Here is a shot from the 1982 brochure and the S/E came with the same suspension as the T/A
this is my doubt ..all 82 S/E are WS6 ?
how can i visually identificate them ? i got no RPO sticker ¡

 

Look for rear wheel disk brakes.

 

All S/E's are NOT WS6!!! WS6 was very rare in '82. If you have rear drums then it's not a WS6.

 

I have a friend with a Formula 88 with the performance suspension badge in the "glovebox" and with rear drum brakes
and in the center cobers of his Formula wheels says WS6

 

In '88 it was different! In '82 if you didn't have disc's-you didn't have WS6!

 

I doubt this old wive's tale will ever be put to rest. WS6 is not a suspension package, never was, never will be. it's a performance package that includes many upgrade items, one of them being better springs & sway bars. but guess what, it also includes better brakes, better steering ratio, positraction and other stuff.
That picture does not say anything about WS6. the "Special suspension package" it refers to is LEVEL TWO suspension for 1982, I guess the equivalent of RPO Y99 or F41. "Special suspension package" and "Special performance package" are not the same thing.

it breaks down like this:

FIREBIRD - LEVEL ONE suspension is standard. peewee front sway bar, no rear sway bar at all! doh. also the steering system is not rack & pinion, but is some ancient corkscrew design I can't think of at the moment. LEVEL TWO is optional and includes 30MM front sway bar, 12MM rear sway bar but still 14 inch wheels. LEVEL THREE is not available.

FIREBIRD Trans Am - LEVEL TWO suspension is standard and it has 30MM front sway bar, 12MM rear sway bar and 14 inch wheels. LEVEL THREE suspension is available but the only way to get it is to order the WS6 performance package, which includes 32MM front sway bar, 21MM rear sway bar, and stiffer springs, which is what LEVEL THREE is all about.

Firebird S/E - exactly the same as FIREBIRD Trans Am above.

WS6 was not standard on anything. it was a pay-extra option for all f-bodys, at least in 1982, which is what we're talking about here.

your photo talks about Y99/F41, not WS6. it shows Y99/F41 available on Firebird, standard for Firebird Trans Am and standard on Firebird S/E, ( A, S, S ) which is right on the money.

I assume you're on the 82 brochure.. well if so, look on the back cover, middle column, about two thirds of the way down. You'll see "Special performance package". That's WS6. the availability will look like this: ( -, A, A ). The dash means Not Available. which is the same way I tried to describe it above.

In 1982 they also had a shortage of WS6 disc-brake rear axles, so they substituted in drum-brake axles for most cars. The car still kept the rest of the WS6 goodies, but since it didn't have the disc brakes, it was different enough to warrant its own RPO. They called it WS7. So when you ordered a WS6 in 82, you probably got a WS7 instead unless you were lucky. All 2000 of the 82 Recaros got mandatory WS6 but there wasn't much left after that. To find a 1982 WS6 non-Recaro is pretty damn rare. Only PHS can verify it, as the cars didn't have their RPO stickers in 'em till 1984.

just tryin to help :
GT :rockon:

 

:hail: :hail: :hail:
Thanks ..for your complete info ¡¡
it solved my doubts ¡¡
Do you have any home page with big info on 82s ??
Really thanks ...there is a guy who i thought it was you
check : http://www.geezernet.nu/transam/
Thanks kizz ..btw do you like Kiss ??

 

Do you know what the RPO would have been for an 84 Firebird with the level two suspension? Based on your description above, my 84 V6 has the level two suspension. I know for a fact it was all original when i got it, and it has the 30 mm front sway bar and a tiny rear sway bar.
Thanks, Dave

 

That all does sound like level II which should be F41. Look in the RPO sticker in the middle console for that code.

 

Great info Kizz, just one more thing i didnt know about s/e's that makes them that much cooler to have.

 

But WS6 a.k.a. "level 3", was optional on S/E too with all the goodies.. posi, 4 wheel disc, etc. optional. Look at my post above from 11-01-0202 for full info

 

Anybody find a stripe kit for em yet? Hoping not to have to get one custom made...$$$$

 

I wish they had an S/E package. I had to custom make mine and just match the three tone as close as I could.

 

S/E's were plentiful.. they made WAY more S/E's than GTA's for example.. that's hard to fathom. Think how common GTA's are.. you see zillions of 'em on this website and everywhere else online. Well they made MORE S/E's than that, but you never see them, they're all dead. problem is, nobody really pays any respect to an S/E because they don't have readily visible differences from Firebird or Trans Am, though a close look (which nobody has time for) reveals they are really unique. plus the fact that they came with a V6 standard (V8 optional) turns off a lot of hot rodders. So S/E's end up raped & left for dead or customized / modified to death, and now there are hardly ANY good condition S/E's anywhere. And as a result, nobody cares to restore one.. so there's no stripe demand.. so nobody makes the stripes or any of the other S/E unique stuff. It's really sad. they are very unique cars. I love 'em all. 83firebirdS/E's 82 black/charcoal was one of the best ones I've ever seen. very rare exception. I hope it went into good hands.

GT

 

There's a stripe demand! I demand it!
A custom shop that could do good ones could definitely pull a group business off of this site.

 

AND I LOVE IT ¡¡¡

 

I had an 88 Trans Am which had the WS-6 with drum brakes on the rear. It was a 305 TPI car. It had the black laced wheels too.

 

Me too...

 

'88 was different dude, read above.

 

I know it was different I was just stating I had one like that. Trying to show it was pretty common.

