new to domestics, looking for project car...

hello everyone, i am new with domestics so please bare with me...

i was thinking about getting a 94/95 pontiac v8 for a project car. however, i'm kinda confused. there are so many terms that seem to carry over from different models. what do all these mean? firebird, formula, transam. i've seen a firebird, a firebird formula, a transam formula, and a transam. what's the difference?! i figured this would be a good way to learn domestics. this car is definately not going to be my daily driver (i have an accord for that). is there anything else i need to know? certain years to stay away from, what's good, what's bad? what are your thoughts on using one of these cars for a project car.

also, what years do the generations start/end?

thanks!

Ok since you mentioned 94/95 I assume your talking about 4th Gen's and that started in 93 and sadly ended with the last Firebird/Trans Am's in 2002. The Firebird is the base model, all 4th Gen's were V6's 93-94 were 3.4's, 95 could be either 3.4 or 3.8 96-02 were 3.8's. Formula the model in between the Trans Am and Firebird, It looks like the base Firebird model but has the powertrain of the Trans AM with less standard options 93-97 Formula were LT1 5.7's and 98-02 were LS1's. Trans Am has a more aggressive look in my opinion with different front end and on some years a different size spoiler and different tail lights. Now a Trans AM is its own model but a Formula is considered to be a Firebird. So its often referred to as either a Firebird Formula or just a Formula. Now that we got that out of the way. Since you brought up LT1 model, I will point out that he years you picked are the best one for the LT1, 95 being the more saught after because of the vented Opti spark system. The reason why I think those are the best is because 93 LT1 used speed density fuel injection which doesn't respond as well to modifications and this unit came with 22Lb fuel injector. 94 They switched to MAF fuel injection and 24lbs injectors. They also used PCM's that controlled tranny functions as well which is great for tuning and they have a programmable eprom in the PCM which allows you the ability to program your computer for mods with the use of a PC or laptop right from you data link port under your steering column. 95 was basically the same thing with the additional of the vented opti. 96 they added OBD2 which is harder to program for modifications are is more likely to trigger the check engine light and give driving conditions problem unless tuned perfectly not to mention that OBD 1 is easier to program and if you check out www.pcmforless.com (http://www.pcmforless.com/) the simple swap of the 2 pcm's yields 7-10 Horsepower. Hope this helps.

John

thank you very much for the very quick and informative response. this definately clears up A LOT. imagine how hard it is to do your own research when you don't even know what exactly you're supposed to be looking up. anyways, what what should i expect to pay for a 95 model? what are some common problems?

if there are any more FAQ type websites you could point me towards, it would be great. thanks a lot for any help!

also, one more quick question. how well to the lt-1's hold up? i started looking around on ebay and autotrader, and every car has 110k+ miles. what usually needs to be replaced/checked or what has problems on such a high milage engine?

while on this topic, assuming that an lt-1 gives out soon, how much would it cost for a swap? are there any other common but nonstock swaps?

The only problems that is very commen on LT1's is the Opti spark at around that mileage and the water pump. Although the 2 go hand and hand. If your water pump goes it starts leaking threw the seep hole which it turn gets the opti wet and shorts it out. However LT1's are very very strong and reliable engines. Plenty have gone 200K+. If your look on www.car-parts.com (http://www.car-parts.com/) you can see that replacement LT1's aren't too pricey. Good Luck


John

110k miles is alot, but not THAT much. Ive seen LT1's with 200k miles on it if its taken care of properly.

how is the engine bay in terms of accessibility? i know that the older 5.0 mustangs were really easy to work on.

The Engine bay is very very cramped. So get used to working on your own car and getting cut or plan on paying a ton to have basic repairs done.

To work on an F-Body, or most of the high performance GM cars under the hood, you will need:
1) To learn how to swear in at LEAST 5 languages
2) A punching bag
3) A box of bandades, make that a BIG box
4) More patients then a NASCAR driver

To work on an F-Body, or most of the high performance GM cars under the hood, you will need:
1) To learn how to swear in at LEAST 5 languages
2) A punching bag
3) A box of bandades, make that a BIG box
4) More patients then a NASCAR driver

:werd:, :banghead:

is the engine really that hard to work on? how difficult are adding the first basic bolt-ons? also, if it is so difficult to work on, then how to so many people seem to have modified LT-1s? do they bring it to a shop, or just spend a lot of time?

Diehard Gear heads are willing to go threw alot in the name of performance so the why really isn't a valid question. Yes they are most certainly one of the more difficult cars to work on and just to prove my point. Call up your local auto repair shop and tell them you want to get your plugs and wires changed on your 93-97 LT1 Trans Am and see how much they quote you. The difficulty of the bolt on depends on which one's your talking about but if your talking about headers. Then yes that is one of the difficult ones and one of the best bang for the buck ones. Good Luck.

