Can the Car That Inspired Knight Rider Really Be So BAD? 1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- American sports cars from the 70s and 80s have a terrible reputation in Europe, today I drive a Pontiac Firebird and find out. Also we talk a little about the links to the iconic KITT, KNIGHT RIDER car that was based on the third generation Trans Am.
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I knew the world was about to change when my blind date picked me up in her black Firebird with a gold screaming chicken decal on the hood (bonnet). No fool am I, we're still together. Blame it on the screaming chicken.
It takes a truly smart man to recognize a keeper when he sees one.❤
Clucking hell, what a bird!
@@blairbrown4812 👍👍👍
now thats a catch!
Man that is a catch , what a bird!!!
Imagine these days any brand releasing 200-300kilos lighter car than previous model
The 2nd gen was a late 60s design, with a separate front subframe, and thick gauge steel all around. It was quite heavy for what it was. There was a lot of room for improvement
@@Raptor3388, quite heavy? I scrapped a 2nd gen Trans Am, and despite being rotten, the front wings weighed about 10kg each. The bonnet was a two man job to carry comfortably. The 5 spoke 'alloy' wheels on early 2nd gens weren't alloy. They were a steel wheel with a urethane insert for the spokes. They were ridiculously heavy wheels.
Range Rover slashed more than that with their fourth generation.
I don't care how bad they are in real life. That red woosh-woosh light and the asymmetrical hood vent still awaken the 8-year-old in me. It was THE car. Period.
Just yesterday i saw a perfect replica, cruising on the street
It's slow. It's heavy.The build quality is poor. The interior is tacky. - BUT it comes with Patricia McPherson as your on-call mechanic. ♥♥♥
@@peterrenn6341was that April, or Bonnie?
April was a good mechanic. She made my nut's tighten....
@@peterrenn6341 oh yeah, i forgot about that. i think there is a lady race driver, does her own mechanic-ing on you tube who is easy on the eye too! saw her on clay millican's channel.
Don't care if it's plastic Americana. Ad a kid I was in love with this shape and still am :) together with the 78 trans am!
You're a brave man, Jack. Never forget that you should never hassle the Hoff...
😁😁😁😁😁😁
I had an 84 Trans AM, it takes genius to make 5.0L so anemic, it had a four barrel carb and the only thing that got faster when the secondaries open was the fuel gauge.
LOFL....
No, it takes fairly draconian emissions and economy legislation to make a 5.0V8 feel so lethargic. A T5 wakes them up quite a lot more than the lazy autos, though. You have to put the power output in context though - that '84 TA probably made 190bhp. A Porsche 1984 944 at the time only made 150bhp, albeit from a 2.5 litre four, and a federal spec 911 only made 207bhp. They weren't THAT bad for the time...
Possible conversion ideas, VW 1,9 TDI(300-400bhp), VW VR6(500+bhp)or Tesla using single motor or plaid rear motors....
Stick in a decent small block putting out 500bhp and a manual box or better auto box and these things will fly and have surprisingly decent handling.
No it took the federal government to do that, late 70's cars were even worse as far as horse power. GM bucked the trend somewhat with the 2nd gen Camaro and Firebird by offering decent horsepower
Steering box! It still amazes me the weird nature of 80s cars, futuristic wedge shape, digital clocks, loads of plastic buttons but underneath a solid axle and a steering box.
That's why they were cheap, parts bin cars with a bit of flash.
Maybe we need to go back to that nowadays, cars need to be affordable and simple again.
The Mustang had a solid rear axle until recently
To be fair, BMW 5 Series until 1995 and even the small sporty Mercedes 190E and first-gen SLK were steering box too.
@@TassieLorenzoand even later for the comparable v8 bmws.
Mercedes used steering boxes until well into the 90's.
"Michael, I recommend you use Turbo Boost" 😂😂😂😂
No! No! Not 80 mph!!!!
"Michael, did you ever think of auditioning for Magnum instead?" 😂😂
Night rider.....that takes me back , I used to have sleep over at my Grandmother's and we always watched the show together.... I love this car because it transports me back to those happy times!
Say what you want about the quality but in 1989 driving around in a new GTA made you the king of the road in the US. Aesthetically gorgeous even today.
The US maybe, certainly not in Europe.
@@MarkGelderland Well, in 1989, seeing these in Paris would have attracted everyone, heck even today it gets thumbs up. So.... I'm not so sure about what you say.
@@MarkGelderland I have a black 88 Firebird in Europe and peope stare at it and take photos with it more than they stare are new BMWs .
There was a Red GTA at the Bromley Pageant in the late 80s
It got huge attention..Much more than most of the other stuff there
@@sinistercharger I guess i interpreted ''king of the road'' the wrong way, i thought that ment a car which has excellent roadhandling but it has to do with attention apparently. Something that to me has little importance, drivability is what counts in my book, not if strangers look at me lol.
I had an 86 T/A in the 90s. Decent power for its time, but what a beautiful car.. Some minor exhaust modifications and everywhere you went people would gaze..
They look genuinely exotic now on today's roads.
I have one in Europe and people stare at it more than they stare at new BMW 7 series. Its crazy how sleek they look. Mine is black too and I tried hard to keep it 100% original even to the bolts which is important because there are ton of bolts that are odd sized american units. You get alot of talk when you get to the mechanic and they don't have the tools to unscrew the most simple stuff lol .
@@Adrian-mq5ldlove em, muscle cars stand out
Yeah cause they all junked out
@@Adrian-mq5ld I'm from Europe too and I have 88 GTA. It attracts more attention than anything on the road. I once stopped at a traffic light with three lanes. I was in the left, the brand new Porsche in the middle, and the guy on the right lane was moving forward because the Porsche was blocking his view of my car. 😅
But whatever people say, those cars are super fun to drive. ❤
@@V8AmericanMuscleCar grandfather had 1 and mother had a 92 Camaro, I had a 96 camaro z 28 convertible black 6 speed manual...sold it during the pandemic
Geez i love this Channel. Brings back memories from 37 years as an auctioneer. We had one of these in our auction room and i took it for a spin. The exit/entry to our site had a rather deep dish concrete gutter (we also auctioned heavy plant and equipment), and as such most cars had to be driven in and out on an angle to avoid damage. As i drove the trans am across the gutter the body creaked and the door sprung open to the first latch. I thought I hadnt closed it priperly but it did it again on yhe way back in. i can still vividly remember it. Thank you Jack
I've had my 91' Z28 since 93'. It has 450 horsepower now instead of the 230 it came with. Now it's a 6-speed. I'll never sell oit.
Kicks BMW ass on the track every 2nd weekend.
The truck trailer also had Tardis tech, because it was larger from the inside than was physically possible.
They never explained that in Mythbusters. 😕
There is a guy, who bought the screen used truck and trailer and is building the interior inside. Wel lets say is quite the project. He has his own CZcams channel knight rider historian or something like that
Wasn't it Mythbusters that tried to determine if you can in fact drive into the trailer at highway speed and stop before hitting the front wall??
@@shelbynamels973 Yes.
czcams.com/video/HEOL7xk9QGk/video.html
I can recall when I had my Supra coming up a fun little road in Edmonton Alberta called Groat Road. Ahead of me was a 3rd Gen Firechicken (Pontiac Firebird) and a 4cyl Ford Mustang SVO (These had a 2.3L turbo charged Lima engine) and the little Mustang absolutely destroyed the Firebird on that road. The factor in that exchange was that the Fox bodied Mustang had the SVO goodies and was able to go around corners at speed where the Pontiac struggled to keep it's rear end from becoming the front end. If you ever get the chance to drive an early 80's Ford SVO Mustang, do so they are a lot of fun, not dissimilar to the Merkur XR4ti the watered down North American market version of the awesome Sierra Cosworth. Great review Jack, and even though I kind of poo-pooed the Firebird they were an icon of the 80's and Tom has done an admirable job keeping his in lovely condition!! - Dave
And Ford had that in 1979! The pushrod 2.3 was a popular motor for all sorts of off-road racing classes, and had a lot of support from the aftermarket as well as SVO. Ultimately the advent of fuel injection and lessening tensions in the middle east brought back the V-8, but the turbo 4 was a great platform for its time. And today there's still a turbo 2.3 l 4-cylinder Mustang available for those who want better weight distribution over raw power.
@@StringerNews1 Absolutely, in fact I'm looking for a survivor Merkur XR4ti, the more I learn about these capable little cars, the more I kick myself for not buying one when they were new. This stings because I remember the Ford dealership in the town next to the one I lived in practically giving away both the Merkurs and the 1st gen Mustang SVO's. For some insane reason my 20-ish year old brain in 1986-88 thought you needed a minimum of 6 cylinders to have any chance at having power. V8's were better but were also priced way more than the 6's or 4's. Thankfully you can teach an old Sasquatch new tricks and I'm looking forward to turning wrenches on a little Lima 2.3 of my own someday!!
It's amazing what media placement does for a car, even a bad one. Grew up watching Smokey and the Bandit films and Knight Rider (and The A-Team and so on and so on) so Trans-Ams, Corvettes, Chargers and DeLoreans were the sort of cars everyone wanted. British TV generally showed things like Capris or Rover SD-1s which never seemed as aspirational at the time.
don’t forget the Fall Guy snd Convoy❤ 😂
@@zogzoogler Could go on all day with shows like Airwolf and Street-Hawk too, was trying to stick to ones with cars though. 😜
Sat here reading this wearing a bright orange T-shirt with 01 on it. You know the rest....
