Let’s Take a Closer Look at this Thing | Trans Am Project Ep. 3

[@jewllake]

My Camaro had that overhead console with the flashlight! People used to get a crack out of it. I think it took 2 AA batteries and it actually worked quite well!

[@vflrockytop]

I still see a lot of hate for 3rd gens on the internet. Our parents dreamed of saving 1st gens. Those cars are all hoarded up and no one is getting them unless they're extremely wealthy. Our generation has moved on to the 3rd gens. I grew up with a 1986 iroc. They're getting hard to find in decent shape.

[@sparkplug1018]

Funnily enough, people said the same thing about 1st men's back in the day. They were cheap, modifiable and disposable. Of course hindsight being what it is no one thinks that anymore. There was actually a hoarder in Montana I believe that had a Yenko, numbers matching with like 30k on it, why didn't he drive it or preserve it? "its just a Camaro with a big motor". Funny how time changes opinions.

[@tj_gsomething_]

19:38 ahhh she's gonna be a smoker! lol love it!!! So many questions answered in this video. It's a great one, thanks again for posting and can't wait for the next one!

[@ronb113]

Loving the project. I’m a fan of seeing the little maintenance and repairs along with the performance stuff.

[@Woods_performance]

Cant wait to see both cars together! keep up the good work Matt

[@saggyrob]

Love your videos Matt, the amount of effort you put into editing then really shows! Looking forward to future updates.

[@Jerrypintoswe]

Thanks for giving our old Firebirds love and attention!

[@petersingh4825]

Love the new video Brings back memories of when I got my t /a I used to work in the snow and cold all the time to get it back road ready. Love my t/a Car is coming along Keep the videos coming brother!!! The wind blowing to oil was hilarious

[@kylefunston484]

"There's barely any rest under here" *Laughs in Texan* But seriously I love the care you put into these cars, I've owned 2 4th gens and I still binge on these videos

[@tonyr9235]

My favorite part--when the wind blew the oil as it was draining, and the oil coming out of the filter, dripping down the exhaust! We've all been there.

[@Eremon1]

I had the same car and color. I miss it everyday. Yours is in great shape body wise. Lots of potential in that car.

[@JohnnySS14]

that heavy stock rubber wing will kill just about any hatch struts, so toss that warped pretzel is the garbage. Fiberglass wing is pricey but worth the extra views you will get lol. April 27th dyno day at Jerrys speed shop, come by if you want to see the Twisted Arrow 436 stretch and scream!

[@piotrmalewski8178]

My friend had an FSO Polonez with the same kind of air filter like that in Trans Am, he replaced it with an open unit like the chrome one of yours and the only result was knocking detonation. Stay with factory one or make a proper Pontiac ram air. Speaking of that center panel, I'd use some clamps to put it back to the right shape and then laminate it from the inside with a polyester resin.

[@jameshall4385]

great video. i had a similar issue with my volt gauge. when the car was cold it was fine as it warmed up i lost voltage. it turned out to be a lose gauge. i took the gauges out and tightened the screws and it worked great.

[@carlpersinger1619]

Yeah when I buy one of these. I usually just assume hatch lifts, hood lifts and count on rehanging the doors. I can't believe you have had such bad luck with SBCs. They are my 2nd favorite engine. I've had a couple of them mess up but none of the issues were it's fault. I had a stroker that spun a bearing. It wasn't a loud knock like normal. I ran the original Kendal oil and just drove it. Not for a real long time. But longer than I shoulda. I raced a guy and he said Al he heard was my tires spinning and my engine knocking. He wasn't happy about his set up. The engine I have now spun a bearing too. The damn high volume oil pump quit and I didn't catch it in time. Now I'm dead in the water. Just watching your videos contiplating my next move. But while I decide about the engine I'm gonna just clean up what I can.

[@greeniembush4106]

Thanks again great video.

[@myboringchannel2987]

This channel is great. I personally am a mustang guy, but I have always liked the 3rd gen. F-bodies. Also your videos are some of the best I've seen. Great quality and very informative.

