Alright so we’ve been busy doing stuff with the house, but in the interim the boss and I were on the hunt for a new addition to the garage. It’s something she’s always wanted and something I’ve been particularly interested in myself.
So, the search began for a 98-02 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6.
We test drove a 2000, but it was a bit of a wreck and the guy refused to move on the price. He was pretty interesting. He was really excited about how clean the oil was in his car, and repeatedly pulled the dipstick and wiped it off with his fingers. Any time we would address another issue with the vehicle; be it cosmetic or something not working properly, he would return to the dipstick and point out just how clean the oil was. No problem, he didn’t need her money.
The next car we looked at was a 2002 Collector Edition. These were the last Firebirds to ever roll off the factory line from what we understand. The car is in incredible shape. No cracked dash, the seats are in great shape, carpet, etc.
The guy we bought it from bought it approximately a year ago, but had not ever registered it or driven it. He said he just parked it and put some Sta-Bil in there. As such, he was not necessarily aware of any issues aside from a squeak on the passenger side, but based on how clean everything was and the overall condition of the car, she knew it was the one.
Bought the car, brought it home and the boss has been ecstatic.
On the way home the service engine light came on. Codes PO154, PO300, PO135 and PO155. Basically O2 sensor codes, a random misfire code, and a “powertrain†code. Meh.
Further inspection of the “random†misfire (using the Torque app and a Bluetooth scanner) showed that all the cylinders missed occasionally, but number six missed a LOT.
So, here’s what we’ve done so far… There will be more pics to follow:
This was us looking at the car. The big guy is our body who has owned about 2 dozen F-Bodies, and the Boss made an appearance.
First picture I took of it in our driveway!
Couple engine pics. Sorry it was dark out!
So, first day I had to get to work. On the drive home (in the dark) we noticed the passenger side headlight and fog-light were out, and the pop up headlight rode up on the hood on the driver’s side so it would not open all the way. Pop ups are a huge pain but so cool at the same time.
So, first thing was replacing the passenger bulbs, and then adjusting the driver’s light assembly:
Yay working lights and brights!!
Yay working fog lights too! All the lights need to be aimed, but right now we were looking for function first. Finesse later.
The rain kept interrupting our plans.
Next step was getting the brakes done. I knew there was a brake related noise and we needed to address it. I got the rotors all taped up. I usually do this and paint them black so they don’t get all rusty. In the future we can upgrade to better pads and rotors, for now we needed something on the car.
You can tell it’s been sitting. Look at these weird egg things.
Got the pads out; and just take a look at old to new. Every single pad was pretty much down to the metal. My guess is the guy who sold it to the guy we bought it from, did one serious burnout before selling it. That and it’s possible they were original pads at 125k. They were GONE needless to say.
Here’s the brake fluid that came out. It could still probably take some more flushing, but for now I am sure what we did is better than what was in there. I will be able to do a better job with some speed bleeders in place. They were out of stock and brakes were a huge priority.
While the car was up for the brakes I got under it to see just what kind of exhaust it had, because I knew it was throaty. Turns out it has long tube headers back to straight pipes. No cats, no mufflers, no resonators, just pipe. It does some weird bendy stuff by the axle but I guess that is probably normal on these cars. WOOT!
Next I went ahead and got the fuel filter changed. Figured I couldn’t go wrong with an AC Delco filter, and it probably needed some love:
This is the fuel from the filter. NICE!
Next on the agenda were the spark plugs. I have always heard the old fable of how terribly impossible these plugs are to do. I guess not having EGR and having LT headers made it really easy? I am not sure. The plugs were a breeze, did the first 7 from the top and number 8 from the bottom. The ones that came out were Autolite Iridiums. Well, seven of them were. Number 8 (the one everyone cries about) was a factory AC Delco. NICE! All of the plugs were gapped over 60, besides the AC Delco which was at 40. I put NGK TR5 plugs in and they were all gapped at 40 and I used an untold amount of ant seize. Some pics:
I am not an expert on reading spark plugs, but they all looked about the same. I think it’s probably running well?
None of the wires appeared to be burned through or anything, which is a plus! MSD wires will be going on when they get here with some dielectric grease. Getting the old wires off was not easy, so that should help.
Next on the agenda are the O2 sensors. I ordered Denso sensors because that is apparently all the AC Delco sensors are.
We ordered O2 extensions just in case the new sensors are not long enough for the headers. Someone put in sensors with about 18 feet of cable and it’s all bundled up under the car. No thanks.
I will also be doing an oil change and adding a Fumoto valve on the pan to preserve the threads and make oil changes even easier.
Hopefully all of these little things will clear up the codes and make it so I feel comfortable with her out driving around reliably!
Hoping to have it on the rollers this weekend at a car show to see what it puts down!
Future plans:
Probably keeping it mostly stock because it is the collector’s edition, but we can play that by ear.
Tie rods will probably go soon. It would not surprise me if the clutch is going to need an overhaul soon. If it does, we may let someone rebuild the T56 and beef it up a bit.
The passenger window motor is on its way out, but that’s a huge issue with these cars so I expect that.
I discovered today that the door key holes are not the same as the ignition, we will need to either re-key them all the same, or at least get door keys for when the remote does not cooperate.
The speakers are pretty much blown. Eventually we will probably just replace them, no crazy system or anything.
