What is Pontiac's equivalent to the Z28?
Adam Hansen
bought a couple of books on Camaro's so I know a little about them but I
don't know much about the Firebird. What is the Firebirds equivalent of
the SS and Z28 Camaro? How easy is it to swap a 350 with a 305 on both the
Camaro and Firebird? And, If I am planning on doing suspension upgrades
aswell as engine upgrades, how important is it that I get a Z28? Thanks in
advance.
Adam
mlbuie
Trans Am!
Adam Hansen <ahan...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:01bef7f4$dd2f5460$f81105d1@fhansen...
S.BM
And, WHY do you want to toss a 305 in place of the 350?
Black Echo
Chevrolet had the Camaro and the Z28. In 1985 to 1990, Chevy introduced the
IROC-Z and slowly phased the Z28 out of production (again). In late 1990,
Chevy lost the IROC license to MOPAR (IROC Daytonas, anyone?) and had to
resort to the Z28 model again.
For Pontiac, there was the base model Firebird which differed from the
Camaro only in name, some interior trim, and exterior nose and tail designs.
Pontiac had the infamous Trans-Am, which has been in glorious production
since it's introduction in 1969 and has never been killed off (unlike the
Z28, which has had more reincarnations that Shirley Mclaine). The Trans-Am
(TA to its fans) was the Pontiac 'version' of the Z28, and usually had a
better suspension under it and better aerodynamics as well over it's Chevy
cousin. For suspensions, nothing beats Pontiac's WS6 suspension in the
3rdGen cars. Match it with four wheel disc brakes and a limited slip
differential and you have the basis for some serious canyon carving right
off the showroom floor. The Z28s and IROCs come close, but ...
If you want a fast 3rdGen, find a nice used Pontiac Formula. These cars
were street fighters from the start. They were little more than base model
Firebirds (very light) with the powertrain and suspension of the Trans-Am.
Base model Firebirds with a power bulge hood, small front spoiler, rear
spoiler from the TA/GTA, and the 16" aluminum wheels from the TA. The
Formula, with the same motor as either the Z28, IROC-Z, TA, or GTA, would
outrun all four of these cars hands down, simply by it being lighter than
all of the others. Lighter is better. And faster!
As for the GTA, that stands for Great Tubby Am. The GTA was a cruise ship
for Pontiac. They took the Trans-Am (already getting heavy with spoilers
and aero packages) and made it even *heavier* by adding in such unneeded
items as leather interior, power seats, etc. The GTA was the heaviest of
all Trans-Ams, being considered something of the "Love Boat" to Pontiac
owners. A stock GTA with the 350 Vette motor in it was so heavy, it did
15.7 seconds through the quarter mile (stock). Not very impressive. I
would avoid GTAs if at all possible. It was a strange model from Pontiac,
at the slowest of the F-bodies, and having an identity crisis. It had the
style of a sportscar, but the performance of a BMW or Mercedes touring car.
Sad. And don't get started on the GTA being great! I know of several 13
second GTAs out there on motor alone. Just from the showroom it was some
what of an embarrasment.
Your best bet for a 3rdGen car, if you are looking for performance, is the
Pontiac Formula Firebird. Hands down, it is the lightest, fastest 3rdGen
model short of the very limited production Turbo Trans-Am in 1989 (good luck
getting one of THOSE). A Formula 350, equipped with the 5.7 liter TPI Tuned
Port Injected small block out of the Corvette (well, OK, not exactly out of
the Vette. The heads and exhaust were different, better on the Vette than
the F-body) should satisfy your performance needs. If at all possible, get
a WS6 car (standard on Formula) with rear disc brakes and limited slip
differential (standard on the 5.7 TPI motor).
More info on the Formula on my site.
Just my thoughts. Having owned them all, the Formula is still my
favorite...
--
"I don't ask God for things I don't need. God doesn't give me things I
don't want."
-Black Echo
'88 Chevrolet IROC-Z 6.6 liter Lingenfelter
'90 Pontiac Formula Firebird 5.0 liter TBI L03
'99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 liter supercharged SFI L67
SPO- Special Performance Online- "Where TBI lives and screams !"
Home of the 3rdGen L03 TBI Formula: http://www2.netdoor.com/~cshields/spo
Black Echo
http://www2.netdoor.com/~cshields/spo.html
--
"I don't ask God for things I don't need. God doesn't give me things I
don't want."
-Black Echo
'88 Chevrolet IROC-Z 6.6 liter Lingenfelter
'90 Pontiac Formula Firebird 5.0 liter TBI L03
'99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 liter supercharged SFI L67
SPO- Special Performance Online- "Where TBI lives and screams !"
