StevenB L98/LS1

Hi im new here, and ive been a huge third gen fan since i was 14, and im 18, almost 19 and i finally have a third gen atleast. Believe me.... it wasnt easy to find one in the kind of shape that my parents would agree to let me have. they dont want a raggy one that would break down all the time, until i jus yesterday me and my dad test drove a 89 firebird formula with 61K miles on it, and its a 305 tbi 5 speed, and i after the test drive i was hooked on the car, i wasnt going to leave without getting it. So considering the car was originally garage kept and maintained like it should of with the original red paint still looking awesome and with exhaust work done my parents thought i shouldnt look no further.

i had a quick question, before i bought the car i had a 94 silverado 350 tbi, and new that the gas was sensitive with lots of torque, but when i drove this car, it was SUPER TOUCHY i literally yanked my father back in the seats because i was barely on the gas, is that common on the fbody 305 tbi motors, or is it jus something on this car? because u dont have to even touch the gas to make it go almost, lol okay maybe u do but still its weird, because ive drivin my friends 90 tbi camaro and u have to actually give it gas to make it go. only difference is his is an automatic, and mines a stick, which ive heard is sorta rare to find these days on a formula for 89. but im not sure on the figures. the car has the original turbo rims, but the were black when i got it, o well go figure.

well im hoping to meet all of yall and talk bout third gens, lol i wish i got tpi, but it felt like driving the car tbi was good enough . i dont have my personal pics up yet, but ill give you the link of the car that has pictures where i bought it from.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-|E-|M-_40_|D-_377_|N-N|R-250|I-1%2c7|P-PRICE+descending|Q-descending|Z-32505&aff=national&paId=136465749&recnum=21&leadExists=true

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

Only thing I could think of is..... well how much experience do you have with stick? Maybe youre revving it to high and not shifting right.

Or maybe the throttle cable could be messed up.

StevenB L98/LS1

well i learned driving a stick on my sisters mustang, and my friends s10, but not on a third gen before. i took air breather off, and looked and the throttle cable seems to be fine, the car was is literally mint, but its after getting off the clutch, like jus cruising 30-40 mph, i barely give it gas and it freakin hauls. i was jus wondering if that was jus common on the throttle body motors, or not because my truck was throttle body and never had that much torque as the car.

Its nice meeting u btw im still getting use to the clutch anyway, its like super stiff, like its very hard to control letting out of the clutch, and hard to push in, but i jus move the seat up and it helps.

Brennan

its probably just geared different then to what your used to driving, and welcome to the forum this place is great im glad i found it when i got my maro

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

Nice to meet you too man, car looks really nice. Be sure n take care off it yourself.

Just get used to driving it I suppose and you shouldent have any problems.

StevenB L98/LS1

yea maybe, but for only having 170 hp and 255 lbs of torque, that thing will haul some butt down the road surprisingly, first gear is short, but then 2nd gear is good. but my goal is to put so performance on it soon, such as headers, change the throttle body to a performer one and maybe put a cam in there. jus depends on the budget, considering the insurance im paying for this car.

o does anyone know where i can get the glove box replaced to how the stock one is like, because its in perfect condition the top is... but the when u open it the way to top is my dad told me its broken, so he wants me to replace it. would junk yard or hawksthirdgen carry that?

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

first , welcome to TGO . you have a 20 yr. car ( as i and most of us do ) don't expect it to be perfect . you can find anything , repeat anything about 3rd gens on this forum . one of the great things is info. that is shared . on any problem , check the search function at the top of the page . TBI is not a curse . just take and enjoy car , have fun . i have had several tbi cars and i find them less problems than tpi . once again welcome to tgo .

StevenB L98/LS1

well i can assume things falling apart the more its driven and more the miles, but i hope not for a while, the only thing wrong is the glove box, everything else works perfect. by the way this car doesnt have the power hatch option on it, which is weird, cause i thought it would, but obviously not, but i guess its not a big deal. but has power windows and locks. i dont plan to make this car a drag car or race it with the street racers because i love this car to much to abuse her.

Brian21

Awesome formula.. Looks like it's in really good shape..

I kind of had a similar experience when I bought my 91 bird. Only thing is, on mine the pedal was a little stiff (probably from being garaged for 10 years). When I would go to push on it, it wouldn't really move, so I would push harder and accidentally give it too much gas. Not a good thing at all when trying to get moving nice and slow with a cop right next to you. lol

StevenB L98/LS1

haha dang man, was it throttle body like mine? yea mines complete opposite, i was coming home from work jus now in the rain and i i barely touched the gas pedal, or even push it in little barely, the tires wouldnt stop spinning until i let off lol.

Brennan

so whats the problem? maybe you could get ahold of the previous owner/owners and ask em a few questions maybe its got a cam or something you cant see

StevenB L98/LS1

well u maybe right,lol the only thing that is not stock on the car is an exhaust system the previous owner put on with 3 inch pipes i believe coming out of a magnaflow. ive heard regular third gens with jus the typical exhaust put on there and the rest was stock, and they arent as loud as mine, i mean, it sound like a real good nasty growl tone to it, like almost the cat was taken off, but i checked and the cat is still there. lol u never know in these cars though, i jus know that it was owned by an elder man and then passed to his son and it was kept in a heated garage all the time and then sold it.

Brennan

do it have headers? cuz they can give you some extra horsepower just by letting the car breath better cuz the stock system is so restrictive its sick and these cars have a nice throaty growl with the right exhaust you got any pics of the car?
edit: nvm just found the link lol that thing is beautiful man keep her clean

StevenB L98/LS1

lol nope, no headers, i double checked, it looks like it has a high flow cat on it, but i dont see if it would make the difference. lol go figure, it could be the chamber of the muffler.....??? i mean its not as loud as my truck jus idling, it idles at bout 750-700 and moves a lot in the area with or without the ac on. when u barely touch the gas of start to drive it, its a constant rumble roar u can hear, it jus doesnt go away when i put it in 5th to jus cruise, you can still hear it pretty good.

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

Mufflers add very little, if anything at all.
Headers are where the powers at.

Maybe its got something in it. If you got 80$ and a dyno shop near by, go get it dynod. Maybe itll have like 250whp or something, never know, could have some head work and a cam or something. Could pop yer valve covers off and see what heads they are, might not even be stock ones.

StevenB L98/LS1

i jus drove the car, and my next door neighbor that builds engines for a living said would take a look at it, i mean to me the whole motor looks completely stock with the stock equipment with stock value covers and everything. he thinks theres possibly been work added in the motor to make it this loud, because ive always liked the way tbi motors sounded over the tpi, but i know they cant possibly be this loud. i have a sound clip of it, but im missing my connections to it to upload it on my computer.

He jus told me that there was a custom stage 2 chip it, so that may explain the performance ive been getting but thats all i know right now.

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

If it has one of those computer chips, its not going to do much, unless its a custom tune, on upgraded engine components.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Off the shelf "custom" chips don't do very much. Really, they are a waste of $.

Perhaps the rear gears have been changed? We went from a 3.08 open to a 3.73 posi in my wife's 90 RS autox car. Let's just say, the corners were more "fun". We were slower until we learned to drive with the new gears, but it was still fun!

StevenB L98/LS1

im not quite sure on that. the car takes the corners pretty well, and 2nd 3rd and 4th i have a lot of power, 5th gear ive never got on, i jus use it to cruise for the best mpg. i mean its nuts, ive only gone as far as half throttle on this car, but it has so much power, makes wonder what i get when i put it to the floor, but i wont for a while, because i live in florida, and we got some that hurricane crap and its suppost to rain for the next week everyday, and 3rd gens and rain dont mix good lol, especially when i was in my friends 84 camaro, the cars loves to swing around a lot.

StevenB L98/LS1

bad news im afraid. im about to get rid of the car. i was driving the car for the first time yesterday and it had been a few days since i drove it since it was always raining and so i go to shift to shift into third gear coming home and then i heard a weird ticking or knocking noise, it was really loud, and then go to pull into my neighborhood, and it only got worse so and when i go to shift into 2nd gear something shuttered really bad and something blew, so i had my dad check it out other night, and the car wouldnt start at all. turns out the heads blew and there was oil everywhere and i started to freak out because it was jus so damn weird, ive literally babied this car and now the engine is screwed. so now im having to get rid of it. My friend wants the car without the motor now, im selling it for about a grand now because he has a built 383 he wants to put in there.

Now another search is on, i still want a third gen but ive been doing a million phone calls on getting another one and it seems like it will be sometime before i can get back in one. i jus cant believe what happened. literally i dont have the time to work on this car, so its gotta go.

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

well you may have lost one battle but you have not lost the war . also you learned alot . keep eyes & ears open , you will find another . BTW hang around the guy your selling it to while he is doing the swap . you will learn alot . good luck .

StevenB L98/LS1

believe me man lol, i think learning is all i can do. and ive been on and off the phone this morning calling up the best used car dealerships here in town requesting a search between a 88-92 camaro or firebird with a 5 speed and all dealerships ive called up dont even have a 3rd gen or even a clue where i could find one, lol the car i bought was sort of like the diamond in ruff. i mean its going to take time to locate one, i jus hope so because i loved the gas milage the sticks get compared to what my silverado gets.

