[grrr421]

So I have had a. 65 , 66, and a 70 A body. Thinking about a70 Trans am or Firebird . Who has had both and what did you like about one vs the other ?

[Bruce Meyer]

Originally Posted by grrr421

So I have had a. 65 , 66, and a 70 A body. Thinking about a70 Trans am or Firebird . Who has had both and what did you like about one vs the other ?

Having owned several A bodies and 2nd gen F bodies. I can say that the f body handles better than the A body but the A body is more comfortable in ride and interior roominess. The A body feels more solid than the F body probably due to its full frame. I had a 71 TA and A 79 TA. The 71 was a bit more rickety than the 79. 79 had a better ride but did not handle as well as the 71. Its all trade offs.
Now I only own A bodies. Im old now and like the more comfortable A body.

[Blued and Painted]

The 2 gen f-bodys are more nimble and less boat like in stock form. Although depending on options they can weigh about the same.

Without exception, if i invite someone into the garage, they wont even notice the formula and stay fixated on the gto. Possibly because its only a formula. Or that the 68/69 gto's are the meanest looking car ever produced. JMO.

[Formulajones]

I still own both A and F bodies (F-bodies in 1st and 2nd gen). Drive them frequently. Like mentioned, I like the A-bodies for the extra room inside, much larger trunk. A lot easier and less headache to throw the cooler and lawn chairs in and any other extras I may pack.
The F-bodies aren't all that great for trunk space. 2 or 3 lawn chairs and then the cooler has to go in the back seat. And when you have passengers like I do then that poses a bit of a problem.

As far as driving, they all handle just fine, far better than I'm capable of pushing any of them so I don't really concern myself with that too much. I love driving any of them up through the twisty mountains so I don't really have a preference.

Ride quality, the A-body is definitely much softer. Most likely due to it being a little heavier and the fact that it has a 4 link coil style rear suspension verses leaf springs.

As far as attention, that depends on the type of A or F body in question.

I've also owned my fair share of X-bodies. A real favorite to me due to the smaller size similar to an F-body but the X-body has the trunk space similar to an A-body.

[400 Lemans]

I have owned both but if you have to work under the dash, you will be glad you got an A-body.

[HWYSTR455]

I have one of each, a 71 A body, and a 71 F body. I've had the F body since '81, (A body since '91), and have ironed out max handling and ride comfort by trial and error. It by far out handles the A body, and inspires more driver confidence. It is much lighter than the A body, by like 300-400 lbs. And the A body is setup with the best suspension parts just shy of an aftermarket frame. (I've embarrassed many exotics and factory performance cars with it)

Limited trunk space and no practical way to carry passengers in the rear are the biggest drawbacks. The way it drives and handles make up for that IMO. The F body corners so flat, and can be dialed so neutral it's amazing, I can't think of many cars that feel the way they do driving.

Back seats in a 2nd gen are basically only to carry bodies in a pinch, so one should really not consider it as a 4 person car. It's kind of like saying the same of a 'vette, can't carry 4 people, but you don't hear 'vette owners complaining about that do you?

Which is better? It's a matter of taste/opinion.

There's way more performance parts for 2nd gens, and to me, the styling of the 70-73s are one of the best looking cars of that time, or even now for that matter. Many have pushed testing parts/configs on that platform, tons of R&D, so it's easy to find a 'recipe' for them.

.

[Formulajones]

Actually you do hear people complain about vettes. I was a multiple vette owner and our biggest complaint was no back seat Fun for errands but family activities made them useless.

But I'm different then most. We actually drive our cars,,,daily, use them for vacation trips, long hauls, and yes we haul the family in the back of those 2nd gen F-bodies. Once you're in it's really not that bad. My son likes the 1st gen F-body better, you sit up a little higher, he has his own window that rolls down, and he can see better all around as well. Just 2 weekends ago we piled my son and 4 adults in that thing and went on a road trip, lol.

Actually I see it as no different then when I grew up in the back of these things. I think I turned out okay...er uh, well....
Back then they were family cars, and I still use them as such.

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, my 'bird was a daily driver too, and had many in the back seat, long trips too, beach, camping, etc, but it wasn't fun for whoever sat in the back.

Growing up my kids sat in the back, and every time I whipped it around a turn, could hear my son hit his head on the roll bar, sounded like a coconut, poor kid. but he turned out fine too!

I can see where the 1st gens were better, in the back, for passengers. And yeah, family cars, you drove what you had, basically, me too.