John

well, since this isn't my daily driver, i'm willing to just buy a manual and try to work through it. now, the only concern is the price of modding. compared to 5.0 mustangs, how much do (common) modifications on the firebird cost?

what do you consider common? Exhaust,intake,headers?

my trans am 1995 lt1 has about 160000kms on it, and i boogie fast in it all the time, and it is still good,

sure it has some chips in the paint and the stupid plastic eyelid gears make nasty sounds but its a beautiful pratical spotrs car


hey with a 5.7L engine that gets played down in advertising how could you go wrong?

well thats just my 2cents

sincerely,
Sacha De Sousa

Man John, these guys Just don't know what pain in the ass is. If you think that working on an LT1 is bad. Try working on an 89 Turbo Tras Am. I realize it's a sixer but, all the added hardware for the turbocharger and intercooler, that and that engine was never supposed to go in that car anyway. I have more scars from that car than any other car I have owned

but......


driving that car to a 10.92@128 MPH was alll worth it :evillol:

i figured that since this is mainly a project car, i shouldn't be scared away by some difficulties in modding. that's what it's for anyways, learning...and going fast. but, yes, i consider intake headers and exhaust common bolt-ons. i'm coming from working on imports, so working on a big V8 i'm sure will be a bit different. is there anything else i should know? which other common mods yield large gains, etc... thanks for the help so far.

i found a '94 firebird formula w/ 115k miles, manual. it looks very well taken care of. the listed price was 6 but i e-mailed the seller and got a response back saying that the price was negotiable. what do you think of the price? what can i use to lower the price in my favor? the car is over an hour away from me, so i want to negotiate a lower price BEFORE i go (maybe bargain some more after a testdrive). what should i look for during/after a testdrive?

Headers, Catback system, Gears, CAI(cold air intake), fuel pressure regulator and PCM tune will be great bang for the buck starter mods. Then you can go for the freebies like the Throttlebody bypass and IAT relocator. You will find your ET's dropping real quick. Anyway if the car doesn't need anything and is in good shape. If you can get it for 5k. I would say you got a good deal.

John

word, your money with a high mile lt1 6 speed for 5k. Perfect to start working on.

alright, i checked out the car yesterday. the exterior is in really good condition, just the common tear and wear. however, when i got out of the car, i could smell a really strong gasoline smell. i then walked over to the passenger side and i could still smell it really strongly.

also, the car seems kinda shakey, but i'm not sure if it's because i'm used to imports and smooth I4's. is this common in a v8? there was also a rattle in the dash. the rotorswere in good condition but the pads were starting to wear thin and the car still feels weak on the braking. is this common or would a new set of pads/calipers/rotors fix this?

i managed to talk it down to 4800 and told the owner to check out the gas smell, and if all is well, then i'd buy it.

thoughts on the gas smell or roughness?

pardon my ignorance as i've never driven anything more than v6. the closest i've come a highpowered domestic is the srt-4.

The wear in brake pads is just because of the high milage new brake pads should do the trick?

roughness could be attributed to certain suspension mods or newer motor or transmission mounts. i know the tranny mounts on the gm f-bodies were rubber and didnt withstand much more than 100k, its quite possible that he could have changed it out with a polyurethane mount (like i did to my car) and that will make the car feel a little rough, and in turn make the dash rattle a little bit.
and 4800 sounds like a sweet deal, as long as the gas thing checks out, i would definately hit that up.

this is the e-mail i just got:

Kevin - just to let you know what we're planning, we don't think that anything is seriously wrong with the car for the rough idle and that taking it to the dealer might not be worthwhile. We think it may just need a tune up. It hasn't been driven for almost four years so you can't expect a 10 year old car to run super smooth after such a long time. My dad is going to work on getting the plugs replaced and see how it runs then.

what do you think about that? how bad would it be to buy a car that hasn't been driven for FOUR years.

alright, update:

so, the other one didn't fall through. a lot could go wrong in a car that hasn't been driven in so long, and 4800 wouldn't leave me with enough to compensate for future/possible broken parts.

SO, i was looking through my paper and i found a 95 formula, w/the following mods...(this is what he told me, keep in mind that i don't know much about domestics)

stainless valves
540 lift comp cam
1.6 roller rockers
underdrive pulley
headers
flowmaster exhaust
cai

he said that he really wanted to get rid of it so that he wouldn't have to pay it off, and he said he rebuilt the block a couple months ago. he's willing to sell it off for 3500.

first of all, what do you think about the mods? how much do you they add? also, i'm sure that the car was probably ran into the ground, but he said that he rebuilt the motor, and i'm weary of such a low price. he said it wouldn't pass emissions, so assuming all goes well, what needs to be changed to temporarily pass it? i think that's all the questions i had in mind now, please tell me anything else you think i need to know. thanks a lot

dont forget the gta :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

bump, anyone? i hope to be testing the car in a few days so any info would be good

I say when you test drive it, if it feels solid, then you found a good deal.

I say when you test drive it, if it feels solid, then you found a good deal.

thanks for the response. do you think that the cam is the primary reason of why it wouldn't pass emissions? how easy is it to swap it out for a stock one.

Yes, most likely. In order to swap the cam out, most likely (i own a 3rd gen firebird, so its a little different then 4th gen firebird) you will have to yank the radiator and possily the grill in order to replace the camshaft. The motor comes out of the bottom of the car on that gen, so yanking the motor its a hefty amount of work.