Ihave been F-Body hunting a fair amount now, and may have found a decent deal (hey oldbird... )...but I just wanna know what you guys think aboiut YOUR 2.8's...? How do they move..? Are they a good ride, or what...? Anything you guys have to say would be great!

 

I just bought mine off of a guy I have known for a good while. He has had no problems with his car. He always changed the oil 3,000 miles and never left him stranded. I love the car personaly. For me, it runs and moves well for a V6. Is yours auto or stick? Mine is a 5 speed and was a good buy. But, the only thing I might do is supe it up more or buy a bigger engine. But over all the V6 2.8, you cant go wrong with.

 

2.8 is Tough, you can't kill it, that is as long as you look after it. But it does lack in power. If you want to be laying off 2 foot wide charcoal black strips then the 2.8 is not what you want.

But if what you want is fuel milage, a fun engine, reliable F-body, and a resonable price to pay, I would say you should go withthe 2.8.

I know myself I have had alot of fun with mine, and turning the one tire was never really a problem. But they do lack in the 1/4 mile.

I doubt there is anyone here that would say the 2.8-3.1 cars are terrible. Good luck on your decision...

 

I love my 3.1... its a lot of fun, and doesn't break ya at the pump...

 

Everyone that's been in my car (and knew it was a V6) has been impressed with it. Too bad that doesn't show up on my racetrack timeslips! Oh, mine's an auto.. it had a 3.42 open rear axle, now there's a 3.73/posi/disc back there.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

I was skeptic about the 2.8 when I bought my 89 firebird , but I learned of the reliability of the engine and I have been very happy with mine . They are easy to service . They produce pretty good power for a small v6 ,although I wouldnt expect any tire smoking wheel stands at the light. I would definately lean more towards the fuel injected models and I think they had some problems with the crankshafts on the early 80's 2.8 models.

 

It will last a long time, but if your looking for pwer put money aside for the CRANE 2030 cam, Com Cams 1.52 rollers, a double roller chain and dynomax cat back on day 1.

 

I have a rebuilt 2.8 .It's fast for a 2.8 ..I dont mean lightning fast or V8 speed.But I've been in many 2.8s, and mine is the fastest yet .But I know there is some guys on here (V6)board that would beat me My only real two mods I have are ramair with the maf screen removed .I have heard people say that remving the screen does not help , but when i removed my it really woke the car up ...Next I am planning no 3.73 gears and some posi . Oh yes , were talking total sleeper at the track (RS CAMARO ) real sleeper ! .A quiet 2.8 with 3.73s and mildly modded . I will eventually get it in the low 15s ...Wayne

 

Mine is good...slower than I'd like, but not so bad. The only time you really notice how slow a 2.8 is is when you drive another, newer car and get back into a 2.8...that's when it does show up. Working at a new car dealer for over a year has made me realize this

Mine runs very well, and despite the fact that the accessories never seem to hold up too well (5 alternators, 3 starters since new), the basic structure itself is good. Mine has used a quart of oil about every 1,500-1,700 miles since the early '90s...but it does run very well.

Now to fix that pesky rust

------------------
Jason E

'89 Camaro RS
-Medium Grey Metallic
-2.8, A4, T-tops, 95k miles
-Hypertech chip, Accel 8.8MM wires and coil
-K&Ns with gutted airbox
-Alpine 60x4 with Boston 746s and RX97s

'97 Z28
-30th Anniversary package (white with orange stripes)
-LT1, M6, t-tops, 46k miles
-Xtant 403a 50x4 + 300x1 powering a 10" Eclipse Aluminum in a JL Stealth box, Boston RM6 fronts, Monsoon rears (temporary!!), Eclipse 5341R CD, All Monster's goodies...
Speed Kills...Wanna live forever? Drive a Ford.
Long Live #3...

 

I will have to agree if you get the Manual, you'll be happier cause you can keep the RPMs high to take off and get moving quicker. Mine has 110K I have replaced the struts, brake job(Front) Shocks, tires, alt(Old one did not go bad, just went to a higher amp rating 160 for my sterio) I have upgraded the sway bars to iroc set(BIG DIFFERENCE!) serp belt, Clutch and tensioner pully. It can get finiky at times, but it has never left me anywhere, overall very reliable(even though I pound her sometimes). I would recomend the 6er for the first time owner. That way if you deside to upgrade the engine by various means you already know how the cars gonna act and you won't have any surprises.

