mrws6speed

Man....you have a sweet ride. I really like what you did and how well the restoration turned out!

I have a couple of questions too. I saw the suspension photos, but there weren't too many. Did you do anything with the "X" subframe connectors? Did you take them off when you were working on it (I've been worried about taking them off for work because of structural rigidity)?

Did you do anything to refurbish the hinges for the back cover section? These support a lot of weight from the whole assembly rotating up and I've heard that these wear out if you do not grease and take care of them.

soldaustin

ON the last post I see you have 2 of the autoform 2 seater convertibles. I also have an '85. Has anyone had a problem with the cars having a shake to them? Mine has new tires, original (not bent) wheels and 14,650 original miles on it. When I drive it with the top down (not sure about up as I haven't driven it very much the past 4 years or so) it has sort of a shake back and forth. No steering wheel movement so it isn't wheels or tires. I would love to get this fixed. Any suggestions? Mine still has the X member across the bottom. Also I am including a few photos of mine I just took this weekend right before I ran out of light. I was taking it out cruising and decided to snap off some shots first.

Thanks!

soldaustin

Who did your top? Mine just needs a corner worked on but not a big deal and new snaps. The guy said good thing mine is nice as he would charge about 2,500 to build a new one. That sounded crazy high to me!

mrws6speed

Actually......I have 3 autoform 2-seater convertibles....a 1983, 1984, and 1986.

The cars do have some flex in them despite the extra support. There's the "roll cage" behind the tonneu cover, the "X" subframe connectors and the extra steel rails underneath that run parallel to the doors.

I don't have trouble with my cars shaking back and forth. There are a few things I can suggest.

Bad shocks MAY contribute to the car shaking. Especially with a car with such low miles where the shocks have been sitting...even with bad shocks it should be ok most of the time. I highly recomend the Monroe Sensi-trak shocks! They really do work and they take a lot of the harsh ride out...especially for the convertibles, but they still handle better than other shocks.

Rim that is out of round. The aluminum that was used back then was soft. My mom has had 3 different rims (out of 8...she bought another used set) from her '85 corvette go out of round. If anyone there has a road force balancer...I would definitely try that. You mentioned new tires....tires can be defective and have heavy spots in them that won't let them balance well (even when the machine says the wieghts are right). Rule of thumb for the front tires, if the stearing wheel shakes in a back and forth manner when driving, it's the wheels out of balance.

Out of balance drive shaft. This will definitely cause a vibration like the tires being out of round. If you find this to be true....make sure that it hasn't messed up the output shaft of the tranny, etc.

Stearing linkage. The centerlink, idler arm at least....maybe other things should be replaced. If you have slop in your stearing (you can turn the steering wheel a little bit before the wheels actually start turning) the I would fix this anyway.

Bad roads. It may sound wierd, but there are some roads that will make your car shake wierd. If it doesn't do it all the time...it may or may not be your car. I have some roads out here that will make my '02 WS6 vert shake and even my '93 nissan pickup shook on it.

Does it only shake when the outside temp is really cold/really hot?

I'm curious to hear more....bad shakes can be soooo anoying and hard to track down.....good luck!

soldaustin

Thanks I just messaged you also via e-mail. I am going to check everything out. I just ordered the wonderbar steering brace to help in the strength department although I know it won't fix the problem but has to help. I am also pondering a BMR strut tower brace as that should also help flex. You know one thing I did notice is that I don't have the wedge shaped things in my doors for flex like t-top cars had. I assumed they started with a t-top car and always thought mine must have been. My other '85 Trans Am is a t-top car and has them. Also somebody I ordered the wonderbar from said that there is a brace under the hood that goes at an angle from the firewall to the fenders I think he said. I don't have anything like that on either of my cars. Also it does it between about 35-40 mph and then smooths out. I will check the things you listed and report back. THe tires were new 4 years ago and it did it then. They only have about 400 miles on them max. The rims showed to be straight. I took it back and had it checked a long time ago.

Also Idler arm is new. Discount tire said they did the road force but I am not sure they did. I will have it checked again since it has been a while.

Also cold or hot it doesn't matter. It still does the wobble.

ackrn07

Hi everyone. I am new to this site. Great to read all the posts on the Autoform verts. I bought a red Z28 about a year ago. It in an 84 with the traditional Camaro style nose. But it had Firebird black spider rims on it which I didn't think looked good. Just replaced with SS style polished alum rims which I like the look of a lot better. Will take some pics later today and post here.

I think my convert has a unique body design. It has grooves along the front panels, door panel, and rear panels. Kind of looks like a Testarosa?? Anyone ever see an Autoform vert with this type of body design? All the ones I have seen have smooth bodies.

Would appreciate any help/info anyone can provide...thanks

soldaustin

Your car sounds totally different to me. I am not sure Autoform did all of that stuff to it. It might have been done by someone else after the fact. Come to think of it, I did see one that was different but I am not sure it was one of the Autoform ones. May have been I am not sure where I saw it but it did have fins and stuff on it. That was a long time ago and it was posted on one of the forums. Maybe not here. They are fun cars to have as everyone wonders what they are. Something different. Plus everyone doesn't have one. There are a few around as I have found quite a few since I bought mine. There seem to be less of the '85 models running around. What engine does yours have in it?

Ragtop 99

iTrader: (7)

I'd like to see it. Post a picture.

EndresD

The car has 37,000 original miles, white, garage kept all these years. Anyone can tell me what's it worth in the market?

RONIN LSX

iTrader: (44)

I had 2 Auto Forms, a 84 and an 85. Sadly they both got stolen so they are floating around, somewhere in Miami

I was the first to start collecting info on them, even before they got popular on thirdgen.org. In fact, when I first posted about mine, on 3rd Gen, no one believed me, lol... After a lot of time and relentless pursuit, I started to find other owners. I even found the guy, I think his name was James or Greg, or something like that, who designed the kit and headed the R&D for it. I called up Auto Form (this was years ago) and then they were doing van conversions, Let's just call him James, since I can't remember his name... he said that the original mold was lay out behind the warehouse, out in the weeds and dirt. He said that I could have it for free, if I came and got it... But I was in Miami and there was no way for me to get it.

They didn't keep any "real" records of how many were produces so all the #s you get are assumptions, but yes, the Firebirds were quite rare. James even offered to give me all the records they DID have.


It's a simple kit to create and I was thinking of doing it to one of my 4th Gen Trans Am verts.

soldaustin

I still have my 85 Trans Am convertible from Autoform. It has 14, 700 miles on it. I only know what I have read others post. As far as sales, there have been several I have seen on Ebay over the years and one sold on Barret Jackson. You can do a search and find it. I think itnwas an 85 but not that nice. I think it sold for over 20,000 which was way too high for what it was.

I have no idea really on the value. It is whatever someone is willing to pay. Mine has the tuned port injection and had the original tires on it when I got it back in 2001. Before that my family had it a few years. I would like to know myself. Mine is posted on the website for Autoform Cars that someone put together several years ago. It is very nice but needs a few cosmetic things outside but nothing major and my top needs some work as the corner that fits at the door is chewed up. It can be fixed though. Good luck on the info. Seems the last person to reply to you seems to know the most.