 

What are you talking about? Of course its a suspension package...or let me rephrase that..a performance handling package. For the first few years of the 3rd gens and last few years of the 2nd gens it included rear disk brakes but other than that, it was all suspension. All of the suff you're listing(besides the posi) has to do with handling..i.e., suspension. And I believe the positraction you mention was a stand alone option.

The 4th gens call it the WS6 performance and handling package due to the extra performance of the ram-air hood. The thirdgens have no horsepower enhancements from the WS6 package.

 

(even though they are only discussing WS6 on Trans Am in this section, WS6 is also available on Firebird S/E, as I said in an earlier post a few up from this one, dated 11-01)

You with me so far? Clearly the performance package and the handling package are two separate things; the handling package is a part of the performance package; it's part of it; a sub-set of it, among other items. These quotes are from Pontiac documentation in 1982 which I assume you haven't read. I'm not pulling this stuff out of my azz. OK great, moving right along.. Now.. by doing a simple piece-by-piece comparison of those 2 quotes above, we can see that the so-called "special handling package" consists of two items: the upgrade 12.7:1 quick steering box (normal is 14.0:1), and the upgrade 32mm/21mm sway bars (normal is 30mm/12mm). In other words, those two items in the "special handling package" in addition to the upgrade 15x7 wheels (normal is 14X7), upgrade 15 inch tires (normal is 14 inch), upgrade 4-wheel disc brakes (normal is front disc / rear drum), and upgrade positraction (normal is no positraction) are what make up the "special performance package", also known as WS6. Doesn't this make sense? It totally agrees with how they say the handling package is part of the performance package. It's what I would expect it to be. TWO different packages. I don't care what someone's uncle's brother's wife's dog barked out, and I don't even care what someone's Formula center caps say, if they don't say something logical. Besides, we're talking about 1982 only. I care what I read in official Pontiac documents, especially if they make sense, which this one does, to me anyway. I don't know how to explain it any better than by quoting from Pontiac themselves, i.e. the horse's mouth. From that point on, it's up to the reader to interpret it properly, and apparently, nobody ever does.

Those of you that want to waste your time on a petty little technicality like this, go ahead! I was hoping this thread could die a peaceful death.. We've been through this subject before. This is the last time I'll post on this thread. There's too much other cool stuff to read on this website than to talk to deaf or at least misinformed ears. Have fun.

GT

 

It seems like the pettiness is in your argument not mine. You can list all the features of the WS6 package from the Pontiac literature all you like, the bottom line is, it is predominantly a suspension package upgrade. The bigger sway bars, the bigger wheels, the faster sterring box, fatter tires all equate to HANDLING. Even the limited slip you mentioned from the Pontiac brochure, is listed under the "special handling package". The brakes are the only thing that kind of fall under there own category, and even they were optional(WS7 I believe?).

And for the short run that the WS6 package included anything other than suspenion upgrades, it wont change its overall interpretation historically as a Pontiac handling package.

 

I'm going to assume that you're not really this dense in your assumptions, but that you just made a mistake. Go back and read what I wrote; it's all there in plain english.

GT

 

dude its OK!Relax,give em a break dude!HE knows what hes talkin about,Ive got the same info!!!Read the threads again,maybe then you will understand.

 

Good assumption. I read your ramblings and I responded accordingly. Maybe if you could see past you're own arrogance you would understand my point. All I'm trying to say is that the WS6 package when all is said and done, is most noteworthy as a top of the line suspension upgrade for the Firebird. Now there may be a year here and there where it included another option or two(like in 82), but it doesn't change the overall perception of what the package is.

If you read MY response more carefully, you might have comprehended this. How's that for plain English?

 

And what does your plain english have to do with the subject of this thread, titled: All 1982 S/E are WS6 ?

 

Where have you been? Obviously we have been off topic for the last 27 posts.

 

That was my point! Time to give it up. IBTL.

 

Getting back on topic All 1982 S/E are WS6 ? Nope, But mine is

 

....

 

..

 

but did s/e have or not have fender vents in 82 ?

s/e or t/a or both have 21mm rear bar ?

ive got both items on my drum rear 82 trans am

if its really a t/a

 

S/E never had vents in 82 or any other year as far as I know. the base S/E w/2.8L V6 had 30mm bars front & 12mm rear.
The S/E with the 2.8L & WS6 had 30mm front & 18mm rear.
S/E with the 5.0L & WS6 had 32mm front & 21mm rear.

A base T/A should have the 30/18 and 32/21 with WS6.

My 82 S/E WS6 has the 32/21 setup & the J65 rear disc's

 

ok so since i have a 21mm rear bar and i have fender vents and LG4 and such then my 82 definitely is a T/A for damn sure,
ok. got that figured out now,.

oh and has the 82 dated power bulge hood in which was not an s/e item, correct?
it is stamp dated 9A 16 82
RH fender is dated 7A and something and 82
is A the month or the 7 and 9 on the parts ?




next is how could i tell if mine was one of those that was supposed to have a disc rear but didnt get one because of the shortage of the disc rear axles ?


no way to know huh ?

thanks

 

..

 

so the WS6 ones were built first before Ws7 and s/e and birds and such?

thats what that sounds like


thanks

 

WS7 was used as an alternative to WS6 when the 4-Wheel Disc was not readily available. It was used in February, April, and from June to end of the production year.

 

82RECAROTA : You have got to make a FAQ page on the 82-84's. Your knowlege on them is just amazing.

 

Thanks Alex. I probably should. A book might be better.

 

Even better!

 

yep you should write a book

i need to do the same for the 67-72 CST era GM trucks cuz i know as much about them as you know about the 82 83 84;s here,


thanks

 

I agree 100 % :hail: