Were the 1982-92 Chevy Camaro's/Pontiac Firebird's good vehicles? (buying, sell, engine)
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I had an 86 Iroc Z. Had 40k when I got it. That car was fun and looked awesome...but it was also one of the reason I drive a Civic now. lol. Broke down all the time. Very unreliable,but very fun.
Were the 1982-92 Chevy Camaro's/Pontiac Firebird's good vehicles?
the quick answer is NO.
but that's also a lazy and un-informed answer in a lot of ways.
i've looked over this thread and a lot of people are talking about their 84 Berlinettas, and their 85 V-6's. yeah, those things were pieces of ****. there were a lot of lesser models (and i do mean A LOT) that were turds, plain and simple. and if you take the totallity of 3rd gens produced from 1982 through 1992, then it is fair to say that generally, these cars were turds. but the fact is that among this class there some nice ones. about three, when it comes to regular production models: 1897-1992 Iroc Z / Z28, Trans Am / Trans Am GTA, Formula / Formula 350. and the '85 and '86 Iroc Z's and Trans Am aren't necessarilly beaters either.
- yes, as technology advanced, these cars got faster in the 4th gen years. faster and heavier.
+ most people when thinking objectively, will choose a 3rd gen over a 4th gen, looks-wise.
- the aftermarket is somewhat limited for performance parts made specifically for these cars.
+ on the otherhand, there is a lot of interchangeability between 3rd and 4th gen components and 3rd gens are in fact Gen I small block chevies.
- there are some limitations to what you can accomplish (horsepower-wise) with TPI, bout those limitations do not really pertain to a street driven or touring style car.
+ these cars are about 300 pounds lighter than the 4th gens, and about 5 to 6 hundred pounds lighter than a new camaro. 3-400 pounds lighter than a new Mustang. both 4th and 5th gens have SBC engines that can be transplanted into the lighter, sleeker looking 3rd gen. thats not to say you cant get more than 350 HP and a scary amount of Torque from TPI.
+/- you dont see many of these on the road. most of the 3rd gens you still see on the road are beaters.
+/-/+ a nicely built or nicely maintained 3rd gen is extremely rare. even a nice one may or may not be taken for a beater...which can make for a very nasty sleeper.
- quality-wise, these are not generally good. not generally.
- a lot of the ones can pick up have been beat to hell.
- the factory wheels look better than most any aftermarket wheel, but are only 16" and are wrought with "unique features" making it exceedingly difficult to upgrade to bigger brakes.
That GTA that someone could have had for $2900. you ****ed up. you should have bought it. personally, i've always preferred the lighter, leaner Formula 350.
there are of coures other positives and negatives that i have failed to mention. but the point is that these cars should not be dismissed in the manner of a Chrysler K-car, as some in this thread appear to do.
I purchased a '91 Z28 Camaro brand new. It has the 350 engine in it. It now has over 210,000 miles on it. It has performed very well and I drove it 100 miles round trip to work every day for years. No complaints and a fun car to drive.
but that's also a lazy and un-informed answer in a lot of ways.
i've looked over this thread and a lot of people are talking about their 84 Berlinettas, and their 85 V-6's. yeah, those things were pieces of ****. there were a lot of lesser models (and i do mean A LOT) that were turds, plain and simple. and if you take the totallity of 3rd gens produced from 1982 through 1992, then it is fair to say that generally, these cars were turds. but the fact is that among this class there some nice ones. about three, when it comes to regular production models: 1897-1992 Iroc Z / Z28, Trans Am / Trans Am GTA, Formula / Formula 350. and the '85 and '86 Iroc Z's and Trans Am aren't necessarilly beaters either.
- yes, as technology advanced, these cars got faster in the 4th gen years. faster and heavier.
+ most people when thinking objectively, will choose a 3rd gen over a 4th gen, looks-wise.
- the aftermarket is somewhat limited for performance parts made specifically for these cars.
+ on the otherhand, there is a lot of interchangeability between 3rd and 4th gen components and 3rd gens are in fact Gen I small block chevies.
- there are some limitations to what you can accomplish (horsepower-wise) with TPI, bout those limitations do not really pertain to a street driven or touring style car.
+ these cars are about 300 pounds lighter than the 4th gens, and about 5 to 6 hundred pounds lighter than a new camaro. 3-400 pounds lighter than a new Mustang. both 4th and 5th gens have SBC engines that can be transplanted into the lighter, sleeker looking 3rd gen. thats not to say you cant get more than 350 HP and a scary amount of Torque from TPI.
+/- you dont see many of these on the road. most of the 3rd gens you still see on the road are beaters.
+/-/+ a nicely built or nicely maintained 3rd gen is extremely rare. even a nice one may or may not be taken for a beater...which can make for a very nasty sleeper.
- quality-wise, these are not generally good. not generally.
- a lot of the ones can pick up have been beat to hell.
- the factory wheels look better than most any aftermarket wheel, but are only 16" and are wrought with "unique features" making it exceedingly difficult to upgrade to bigger brakes.
That GTA that someone could have had for $2900. you ****ed up. you should have bought it. personally, i've always preferred the lighter, leaner Formula 350.
there are of coures other positives and negatives that i have failed to mention. but the point is that these cars should not be dismissed in the manner of a Chrysler K-car, as some in this thread appear to do.
-Linson
In stock form, I am not much of a fan of the 82-92 f bodies. Crappy finishing, you can easily make a better looking I.P. (dash)without much effort, the sbc in the camaro, is lame and had no business in the firebirds, but then i'm biased as to what should have been in them... (actualy looking for another 1 to fix under the hood too). But looks wise, the 86 and up really did nice and my fav of this series is the 91 and 92 firebird formulas and t/a's. I see no reason that these cars won't go up in value in the next couple years if the economy gets any legs put back on it.
the sbc in the camaro, is lame and had no business in the firebirds, but then i'm biased as to what should have been in them...
people need to realize that the 5.7 liter TPI motor in the Camaros and Firebirds was essentially the same 5.7 liter TPI motor found in the Corvettes of the time.
Yep, the only difference is the heads are iron instead of aluminum.
I own an '87 GTA (with 5.7 TPI) and it's the third 3rd gen I have owned, the other two being an '85 T/A and an '89 Iroc-Z. They have their weak points for sure, like the door hinges, fuel pumps, window motors, hatch lift motor, t-tops leaking, valve seals, etc. You just learn to fix some of these things and keep going.
people need to realize that the 5.7 liter TPI motor in the Camaros and Firebirds was essentially the same 5.7 liter TPI motor found in the Corvettes of the time.
Yes but in case you haven't read his older posts, 12GO is very biased towards Pontiac, and quickly degrades any Chevy engine, regardless of how good or bad they really are.
They are good cars that you should be able to buy cheap, I mean really cheap. Tear out the worthless small block or (yikes) 6 cyl, throw in an LT engine or high performance carbed crate engine, take the smog crap off, and take to the drag strip to abuse on weekends.
Do not consider them collector cars or anything. Make it your hobby car, everyone should have a hobby car.
Do not consider them collector cars or anything. Make it your hobby car, everyone should have a hobby car.
Some of them can be collectors, like the '89 GTA turbo, just depends. The ones with the most mods are actually worth the least money. Good original cars with low miles could be worth something one day, especially as people who grew up in the 80's get older and try to recapture a part of their youth.
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