1982TA

iTrader: (1)

I was hoping to get some CFI parts for my '82 but there weren't many thirdgens to choose from. I found like 2 or 3 firebirds and about 4-5 camaros. The earliest thirdgen I found was an '83 Trans Am, so I got what I could off of it, that I could use anyway. Wasn't a CFI car but I got pretty much the entire backseat and rear hatch panels.

Looking at this car and getting parts off of it I have some questions. First how do you remove the front wheel well plastic trim without damaging it? I know it's secured pretty good with those plastic clips but they are a PITA to get off without ruining the fender or breaking up the plastic trim. I needed to get the fender vent and it got that out ok, just getting the wheel well trim off was a pain and I'm going to have to take it out of my car to put the fender vent on and don't want to break it. Also, are these clips still available or is there an equivalent??

Second, how does the Hood induction function? This car had the hood induction. My car doesn't have it so I'm not really sure how it hooks up. I noticed that on this car it had a wire coming down to a plug on the drivers side relay bracket. From this plug a wire went to what looked like some kind of vaccum diaphram right next to it and then a wire from that went to the main wiring harness. Since this car was carbed I'm guessing it was vaccum operated. Do the CFI cars use the same setup? I have never seen the vaccum diaphram in the shop manual but I"m sure that carbed '82's got them right?? I thought they were relay operated by the ECM.

Lastly did all early third gens get the brakets behind the rear cargo trim where the cargo shade brakets screw into, or did only cars with this option get them? My car didn't come with the option but I wanted to get the shade. I took all the trim and the round plastic pieces for the shade. I thought I read on here that all early firebirds got these brackets even without the option. Would make sense but I haven't actually checked on mine yet. IF not I'll have to go back and torch them off I guess.

Other than that I just got mostly misc. stuff, like screws, fueses and all that minor stuff. Nothing else was really in that good of shape. Had the front padded leg rest on the console...would have taken it but it was ripped up on the bottom.

Looked like it had the aero package but the front nose was pretty bad. Unfortunately no turbocast rims, or any rims for that matter

If anyone can help with the questions though, I'd appreciate it

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

50 views and nobody can answer my questions

kurfbird

iTrader: (24)

My 89 did not have the brackets for the cargo shade. You will need it off the donor car. Held in by spot rivets. You will also need the plastic trim peices on the hatch where the cargo shade hooks into. It is different.

Dens71TA

iTrader: (5)

The wheel well trim you pull the centers of the plastic rivets out and then pull out all the rivets. Then there are a few self-tapping 7mm screws that go into the metal wheel well. The rivets are reusable if you don't butcher them too much. If you look closely there are two slots that you can put two screwdrivers under the head. I'm sure you can get replacements from any bodyshop supply store.

FYI, you don't need to remove the entire plastic wheel well trim to R and R the fender vent. Just remove enough rivets so you can reach behind the fender and release the metal clips that secure the fender vent.

The CFI cars the Ram Air Induction was controlled by the computer. The part that is bolted to the hood is different for CFI and carb. The CFI has a diamond shape air opening and the carb has a round opening.

The way the carb'ed air induction works is that there is a combination oil pressure gauge sender and switch. It has three terminals rather than two. When the oil pressure comes up the switch closes sending power to a cold feed switch on the back of the drivers side head. This senses engine metal temperature. Once the metal temp is up to 150 degrees F then power is sent over to a vacuum switch over by the relays next to the brake booster. Now everything is ready to work. Under little to no vacuum situations, such as full throttle the ram air solenoid will activate and cold air will be pulled through the opening on the hood.

There is a vacuum/wiring diagram in the '83 and '84 Service manuals. 1982 carb'ed LG4's didn't get Ram Air. The flat hood was standard on LG4 and the power bulge was optional but wasn't functional like the CFI cars. It got a block off plate like the '87-92 Formulas.

I'm not sure about the rear cargo tonau cover brackets. I added one to an '87 IROC that originally didn't have one and the brackets weren't there behind the interior trim panels. I had to transfer them from the donor car. They are attached with two welds and pretty easy to remove. They very thin metal so I'd think a torch would incinerate them. I used a spot weld drill bit.