But these days, I have a choice, so if I wanted to take a classic out for a ride, and have more than 2 people, I choose the a body. Well, mainly because at the moment I don't have a choice! The 'bird is a stalled project at the moment, but I'm going to get on that as soon as I'm done with the tribute project.

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[MD79TA]

Had both over the years and just recently sold our 79 TA 400 4 speed. It had the ws6 handling package so it did handle well in corners. I will tell you that I also owned 98 to 02 trans am ( fast cars) My biggest problems with these f body's are t tops leak. All of them . You might find one out of a hundred that don't but they leaked right off the show room floor. Also the length of the doors. If your in mordern tight parking lot plan on climbing out your window. Also if big HP your going to twist the frame ( UNI body not full frame) which leads to more problems but this can be eliminated with welded in connectors . This is my opinion only? I really like the trans am but getting older and I love the ride in gto. Doug

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by Blued and Painted

Or that the 68/69 gto's are the meanest looking car ever produced. JMO.

[Schurkey]

Second-Gen "F" body front suspension and chassis, married to a coil-spring/control arm rear suspension. On the surface, this argues for a '73-'77 "A" body, or the downsized '77-up B body; but they're wildly overweight. Among my disappointments with GM is that they inflicted leaf springs on the F and X body, and the '66--70 "E" body.

Since it's impractical to add the entire 2Gen "F" front suspension to a '72 or older "A" body, I'll take the "A", with aftermarket improvement. Which is fairly easy considering how much interchangeability there is in the GM vehicles.

[PDC]

A good pair of subframe connectors will address most of the issues related to squeaks, creaks, rattles, frame twist, and leaky T-Tops. My 73 Brewster car felt like a rattle trap when I got it. I installed urethane body mounts and SF connectors and the difference in ride quality and overall 'feel' was night and day.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by MD79TA

Also the length of the doors. If your in mordern tight parking lot plan on climbing out your window.

YES!! Something I didn't mention. The doors on those darn 2nd gen F-bodies are huge and heavy. With todays tiny parking spots it's about useless to park the car there. Both my A-body and my 1st gen F-body are much more forgiving with shorter doors.

It's a small detail but a good point worth bringing up.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by MD79TA

Had both over the years and just recently sold our 79 TA 400 4 speed. It had the ws6 handling package so it did handle well in corners. I will tell you that I also owned 98 to 02 trans am ( fast cars) My biggest problems with these f body's are t tops leak. All of them . You might find one out of a hundred that don't but they leaked right off the show room floor. Also the length of the doors. If your in mordern tight parking lot plan on climbing out your window. Also if big HP your going to twist the frame ( UNI body not full frame) which leads to more problems but this can be eliminated with welded in connectors . This is my opinion only? I really like the trans am but getting older and I love the ride in gto. Doug

I must have had that one out of a hundred We owned 4 of the 4th gens. 2 convertables and 2 T-tops. I never had a single issue with leaking T-tops...ever (never cared to take those stupid things out either). But if making a choice we preferred the convertables. Yes the doors on those are long, just like 2nd gens. Got sick of the 4th gens though, wife didn't want to drive them anymore. She's now in a 1st Gen F-body and happier than a camel on Wednesday. I'll stick to driving the 2nd gen for transportation since I pretty much avoid parking lots so it works for me.

[grrr421]

i cant stand to park in a parking lot so I tend to just drive or walk from the back corner so doors are not a problem LOL .

[West Coast GTO]

Had both a 73 Formula 400 and a 73 Trans Am as well as a 70 455 GTO and current GTO is a 71 455.
Both the F body Firebirds handled much better than the comparable third generation Corvettes I have owned( two 69's and one 75) and were more comfortable than the GTO's or Corvettes. The 73 T/A Buccaneer Red with hood decal garnered the most attention.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by grrr421

i cant stand to park in a parking lot so I tend to just drive or walk from the back corner so doors are not a problem LOL .

Yep, something we have in common

[Squidward]

I will be excited to find out. I have owned a number of 2nd gens, and loved them all. I prefer them over 1st gens. I currently have my first a body, and I am excited to see how it stacks up once i get it driveable. Space in the a body stands out above everything. 2nd gens handle nice.

[taalltheway]

Simple...you need both...

[tpssonic]

"could hear my son hit his head on the roll bar, sounded like a coconut, poor kid. but he turned out fine too!"

That was way too funny this early in the morning. Good one!