86 Ta w/ preformance pkg n rear disc VS 82

[Thumprkils]

This next few months Im going to redo my 82 Ta the Heartbreaker.
Itll be about the same just have a few goodies to add, like the ram air , and the louvers. its been on hold as Ive undergone open heart surgery.
BUT
I have a new question.
I have aqquired and 86 Ta which is about the same car...
Or is it?
The 82 has an 80 mph speedo, and the 86 has 140
The 82 has a 350 turbo in it, the 86 has a 700 r 4
The 86 has the pre formance pkg supension
And the 86 has the rear disc pkg
both are I think 271 w posi but dont quote me (im not real sure of the ratios on the 2 ,are you?)
the 86 is far more work and will require massive donations from the 82
which already has the gta ground effects, and the new engine is almost purely edlbrock, havent chosen heads as of yet
its less work to keep the 82 but dont want to swap the 7004r to the 82,
and wouldnt be sure the 86 dash wouldnt cause a smoke show in the 82
(tried before, didnt happen) like the orange dash light, and yes the ram air cause i love the sleek 99 2000 look.
So please no riff raff
How bout some good thoughts into this
Thanks to all who answer
by the way to all my unfans I still have under $1000 in this car

[Thumprkils]

thanks

[Thumprkils]

got the 86 for free when i repaired a wrecked firebird for a friend,took the front fenders nose lights etc off

[tuske427]

Originally Posted by Thumprkils

This next few months Im going to redo my 82 Ta the Heartbreaker.
Itll be about the same just have a few goodies to add, like the ram air , and the louvers. its been on hold as Ive undergone open heart surgery.
BUT
I have a new question.
I have aqquired and 86 Ta which is about the same car...
Or is it?
The 82 has an 80 mph speedo, and the 86 has 140
The 82 has a 350 turbo in it, the 86 has a 700 r 4
The 86 has the pre formance pkg supension
And the 86 has the rear disc pkg
both are I think 271 w posi but dont quote me (im not real sure of the ratios on the 2 ,are you?)
the 86 is far more work and will require massive donations from the 82
which already has the gta ground effects, and the new engine is almost purely edlbrock, havent chosen heads as of yet
its less work to keep the 82 but dont want to swap the 7004r to the 82,
and wouldnt be sure the 86 dash wouldnt cause a smoke show in the 82
(tried before, didnt happen) like the orange dash light, and yes the ram air cause i love the sleek 99 2000 look.
So please no riff raff
How bout some good thoughts into this
Thanks to all who answer
by the way to all my unfans I still have under $1000 in this car

The 2 cars are structurally the same (unless one has t-tops and the other doesn't) and the body panels will interchange, so which car you use as the foundation I would base on which has less rust/ dents/ accidents, etc.. If both are about the same I'd go with the '82 for several reasons. 1- it's the first year of the third gen cars, which gives it a collectors edge. the only "new" thing on the '86 is the federally mandated third taillight. 2- the '82 came with a carburator, so it's not as wired up with computer controls, etc as the '86. Meaning it'd be easier for engine swaps, etc. 3- and I'm not sure which state you live in but generally speaking the older cars are less stringent on smog regulations. 4- the interior of the 82-84 was used for less years than the 85-92 (I know they're not all the same, but the early one is still less common)

The 82-84 is a less common trans am. The facia details, taillights, etc were only around for 3 years which you don't see as many anymore as they are getting parted out or turned into Knight rider replicas. to me, that makes these cars more desirable.

As for the mecahnical stuff, I'd take the best of both cars and install on the chassis you decide upon. The "WS-6" suspension package had the thicker anti sway bars and stronger springs. the ws-6 also had the rear discs (I think WS-7 was the drum brake performance suspension) The WS-6 should also have a faster ratio steering gear box.

The transmissions should interchange no problem. just use the crossmember and driveshaft from the '86. you may need the '86 shifter too.

as far as speedometers- I belive it was a federal rule to not go past 85mph back in the early 80's. I think all cars had these, so I wouldn't gauge the performance of the car based upon this.

You can easily make the interior lights glow orange on the '82 (if they don't do it already) jsut paint the inside of the dash a florescent orange. I did this on a '68 firebird and it worked great! got rid of the ugly gm green/ blue..

The fender vents are also unique for the '82-'84 Firebirds. They are a larger vent. (they both still fit in the same fender cutout) the '85-92 used a shortened design to accomodate for the taller ground f/x. Personally, I like the older/ larger one.

I hope you find this helpful. Good luck with your project with whatever you decide to do!

[Thumprkils]

thanks TUSK, Ive really been thinking of just leav
ing the 82 the way it was, but was just wondering if i was making a mistake, will probably not run it on the interstate much anyway,so the 350 turbo wouldnt loose much, as the 700 4 r would have a higher top , right
i just mainly like playing the red light to red light
game with all the hot shots, n leave em setting

thanks again

[Thumprkils]

itd just save me a ton of work to

[tuske427]

Originally Posted by Thumprkils

thanks TUSK, Ive really been thinking of just leav
ing the 82 the way it was, but was just wondering if i was making a mistake, will probably not run it on the interstate much anyway,so the 350 turbo wouldnt loose much, as the 700 4 r would have a higher top , right
i just mainly like playing the red light to red light
game with all the hot shots, n leave em setting

thanks again

Anytime.

on the 700R4, they generally have a "safety kickdown" on the transmission that prevents you from going top speed in 4th gear. It'll kick you down to third if you try opening the car up. I have seen parts that will help eliminate this (summit racing should have this), or, you could have the transmission modified to eliminate this feature (not sure exactly the process offhand) but I'm just sharing my experiences with a 700R4.

[Thumprkils]

thanks tuske, have already started tearing down
the 86, will either just put the 700 4r up for a spare or put it n and store th3 350 turbo
what you said about the 82 being the first year made alot of sense, and it saves me alot of work
gonna have to take my time, as im not supposesed to do anything right now
this sitting jsut bores me to death

[timguyli]

My first new car was an 86Ta, omg what a hunk o crap. I was one of the first people to use the NYstate lemon law back in 87. Thank god I won and got my Money back!
The base 305 engine did have a carb, so that area should not be a problem.

[Thumprkils]

well sorry bout your luck ,everything mass produced has flaws somewhere and sometime
I for one think the firebird style and cars are one of the best ever made