Mustang, Camaro, or Firebird?

hoosman

Well-Known Member
Sep 4, 2006
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Davenport
I rented a 2022 Camaro v6. Styling was good. Accel was fair. Comfort, controls good. The weird thing was the tires and weight distribution . I was hydroplaning badly on the highway with a light rain. I had to slow way down to keep it on the road. My 1983 z28 did a 360 on a straight road with light rain and light acceleration.
 

cowboycurtis

Well-Known Member
Jul 20, 2006
1,332
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87-93 Mustangs are reliable, fairly inexpensive and you could build or modify them without a ton of cash. I had an 89 GT that ended up with around 400hp and I did most of the work myself. GT40P crate engine with trick flow intake and a ton of other goodies. Off road h pipe with Flowmaster exhaust. 3.73 gears and lowering springs. I was planning on adding a supercharger that would have pushed HP close to 600 but I sold it before that happened.
 

Cyforce

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Nov 24, 2009
17,234
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Des Moines
This is my 79 trans am. Had a 76 formula in hs. College roommate totaled it so bought this swapped out the motor and interior and restored the rest. No idea what its worth but I'm not selling anytime so but I would recommend it as a good option.
 

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CGclone

New Member
Mar 21, 2017
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At one time I was living the dream. I owned a '79 Trans Am that I purchased as a dealer car, less than 300 miles and current year. Navaho Blue, T-tops, and a mild blue velour interior. 407 big block engine--I believe the final year available. Black Firebird emblem on hood interrupted slightly by the air intake and a spoiler on the back. The handling was something I thought was awesome but I never have driven anything to compare it to. It would go faster then the speedometer--I pegged/broke it twice. Can't recall with certainty but i think 120mph. I know my (now) wife noticed the car before she met me. Price tag was $4200 and certainly doable in your budget :):):)
"77 Firebird Formula. Only had a 350 in it so it wasn't a drag racer but topped out about 145 and took 35 mph curves at 70. Scary to think about today. Retired town cop and I still have a few laughs about our hs rivalry.
 
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Cyforce

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Nov 24, 2009
17,234
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Des Moines
"77 Firebird Formula. Only had a 350 in it so it wasn't a drag racer but topped out about 145 and took 35 mph curves at 70. Scary to think about today. Retired town cop and I still have a few laughs about our hs rivalry.
My 76 Formula had the 400 in it. Opened it up on Hwy 210 between Cambridge and Maxwell. Took Speedometer all the way back to the peg at 0. Not sure how much I got passed but I was at at least 150 as the back end was pointing at 75.
 
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cydnote

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Oct 24, 2023
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Rockford Files > Dukes. I think I read somewhere Garner loved the Firebird but for some reason didn't like the Trans Am bird on the hood.

"77 Firebird Formula. Only had a 350 in it so it wasn't a drag racer but topped out about 145 and took 35 mph curves at 70. Scary to think about today. Retired town cop and I still have a few laughs about our hs rivalry.
I actually don't remember what the speedometer went to. I had a '79 Harley sportster also and was thinking one speedometer went to 120 and one to 130 but that was 43 years ago and sometimes I can't remember what i ate for breakfast. :):) Tried to peg the bike a few times and with no windshield it seemed like it was going to peel your hands off the handlebar. Young and dumb.

I think the reason Garner was opposed to the Trans Am is because it was perceived as a car that his character would not have been able to afford. He did love his Firebird esprit though and did most of his own stunt driving in the show. He had a reputation as being a better stunt driver than most of the hired stunt drivers but the producers of the show feared him getting injured and jeopardizing the show. He didn't invent his getaway move of throwing the car in reverse, whipping a 180, and taking off in the opposite direction but he perfected it, citing that the firebird was the perfect balance of weight, size, and power to make the maneuver.
 
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dmclone

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Oct 20, 2006
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I've had a very wide range of sports cars since I was 16 including 2 vettes but my all time favorite car I had (and still hate myself for trading it in on a 4W drive piece of junk) was a 1980 Z-28, air induction, 4 on the floor. Loved that car. If I could go back in time I would've kept it and stashed it away.

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I don't know if this is the year but my sister had one of these when I was young. It was a 4 speed and each time she shifted the flaps would open on the hood. I had a lot of "air induction" type how but I think this was actually mechanical. One of the few things I remember about a car as a young kid and was very impressed.

Some of my friends later on had the trans am version and it did not have the same hood but had 400 and 403's. I think hers was a 350.
 

kirk89gt

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Feb 15, 2014
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I assume those are a little more than $15k?
You should be able to find a real nice c5 from the early to mid 2000’s for about $20k all day long. Facebook marketplace is full of them. Don’t know if the economy is pushing folks to purge their toys, boomers trying to downsize due to a variety of factors, or all of the above