Lswonder

One of my far away neighbors finally noticed the t/a not moving out from the garage for awhile and noticed me driving my fiance's ss alot, and asked me what was wrong with it, i told him and he asked if i wanted to buy a 89 formula firebird with a 305 for $1000. He said it only has 103,430 miles on the odometer and it looks fairly decent. I guess what i am asking is, is it worth it, should i buy it for a daily driver?

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

If I remember right those 305's are junk...performance wise.

Lswonder

would it be good for a daily driver

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

in terms of gas mileage , very decent , dependable and fairly easy to work on. 1000.00 is reasonable for the mileage and should be lots of miles left in if it hasn't been abused.

99Hawk325

I have an '85 Trans Am (305) with around 99K miles on it and it runs fine. If the cars been taken care of, it should be a good daily driver for you. I get around 18 city and around 26-28 highway with mine. I'd look it over and make sure the accessories work OK...

Let us know what happens...


Tom

Lswonder

well today i got the car. I talked him down to $700. so now i have a really nice 89 formula. Its not superfast but itll work

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

You know you have to post pics now, right?

Lswonder

yes those will be up soon. I will see about borrowing a digital camera

Midnight

iTrader: (19)

Good deal, lets see those pics.

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

Not bad, third gens are easy cars to work on as well. Nothing is to difficult and it still looks cool.

Midnight

iTrader: (19)

Id like to find a third gen and swap an LS1 in it like in the HPP mag this month.

HPP

Huh? Wha..? Who?




I really liked the metallic/electric blue Formula (350?)s. I suspect they are a bit more aerodyamic than the 4th Gens too, well the WS6 LS1s at least.

I have a mag article around somewhere about a 3rd Gen Formula (think it might have been an 89) that was totally rigged for road racing. The guy got an average speed of something like 189mph. Average.

The more ya think about it, the more you realize how *stupid* people are. We are, and have been for a long time now, sitting on a dirt cheap almost-super-car. Especially the LS1s. But people would rather drop $34G for a slow *** 350z that takes 6 seconds to get to 60, 14 for the .25, and can only muster a near laughable .88Gs on the skid pad. When for $32G list, they could have gotten a WS6 T/A. And what were the Formulas going for? For some reason I'm thinking a stripped Formula could be had for $25Gs or less. And that's with all the go fast goodies. But no, people would rather spend 15 grand on a $4,000 civic making it look like *** and move like molases. And then we get stuck with a bastard like Lutz....


Err.....sorry for the hijack rant. lol Nice score. Look forward to the pics.

Firehawk0220

Aerodynamicly they are about the same, if their drag coefficient is better it's only by like .1 or .2. Weight wise the thirdgen is lighter and there are kits that make dropping an LS1 into a thirdgen a breeze. With an engine swap or an engine rebuild on a 350 car they can still be potent street machines.

They are easy to work on and handle just as good as our fourth gens when equipped with the WS6 suspension package.

HPP

How can they be lighter and just as capable though? Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting you, I just wonder where the lead ballast is being hidden on the 4th Gens. The whole car is plastic. lol

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Is it the 170hp TBI pig, or did you score a tuned port car?

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

They actually are lighter, kinda funny isnt it. They make great cars to build up, my buddy had a maui blue 89 (HPP thats what that color is called) and it was a fun car. It got me in to the entire f-body thing, I really like the Formulas, great looking cars. Easy to work on and build up. You can make great road race cars out of them, imagine a LS1 (Lighter than a L98) and a T-56 swapped in. Be a monster, I actually almost bought a mint 89 GTA, L98, flame red metalic, but got a 4th gen instead.

HPP

I miss my '88 black hard top GTA. I really want another one. I would never consider parting with my '02 WS6 T/A in the process, but I do still want another GTA. Not the "cat's eye" style though (well, that's what I always heard it called anyway - 90-92).

So, with a lighter engine in our cars, they are still heavier. The whole car is plastic, and all the same options are around - VATS key, power locks/windows/seats/mirrors, A/C, etc. That weight has to come from somewhere. If it's chassis....then what does it really take to make a car stiff? I've been seeing people talk about the 4th Gens like they were 3rd Gens in regard to stiffness (as in, tey have none). And someone else said that they felt a world of difference after they put their cage in, vs just the SLP SFCs (which I also have).

A 3rd Gen pre-90 T/A was used for a run at Bonneville and they hit 300mph with the stock body save for the shaved door mirrors. That car was chosen specifically for it's low Cd. Are the LS1 WS6 T/As really that slick? It certainly doesn't look it. But if so, that bodes well for top speed. (in light of that road racing Formula I mentioned.)

89FormulaLS2

iTrader: (1)

I LOVE my 89 Formula (mine was 350 w/TPI however). Bought it last year for $1300, body was in excellent condition except needed paint, and the interior was almost mint, but it had very high mileage (168k). It quit on me last spring at 171,000 miles (I knew it was getting tired when I bought it), so now I'm doing the LS1/T56 swap.

All 89 Formulas had the WS6 package from the factory, and they handle VERY nice. It will make you a terrific daily driver.

Adam