1987 Firebird Formula: 1987 was the first year for the third generation Formula, and it was the first year the 5-speed manual transmission was available with the TPI engine. I'm the original owner of this car. It was spec'd by me, special-ordered in 10/86, built in 12/86(not a 'California Emissions' car) at the Norwood plant during the plant's final year of operation, and delivered on 1/6/87. It was my daily driver for 9 years(1987-1996); I parked it for the next 5 years(1996-2001); and since 2001, it's been my "weekend" car.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU who visit these pages and post your nice comments. I really appreciate it, and I enjoy checking-out your rides too. I wish I could respond to all the great cars I see on your pages, but everytime I try to, I get a strange "error" message, and my comments won't post. I've tried and tried to get this corrected, but it just won't work. So I wanted you to know that I appreciate all the work and care you put into your own cars. Thanks again for visiting, Tim. :)
PAGE 1: Formula
PAGE 2: Current Set-Up
PAGE 3: Future Upgrades/Changes
PAGE 4: My black 2006 Nissan Frontier
AND MORE THANKS to some excellent third generation Camaro/Firebird parts suppliers for the personal help they provide above and beyond their business. All of them love and own thirdgens themselves, and they're great guys to work with. I've provided a link to each of them(and all the companies mentioned in these pages) in my "Favorite Links." Contact them for your needs:
Lon Salgren owns TDS(Top Down Solutions) in Hacienda Heights, east of LA. Lon not only sells upgraded parts, but he designs and fabricates them himself.
Thomas Cox(TRC when he answers the phone) owns House of Camaro in the west San Fernando Valley. Tom dismantles thirdgens, reconditions the parts for purchasing.
Dave Staubli(also known as IROCZDAVE) owns Third Generation USA in Ramona, CA, which is close to the San Diego area. Dave offers excellent, reconditioned, hard-to-find, pre-owned thirdgen parts.
Angel owns TPIParts.net in Miami, FL. He offers new GM/ACDelco parts for thirdgens and 4thgens, many of which are getting extremely difficult to find.
We've got some really cool mountains in the deserts surrounding the Los Angeles area, ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 feet. There are a lot of great picture spots along the routes, too, as you'll see here. So I hope you'll enjoy your visit.
RPOs(from window sticker and dealer invoice):
AO1 Glass, All Windows, Soft Ray Tinted
A31 Power Windows
A90 Deck Lid Release, Remote Control
B20 Luxury Trim Group: Luxury Seats, Front and Rear w/Cloth Trim(rear map pockets), Deluxe Seat Belts, Luxury Doors(commonly known as "GTA" door panels), Split Folding Rear Seat, Metal/Cloth Dash Speaker Grilles
B34 Mats, Carpet Front Floor
B35 Mats, Carpet Rear Floor
B84 Moldings, Body Side
CC1 Locking Hatch Roof - Removeable(T-Tops)
CD4 Windshield Wipers, Cont. Cycle
C49 Defogger, Elec. Rear Window
C60 Air Conditioning, Custom
G80 Limited-Slip Differential(3.45 Performance Axle Ratio)
J65 4-Wheel Disc Brakes
K34 Cruise Control w/Accel. Features
LB9 5.0 Liter 305 TPI Engine
MM5 5-Speed Manual Transmission
N33 Steering Wheel, Tilt
TR9 Lamp Group
UA1 Battery, Heavy Duty
UQ7 Speaker System-Subwoofer, "Performance Sound"
UT4 Radio, Touch Controls/AMST/FMST/Cass/EQ
WX1 Two-Tone Paint Delete
W63 Option Group #2 Discount
W66 Formula Option: Aero Wing Rear Spoiler, Asymmetrical Hood, N96 16" x 8" Hi-Tech Cast Aluminum Turbo Wheels, QDZ 245-50VR16 Tires, U21 Gage Package(w/140 mph Speedometer), WS6 Special Performance Package, "Performance Suspension"(BZX/NNL springs, gas shocks, 36mm/24mm sway bars, 12.7:1 Steering Ratio), Formula Graphics and Engine Designations
41U Black Paint, Primary
82C Medium Dark Grey Pallex Custom Cloth Interior
INTERIOR:
The interior will always remain stock.
The rear seats have been folded down for 22 years and are still perfect.
The dash pad is original and still perfect.
Foglights weren't available on the Formula, but I installed a stock foglight switch to fill the only "blank" in my dash.
RPO UT4: Delco Touch Control/AM Stereo/FM Stereo/Cassette/5-Band Equalizer Radio was top-of-the-line in 1987. Because I'll never change it, I installed an FM modulated 10-disc CD changer.
RPO UQ7: Factory subwoofer system has a 4"x6" coaxial on top of a 5 1/4" subwoofer, all in a ported enclosure behind each sail panel. So along with the two 4"x6" coaxials in the dash, this is a 6-speaker "Performance Sound" system from the factory, designated with that badge on the left side of the radio face plate, and it's controlled by the "GAIN" switch in the dash above the radio.
EXTERIOR:
All of the graphics were removed when the car was new; I "vented" the hood bulge to allow underhood heat to escape, using a grille from the functional '82-'84 TA hood; I added a stock '85-'90 TA hood louver for "ram air," positioning it to get air directly to my custom intake; and I had the stock wheels chromed.
No part of the drivetrain has been rebuilt, restored or replaced. Yet after 22 years, the engine still has excellent power, it fires right up, it runs better than when it was new, it gets great gas mileage(24 hwy), it doesn't burn oil, it doesn't smoke at start-up, and it's always easily and cleanly passed CA emissions tests. I've always used ACDelco oil filters and Valvoline Racing 20W-50 conventional motor oil until Valvoline introduced MaxLife. Since then, I've always used MaxLife 20W-50. Valvoline MaxLife is the BEST!
VP's MS-101 unleaded racing gasoline: I've never been happy with California's 91 octane "premium" gas, so for an octane booster, I mix 5 gallons of VP with pump 91 to get about a 95 rating, and my engine loves it! Get some from your local performance auto parts store or motorcycle shop.
