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THE LOBBY A gathering place. Introductions, sports, showin' off your ride, birthday-anniversary-milestone, achievements, family oriented humor. |
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#1
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Whats a 1980 Formula with 52000 original miles 2 owner all original worth?
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#2
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That one looks rough, looks like it needs paint.
I sold my 79 5 years ago with 43,000 miles on it, W50, WS6, 4spd for 12k and it was in much better shape.
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Some guys they just give up living And start dying little by little, piece by piece, Some guys come home from work and wash up, And go racin' in the street. Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street - 1978 |
#3
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Guy wants 5k.
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#4
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Never ever look at a wet car. Period.
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#5
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Skidoo,
You're from MN, when I lived there I never bought a car from there, WI or MI without getting it I the air. That car looks like it was left outside with low miles....those winters are rough. If you've checked it over good (frame rails, rear window, that should be the high end I would think. I'm assuming it's 301 or is it a 403 car?
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The More People I Meet, The More I Love My Dogs! |
#6
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... ![]() |
#7
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Agreed. I made that mistake once in high school. It was the last time I did that.
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#8
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I'm always impressed by the people who can tell a car's condition from one single photo.
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#9
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1980= first year for crude C-4 electronic engine management. 1980-81 were the absolute worse years for the American Auto industry. You couldn't give me an '80 or '81 model....I was a mechanic back then, and I've worked on too many of them. A '79 is light years better.....not even comparable.
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Jeff |
#10
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1966 GTO 1969 Lemans Convertible- F.A.S.T. legal family cruiser. 12.59 on G70-14 Polyglas tires. 1.78 60' 1969 Bonneville Safari- cross country family cruiser. . 1979 Trans Am 400, 4-speed, 4 wheel disc. View from the drivers seat racing down Atco Raceway- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhYDMdOEC7A Ride along in the other lane-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIzgpLtF_uw |
#11
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I believe 80 or 81 was when Mr. McKeller retired. Computerized engines...a good time to retire indeed.
If, If the car was rust free $5000.00 isn't bad...
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... ![]() |
#12
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Just got off the phone with the 79 yr old owner. Paint looks like it does because first owners son put Turtle wax on it and left it in the sun too long before trying to get it off. Rust free stored in shop for 18 yrs. Says there is a decal under the hood that says 4.9 so assuming its a 301. Will send me a vin later this week. Says it runs great but needs tires the ones on it are from 18 plus yrs ago. Seriously thinking about it.
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#13
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After owning a 79 Formula with a 301 automatic, I'll say it's not a bad engine. But before you buy it... pull a valve cover and see if it's all gunked up with sludge. Check the transmission fluid too. If he won't let you pull a valve cover just walk away.
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![]() Gary Get in, ShuT Up, Hang On! Member of the Baltimore Built Brotherhood MY GTO built 4th Week of March 1966 "Crusin' Is Not A Crime" Keep yer stick on the ice. |
#14
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If i were to get it i would probably put the 350 out of my 74 in it, the 74 is getting a rebuilt 455 and a 4l80e.
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#15
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350 will work!
Don't forget, carb (if it's a Q-Jet...), dist, and timing cover can be used on real Pontiac engines, not sure about oil pan...
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... ![]() |
#16
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I like the Montreux Maroon. It's a sweet color on that year Firebird. Also not very common.
I think 301 may have been the standard engine in an '80 Formula. VIN code will be either W or Y. I will testify it's a decent engine as long as you're not trying to rev it over 4500. I discovered the 301 in my '78 Grand Am to be sludged up inside the valve covers at around 85K. I believe the cold climate it spent it's first 9 years up till then was a contributing factor. I spent a Saturday cleaning them all out and resealing with Permatex Ultra Blue, and they never leaked a drop before I sold the car 18+ years later. It had 140K when I sold it. |
#17
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If no rust easy worth 5k. If rusty then even with low miles not very desirable so I wouldn't pony up that much coin.
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#18
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I agree cold climate is not the best ... and that goes for any engine. I do recommend using good quality motor oil tho. And that is Valvoline. That's all I used in my 79 Formula and there wasn't a bit of sludge in the engine or valve covers. Sadly tho after it's interior was stripped to the bare metal.... as in stolen, I walked away from it.
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![]() Gary Get in, ShuT Up, Hang On! Member of the Baltimore Built Brotherhood MY GTO built 4th Week of March 1966 "Crusin' Is Not A Crime" Keep yer stick on the ice. |
#19
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Playing one pic detective:
Gaps are nice Nose is not warped out Nothing is awry, off, missing, or aftermarket Car is wet, dirty, or aged paint or combo Based on rims, sticker stripes, and color, appears hopeful on an original car as said. *a cared for 52K car should be a really nice, tight car, that feels like it has lots of miles left.
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72 Bird |
#20
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My 79 Formula was a 301 4-speed, I knew it would not run with anything with 350 or more cubes so I didn't do that. It would run with stock early 80's 302 Fords, and any of the 4-cylinder Turbo's of the day.
But I never reved it above 5000rpm, and the manual trans made it much more fun than the automatic cars. I agree with whats been said about the electric Q-jets & Dist's from the 80-81 model years. We just used to pull them and install non electric versions, the cars would then run much better. A friend of mine had a 1980 G/A that ran horrible until the carb and dist were swapped out, then it wasn't bad. He got a great deal on that car when it was just 2 years old. We found a 75 350 4bb Firebird in a local yard and just swapped the parts. If you like the car and it is as rust free as the seller claims, $5000 isn't a bad price at all. I like the idea of pulling the valve cover, many engines of the era seem to carbon up so badly that only the area were the rocker arms and pushrods move are clear of the solid coked up mass that can for under the valve covers.
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Jeff R 60 Jaguar Mark 2, 3.8L Automatic 67 Sprint Firebird 230 OHC-6 4-Speed A/C 78 Catlina Safari, Pontiac 400 powered 77 Astre Formula, 215 Buick V-8 T-5 73 Lemans Safari, 400 4bbl 4-speed 71 Catalina Enforcer, 455 4bbl 06 Mallet Solstice #024 LS2, Now with a Tremec 6060 6-speed! 2012 F-150 Echo Boost (My local Ford Dealer SUX!!!) 2020 Dodge Charger Scat pack (recovered) |
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