[@thefiascogarage3215]

"Is a hotdog a sandwich?" Well, that depends on who is eating it and how they are eating it. Glad you took the advice on the head unit, but I just remembered when my '90 Formula was blowing that fuse it was the dumbest thing. A penny got lodged just right in the cigarette lighter. Drove us nuts with half the dash ripped apart trying to figure it out and my girl spotted it by trying to plug her phone charger in after we almost gave up (Occam's Razor). On the sending unit- check and even add engine grounds (especially if the engine was swapped). What a lot of people do not realize is that reciprocal and rotational movements inside an engine actually build static electricity, which cause either false gauge readings or oil to move away from the bearings garnering premature failures. Also, check the factory harness bulkhead on the Driver's side for wear and corrosion. I think it is a 7mm bolt holding that in place. Never met a 3rd gen that didn't have something that needed attention there. You'll see the green corrosion or spot loose plugs that you can pull right out without a pick tool. I've made $500 non-running parts cars worth driving again just by that work alone. Electricity travels 'over' the conductor, not through it, it is called "The Skin Effect", which I am sure you know and I hope my diatribe helps this project come along. You are doing a good job on this sled, I am looking forward to the video of you calling it "Done" which will never happen. Best wheels on these cars are the 16" fanblades that came on the '84 anniversary cars and later the '87 Formula's. Never liked the faux 3 piece wheels from '88-'92 on a car with ground effects. GTA wheels only look right on Turbo Buicks, 1LE's and S10's for some reason. Those original fanblades are getting scarce, but I happen to have four in front offset and two in rear offset with a 'Turbo' hood just languishing in NEPA if you want them?

[@ronaldarchibald2506]

Check the frmt brake hoses. I had a 86 bird with new brakes and calipers that pulled still. Turned out to be a soft brake hose. Would expand under braking then collapse not allowing the fluid to come back out. Pulled pretty hard to that side. Replaced both front and rear hoses. Worked great.

[@Wilson_Racing]

I bought an Accel cut to fit plug wire set for my Camaro a while back for around $40. I also got a set of Stand-offs for the valve cover to hold the wires in place and they both work and look great

[@arturopacheco89]

Same here. I picked up a pair of polished billet wire looms for $40. Also picked up n air cleaner with an air cleaner lid. Had en 3" Edelbrock cleaner and the linkage for the carb was hitting the base.

[@Wilson_Racing]

@@arturopacheco89 I'm running a factory '84 H.O. dual snorkel airbreather on my '86 Camaro right now

[@brian1157]

I love these 3rd gen trans ams! My first car was a 90' GTA and I miss that car so much. I always keep an eye out for them to buy another one but the values are creeping up on them now for the decent ones.

[@denniscasey2883]

Awesome vid Bro. Everything you are doing, I need to do to my 83 CFI T/A

[@overthemountain16]

As a third gen owner, I remember back in 2010 I had no money for parts so I had to get creative and I remember using tissue paper to stuff underneath rattling or use folded up junk nail. I'm not ashamed of it but I thought it was very funny.

[@OhYeahAboutThat]

I’ve dyed the seats, vinyl and carpet on many of my project cars. No problems at all, other than the carpet being a little crunchy from the dye.

[@dancharron7098]

I am soon to start fixing my 1986 TA, and I appreciate your information. I think I will go the way of an LS swap with a cradle that has a new Tube type suspension.

[@horsepoweravenue4924]

I just picked up a 87 TA. All original with 160k miles, 5 speed and 305 CI engine, hard top. Fuel pump is dead... Cant wait to change it!

[@cnkilts]

My third Gen Camaro was missing hat air dam and it overheated until I replaced it. Weird how effective that piece of plastic was.

[@chriram25]

Can't wait to see all the content.

[@davebarron5939]

WHAT THE HELL!! This must be a few days old. You got NASTY SNOW! That sucks! Sorry to see that. Always enjoy your vids. Thanks.