I disagree. I (along with many others) used to really dig the Capris and Consuls in the Professionals and the Sweeny and the greatest film cars of all time have to be James Bond's Aston martins although the ultimate car for me was his white Lotus Esprit.
@@Utopian_Turtletop-vn1iu Perhaps a generation thing, lets not Forget Roland the Rat’s pink Ford Anglia.🤣
That colour scheme owes itself to Smokey and the Bandit, which itself was inspired by JPS Lotus. East Bound & Down loaded up n truckin!
"I need a speedy car. Speedier than that"
Thanks Tom. A lovely car that still appeals to us all today.
‘KITT! I need you buddy!’
Be careful with that TURBO BOOST button
Terrible or not...beautiful car
Oh my, I just love that. Knight Rider was my favourite show as a kid. So cool to see one being kept in great shape - nice one Tom 👍
It's impossible to be objective about the Firebird, because it isn't just a car. For an entire generation, myself included, the Firebird is both a Superhero, and a fully accredited Film Star. Whenever I look at one, I see KITT, my childhood hero, and that's why I can't criticise the car. Because to do so would be churlish.
Knight rider historians channel they doing the trailer and tractor unit up
Also they got 2 original kitts too
A kid that I knew in college had one of these back in the day. Despite it being a brand new car, the thing went down the road like a bucket of bolts. Sadly all of that rattling managed to overshadow the V8’s exhaust note. Regardless, I can appreciate the fact that this particular example appears to be so well cared for.
I'll give you some first hand feedback. I bought an '88 IROC-Z Camaro brand new. It was a full on performance version with a hardtop, 5spd manual with LB9 305 V8 with 215 hp / 320 ft-lb, performace geared, posi rearend, and the big wheels, 4wheel disc brakes and the Goodyear Gatorback tires. I put 86k miles on it over 6 years of ownership with it being my only car for 2 years and me traveling across country several times for Navy training. The TPI is all about torque and revving past 4400 rpm was pretty useless. I found if I was above 2500 rpm there was no need to downshift. The wandering under braking is likely a loose idler arm. They are notorious for that. Handling is great with scary high levels of grip on smooth, dry pavement but the springs are too stiff due to the chassis being too flexible so it all goes "pear shaped" on poor pavement. The car's brakes fade easily and brake dive that makes the rear scary light is a major problem. On frosty pavement just lifting the throttle on a downhill corner will cause the rear to step out. You had to tread lightly in the rain or anything else slick or broken surfaced. Lots of fun, but you had to know it's limitations. We did a BC and Alberta Rockies vacation in that car. It absolutely loves mountain roads.
Our family had an 87 Formula with identical options. WS6 suspension option was an absolute blast on a twisty road, and a lightly breathed on 5.0 TPI could motivate it far faster than one would believe.
Sounds about right. I had an 89 IROC With the 5.7/ 245 hp. mine wasn't a hard top so the wet noodle feel was even worse than your rare hard top. Hard top even looked better than the glass. Glass leaked water in your lap when it rained. Even low milage cars would leak. Currently own a Scat Charger and it is pretty impressive with its performance tuning at your finger tips. fully adjustable electronic Bilstein's and so much more. I don't use half of it, I just mash the throttle and get results. Great road car too.
I have had 78 and 79 Trans Ams in Black and Gold.
They were Great cars and always recieved huge admiration when I drove them in london
Those big, simple low revving American cars suddenly make sense when you drive them in the states (apart from the crashy suspension).
The specific output of us engines was awful for the time, but remember they were set up for US emissions laws back then.
Yes, I imagine one with a stick could rev a bit higher than the automatics were set up for.
@@seed_drill7135 My 84 TA has the 5 speed transmission and the "High Output" 5.0L V8, it's quite revvy and feels just as fast as the 5.7L in my 87 GTA. And the manual adds so much fun.
@@Raptor3388 Our 87 Formula had the 5.0 TPI with the 5-speed. With simple mods (SLP stuff) it was properly quick and could go around a road course.
The 87 model with the 5.7 liter engine was reported doing 0-60 in 6.4 sec.
That sounds more like it. An 8-second 0-60 time sounds too slow.
I am a muscle car man first , and own a 4th Gen TA. Knight Rider is my fav TV programme ever and 3rd Gen is my child hood, Iroc Z also cool.
Yes interior and overhall not Euro quality, but when it comes to bang for your buck nothing comes close to Muscle.
And people turn heads when see them. Your review was good and honest
Credit there credit is due. The body lines of this car has aged very well. It has something going on there in that department. To bad that most American cars did not follow up on handling in those days.
Knight Rider Historians Official is the guy restoring the Cab and trailer.
