musclecar70sfan

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Hey everybody, hopefully sometime this week I'll be (finally) purchasing a 3rd gen f-body. Which in this case is a 1991 Trans Am convertible. I found one for a good price and I visited the car today. However I have a few questions about it. It's got the 305 TPI engine with the 700r4 automatic transmission (which has been rebuilt at some point in its life; the transmission that is). And the car has 98,000 original miles.

*For starters, both front seat backs tilt forward without having to touch any levers, you simply push the chair and it goes. Is this normal? The owner and I played with em for a little while and determined it has some sort of "inertia lock" where the seat backs lock when they travel forward quickly enough. However I'm not totally convinced. Was it like that from the factory? Will the seats fly forward in sudden breaking or an accident?

*This car is equipped with a starter immobilizer and the owner showed me the little black chip on each ignition key to prove it. Apparently ONLY those keys will start the car, unless you make a spare WITH the little resistor thingy. Anyway, once when I was starting the car, it would crank, but not fire. After letting it sit for a couple minutes, it finally fired. Is it normal for the system to kick in like that suddenly? Afterwards, it gave some problems starting but the problem was traced to lack of fuel so after dumping some gas in 'er she fired quickly. According to the owner, that immobilizer came with the car from the factory.

*It has a fairly rough idle. It vibrates pretty hard and sometimes the engine sounds like its about to stall right when the electric cooling fans kick in, but brings itself back up after they come on. Maybe it just needs a tune-up? However, it has NOT stalled despite the numerous restarts (to make sure it'll start every time) and lengthy idling.

*After taking it for a test drive, it would vibrate at speeds over 25 mph (I think). The owner (being a GM technician at a local dealer) said that after inspecting the suspension, he determined that it was just flat spots on the tires from sitting (its been sitting for about a year with it only being started up and being ran for a little once every month or two). Does that sound about right? Should it smooth out after a while? (I live 150 miles away from him and I'm planning on driving the car home)

*And the engine has a coat of oil on its underside, and the spot that its been sitting on has some oil stains. However while running it, I have not seen it drip. He also said that its so small to the point the engine doesn't even need oil added to it between oil changes. Is that a problem? Oh and I checked the dipstick, and there was a bit too much oil, if that makes a difference.

There might be more questions but that's all I can currently think of. I love this car, I think its gorgeous (just needs a little surface rust repair on the doors and new paint). However, considering that this is a big investment for me, some help with these questions would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

Oh and when I started it and revved it, there was absolutely no smoke that came out of it, black or blue.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Oh and here are some pictures just to give you guys a visual.
http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp308/pswanney/car/

musclecar70sfan

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And here's one under the hood shot:

That picture is a little old so the engine bay is slightly dirtier now but definitely not by much.

musclecar70sfan

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No responses yet?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (15)

1. the seats will not fly forward if you are sitting in them with your belt on, if nobody is in them maybe. I dont think they are supposed to just move, my 86 required you to move the latch things to move hte seat, however the new seats for it and my 92's seats just fold without using the lever.

2. The immobilizer it VATS, yes it came with the car. You can bypass it if its giving you troubles, there is a article about bypassing it in the tech section on the home page.

3. could use a tuneup, maybe the idle is low.

4. if they tires are not rotted, and the issue is flat spots, yes it will slow, but it should happen withing a few miles.

5. its a SBC, oil leaks happen, probably something small nothing major. If its more than a few drops, i would look into it further.


my advise is this, check out the car very well for rust. Check inside both wheels well, all around them, as well as the fender lips. Check the door jambs and the bottom of the doors. Check the floors where people feet would be, there are drain plugs there and thats where they start to rust. Check under the front, lower radiator support, rear bumper and frame. These cars can have serious rust issues. I recently purchased a 92 bird, its was the first car i found with no rust issues, other than a small bubble on the fender. I looked at more than a dozen cars int he past 6 months and they all had bad rust issues. On in particular had a hole in the rear wheelwell behind the tire i could put me head through, drove 2 hours to see it because the guy kept insisting it was a mint, rust free car.

Just look it over really well, dont be afraid to get on your hands and knees and look under it really well. Make sure the body lines are even, there are no waves in the sheet metal from a front/rear impact. And since its a 91-92, check the front bumper and front side ground effects. The are commonly broken and stupid hard to find. Especially the fender fx parts. If the are broken or missing the rear part where the air dam goes, keep this in mind. Maybe you can get some money off for the broken parts.

-Phil

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (15)

looked at the pics. I see rust on the doors, i would check the bottom of the doors and make sure they are not rotted. as well as the other places i mentioned.

The body seems straight, it has some damage on the hood, door ect, take that into consideration with price. You didnt mention the price?