[@jeffredelk9755]

my current third gen has alot of these same interior issues cant wait to see what you find out and how to fix em

[@josephgrondin9081]

Check under the carpet, My 91 was clean no rot underneath, floors looked solid, I pulled the carpet to replace it and there were rot spots everywhere on the drivers floor. Poked them with a screwdriver and it went right through. Welded a new pan it

[@MEANGENE]

The under body is in pretty good shape you got yourself a nice one 💪 ☝

[@808G8GT]

Check for rust under th dash on the passenger side....must lift the carpet. I've had 5 third gens and all but 1 had rust due to ac drippage and dirt collecting between firewall and wheel well in the engine bay side. My old iroc used to flood the passenger side floor pan used to flood during a big rain. Pulled the carpet and found a gaping rectangular hole the size of a cigarette box.

[@aaronbays4]

Learned something new today, 3rd gen cars still had a steering box with all that mickey mouse linkage. I thought they had gone to rack and pinion in 1982, guess that didn't happen until 1993 with the 4th gen. Owned a couple of Cadillacs(91 Brougham and 95 Fleetwood) with a similar GM setup of steering box, main thing I noticed was that vaguness on center, you got used to it after a while and didn't notice it IMO. But both of my cars were pretty low mileage and pampered, so even though that 91 Brougham had 110k on it, it had new shocks and a complete front end rebuild done around 100k.

[@dominizzy9355]

In my IROC I just replaced my Speedometer cable, same issue, was not responding and mileage was not active, the cable end that connects into the transmission was tangled up and completely ruined. Part number 88959478. ACDELCO, on Amazon it was $39.66.. easy to get to Matt

[@lsxmatt]

This car doesn’t have a cable, even though its an 86. I picked up a new speed sensor for it.

[@superchile9640]

I got lucky when I bought my Camaro. The transmission had leaked a lot so there was plenty of "rust inhibitor" under the car.

[@ryanwilliams3369]

I had an 88 formula with the "aero" spoiler and they do have a spoiler specific strut for those. I took it off like 15 years ago but it felt like it weighed 40 lbs.

[@gtomark71]

I picked up an ‘87 TA and have the same problem with the rear lift gate. I replaced the hatch struts but it doesn’t lift the rear gate up by itself, I need to assist it up. It will hold itself up. Do you have a link for the correct hatch struts? Thanks for the videos, I enjoy watching them.

[@gtomark71]

I should of told you I have the wrap around rear spoiler and rear defroster on mine.

[@James-sir]

We had a 84 Camaro Berlinetta that had that flashlight and a stereo that sat on a post you could turn from driver to passenger and a spoiler like an iroc from the factory for a guy who owned a dealership and he was the only owner till we got it I miss that thing

[@juliotorres3481]

You can find the center consoles pretty cheap on eBay. Seen a bunch in there for around $75-$100

[@mokujin6507]

That interior...... if it was mine, i'd like to change the seat cover and interior into black with blue stich.. Nad center console, if unsaveable, just try make it from plywood or something..., i believe its not that hard

[@mpikas]

3rd gen birds all have that pillar rattle. I've seen a bunch of t-top cars that appear to have gotten some thick foam weatherstripping in there (I wonder if it was a dealer repair/tsb type thing, but it's all the same so it's definitely a GM thing) that rots out/comes loose. Just put some new foam in there and it will go away

[@sparkplug1018]

Odds are it was done when someone brought their new car back to the dealer the next day and demanded that rattle gets fixed. Using foam like that is a common trick techs use to fix a rattle once they find it.

[@MrGriffin23]

Great video!

[@w41duvernay]

Ah the old cassette player. I had to yank it out as well in my 86 Firebird.

[@aaronbays4]

What no more Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet or Poison Open Up and Say AHHHHH!!!! Being very sarcastic here

[@Bkwld_]

Man! Another great video!

[@noo4pass]

If my memory serves me right, even if the struts worked initially, in a short amount of time due to the weight of the glass in combination with that particular rubberized wing they would go bad again. Back in 88' I put that wing on my Camaro and went to the Pontiac dealer to buy the proper ones. Still had problems and just went back to using two small pairs of vice grips if I was spending any time back there.