It's good to see you review this, Jack, it feels like no one ever takes these cars seriously. I have a 1989 Camaro with the 5.7, I drive it all of the time. It is crashy and plagued by rattles and squeaks, especially from the t-tops, but it really is a lovely handling car. That feeling of it wanting to push wide is from the lack of rigidity in the chassis, it wasn't quite stiff enough factory, and there are braces you can weld in that do clear that sensation up and really balances it out. Even with my new steering box, it does feel vague on center but there's no wandering even under heavy braking. The one major fault these cars have is that without the bracing, the chassis flexing can crack behind the steering box, making the front feel really weird under hard cornering and can be tricky to repair.
One other note, the 5.0 Mustang of the era was it's chief competitor, and while a wonderful car, it didn't take to the corners so well, and it understeered like a cruise ship. You had to apply a lot of throttle to bring the back end around in those, and on track days they will eat through front tires like crazy. Still a really neat little car, the Mustang, though. It was a fair bit cheaper, and unlike the Camaro and Firebird, it's largest engine was available with a manual gearbox.
Tiny little correction: Pontiac was the performance division, not the more refined division. The Firebird was not so much a more refined version of the Chevrolet Camaro in the traditional sense of more luxurious interior, more options, and softer ride. It was a more complete performance package, with better aero, better handling, and one or two engine options above the Camaro (like the most powerful one of all, a 3.8L turbocharged Buick V-6).
General Motors' other divisions at the time this generation of the Firebird debuted were Oldsmobile, which was their technological division where they'd debut new features; Buick, which was the refined brand in the traditional sense, though not without performance vehicles; and Cadillac, which was of course the luxury division.
You mentioned the unusually early upshift, and that's most likely due to the automatic transmission. It was set up for the original 5.0L V-8, which had a redline at 4,500 RPM. As to the handling, that's more to the handling package. The Trans Am was actually only the middling trim. There were two handling packages above it, the WS6 and GTA, which both provided better handling, though maybe not on most English country roads.
Really fun review, though! I enjoy watching cars out of their elements almost as much as in them.
Thank you - Very interesting and informative.
I bought a 1984 trans am aero package 5 litre and a 5 speed t-5 manual trans ws6 package every package totally loaded car. The biggest piece of garbage that I ever owned!!! My uncle was a engineer for GM his hole life and I told him so. I kept it for three years and 37000 miles and traded it back to GM. GM threw the 1980's and 1990's built a lot of cheaper junk cars with big price tags for what they were.
As with many iconic cars these get spanked and disrespected and beat up more than they deserve. The basic shape is really gorgeous (I preferred them without the rear spoiler but I digress) I grew up with these cars and some were really crappy but some were absolutely magical. Depending on how well they were serviced and loved and how they were equipped they could really be pedestrian but they could also be beautiful and powerful. Isn't that true of any great car? A beautiful night, the car perfectly detailed, the T tops out, stereo playing your favorite song, your favorite companion beside you and that lovely V8 burble - my youth revisited! Thank you for doing this!
That is a very clean example of this car in your video! 👍🌟💯
I have one of these but a factory GTA 5.7 in the uk. With the LCD digital dash, LSD axle and short gear ratios. They can do 60 in the late 6 second range with that setup. If you mash the pedal it revs out to 6000 rpm before it shifts a gear. Mine has fully upgraded suspension, upper and lower strut braces, and it corners flat and fast.
As a boring fact du jour, my ex-wife lives next to Mr Hasslehoff's sister in law. Every now and again she sees him pop by.
I always loved these from watching them in American TV and Films. I'm a bit disappointed to hear about their dull 0-60 times for such big engines. They still look great though.
American V8's of the time are famous for converting energy into heat and sound without the unwanted byproduct called horsepower.
If you got these 80s Trans Ams with the V8 and the 5-speed, depending on the year the 0 to 60 times were between 6.5 and 7.5 seconds. That was a fast car in the 80s.
For comparison, I had a 1985 BMW 535i with a 5-speed that did 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds with its 182 horsepower. That made it about as fast as a 1983 Trans Am with the top spec 190 horsepower engine and the 5 speed, which cost far less than half as much.
What made these Camaros and Trans Am slow was the fact that most people got them with automatics. On the other hand, most people got the Mustang 5.0 with the manual transmission. I never quite understood why, but that's how it was.
They were not many European sports cars that could outrun a 5 liter Mustang with a manual transmission, both then and today.
I measured my 87 GTA 5.7L at 6.2s. It has headers and a few small suspension upgrades but the engine is stock.
It is never going to set the world on fire with performance or even warm the world for that matter. I don't care how bad it really is .... I will still watch the video. If this doesn't get mega views then there truly is a glitch in the matrix. Thanks for posting this, Jack.
Made my day seeing a Trans Am on your channel , I had a 1990 Trans Am GTA with the glass T Top , bought it new in the Middle East and kept it 17 Years, loved it , proper muscle car , I also had a 1980 Trans Am 6.6 with the T Top , loved that one as well , maybe you could road test one of those on your channel.