Make sure it shifts well into all gears.

jv9999

iTrader: (1)

Radial tires don't develop flat spots. I would be suspicious of that diagnosis. Also the rough idle could be a simple tune-up issue or something much more serious.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (15)

i agree with the idle part, it could be more, like injectors, or a variety of other engine controls/sensors

as for the tires, my truck gets flat spots if it sits for a few days, radial tires, 275/55/20. Usually when its colder, and they go away within a few miles

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Jv, maybe the tires aren't radials? Or maybe they might need to get balanced. If this makes a difference, the rears are getting pretty bald (with very light cracking) but the fronts are in great shape.

As for price, I talked the seller down to $2800 (from $3500).

Regarding rust/body condition, I have inspected the doors, and the blisters are well contained and there is no rot anywhere on the car. I took a look at the underside, everything seemed solid, but some of the suspension and rear axle were covered in surface rust. The owner even handed me a flashlight without me asking, perhaps showing that he is honest and confident about the car? Oh but the battery holder is kinda rotted, probably from the extra corrosion that batteries usually cause. I'm not too worried, since the battery holder in my 1994 GMC Jimmy is pretty rotted too. If worst comes to worst, I'll bring a bungee cord just in case the battery is jumping around a lot.

As for idle, the car only has 98,000 miles. It probably just needs a tune up in my opinion. The vibration doesn't bother me all too much, since the car runs fine, but I'd like to address it eventually.

And 86TA, what is a SBC?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (15)

really? Small Block Chevy

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Oh gotcha, thanks 86.

Oh and I forgot to add that it shifts smoothly, and the body looks straight from looking at it from an angle. The immobilizer doesn't bother me, in fact that's a plus for me. But are there any records of them going on the fritz?

And about the radial tires not getting flat spots, isn't that impossible? If they have two tons (not exactly sure how much a firebird weighs) of weight sitting on them for two months, wouldn't it seem natural that they would develop flat spots?

And I forgot to mention that there is light surface rust lining some parts of the wheel wells, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Fortunately I can fix that on my own.

And about the dents on the hood, the owner said it was from people banging on it too hard to get the hood latch to open over the years. The latch does stick a little.

towinghondas

You never say were you are. I think you should keep looking. There is a old saying."The MECHANCICS CAR IS THE LAST TO GET FIXED"
If you still are interested find a INDEPENDANT shop to look at it. It sounds like you don't do your own car work so getting it fixed can get spendy in a hurry
Good Luck
Ray
91 Firebird no rust!

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Never said I was what? And yes I plan on having a shop take a look at it. I personally think the car is fine, I took it for a drive, everything seems to be in working order. If it needs some work, that's fine, since it'll be sitting in a garage as a car just for pleasure. If worst comes to worst I'll sell it to somebody else.

towinghondas

Where you are located. I am in Seattle and cars dont rust much. Here and a lot of places a 91 anything with rust is unusual. I am just trying to say be careful. We dont want to see you saying in a month that its a problem plauged car.
Good Luck
Ray

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Ooohh gotcha. I'm from CT, the car is in NH. For an NH car, the car is very solid in terms of rust. Again, some of the suspension/rear axle have surface rust on them, nothing major, there are some blisters on the doors, and there is a little rust in the wheel wells but not much. Fortunately I can fix that. I was not able to find any rot anywhere, except for the battery holder as described above. But thanks for your concern, I greatly appreciate it.

Guest

The seatback lock thing is hit and miss. My 84 and 86 you could just push the seat forward, the replacement mechanism I got for my 86 that I bought in the late 90's was locked all the time. GM made different ones. All of them will lock when they need to be if they're functioning right.

If the VATS is not working properly you would have had to wait 15 minutes. Something else is up with the car, if its been sitting its likely a fuel delivery issue.

Tune up may help, but sounding more and more like its been sitting around an awful lot... more than a year without being started. The fuel is probably questionable.

Any tire will 'flat spot', this isnt a radial/non-radial thing. Some are worse than others. After getting them warm or hot, should be fine. Maybe you need to drive it more.

Price doesnt sound bad. Check the top well area, and under the rear seats for rust. Thats where it will start.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Well the owner said he started and ran it a little every month or two. The thing actually ran out of gas while I was checking it out (he parked it almost dry) so he dumped in a gallon of gas, whether it was fresh or stale, I'm not sure. But either way, it'll get a tankful of fresh gas before I bring it home. Maybe it'll smooth out if I pour in a tankful of 93 octane gas. Any idea if that will help it?

BigWhiteGTP

My seats do that, and I actually prefer it. I hate dealing with those little tabs on the back. Its so much easier and faster to just tilt them from a stand.

Vibrations, are due to the tires. Either out of balance, or dry rotted, they should be replaced.

And that bogging feeling the motor is giving you is normal from cars that have sat for some time. It's bad gas and gunked injectors and worn out sensors. When you get her home, give it a full tune up (distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires, fuel filter, and belt, oil change and tranny fluid flush) Should run like a champ.

Good luck.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

LOL finally some reassuring words! haha thanks BigWhite