[@IrocinZ]

Love the content! Keep it up

[@clemmahabir]

What made you like 3rd gens Matt? As for me it was natural back the 80s to own one brand new in 1987 an Iroc Z28 and I was just out of highschool. F bodies have always been my favourite either Trans Am or Camaro Z28. I had my share from a 69 Firebird and a 1980 Indy Pace car Trans Am. I drove these cars daily when we got them and they were cheap to buy.. I wish we all knew the value of these cars or I would have kept my first car the 1969 Firebird 1st gen but we just had too much fun racing mustangs and each other 👍😎👍 Keep up the good work with your cars and projects its fun to watch your videos!!

[@davebarron5939]

Best thing is, the 3rd gens are nearly 500 Lbs lighter than the previous 1 and 2 cars (no sub frames)

[@louisguerra7992]

Hey Matt, another great video. Could you possibly point me in the direction of a mechanical oil pressure guage like yours? Also, awhile ago you asked if we liked voiceover or live commentary. I prefer live commentary. Just my personal preference. Keep up the good work brother.

[@Jake-im2lv]

Don't you love it when you perfectly aim the oil into the pan then you catch a gust of wind blowing oil all over your driveway, subframe, tires...

[@johnnyjj2009]

That oil change was a thing of beauty 😂😂😂

[@adams5155]

When you showed off the flashlight, you should have shown the maintenance and appointment spinners. Early day oil life monitor!

[@jamesingram4649]

It’s cold they’ll work better this spring

[@joelsolizjr.4263]

Hi, what type of oil and what grade are you pouring into it? Thanx.

[@J123456789123456789N]

Quick question, what spacers are you running on your Camaro? Got C5 wheels about to put on mine. Not sure if it needs 2” all around or what.

[@lsxmatt]

I have 2 inch. If you dont have a 4th gen rear then you’ll need them front and back.

[@J123456789123456789N]

LsxMatt Thanks, keep the great videos coming for all of us in the 3rd Gen Nation.

[@digitalfox9382]

Use crazy glue and clamps with some balsa wood to fix the center console, worked great on on mine.

[@wolfman7393]

Mine isn’t nearly as bad but it was normally stored during Chicago winters

[@lesabre9848]

Damm you must live well north of upstate NY to have snow still or you filmed this awhile ago and where I am there's no snow any ways nice car man, watching your videos for over a month and keep up the good work!

[@lsxmatt]

Haha yea I filmed this like 3 weeks ago.

[@lesabre9848]

LsxMatt lol yeah I'm also in upstate NY and you would agree with me I want the snow gone no more salt on the roads, where I'm at any more north which is off of lake Ontario they get well more snow than where I'm at, once again keep up the good work.

[@philldowdy1945]

Bro what did you use for that liner or light unit

[@the.mr.bubbles]

How’s the headliner coming in Tahiti 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️Maybe I’m a little bias having a suburban myself but I’d like more Tahoe vids they’re my favorite but I just like all content

[@marcusv1235]

If i recall correctly you can get a center console for about a hundred on thirdegenranch.com. They even have them in black for no extra cost.

[@Forgotten_legends88]

Notice you missing the wounder bar that connects front subframes by the gearbox.

[@joelsolizjr.4263]

I myself hate that wind doing an oil change!

[@joshkersey2334]

When you got to replace the brake lines where they run side by side with some of the fuel lines make sure you wrap them in something because they rub each other creating weak spots in the future and thats bad news bears

[@perge_music]

video is very nostalgic for how brittle the interiors were on those cars.

[@carsontheFritz]

I get my 89 firebird formula in about 2 weeks...so excited! If you wanna see videos of it when I get it they will be here! kzbin.info

[@Thirdgen83]

You'll never get rid of the smell if you don't replace the carpet.

[@bryanyokofich5021]

Make sure you redo the trans linkage soon before it leaves you stranded somewhere (happened me to today :/)

[@blackbird8632]

I like these cars, thing is, over here in the Netherlands, the cheapest ones (6 cyl) are like 6k. I just don't think it is worth it, seeing the quality of the materials.

