Edelbrock aircleaner on it.

*run*

Owner doesn't know the year..

*run*

Did I mention that you should walk/run from this car now?

I'm gonna take a stab at this...the seller has a few years on you...and you're a young man looking for a cool car.

He's full of "I don't really know's"...

You see too much good, he's trying to offload his problem on you.

 

Like I said before, don't expect this car to have no problems. He's only asking 800 bucks, that usually means theres some issues with it. If you want something better then look in the classifieds around where you live and find something else. Its up to you what you want to do, but I would have someone else go with you and take a look at it before you dive in. Its probably a q-jet though, and the reason why I say this is you said the ses light came on when the car died. If he put an aftermarket carb on there the light would be on all the time or not at all if he disconnected it.

 

Much over and inch or 2 of snow and a Camaro is a no go in the snow.

 

i agree with the other guy. too many i dont knows could add up to some serious problems later. also, if youre really intersested in a 3rd gen, do some homework. do i want a tpi, carb, or will i settle for a tbi 305 due to my budget. what year is the most appealing to me? do i want a 85-87 iroc(yes please!) or do i favor the 88-90? do i want a t/a or a formula? do i want to deal with those damn pop up headlights? gain some knowledge about third gens and what you want out of them, then set out on your quest and dont settle. its a good idea to become knowledgable about any car you want. that is my advice to you my good man.

 

the chrome aircleaner should be fair enough indication that its not TPI :0

$800 for what is probably someone elses failed project, come to CT, thirdgens are worth nothing here, so for $800 you could get a better one :P

 

"the chrome aircleaner should be fair enough indication that its not TPI :0"

I was 99% sure that's what was indicated but I'm not aware of every aftermaketpart available so I asked.
I can handle fixing up a $800 deal but here in CA that means smog. And getting a carbed engine back to legal might not be a deal anymore.