 

You know, it's funny. As much as I'm irritated with my 91 3.1 liter for all the problems it has, it still surprises me. I mean, it's only got 97,000 on it but it's had numerous repairs done, still numerous problems, massive oil leaks amounting to a quart every 2 weeks PLUS the added...well, far from benefit...of having an oil idling PSI of between 20 and 40, erratically jumping and falling every 1-3 seconds, resulting in a wicked engine shimmy. But you know, the car can still pull a 0-60 in 10.5 in Drive..not bad eh? That's assuming my throttle doesn't stick, which it has been lately..throws the auto shifter off when it kicks up like it does. As much crap as this car has been through, I can still burn out occasionally with no assistance whatsoever from dirt or rain or powerbraking. As long as the engine is at just the right temp and it's behaving smooth, I punch it and not just chirp..flat out peel out.. It's no 8 cyl peel, but for an unmodded 6, it's pretty impressive!

 

When you get your car no matter the make be prepared to give it some care. By that I mean money. It will need things replaced. Previous owners are not known for taking good care of thier cars.

All in all I like the performance of my 3.1L. I actualy beat the pants off of my sister's husband. He has a 1966 Mustang with a lightly moded 289. Allthough he has no clue on how to shift during a race, but it still felt great to spank that jerk.

 

They are really great long lasting engines and usually they are in better shape than the V8's since women and older men bought them over the V8 for mileage.. For example my mother drove mine for 5 years. Never took it over 70, never raced it, never dogged it, anytime there was a problem or necessary maintaince it went in toteh chevy dealer. Now I have it as a toy. 160,000 on it.. All I needed was new tranny at 120K..

 

but more info... The CAM, Roller Rockers, Double roller chain and Nitrous are your best mods.. Do the chip last along with pulleys last...

 

I have an '87 Firebird with the 2.8L V6 and the A4. While it was pretty good for its day, the 140hp is comparable to a decent 4 banger of today, albeit with more torque. The A4 and rear axle combination make her a pretty good runner, but she is a dog going up the mountains in central Pennsylvania. We have about 89k miles on ours, and the head gasket is just now beginning to seep a little oil. Not bad for a 14+ year old car. I am considering dropping a 5.7L into her, but I do not need the muscle (look at the other two in my "flock of birds" below). The only things we have had to put in her were several alternators (I thoroughly suggest getting new, not rebuilt ones!), one exhaust system, radiator and heater core. Brakes have been minimal, several sets of plugs and oil changes. AND KEEP THE THROTTLE PLATES CLEAN!

As far as longevity is concerned, I just sold a 1990 Beretta with a 3.1L (basically a rebored 2.8L) that had 146k miles on her. The tranny and engine were still rock solid. She moved extremely well for a six. We sold her when we bought the '79 TA (October, 2001). She was starting to nickel & dime us to death. The straw that broke the camel's back was the heater core. I just did not feel like wrassling with the dash board and fittings at that point. If you are familiar with Berettas you know the interior was a piece of s**t. Mechanically she was great, though. Only three alternators and two exhausts! Plus the normal maintenance items...

Bottom Line: Don't be afraid of the V6, but it does not perform like the new 3800 Series II of today or the V8's of its own day.

------------------
2000 WS6 TA
1987 Firebird 2.8L
1979 TA, 403 Olds

 

MrRamAir, are you sure it's the head gasket? The distributor o-ring is a common leak spot.. the o-ring gets brittle, and gets many little cracks on the sealing surface, and oil seeps past.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

TomP,

Thanks for the advice! I just glanced at where it seemed to be coming from. She gets stored every winter and the oring probably is cracked. You might have just saved my poor little V6! I figure for the cost of a head gasket replacement I would be better off dropping a crate engine into her. But the V8 would mean a lot of modifications, starting with the radiator...

I hope you are right!