Brian21

Man, sorry to hear about that.

You might have better luck buying private party if you can though. I wasn't able to find one single used car lot around here that had a thirdgen. Ended up just saving up the cash and paying for my car in full private party.

Icarus 402001

Check the classified board.

StevenB L98/LS1

i did, nuthing i can tell right now at what im looking for. the transmission is still fine in the car but my friend is still debating whether he wants it or not because he has a t56 conversion he wants to do with it. So im not sure, i could sell the transmission if he doesnt want it. but im still looking, lol god it seems like you can only find a third gen in ohio or illnois lol. There jus not here in nw florida. i got offered by a lady i work with for her 84 camaro berlinneta 305 carb, but the car looks in crappy shape and dont have the time. So im still looking. i would like to either get a camaro or firebird reguardless as long as its a 5 speed because i was still getting use to one, and i still wanna learn to drive one perfect, cause even my dad could drive it smoother than me and he has been away from standards for like 10 yrs lol.

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

Ive personally never bought a car from a dealer and I never will.

And looks dont matter at all. The one you bought LOOKED great, but it turns out it wasent so great. My suggestion is pay 50$ or w.e for a pre-purchase inspection and check carfax for your next car. Maybe buy a 4th gen, I always see tons of them for sale there. Or just buy a new motor for your car. You can get a 350 for like 500$ and even if you dont wanna do it yourself, just look around, my friend had a motor swap done on a 4th gen for 900$.

Brennan

just get a loan from the bank thats how i got my camaro and my s10

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

A loan from the bank isent cheap..... unless you have history, and good history at that, you will pay up the ***. My friends just got a loan, 20 years old, no history, 17% interest. 17%, thats rape right there.

I think if you cant afford a few thousand for a thirdgen, then maybe you have bigger financial problems to worry about.

Aint no one trying to be nagger rich here, least I know I aint.

StevenB L98/LS1

no i want to literally blame it all on my neighbor because when i first got the car he was inspecting it out looking if it had a cam or gear change or w.e. and he was checking out the heads. im worried he didnt put it together right and thats what happened. i confronted him and he said he may have messed up but idk he is a mechanic. but even mechanics make mistakes.

idk if im getting another one im going to have to get a loan, i have some extra money saved up but its not enough to get another third gen. idk i guess ill see what i can get, and ive checked all around for private owners and everything. 1. they they want way to damn much, 2. the car in its condition doesnt meet the right price, and 3. the ppl that do have them in good shape wont sell them if there life depended on it lol, and those are usually the best ones. it makes me wish the old guy that lives across the street from me still had 3 of his third gens still damnit lol.

Brennan

yikes dude thats crazy im 19 just got the loan for my truck not too long ago i got 8.7% no history, no cosigner. the loan for my car was a personal credit loan i got thru my parents so that was no interest

Brian21

The formula you bought really looks like it's in great shape.. You don't want to just hold on to it and save for an engine swap? Just curious since you said everything else was in good shape. The money you spend on trying to find another thirdgen would probably about pay for the new engine.
Not sure what your plans are for your formula, but you more than likely won't get your money back if you try to sell it.

If you decide to keep it, it would be a great time to upgrade to a 350 if you wanted more power. I've seen some fairly cheap 305's around too if you just wanted to put the same engine back in.

StevenB L98/LS1

well the engine is not out of the car yet, and i dont want a carb motor, the only thing we have is my dads scoggin dickey tpi vortec motor 350, that he is putting in his friends 85 IROC. and pretty much i dont want an engine built already by somebody else cheap without knowing if its reliable or not. Id rather wait for my dad to save up money and get another motor, like a 350 mini ram injection system. But the only thing is........... that will be a while from now, and currently my moms car has last spot in the garage and i have place to store the car accept out. And thats the thing like you said... the car is in great shape, i dont want it to jus sit outside to jus rot away. i think the car will be better off with my friend that is ready to install his motor in it. i told him ill sell the car alone with the original motor for 1000 and he wants it. So i think thats the better thing to do, because im gonna be sad every day i go by jus watching it sit forever to rot.

i have a lead on a guy that is being so difficult to get ahold of on a 91 transam with a 350 tpi 5 speed setup on the car.

Timothayyy

iTrader: (2)

If you want something reliable just get a 4th gen like I said..... there are tons in florida.

Brennan

if you want reliable you should probably avoid that cuz the cars not stock and god knows what has been done to it, just something to think about

StevenB L98/LS1

4th gens are good, but i prefer third gens. plus for me the insurance is cheaper. im not sure, ive given emails, and searchs from used car dealerships to locate one, im out of ideas