[Turbo Indian]

wife is wanting a early 2nd gen. this will be her daily driver. I don't know enough about them to make a good decision. what years are better? does the T/A in these years handle better than a formula or a firebird? any & all info would be greatly appreciated.

[Turbo Indian]

wife is wanting a early 2nd gen. this will be her daily driver. I don't know enough about them to make a good decision. what years are better? does the T/A in these years handle better than a formula or a firebird? any & all info would be greatly appreciated.

[Brewster]

If your wife is anything like mine it does'nt matter as long as the color is right.

The real question is motor/trans, and what year look she likes.
Also how shes going to drive it ? Manual in LA might burn her out.
Let her pick color and year (for the look) and help out with motor/trans.
Just a thought.

[poncho-mike]

For drivers, my favorites are the early 70s Formulas. I drove a 73 Formula 400 and a 75 Formula 400 as primary transportation for about 15 years. I had great service out of both of them.

The sway bars are a little smaller and the ride may not be quite as harsh. For a woman driver, you might want to stay away from the later WS6 suspensioned cars because the springs are stiffer than the Formula.

Mike

[rolling money pits]

from my limited knowledge....

73 might be a year to avoid, simply from the standpoint there were several unique features(one year only stuff) to the front end that might make finding parts difficult. read; expensive.

depending on what your looking to spend, a t/a i would think would be most expensive, followed by a formula. ram air cars, obviously, will command more.

are you planning on getting a car already restified, or fixing it up yourself?

rust is a major issue on these, just about everywhere. common places are typical, rear of front fenders, lower cowl and windshield frame, just about everywhere on the rear quarters, trunk floor and rockers. do not forget the rear subframe and front spring perch mounts.

depending on how much you wanna spend, you can make the car ride as soft, or as firm, as you desire what with all the aftermarket suspension components. for rear springs, go with eatons, per this board they appear to the best and most "costomizable" to a car.

keep in mind only cars that came factory equipped with a rear sway bar will have the mounting provision on the subframe for the upper link mount. just drilling into the frame will NOT work. *ahem* as i can attest to.

[Turbo Indian]

as for the drivetrain (I know let's hear it) will be a Buick turbo v6 with a 200r4 trans., and the reason for that is I can tune it to get 25+ mpg. also she is use to driving a car with this power plant. I hope this don't stop the replys comming, I know people think I'm not replying to somone that is going to deface a Pontiac!
Poncho-mike are you going to get a chance to make it to farmington dragway 6-26-05 for the B.O.P. event?

[Squidward]

Although this forum section is for 70-73, I would make a case for 77-79. They were very plentiful, had some killer styling, T-tops were available, and could be had with other features such as 4 wheel discs. Parts seem to be much more available in junkyards and parts cars.

Since you have plans for an economical drivetrain, I think that the late 2nd gens are the best choice for the style points.

And ditto what was said about 73's being oddballs for their 1 year only stuff!

[Jeff R]

Heed Squidward's wisdom, especially if you'll be swapping the motor & trans. 73's do have quite a few unique parts, followed closely by 70's. 77-79 cars and parts are vastly more available due to the huge numbers produced. Handling-wise a TA will corner the best, but putting a 6-banger(turbo or not) into one would be just plain silly. Early TA's and Formula's are higly collectible, and it would be a shame not to preserve what few remain. Being that it will be a daily driver you would want it to be as safe as possible as well, and in general the later the bird the safer they are.

[Turbo Indian]

she pretty much has her mind made up on the 70-73. my personal oppinion is the 74-76 were the ugliest years (but that's me). she is wanting somthing that has good handling, great apperance. it will most likly use some aftermarket parts (suspention) to upgrade the30+ year old stuff.

[racerboy]

Turbo,
You didn't specify your price range. Like Jeff said, the early TAs are skyrocketing in the collector market, and I would imagine the Formulas are right behind. I would sugest finding a Firebird and restify it into one of the more desirable models.

Good luck!
Frank

[rolling money pits]

if thats the case, if i were you, i would search for the least rusted bare bones firebird from 70/71/72.

contact global west for front suspension and eaton spring for the rear.

most of the other cosmetic goodies can be had repro or after market. spoilers, interior stuff, sway bars, valence panel, sheet metal if needed, etc. the dashboard, if not in already good shape, will be the most expensive single interior part. in my expirience only the black ones survive the years, just about every colored one has cracked into oblivion.

there might be an issue with frame mounts for the v6, but i imagine some buick enthusiast place out there makes them for 2nd gen f-bodies.

[Turbo Indian]

I've been looking aroud & I've found rust free cars that need restified for 2-3k. as for the mounts I made the ones in my 67, I can fab. up most of the stuff needed. the only thing I don't have the patiants for, is body work that gets subed out.