Anybody here know where I can get factory replacement striping for the '87 base Bird? I have a red one with silver along the bottom, with orange and black parallel stripes that straddle the red/silver border. You can see pictures of her on my web site:
www.geocities.com/mrramair/index.html and go to either the 87 Firebird or Car Cruise Photo pages for pictures of what I mean. I want to get a restoration paint job on her, but Phoenix Graphix does not make these stripes and did not know where to point me.

------------------
2000 WS6 TA
1987 Firebird 2.8L
1979 TA, 403 Olds

 

I found the greatest thing the other day, you guys may find it interesting. I bought a copy of Hot Rod magazine, and looked through the back where it has magazine ads. A magazine called Next Generation makes a catalog SPECIFICALLY for Third and Fourth generation Camaros and Firebirds. It's great..LOADED with stuff. I mean, everything from turn signal switches to carpeting to new hoods, plus a buttload of performance parts. It's like paradise thumbing through those pages! I know for sure it has striping and decal kits for sale, just don't know the specifics or how much.

 

Nixon1,

I think I ordered one of those several weeks ago... NextGen I think is a part of YearOne, but I am not 100% sure of that.

I hope they have the base Firebird striping!

------------------
BIRDS:
2000 WS6 TA
1987 Firebird 2.8L
1979 TA, 403 Olds

OTHERS:
1998 Grand Prix GT
1997 Olds Bravada

 

I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT U:
A look for a low miles v8
b GET A MANUAL (a must if u get a v6)
c look for a 3.1 over a 2.8

[This message has been edited by c-5invalid (edited November 12, 2001).]

 

Brian K

a double roller timing chain wont clear the timing cover on a 2.8 or 3.1

 

While I'm sure a v6 performs nicely compared to most cars on the road... I have seen no evidence that they are more reliable than V8's. The fact of the matter is, that if your engine starts leaking oil @ 89k or your tranny was replaced at 120k etc. somebody most likely abused that car at some point. Well taken care of engines and drive trains should not need major work before the 200k mark.

I've got 146k on my 17 year old LG4, it's never gotten a rebuild and it pulls off a solid 7.5 sec. 0-60 The only leak is a drop or two a week from the oil pan and the tranny and clutch show no signs of wear. I wouldn't turn down a nice V6 just because of 2 less cylinders... but I also wouldn't turn down a V8 because of fear of it breaking down, the SBC has been developed and refined so many times that I wouldn't be surprised if it is in theory a more reliable engine. The reason I say "in theory" is that more agressive drivers probably bought the V8's which would result in a higher repair frequency.

------------------
1984 Firebird - Daily driver, 305 LG4, 3.23 rear, T5 - Hurst short shifter, Edelbrock 600 CFM 1406 carb, Performer intake - Edelbrock Pro-Flow air filter, gutted cat, IROC 16x8 5 Spoke Wheels, AIWA bargain basement (from Sears of course) CD player, Eight-ball shift ****
Check out my ride here

"IT'S SNOWING! TO THE HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT!" - The Mustang and Firebird face off in the dead of winter.

 

ChillPhatCat,

Don't be too quick to judge abuse! The slight oil drip that my 1987 Firebird experiences has absolutely nothing to do with abuse. We are talking about a single drop of oil about every two or three days. She has been babied her whole life. Oil changes every 3000 miles, routine tune-ups, never seen a winter. The paint is starting to show fading and the headliner is worn thin by the t-tops from being in the sun too much and driven almost exclusively with the t-tops off.

The seepage is more due to the fact that she sits a lot. 89k miles in 14+ years says it all. She was a year-round car for the first three years only. Since 1990, she has not seen rain or snow. She is garage-stored from November 15 until April 1. The fact that yours is a daily driver prevents the cracking o-rings, gaskets and seeping seals. My wife has driven the car almost exclusively, and never abuses her whatsoever.

------------------
BIRDS:
2000 WS6 Trans Am (LS1)
1987 Firebird (2.8L)
1979 Trans Am (403 Olds)

OTHERS:
1998 Grand Prix GT (3800 Series II)
1997 Olds Bravada (4.3L)

 

I thought of that after posting... yeah sitting isn't great for gaskets. In some senses, sitting around is abuse to your car. My car was garage stored during the winter for the first 12 years of it's life, so they must have done something to make that work.

At any rate, I didn't want to offend anyone... just wanted to point out that a lot of these problems could be solved by taking precautionary measures in the first place.

