Hello to all the Thirdgen Bird lovers... I am new to this forum and a bit new to Firebird although about thirty five years ago I owned a 69 coupe 350 bb and a 67 conv w/ 326. My current Bird is an 84 although I'm not sure what the model is. The vin has an X in it and that should be an S/E. It has the S/E label on the piller behind the doors and Firebird emblem on the fenders behind the front tires. On the hood there is a small Firebird decal right at the front tip. This is a v6 model w/ 5 speed. The car is equipped w/ four wheel disc brakes, 15 inch alum wheels w/ Pontiac cast into them. Also it has a limited slip rear end, pb, ps, ac, 6 way adj seats both driver and pass (manual adj) in velour, pwr door locks, pwr windows, tilt wheel, leather wrapped steer wheel, park brk handle, and map pouches, all inst., split rear seat that fold down, remote adj drives side mirror, elec hatch back release, and cruise control. This vehicle also has "T" tops. The original color was/is gun metal gray. The VIN is : 1G2AX87L9EL234551. So the question is: What is this? A TA/SE? and what engine is this and how does one find out what engine it is? I've looked at all kinds of info on the net and not really sure what I've got here. Any ciphering would be appreciated. Oh one other thing,,, where would one find the build sheet in these cars....? THANK YOU Doug

 

might have the "H.O."2.8 v6-basicly RWD version of the "high output" 2.8 from the ~1981-84 citation x-11,something like 135 HP.

 

Not a TA, it's a Firebird S/E (Special Edition). Similar to a Camaro Berlinetta. They were upscale in luxury/convenience features but not so much on performance.
This is what somebody bought if they wanted lots of features but didn't care about drag racing. They were marketed to chicks, basically.
1984 was the peak selling year of the 3rdgen. Your 84 Firebird S/E would have been a trendy cruiser at the time, an icon of the era.

Did you see this page?
https://www.thirdgen.org/1984-pontiac-firebird

I don't know how to identify the engine with certainty, but the production engine would have been the basic (not HO) carbureted 2.8L V6. I don't know if the 84 has an RPO tag, but if it does, you'll probably find the LC1 code on it which corresponds to that engine.
The 3.1L wasn't introduced until the 1990 model year, and it was always multiport injected. However, after all these years various swaps and modifications are always a possibility.

I don't think the carbureted 2.8L HO was ever factory installed in the 3rdgen. But I swear I used to see lots of 3rdgens with a "2.8L High-Output" decal on the bumper back in the day. Maybe those were MPFI 2.8s (1985+) - I'm not sure.