I own a '92 third gen Camaro and these cars are a lot of fun. They're not comparable to a modern car, they're cheap and cheerful and drastically different to anything on the road in the UK today. The shape, stance and slim, long profile just turns heads... and the incredible sound of the v8 kind of makes up for the low-revving, oldchool auto-box mushiness that these old American cars offer. Hard to find a pristine example these days.
It's too bad it's not a more original model, that bonnet was only on 82-84 Trans Ams and 87-92 Formulas.
But that's a great review. No needless bashing, just a honest feeling.
As the owner of two 3rd gen Trans Am (84 HO and 87 GTA 5.7L) it's all true. The 82-84 interior looks arguably sharper, with a lot more details, but it feels so much cheaper.
The one drawback is indeed, the steering box. It is a rather quick ratio of 2.5 lock to lock, so it's quite precise but it does feel antiquated for an 80's "high tech" sporty car. The Mustang had a steering rack since 1974.
They did upgrade the rear end a bit more than just the springs : it's linked with the transmission with a big torque arm, it has a panhard bar and two control arms.
Thank you for this video. Childhood toy car memory unlocked. Couldn't be all that bad - I read one internet article by a person whose first car was the unloved 2.5 big four Firebird - and he loved it, to the point that it was a benchmark for every car he later bought!
A T5 manual gearbox wakes these cars up quite a lot compared to the rather lethargic auto. Also, the ride improves considerably when you actually bother to grease all the suspension! The steering in my Camaro improved substantially when I used some Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak to soften all the gaskets in the steering box - all the slop disappeared. Those 17 inch wheels are just the wrong size and look lost in the arches - these cars look much better with a chunky sidewall! As for mid-corner understeer, I find judicious application of the throttle usually balances things out...
Great video and cool car. This car is from my generation. They were pretty cheap in the US, but were more than the 5.0 Fox Mustang. Street prices in 1988 on this car would be in the $16,500 range. Mustang 5.0 would be around $2500 less for the GT and a C4 Corvette would be roughly double the cost. For a European comparison, the Porsche 911 would have been a bit higher than $50k. I always like these 3rd gen cars since they are cheap and simple to maintain and still look cool at cars and coffee.
I used to have a 88 Camaro Z28 IROC-Z 5.0 TPi which is basically the same as this. Part of the 3rd gen family. Was actually a pretty good car and the handling was not too bad. I had a 150 hp Nitrous kit on mine which gave it a nice kick when needed. Mine had the PosiTrak rear end so you could light up both rear tyres and have a bit of fun.
Absolutely brilliant video jack waw ❤👍 takes me back to 1992 my cousin turned up at my house with one it had the firebird on the hood and was a 4.9 v8 the noise it made sounded like thunder and shook the whole house the drive of pontiac was fantastic nothing like I've ever driven in since what a beautiful car stunning brilliant
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching 👍
Great video as ever , thx for keeping it in the 10-15 min range! That way I always have time for it.
This was my boss old car we restored the body and he had the original engine rebuilt he didn’t get to use it as much as he liked. It got sold though a classic car auction in 2019. The reg is an abbreviation of company name.
Sadly the engine rebuild wasn’t up to it. There were cracks in the block and I had to buy a new engine. It worked out cheaper to put a new 5.7 litre in, than to try and find a replacement 5.0 block and do a refurb. The car only had less that 2000 miles since the rebuild.
@@tompaterson07 you’ve done what needed be done we didn’t now about the crack in block if we know with order on the same. the guy how did the engine for us had it for 3 years and change thousands in the end.
My Mercedes Sports Coupe C320 had a 3.2 V6 which made 215 hp. That did 0-60 in 8 seconds. It was a heavy car (for a 'Sports Coupe') and the weight really sapped the acceleration. I think that must have felt a lot like the Firebird, by the sounds of it. But the Merc did 25 to the gallon. With the Firebird being a 5.7L but still producing what my Merc made, the 'gas milage' must have been horrendous! Do love the shape of them though. Just a shame they were so lardy.
I have the Camaro and I got 28mpg on a run, now it’s 24 since I put more lively rear axle gears in
Why would gas mileage be worse because of lower power per capacity? I think you have thoroughly misunderstood some parts/got bad info from someone on how engines work, sadly.
that V8 sounds so creamy smooth!!
That's the same front camera angle when they filmed the hoff driving kitt around... Must have also had cameras stuck to the windscreen 😂. Nice work as always. ❤
Jack TYVM for showing us another beautiful car. I have several things to say, firstly the Firebird (regardless of trim) was NEVER a "sportscar". The Firebird has always been a "muscle car".
In 1987 my friend Ben's parents bought him a 86 Firebird, firemist burgundy with grey velour interior, 305 (5 liter) H.O. engine & 5 speed manual trans and although my 1985 Mustang GT convertible was MUCH faster with much better gas mileage, Ben's Firebird was like riding in the Batmobile. I used to stare at the stars thru the T-tops when we'd go night driving.
