mcbitchman

Hello to all the Thirdgen Bird lovers... I am new to this forum and a bit new to Firebird although about thirty five years ago I owned a 69 coupe 350 bb and a 67 conv w/ 326. My current Bird is an 84 although I'm not sure what the model is. The vin has an X in it and that should be an S/E. It has the S/E label on the piller behind the doors and Firebird emblem on the fenders behind the front tires. On the hood there is a small Firebird decal right at the front tip. This is a v6 model w/ 5 speed. The car is equipped w/ four wheel disc brakes, 15 inch alum wheels w/ Pontiac cast into them. Also it has a limited slip rear end, pb, ps, ac, 6 way adj seats both driver and pass (manual adj) in velour, pwr door locks, pwr windows, tilt wheel, leather wrapped steer wheel, park brk handle, and map pouches, all inst., split rear seat that fold down, remote adj drives side mirror, elec hatch back release, and cruise control. This vehicle also has "T" tops. The original color was/is gun metal gray. The VIN is : 1G2AX87L9EL234551. So the question is: What is this? A TA/SE? and what engine is this and how does one find out what engine it is? I've looked at all kinds of info on the net and not really sure what I've got here. Any ciphering would be appreciated. Oh one other thing,,, where would one find the build sheet in these cars....? THANK YOU Doug

okfoz

The S/E was "Special Edition" Firebird from 1982-1986. More or less it was a luxury model, the top motor offered with was the LG4 (H) motor. In contrast, The Trans Am had the base motor of The LG4. However you could get a WS6 suspension on the S/E...

I have seen before Trans Am S/E but I think that is a throwback to the 2nd gens where they S/E Trans Am was the "Bandit" cars of the era. It is really not accurate on the 3rd gens.

John

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

6-cyl != TA

Period paragraph end of story

None of the rest of that matters

S/E, I couldn't say anything about; not my subject of expertise

92g92

Yeah you have a tricked out S/E. Only Pontiac to EVER get the designation Trans Am to a V6 powered car was the Turbo Trans Am, and we know you don't have that.

mcbitchman

thanks so much guys,,, any thoughts on the build sheet locale... John what does the LG4 (H) mean and how would one find out what motor it is? Is the Firebird decal on the front tip of the hood standard as I've not seen one on a hood in all the pics I've cked ps I hate these carbs...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

LG4 (H) means that the car has the low-performance, sedan type of 305 in it.

One finds out what motor it came with by looking at the VIN. In the case of a car that came with the LG4, the 8th character of the VIN will be "H".

However, after 35 yrs in the wild, there's NO TELLING what motor is in any given car NOW. Only way to know that is to tear it down, measure everything, look up any part #s you happen to find, etc.

Those are 2 VERY DIFFERENT questions.

In the case of the car whose VIN you posted, the engine code is "L". I have no clue what that is. Not a V8, in any case; therefore totally outside my realm. Would have to have been either a 6-cyl (2.8) or a 4-cyl (151) though, those being the only other kinds available.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Here you go,you can figure it out.

Dens71TA

iTrader: (5)

The 3rd-gen Firebird S/E was sort of a blend of the Esprit and Formula models from the previous 2nd-gen although it couldn't be ordered with the top performance engine like a Formula was. Some interior luxury options were standard(like the Espirt) with some performance options available(like the Formula.)

The VIN L code engine in your car is the 2.8L HO which was the 125HP version of the carbureted V6 engine and standard in the Firebird S/E. It could be downgraded to the Iron Duke 4-cyl or upgraded to the base V8 engine.

From '82-'84 there was a special edition of the Trans Am called a Recaro T/A. These were built in black and gold color scheme, factory installed Recaro seats, WS6 suspension, along with the top engine offerings and choice of manual or automatic transmissions. These carry the Y84 Special Edition Trans Am option code and production was limited.

In 1987 the nicer cloth interior and some minor luxury options were made standard on the base Firebird. The Firebird Formula returned after a five model year hiatus with performance options like V8 engine and WS6 suspension standard and the top engine options available. There was no longer a need for the Firebird S/E model and it was discontinued.

So basically you can have a Trans Am that is S/E, but you can't have a Firebird S/E that is Trans Am.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

And still, in NO POSSIBLE case, can you have a T/A with a 6-cyl.

Since it came with a 6-cyl, it's not a T/A. Period paragraph end of story.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)