[@noo4pass]

Did you ever do a heater core replacement on one of these?

[@lsxmatt]

Yea I did in the Camaro. Ill probably do it in the trans am as preventative maintenance.

[@ahmyb6412]

This is a good channel if you want to learn about ls swapping lots of detailed content even super charger content so I say a good channel to geek out on kinda would have like to see him ls swap a 2nd gen ta then he could have made t tops for it would have been binge worthy but I already watched most of the camaro videos for the know how don't see how I'm gonna learn something new we will see

[@dansanmiguel5750]

Great work wnen you're done with the trans am .my iroc is next lol : )

[@devianb]

I am surprised that factory aero wing is still on there. If I had $1 for every Trans AM/GTA/Formula with it removed I could buy another thirdgen.

[@jquest43]

That wing was on a 1992 trans am that did 308 mph! Kugel-lefevers trans am

[@DYLANTRIES]

A car in that shape here in Tennessee would be like 4000$

[@TheHandsOnGang561]

It’s still snowing in NY ? Damn

[@1301407gl]

Nothing like that 30-year old sludge rust prevention

[@johnsnow1355]

I did the air cleaner lid flip and no change on the drag strip at all waste of time

[@Donpatch88]

Hey Matt if you need spare parts i know people on long island who got firebird parts

[@jamesobert8972]

Hey Matt. I have a center console from a 92 firebird. Maybe you can pm me somehow. I follow you on Instagram and here. Still new set this stuff so I'm not sure how to pm you. I'll give you an unbelievable deal just because I love your videos and your cars and appreciate all you do.

[@benkalinowski5834]

What rear axel do you have 9 bolt or 10 and lsd and gear s

[@lsxmatt]

Its a 10 bolt, probably 2.73’s but I didn’t check. Not sure if its an lsd or not.

[@benkalinowski5834]

@@lsxmatt lol You should get a lsd used rear I have a 9 bolt lsd borg Warner factory 9 bolt 3.42 because of the 5 speed Disc rear But you know that gear ratio is killing you Lol

[@benkalinowski5834]

@@lsxmatt I have a 88 GTA trans am ws6 1 owner car They bought brand new when I was 8 I remb going to get it in the snow Jan Sideways My dad drove it to Ottawa 45 min commute every day Then my mom drove it to work And 2yward ago I got it given to me I got it insured with hagerty for 10k It's going up every year I love it Tpi

[@benkalinowski5834]

@@lsxmatt I love the ls to I almost swapped it but at the last second I decided to get a new block gm 350 ready to build 30 over from a machine shop 500 bucks And I built a forged 383 stroker motor swap alum heads and hsr last summer And I got a used t56 to

[@benkalinowski5834]

@@lsxmatt I love trans am 30 years It wasn't a rocket ship 305 had a cam and tons of work Did 14.3 at 99 2 years ago 16 runs T5 Street tires 245 50 16

[@redslate]

Keep in mind, that cold weather is going to reduce the effectiveness of the hydraulics.

[@Nick-bn3od]

6:10 don't afraid to flip that air lid.

[@lsxmatt]

I was gonna leave it flipped but it doesn’t have a regular wing nut, so when its flipped its really loose.

[@ahmyb6412]

I like the 2nd gen trans am better then 3rd gen. I like the 1st and 3rd gen camaro most mainly the iroc of the 3rd gen.

[@ajdilullo903]

Hey i noticed your in NY, what part? Im in Rochester

[@billyboots3730]

My dash fuse blew once, turns out a coin fell in my cigarette lighter port

[@damionwaller3176]

the struts are upside down

[@laiky71]

valve cover is on backwards

[@Adrian-cg7jc]

20:10:52

[@jaydeee5961]

I had to change my fuel pump last week my oil gauge would go low ended up finding out my fuel pump had no pressure these cars have strange ways of telling u things

[@mpikas]

A gust of wind while draining oil... WORST THING EVER.