Getting a 86 to 89 Firebird is still on my dream list.
As for the car in this video, Tom's seats look brilliant but other than that, the car's been "hurt" by upgrading to the period instead of going modern but I'll refrain on being more critical.
My best bit of advice is, if Tom wants the car to be made "perfect", he should ship it to Trans AM Worldwide in Tallahassee, Florida.
Aaah this puts me back. My first ever copy of Autocar, way back in 1982, had a minor review of the Trans-Am\Camaro pair and for a thirteen year old, they looked great. Shame I binned that copy many years ago.
There's an abandoned KITT-modified Trans-Am parked a block away from my office (it's been there for years). I'm actually seeing it right now from my window. I wish I could upload the photo. So cool.
hi tom. you might want to adjust the transmission kickdown cable to shift at 4500rpm. at the shift recovery point it will be at the torque peak and be noticeably faster. and also beef it up with a B&M Transpack and a deep trans pan to hold more fluid. a 180deg thermostat helps. the 700 trans was very weak. these changes will make the trans last awhile longer.
❤❤❤❤❤there was a limited version Pontiac Firehawk with 300 horsepower. Great video thanks
I believe the third generation Firehawk actually has 350 horsepower.
The steering problem could be caused by the wheels. If you have a smaller ET on wide rims, the steering tends to be harder in the corners. That happens when the outer part of the rim is far away from the hub.
I have reverse rims on my car and have the same issue. To enlarge the carriage, spacers are a better option because you get wider hubs.
Just yesterday i was on the street with my jag and i saw a litteral convoy of legends... The DeLorean from Back to the Future, The car from Night Rider, with the wooshing red line on the front, General Lee and a Glorious Lancia Delta Integrale, Martini Racing, closing the parade.
Like Martin McFly's mom loved to say... IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE DREAM!
I almost missed my exit for honking and cheering at everybody in XD
Between 1992 and 1999 when I was in the UK I owned a 1989 GTA Trans Am, L98 350 motor. Black car with tan leather interior. It was truly a great car, only mod I made was fitting a Flowmaster exhaust system. It was imported into the UK brand new and I purchased it with less than 20k miles. It really did have some kick to it, the specialist I took it to felt it had been derestricted as it was an impressive drive.
Your description of American cars at the time was spot-on. Cheap interior, and often cheap suspension, but a lot of drama/style (Camaro, Corvette, and Mustang style, not Italian style) and torque for not a lot of money. They were also reliable, as you might expect from a V8 with less than 150 hp, and easy and cheap to maintain). The market was tested many times with Euro-like cars or Euro imports ('Merkur' by Ford, for example). It's only in the last decade or so that we (I'm Canadian) have rejected hard plastic and leaf springs. One other comment: Firebirds/Camaros were raced in an Indy Car/CART support class in the 1980's (and Indy Car was huge back then with Fittipaldi, Andretti, as well as Porsche, McLaren, Lola, and March). The Firebirds and Camaros could be made to go well around a track even if they didn't come that way from the dealer.
There are endless possibilities in terms of aftermarket upgrades to make it ride and handle properly
There are also endless opportunities to boost the performance of the engine. If you can write a big enough check a company like Detroit speed could make it faster on a track than many modern sports cars
I had an Opel Manta Berlinetta 2 litre as a youth. Basically the European equivalent of this car. The GM 70’s styling cues are all there. I loved that car, wish I still had it.
He was also the teacher in TV series The Wonder Years. His voice was unmistakable
I had a crush on Patricia McPherson who played the character Dr. Bonnie in Nightrider
In the early 90's I owned a '75 Firebird Formula 400 which I miss to this day. It fitted in around Oxfordshire beautifully, especially when i had it side piped !
I cannot get quite so excited with the 3 gen as I do with previous versions but that is down to age I think. Don't get me wrong I still like the shape of this car and it's overall styling. The 'computer styling' on the parts you mentioned is a nice touch. It still has a good sound though perhaps a little subdued? As you say this was the era of cheap cars in the USA but that had its advantages I think in terms of market share. Great review Jack and thanks to Tom for bringing the car for you to test. 👍👍
Loved Knight rider as a kid, once slipped outside and tried to carve a hood eagle in my father's Ford Cortina with a stone, seeing my pen didn't seem to work on the paint. When that didn't work I settled for carving some houses and trees into his side door. He wasn't too happy.
These were striking to look at. But back in 82 here in Australia I had a new Holden VH Group Three Brock Commodore. And it developed 252 hp from its 5 litre V8…with another 30 hp or more available if you optioned blueprinting and/or a 5.7 stroker kit. The contrast with the gen 3 Firebird output is stark. When I had mine, I drove an 80 gen 2 6.6 litre Firebird and could not believe how slow it was compared to my 5 litre Brock. I was so disappointed. And the Brock ran rings around the TA in handling. The GM performance car experience here was certainly way better than what GM offered in its home country….