So, that’s where we’re at. Hope you guys like it!
So, the search began for a 98-02 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6.
We test drove a 2000, but it was a bit of a wreck and the guy refused to move on the price. He was pretty interesting. He was really excited about how clean the oil was in his car, and repeatedly pulled the dipstick and wiped it off with his fingers. Any time we would address another issue with the vehicle; be it cosmetic or something not working properly, he would return to the dipstick and point out just how clean the oil was. No problem, he didn’t need her money.
The next car we looked at was a 2002 Collector Edition. These were the last Firebirds to ever roll off the factory line from what we understand. The car is in incredible shape. No cracked dash, the seats are in great shape, carpet, etc.
The guy we bought it from bought it approximately a year ago, but had not ever registered it or driven it. He said he just parked it and put some Sta-Bil in there. As such, he was not necessarily aware of any issues aside from a squeak on the passenger side, but based on how clean everything was and the overall condition of the car, she knew it was the one.
Bought the car, brought it home and the boss has been ecstatic.
On the way home the service engine light came on. Codes PO154, PO300, PO135 and PO155. Basically O2 sensor codes, a random misfire code, and a “powertrain†code. Meh.
Further inspection of the “random†misfire (using the Torque app and a Bluetooth scanner) showed that all the cylinders missed occasionally, but number six missed a LOT.
So, here’s what we’ve done so far… There will be more pics to follow:
This was us looking at the car. The big guy is our body who has owned about 2 dozen F-Bodies, and the Boss made an appearance.
First picture I took of it in our driveway!
Couple engine pics. Sorry it was dark out!
So, first day I had to get to work. On the drive home (in the dark) we noticed the passenger side headlight and fog-light were out, and the pop up headlight rode up on the hood on the driver’s side so it would not open all the way. Pop ups are a huge pain but so cool at the same time.
So, first thing was replacing the passenger bulbs, and then adjusting the driver’s light assembly:
Yay working lights and brights!!
Yay working fog lights too! All the lights need to be aimed, but right now we were looking for function first. Finesse later.
The rain kept interrupting our plans.
Next step was getting the brakes done. I knew there was a brake related noise and we needed to address it. I got the rotors all taped up. I usually do this and paint them black so they don’t get all rusty. In the future we can upgrade to better pads and rotors, for now we needed something on the car.
You can tell it’s been sitting. Look at these weird egg things.
Got the pads out; and just take a look at old to new. Every single pad was pretty much down to the metal. My guess is the guy who sold it to the guy we bought it from, did one serious burnout before selling it. That and it’s possible they were original pads at 125k. They were GONE needless to say.
Here’s the brake fluid that came out. It could still probably take some more flushing, but for now I am sure what we did is better than what was in there. I will be able to do a better job with some speed bleeders in place. They were out of stock and brakes were a huge priority.
While the car was up for the brakes I got under it to see just what kind of exhaust it had, because I knew it was throaty. Turns out it has long tube headers back to straight pipes. No cats, no mufflers, no resonators, just pipe. It does some weird bendy stuff by the axle but I guess that is probably normal on these cars. WOOT!
Next I went ahead and got the fuel filter changed. Figured I couldn’t go wrong with an AC Delco filter, and it probably needed some love:
This is the fuel from the filter. NICE!
Next on the agenda were the spark plugs. I have always heard the old fable of how terribly impossible these plugs are to do. I guess not having EGR and having LT headers made it really easy? I am not sure. The plugs were a breeze, did the first 7 from the top and number 8 from the bottom. The ones that came out were Autolite Iridiums. Well, seven of them were. Number 8 (the one everyone cries about) was a factory AC Delco. NICE! All of the plugs were gapped over 60, besides the AC Delco which was at 40. I put NGK TR5 plugs in and they were all gapped at 40 and I used an untold amount of ant seize. Some pics:
I am not an expert on reading spark plugs, but they all looked about the same. I think it’s probably running well?
None of the wires appeared to be burned through or anything, which is a plus! MSD wires will be going on when they get here with some dielectric grease. Getting the old wires off was not easy, so that should help.
Next on the agenda are the O2 sensors. I ordered Denso sensors because that is apparently all the AC Delco sensors are.
We ordered O2 extensions just in case the new sensors are not long enough for the headers. Someone put in sensors with about 18 feet of cable and it’s all bundled up under the car. No thanks.
I will also be doing an oil change and adding a Fumoto valve on the pan to preserve the threads and make oil changes even easier.
Hopefully all of these little things will clear up the codes and make it so I feel comfortable with her out driving around reliably!
Hoping to have it on the rollers this weekend at a car show to see what it puts down!
Future plans:
Probably keeping it mostly stock because it is the collector’s edition, but we can play that by ear.
Tie rods will probably go soon. It would not surprise me if the clutch is going to need an overhaul soon. If it does, we may let someone rebuild the T56 and beef it up a bit.
The passenger window motor is on its way out, but that’s a huge issue with these cars so I expect that.
I discovered today that the door key holes are not the same as the ignition, we will need to either re-key them all the same, or at least get door keys for when the remote does not cooperate.
The speakers are pretty much blown. Eventually we will probably just replace them, no crazy system or anything.
So, that’s where we’re at. Hope you guys like it!