Home of the 3rdGen L03 TBI Formula:
http://www2.netdoor.com/~cshields/spo.html
S.BM
Black Echo <blac...@usa.net> wrote in message
news:8sNA3.6176$r5.4...@typ11.nn.bcandid.com...
Black Echo
the URL, it'll be back up in a few hours. Working on it right now. Worth
viewing, trust me.
--
"I don't ask God for things I don't need. God doesn't give me things I
don't want."
-Black Echo
'88 Chevrolet IROC-Z 6.6 liter Lingenfelter
'90 Pontiac Formula Firebird 5.0 liter TBI L03
'99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 liter supercharged SFI L67
SPO- Special Performance Online- "Where TBI lives and screams !"
Home of the 3rdGen L03 TBI Formula:
http://www2.netdoor.com/~cshields/spo.html
S.BM wrote in message <7r08lh$5...@dfw-ixnews9.ix.netcom.com>...
Black Echo
good reasons to keep your 305 if it came in your car, but to throw out a
motor capable of much more and shoe in a smaller, less high performance
motor doesn't make sense.
The only reason for getting a Z28, TA, Formula, GTA, or IROC-Z over a base
model is that a lot of base model Camaros and Firebirds were powered by four
cylinders (YES!) and six cylinders (the biggest being the MPFI 2.8 in the
3rdGen). The RS Camaro at the end of the 3rdGen run could be had with the
5.0 L03 V8 that was fed by throttle body injection. You can hot rod this
motor and it responds well to simple tricks. You would get a Z28, etc. over
a base model because the high performance Camaros and Firebirds came with
such goodies as limited slip differentials, high capacity automatic and
manual transmissions, heavy duty shocks, struts, sway bars, brakes, motors,
etc. If you buy a good used Z28, IROC-Z, TA, GTA, or Formula, you're
getting some of the best parts already on the car, and when you go to change
out stuff like sway bars, etc., you'll already have the mounts and won't
have to buy 'adapter kits' to fit sway bars to cars that didn't come from
the factory with them originally.
IMHO, any of the 3rdGens mentioned above make good project cars and serious
performers with a little money, effort, and time. But ultimately, it's
going to be up to you, Adam, on what you want. Buy what you want, what you
like, and then move on from there. Don't buy a car just because someone
else tells you to.
Plenty of sites out there on the web for Firebirds and Camaros. Do a little
bit more research, and then make up your mind. Nothing sucks more than
buying 'the perfect car' only to have something better come along two days
later.
Adam Hansen
take out the 305 and put in a 350 instead.
Adam
Black Echo <blac...@usa.net> wrote in article
<5IQA3.6335$r5.4...@typ11.nn.bcandid.com>...
N ck
Mr. Floppy
news:19990913192559...@ng-fz1.aol.com...
> Im new here so can someone explain what 1st gen and 2nd gen etc are?
1st Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1967-1969
2nd Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1970-1981
3rd Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1982-1992
4th Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1993-2003?
Koyaanisqatsi
http://chesterfamily.org/mark/camarofirebirdfaq.html
Koy-
--
Koyaanisqatsi - "Life out of balance"
.-===========-===========-.
//^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\\
// /~~~\ /~~~\ \\
(O\// /_____\ /_____\ \\/O)
^//---------------(^^^^^^)--------\\^
({ \ ( / / })
| \ooooooooo______(__/___ooooooooo/ |
(--___________----+----___________--)
| \__________\ | /__________/ |
|\________________|________________/|
|<=---------------+---------------=>|
|______| 1983 Trans Am |______|
Daytona 500, 25th Anniversary Edition
Bird Of Fire
z-28 took a short haitus in the 70's and 80's.
--
-*Bird Of Fire*-
1967 Pontiac 400ci coupe, TH400
Crane Cam, Rhoads Lifters, Mallory Ignition
Heddman Headers, Flowmaster Mufflers
http://www.rglobal.net/users/phil
Koyaanisqatsi <koyaan...@chesterfamily.org> wrote in message
news:37DDC6DD...@chesterfamily.org...
> Hey! Cool, now I can update my FAQ.
>
> http://chesterfamily.org/mark/camarofirebirdfaq.html
>
> Koy-
>
> Mr. Floppy wrote:
> >
> > "N ck" <sc...@aol.com> wrote in message
> > news:19990913192559...@ng-fz1.aol.com...
> > > Im new here so can someone explain what 1st gen and 2nd gen etc are?
> >
> > 1st Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1967-1969
> > 2nd Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1970-1981
> > 3rd Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1982-1992
> > 4th Generation Camaro/Firebird/TransAM is 1993-2003?
>
> --
> Koyaanisqatsi - "Life out of balance"
>
> .-===========-===========-.
> file://^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\\