Emission and fuel standards for domestic market influenced.
I had a 2nd generation 1976 Trans Am from 1996 - 2005. 400ci Ponitiac motor, 4 speed manual. The engine had been breathed on quite a bit. It drove like a big Mk2 Escort. Steering box was interesting, - when you see the American TV shows where the driver is always sawing at the wheel, that's not entirely an act. It was a job keeping the car in a straight line.
As an Italian American who now lives in the UK I welcome this addition to your content offering Jack. I moved to the US in the mid 80s as a teen and Firebirds, Trans Am's and its sister the Camaro (RS, Z28, berlinetta) were everywhere! I tend to disagree with the Knightrider connection. Perhaps it made the car famous outside the US but this car was not a great seller because of the show. As a matter of fact black was one of the least popular colours sold. I also don't believe and I'm almost certain the GTA was offered with the bonnet firebird emblem so something I've would of done without. Yeah these cars were built during the malaise era (74-86) of US automotive manufacturing with appalling quality issues. One classic is the famous headliner coming apart with non t-tops cars and that was only a few years after new. However, following most people's sentiment here they do still look so good especially today among the vast expanse of soulless modern vehicles. Thank you!
There is a reason many American enthusiasts added subframe connectors, strut braces and replaced the links in the rear suspension.
I'm with Sammy Hagar:"I can't drive, 55".
Nice car. Great vid
Pontiac did great in sales in the 70s and 80s thanks to movies and TV
My favorite car growing up. I thought it had such a beautiful sleek design. I loved the two-toned black/tan ones.
Brilliant video, put a smile on my face.
Thanks dude and glad you’re still watching my vids!
@@Number27 Of course, they are a weekly look forward to.
Always remember going on a family fly drive hols to Florida in the early 90s and seeing lots of these leave the rental car depot with Brits who'd watched Knight Rider
Say what you will about the engine, power, torque, fueling, transmission, chassis, suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, interior, dashboard, steering wheel, safety, comfort, performance, handling, road holding, acceleration, aerodynamics, feel, etc.
The overall shape of this thing is amazing.
I can't help but like this car has loads of charisma, passion, feel-good factor so what if it has imperfections that's part of the appeal really like the beautifully sculpted styling this must be a great cruiser! on vacation in the USA!
So here in the states 3rd gen f-body (the chassis is referred too as F-body) isn’t thought of as a sporting car, it’s used to go drag racing if anything. They are raced on road courses though but in order to do so you must get chassis reinforcement bars welded on to stiffen the car, a quicker steering rack is installed, you must replace ALL the suspension and even get stronger control arms and links and swaybars but then you need to reinforce all the mounting points or the stiff new suspension will tear from the chassis. The rear end needs to be swapped for C4 corvette IRS and then the diff needs to be replaced with an LSD unit. The driveshaft and carrier needs to be upgraded next, the trans needs to be replaced with a nicer feeling unit like a tr6060 or something like that and the engine needs to be replaced with an LS or newer LT Unit as the original 5.0 or 5.7 will be trash. The interior needs to be taken apart and reinstalled with rubber gaskets and silicone to prevent all the squeaks and rattles. As you can see it’s much easier to just get a proper car to start with.
- An American person
I don’t care about its performance, handling or poor build quality. The sleek and beautiful design, the v8 engines with magnificent sounds, t-tops and the pop-up headlights make this car a real legend for me.
When I was 17 my family did our ‘European Vacation’ tour. I was car crazy and loving seeing the Porsches, BMWs etc in their natural habitat. We were in Switzerland and in the town square was a massive crowd gathered around a car that I couldn’t see…I thought, this must be great…Ferrari, RUF, what could it be? When I worked my way through the crowd, I was devastated to find a black and gold, screaming chicken Smokey Trans Am. I lost all respect for the Euro folk crowded around the dinosaur!!
I saw a lovely black face lifted Esprit with no rear wing recently and thought it would make an amazing KITT update with some red LEDs in the front
I've driven press pool 3rd gen, both Camaro & Trans Am, and I found them to be crashy rattle buckets. I much prefer the 2nd gen Trans Ams. I had a '76 with north of 7.5 litres and not stock. The car felt like a Mercedes compared to the 3rd gen cars I've driven.
As regards to the car featured here, the Saginaw steering box is adjustable. On the alloy to cover there's a stud and a lock nut that allows for adjustment. The service manual will have info. If the excess play can't be taken out, then it will need to be pulled and rebuilt.
