mbood82

I did a search and found lots of stuff mentioning the differences but no easy way to identify it without a dial caliper or anything.

I looked at a car today, a 1992 Firebird. The wheels said WS6 on them, the rest of the car was supposed to be a 305TPI/700R4, t-tops, drum brakes. Is it actually a WS6 car?

Thanks!

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

I believe not all WS6 cars had 4-disc brakes. Look at the RPO tag (located in the center console in my '90). It should have down WS6 as identification.

mbood82

Cool, I'll check for that. I tried finding the RPO codes before but wasn't sure where to look in a Camaro. My old Blazer had it right in the glovebox but it wasn't so obviously in here.

Any other obvious items?

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

I hope you mean Firebird not Camaro.

Mine also says performance suspension badge on the trim under the dash pocket. I think that's related to the WS6 package but I don't know for sure.

It wouldn't be hard to take a regular car and make it look like a WS6 though, so easiest way is tracking down the RPO tag.

Other than that if you're buying it I recommend you check the basic things.

Some things people often forget about 3rd gens:
1) Make sure the hood stays up (if it slams shut then it needs new support lifts about $30 replacement)
2) Make sure the hatch stays up (same as the hood, but there really expensive to replace like $60+ for the pair)
3) Make sure the pulldown unit on the hatch is working properly. It's really easy for them to be abused (someone slamming the hatch) and break the plastic housing.
4) Make sure the headlights come up and work. Once again they use plastic/gel pegs in the motor units and they break down over time causing sagging head lights. (Easy fix, but will just be more work and parts)
5) Make sure the heater works right. I did not check that and the previous seller covered up a major heater core leak before selling to me... that was not fun at all finding out when I was driving down the highway. This is a very easy way to get them to drop the price because once they find out most shops want to charge 8 hours labor for a $30 part they knock some off the bill.
6) Stress cracks in the front SFC by the steering box (driverside near radiator) is also a problem on these cars. That was one reason why the wonderbars are put on to prevent from happening.

I think that about covers what I think of off the top of my head.

mbood82

I meant firebird. I've actually been looking for a Camaro but this Firebird is the right price at the right time. Freudian slip I guess?

The hood and hatch both appear to stay up and the pulldown works. The headlights came up and turned on when I played with them too. The only thing I didn't check was the heater core, didn't know about that. Easiest way to check? Just look under the passenger side dash for any leaks?

It's a t-top car, the tops leak a little bit but that's almost a given. There might be a little bit of rust on the drivers side floor board, beyond that all the places I normally see rust on third gens (fender wells, under hatch, stuff like that) appears to be in good shape. Recent cheap repaint.

Not to change the subject too much but how do the 700R4s hold up in the 2wd 3rd gen applications? I know the Blazers have issues with them if they get hot and they tend to either go at 80k miles or run forever.

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

Usually you can smell antifreeze. Easy check is just to turn the heater on when you take it for a test drive. If it was as bad as leak as mine you'll have a small pond on the passenger's feet.

They do alright as long as there not abused. If they get decent amount of power put to them then all bets are off. I had mine go out with around 95k miles on it, but I had various things upgraded and I still believed I pushed the old clutches just to hard with the new parts I installed (vette servo, bm shift kit, boost valves, etc, etc). 4th was the first gear to go out on me, after that it just slowly worked it's way down the transmission 3-2-1-dead.

The TV cable (kickdown) is critical part of there pressure on them as you should know.

mbood82

This is a completely stock car, driven by a woman in mass until it was bought by an elderly gentleman in Maine. It seems to have led a fairly nice life. I'm hopin it will hold up for a while. :-D

CrazyHawaiian

The RPO's will tell you what it came with, but wont guarantee thats whats on there. I would physically measure the front/rear swaybars and match their measurements up with factory options. Again, that wont guarantee the rest of the suspension (spring/strut/shock) is the same factory options, but gives you an idea of whats there and if someone had modified or played with the suspension in the past.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

Well, if it's a Formula (that is what it sounds like if it has a TPI motor) then it has the WS6 stock. rear discs were an option on my 88 Formula (I had drums on mine) and could be an option on teh later models as well.

mbood82

Checked the codes, it's a WS6.

Hopefully pickin it up later today. Told the guy I'd be back with cash, he wouldn't take a deposit though. I'm hopin he doesn't sell it out from under me.