thinking of buying a 95 formula firebird.

[tacoma man]

i found and older couple (maybe 40's or 50's)
that has a black 95 formula, has a 350 lt1
5 spd transmission. looks like it was a trans am
project. has trans am spoiler already painted black,
they have a 96 trans am nose and rear bumper to go
on it. the passenger side front has a little damage
its a clean car inside, leather and all power. bose
stereo w cd player. also has newer style firehawk wheels
the car has a little over 60,000 miles on it. been parked
since the accident in 1999.
taxes and everything was kept up on the car. they
was going to give it to thier grandson but are now
afraid he will be killed in it. and they are asking 2,500
they said it was well maintained. they are the original
owner. i really liked it but my friend thinks its a sheep
in wolves clothing. what should i do im in process
of checking the vin. to see what she is.

[java_osborn]

I would do a car fax at carfax.com (like $19.95) if you are looking at multiple cars they have a deal on a monthly rate like $24.95 (go with the monthly, I looked at about 15 cars). It will tell you just about everything.

My guess is that they had a significant accident with that TA (replaced the front, rear, and there is still damage on the door). The price sounds good but before I would consider buying it, I would take it to a reputable mechanic and have him check it out. If they refuse, I would pass. Check the frame for post crash adjustments to straighten it out. Maybe check to see if it can even be aligned. It is your call as to how liberal you want to be, but it is only $2500.

Jeff

[tacoma man]

i did find out that this car is a regular firebird,
did have a 3.4 v6 in it. the couple is the
original owner. they also had a 96 trans am
it had been hit in the drivers side, and with
no insuarance. so thier grandson took the
motor and tranny from the ta and put it
in the firebird, also the suspension from the t/a
rear end, the car now has 4 wheel disc brakes
350 lt1 5spd. its in really good shape and they
if i was interested i could drive it tomarrow.
the dent in the fender is like maybe a s10 pickup
rolled into it, its nothing major. if it drives
and handles like a trans am i will buy it.

[java_osborn]

Jeff

Edmunds says that used 95 TA’s are going for


Trade-In, Private Party, Retail
$4,064, $5,043, $6,690

So it sounds like a good price. If that kid is not a good mechanic, I would be concerned with having him yank the engine out and drop the other in. Damage to electrical systems... could make for problems. If the kid seems like he knows what he is doing, I think I would get a finder for it, a shock tower brace and enjoy the ride.

I think I would ask him why he is not keeping it.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Jeff

[tacoma man]

i bought the car it runs and drives great,
i was very pleased i took out the panels
under the dash all the wiring was like from
the factory, he said he didnt cut no wires,
he just swapped the whole dash out and wiring
and plugged up the wiring eveything works.
the boy is 17 years old. he bought a
ford ranger. i got a fender, and the i asked the
boy if he'd like to come over to my garage and
help me finish working on it, he said yes.
so i hope to finish the conversion this saturday.

[java_osborn]

I was thinking more about the wireing under the hood. But it sounds like you got a good deal. Keep us posted if you do any modifications.

Enjoy,

Jeff

[Arsenik111]

i wouldn't b4 i got my 2000 firebird i looked at a 1999 trans am and it was kind of fucked up when we test drove it. I went on car fax and it was involved in a drivers side collision and fliped over. After an accident like that no matter if it was fixed or not the car is never right again

[tacoma man]

well this one hasnt been totaled, it looked
like some one had shuved a shopping cart
into the fender real hard and pushed it in about
an inch. and the wiring under the hood is fine
nothing has been cut. as for the trans am body
parts, they are upgrades for the car to make it
look nicer. i bought a new fender for it and put it
on. it will be a knockout when i get it done
i was able to lay 2 50ft black marks in 1st
35ft'ers in 2nd and in 3rd 19 ft. it will boil the
tires i had to wipe the rubber off the rear sides
of the car.........need i say more.

[cndctrdj]

i can't believe the 6 cyl transmission is holding up to the lt1's torque

you are gonna need a tranny soon

[java_osborn]

Originally Posted by cndctrdj

i can't believe the 6 cyl transmission is holding up to the lt1's torque

you are gonna need a tranny soon

I believe he said.....

Originally Posted by tacoma man

....so thier grandson took the
motor and tranny from the ta and put it
in the firebird,...

So he should be good to go!

Jeff

[cndctrdj]

they didn't have 5 speeds in the 8cyl
only 6 speed unless i missed something

[tacoma man]

i thought it was a 5 spd until the boy
showed me it was a 6 speed on saturday.
we got all the 96 trans am's body parts
put on. now it looks 10 times better.