The GMC tractor unit, the original trailer and two of the original filming Pontiac’s from Knight Rider are in the hands of Knight Rider Historians. The tractor unit & trailer are indeed undergoing restoration. The historians CZcams channel is worth a watch if you grew up watching Knight Rider. I was 14 at the time.
Jim Rockford, and Michael Knight, drove these "yank tanks" back in the day, and many of us young blokes all hankered for a Trans Am "Pontie". Oh for those days of massive engine capacity with minimal horsepower output. Nice one Jack.
This exact car was my dream as a teenager. I still want one but good examples are pretty rare and expensive now.
Love to see you testing a mr2 mk3 as I am restoring one.
I owned one of these for years James,up to about 2006,it was a great car,very much of its time,it was solid,soaked up the bumps,was very comfortable and you could drive it for miles and get out as fresh as a daisy,it handled well for a big car and was no slouch,pulled like a train low down,they were cheap reliable cars for everyday people and it was very reliable, apart from the looks there's a reason these cars were very popular indeed.
All of the shakes and rattles and instability are the result of age and improper maintenance. I've driven a low mileage one that was perfect, and it was incredible. It was quiet and stable at 150mph. At least no27 is better than JM, who is surprised that a 60s muscle car doesn't drive like a modern car.
good stuff Jack 👍
Owned an 84 TA with the WS6 package new. It was a great car. Bought it for $17.7k in 84 taxes in here in Ontario and sold it after 15 years for $3k, not a good family car :-). My wife cried when we sold it.
I would love GM to bring back the Trans Am. I’d buy a v8 Pontiac in a heartbeat. Might as well have that as perhaps my last car seeing that that 84 Trans Am was my first. It would bracket my life wonderfully and I’m sure my wife would love having one in the garage again.
The horsepower figures for those GM V8's gives some perspective on criticisms of European cars of the time. You read about how slow 2-valve Ferrari 308's and Mondials were, then you realize that even then they were getting 200hp from a 3 liter V8, whereas 5-liter Camaros and Corvettes were only putting out 170.
apples and oranges comparison. The Ferrari is an aluminum dohc high revving engine while the chevy 305 is a further development of the original chevy small block from 1955 with a very simple mono injection system
@@chrisxa1222 And the 170hp was the grocery getter engine, not the performance version.
My brother has a 240hp Mondial and I have a 240hp Trans Am GTA, weight is about the same, the Ferrari has a hard time keeping up.
@@chrisxa1222 By the early 1980s, most European auto manufacturers had adopted fuel injection in order to meet stricter emission standards which meant that engines were able to run cleaner and still produce 'generous' power/torque figures. US auto manufactuers were very slow in adopting more sophisticated fuel delivery systems - perfering the cheaper 'band-aid' solution of cabys, small valves, mild cam profiles, air pumps and exhaust gas recirculation - that resulted in large capacity V8s with 4 cylinder type power outputs. Looking back, I'm still astounded at the action of the US auto manufacturers - especially when you consider the resources they had available. I can only summise that the US auto marketers and bean-counters were in total control - and the engineers were sadly left to languish in the basement.
@@georgebettiol8338 I think you are wrong. in the early 80s most European manufacturers still relied on carburetors. Fuel injection was reserved for higher end models .Most European cars didnt even have catalytic converters until the early 90s.Non of these engines could pass american without significant power loses. Also there was no 4 NA cylinder in the world that could match the base 305 which was 170hp and 350Nm torque
@@chrisxa1222Most European sports cars, or at least the sporty versions of ordinary cars, had fuel injection by the early eighties, which is the type of car we’re taking about here. Perhaps the closest comparisons in size and concept to the Trans Am would be the Ford Sierra XR4i (150bhp from 2.8 Litres) and Opel Monza (180 bhp from 3.0 litres).
If it used to have netted head rests... Then those were Recaro Milano's.. a popular seat for special edition models, the MR2 had a secialedition with those as well as the Alfa GTV6 8 believe.
Am I crazy or is that the same exact stretch of road that Harry's Garage always tests his cars on?
Knight rider was unbelievably cool, there's nothing on TV now for a car lover.
I used to have a performance car comparison website and also have owned 3 Camaro's in my time. This Pontiac with a 5.7 TPi engine originally had around 220-225bhp and would get to 60 in around 6.5-6.8 seconds, not 8 seconds. I'm in the UK BTW.
Only the USA could manage to squeeze out so little HP from such large engines
how about the Europeans ,do you even understand what power cars in Europe had at that time not to mention in Europe there were no emission rules.
It was our strict emissions requirements.
@@jamesengland7461 I don't think people understand how much hp you can get from those engines once you remove the emission crap
For '88, Jag was only at 260 from a 5.3 v12.....
@@my1vice and abysmal gas mileage and reliability. Americans often swapped the V12 for a Chevy 350 with vast improvements in weight, balance, mileage, reliability, proper cooling, and cheap performance potential.
TY J! 🙏🙏