Doesn't your car have a charcoal interior? You do know that '82 Charcoal is slightly darker than '83-84 Charcoal?

jms

iTrader: (1)

There is a CFI Camaro in a nearby salvage yard. Pennington's Auto Parts (?) in Moss, Tennessee. Looked at it yesterday (11-5-05) and appears most, if not all parts are there, including the hood scoop flaps. The hood is still there but is warped near the passenger hinge.

Don't know what Gary wants for the parts.

Didn't look at the year but it appeared as an '82 or '83 model. Rough condition, some parts already gone. I'm pretty sure it was originally automatic but console was gone and I couldn't see the pedals.

It also had aluminum drums on the rear.

jms

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the help.

I wasn't sure about the differences in the CFI hood induction unit. I already had one I got off of ebay a while back, and looking at it today it is in fact round, not diamond shaped so it must be incorrect for the CFI setup. I knew the air cleaner had a diamond shape to it but wasn't sure if the hood induction unit was the same. Now I have to find another one.

I was thinking about grabbing the one on the hood induction when I go back and just sell it anyway. I got all the rear seat and cargo trim with the sail panels in really good shape, plus the fender vent and a lot of other misc. stuff for $20 so I made out pretty good.

I will go back and get the brackets for the cargo shade cover. Shouldn't be too hard to remove. I tried when I was there but didn't really have the proper tools to remove them. As for the rear hatch trim and hooks, well, the hooks were missing and the trim was broken otherwise I would have taken it. It looks like somone just broke off the hooks without removing the trim

As far as the colors, yes I have the dark charcoal. I figured the '83 was a little lighter and when compared to the originals my trim is very dark. However the panels I got from the junkyard are in a better condition than mine and I'll just dye them anyway. Plus they already have the holes for the cargo shade and I don't want to ruin my originals. Plus these weren't carpeted so I don't have to remove the carpeting on my originals.

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

Do the firebirds and camaros use the same hood induction unit? I thought the Camaros hood induction was in the middle of the hood and a totally different unit? If they are the same I'll start checking out more camaros. The guy said there was a z28 at the yard with CFI but I couldn't find it. I'll have to look again when I go back.

jms

iTrader: (1)

If I remember correctly, the Camaro air breather opening was in the center of the air cleaner housing.

jms

wildjeff

iTrader: (1)

I’m adding the rear shade to my ’82 CFI and I did not have the metal brackets either. I had to get them from a donor car. As said before they are welded on but I was able to pop them off with a hammer and chisel.

1982TA, if you want a pic of something specific let me know. My car has the original CFI setup and it works great.

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

Yah, I figured they could just be popped off...didn't look like they welded on to bad. Once I get my CFI components I'll get back with you. I'm going to be getting them from another member here soon, but I'm still going to need a wiring harness. He's got a Camaro but I'm not sure how compatable it is compared to the Firebird. I'm more concerned with getting the hood induction to work correctly and the shop manual doesn't get into any specifics about how and when it operates and the wiring isn't too detailed on it either. I grabbed the induction harness and relay braket with the sensors and plug from the junkyard car but it was carbbed so probably not the same.

wildjeff

iTrader: (1)

Also, the CFI air cleaner for Camaros and the Firebirds are different, so be sure to get the right one. As far as I can tell the only difference is in the two mounting nuts that hold it on. The firebirds are recessed and the Camaros are not. I would guess this means the Camaro air cleaner sits a bit lower.

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

where would the part number be located on the air cleaner unit so I can check if I find one? Also, are the throttle bodies any different compared to a Camaro vs. Firebird?? They are pretty much interchangable right?

wildjeff

iTrader: (1)

I looked for a part number on my air cleaner but couldn’t find one. Here is a pic of a Camaro air cleaner I found on eBay. Notice it doesn’t have the hold down nuts attached, on the T/A the mounting points are recessed and on the Camaro they are raised. I hope that makes sense.

My guess is that since the Camaro does not have the Turbo blister in the hood like the T/A the air cleaner needs to sit a bit lower to allow room for the induction unit. The Camaro and T/A induction unit are different.

I believe the intake and throttle bodies are the same as well as the computer. I’m not sure about the wire harness but if not it’s probably close enough to work.