 

25th anniversarry RS,

Most places have a matching cover to go with the chain just for this reason.

 

ChillPhatCat,

No offense taken! I was just clarifying that point.

The '89 never ran so well as for the three months that I drove her about 120 miles a day in the summer of 1995. I had changed jobs and we were building a new house halfway between my work and my wife's. My commute was extremely long, but luckily about 100 miles of it were highway. She really got all of the cobwebs blown out of her! (She would have about 7500 fewer miles on her, but no big deal...)

------------------
BIRDS:
2000 WS6 Trans Am (LS1)
1987 Firebird (2.8L)
1979 Trans Am (403 Olds)

OTHERS:
1998 Grand Prix GT (3800 Series II)
1997 Olds Bravada (4.3L)

 

89 firebird 2.8 auto. Owned for almost 3.5 yrs. Never had a major problem except for alternators. Still runs ok at 140,000 mi. Need more power over here in Germany though. Was great in states though.

 

i love my 87 2.8L Firebird.

However, I think there has only been maybe a month of driving with out having something wrong. She has an intermittent stalling problem that no one, even the dealer, could fix. Altogether, just trying to keep it running, i think i've spent about 1500 dollars. (400 of that was at the dealer).

Besides that, I need a new ignition module every 4-6 months. I started keeping one on hand. I haven't seen any kind of recall on this, but I think I guessed why it does that, does no one else have this problem? I heard I should relocate it so it doesn't overheat, like it does on some Ford Pick-ups.

I have no real mods, just K&N filters and removed MAF screens.

Starting to leak oil pretty bad.

BUT like I said I love this car and wouldn't give it up..Drive it til it dies. I just wish the previous owner took better care of it.

Besides I think 0-60 in 9.2 seconds is fast for a 14 year old car, with 125,000 miles, basically stock.

 

MrRamAIr, you got an automatic in youor 79 T/A don't you? as for engine abuse/reliability, my 76 bonneville has 131k miles, doesn't leak(much, oilpan covered) /burn oil and IS the origonal motor.

I hope that if I rebuild the 2.8 it will last like the 400, but then I can aquire a 3.4l motor for $695 w/ only 28k miles on it.

Havn't heard too many bad things on those motors so....

------------------
$150.00 2.8 Auto.
short block now
turbo eventually, 3.4 may be in the future

76 Bonnie: 400/400 CIA/Ram Air w/ metal clothes dryer ducting

"And you thought a Caprice was big"

Giving the enemy the opportunity to die for their country

 

25th anniversarry RS:

Yes, it does. I installed the Cloyes true dual roller timing chain on my 2.8 myself.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

The 109hp 2.8 (carb) in my '83 was damn slow! But it was DIE-HARD! It made it all the way to 268,000 and never gave me a problem-not once!!

 

i've gone through two 2.8 v6's. they move okay for a small 6 but they don't give the power that a camaro deserves. my friend has a 2.0l 4cylinder in his dodge neon and it puts out 132 horses stock while the camaro 2.8 V6 HO only puts out 135 horses. plus all you guys whine about abusing your cars. what's the point of owning a camaro if you can't punch it and show it off every now and then. i don't consider peeling out and puting it too the floor abusing a car unless you neglect it or tach it out. these cars were made for power so why not use it?

 

I don't remember whining...?

 

Abuse = not doing regular maintence. Like changing the oil and fixing problems that occur.

When I first got my RS there were some manny little things that i had to fix becuase the previous owner (who I knew) would brag that he never had to open hood for 2 1/2 years. Now that's abuse.

After fixing all of the little things the engine had so much more power then when I first got it that is was like getting a new car!

 

My 85 had the 2.8. The original owner had it serviced regularly and kept all receipts of any major work that had been done. One of the receipts was from an emissions test in 1999, and it passed with 379,000 miles on it. Not long after that is when the engine died. A running 2.8 came with it when I got it a few months ago. I just need to install it. If I had the funds I would just drop a 3.4 in it like a lot of you have been saying to do.

 

Hehe, reminds me of the original owner of my car... he kept record of the ammount of gas he put in at every fill up, the mileage and the miles on the car up to 124k from 1984-1996. I'm at 146k now, still averaging the same mileage.