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Formula Firebirds

mustang84

By mustang84
in The Lounge

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mustang84 Newbie

mustang84

Posted
Posted

I guess I've never really known much about the Formula Firebird and how differentiated it was from a Trans Am. Someone in my hometown has a '92 Formula Firebird that I believe is supposed to be pretty rare.

Could someone give me a quick history lesson on what the focus was for a Formula Firebird vs. a Trans Am (performance, suspension, options, etc)? Maybe like how the IROC was geared toward power while the Z/28 was geared toward handling? I'm assuming they were situated below the Trans Am in price and performance, but what was it that made them so special and some like the '92 so collectible? I tried looking up some info but didn't really find much on them (and didn't have time to read the whole Wikipedia article). Thanks for the info!

Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

The Formula Firebirds are what the RS Camaro should have been. They had (or could have) all of the T/A performance bits without the extra weight of a T/A because they came without the ground effects and extra insulation/ sound deadening of the T/A. As you may have guessed, this made the Formula lighter than a T/A, and with the same drivetrain, faster.

There are lots of other little details, and yes I'm a huge fan of these rare cars (much,much more rare than a T/A). But I won't go into all of that right now and bore everyone else.

Formulas are awesome, and my favorite F-body recipe.

One more detail: All Firehawks were Formulas until '98. :AH-HA_wink:

OK, one more: The rarest factory 4th gen Firebirds were the WS6/Ram Air/1LE Formulas.

Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

in the LS1 formulas, was there any difference besides the the non-trans am nose/spoiler?

Rear fascia, front fascia. hatch (spoiler), lack of ground effects, less insulation,less standard equiptment (leather oprional etc.)...

... and best of all, a lower price. :AH-HA_wink:

For me that was a no-brainer.

ocnblu Newbie

ocnblu

Posted
Posted

Oh man, that '72 is like a creamy shot to the eye. Hot!

And I like that '91, and the '92s. By comparison, I am not sure I like the '98's Ram Air treatment as much as the earlier cars.

Sixty8panther Newbie

Sixty8panther

Posted
Posted

What I DIDN'T like was the 4th gen. Firebirds' tailgate without the T/A's

floating rear spoiler. It always looked kind of Hyundai-ish, too rounded

& "beveled" reminds me of the 1960 Buicks' tailfins which also look like

someone took the edge off of the 1959's.

The 3rd gen. Firebird's decklid did not look cheap & lame without the

spoiler... but take away taht cool Trans Am wing off of a '93 Firebird,

put on that base tailgate and it looks as fabulous as a row of plastic

"button delete" tabs in a base Hyundai Accent.

mustang84 Newbie

mustang84

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

The Formula Firebirds are what the RS Camaro should have been. They had (or could have) all of the T/A performance bits without the extra weight of a T/A because they came without the ground effects and extra insulation/ sound deadening of the T/A. As you may have guessed, this made the Formula lighter than a T/A, and with the same drivetrain, faster.

There are lots of other little details, and yes I'm a huge fan of these rare cars (much,much more rare than a T/A). But I won't go into all of that right now and bore everyone else.

Formulas are awesome, and my favorite F-body recipe.

One more detail: All Firehawks were Formulas until '98. :AH-HA_wink:

OK, one more: The rarest factory 4th gen Firebirds were the WS6/Ram Air/1LE Formulas.

Gotcha. It sounds like what Ford did with the LX notchback Mustangs...lots of people opted for them over the hatchbacks and GT's because you still could get the 5.0 as an option, but you don't have all the extra weight from the ground effects, so it makes for a better drag strip car.

I like that stripped down look too, especially with a shiny set of Cragars and some beefy tires. Were these cars limited production since they are so rare, or was it just an option that not many people chose (and therefore making them rare today)?

Also, what years were these produced?

Edited by mustang84
Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

Gotcha. It sounds like what Ford did with the LX notchback Mustangs...lots of people opted for them over the hatchbacks and GT's because you still could get the 5.0 as an option, but you don't have all the extra weight from the ground effects, so it makes for a better drag strip car.

I like that stripped down look too, especially with a shiny set of Cragars and some beefy tires. Were these cars limited production since they are so rare, or was it just an option that not many people chose (and therefore making them rare today)?

Also, what years were these produced?

Very similar recipe to the 5.0 Mustang LX, but a bit more upscale. Some of the cars were quasi-limited production, but mostly people more often opted for a base car or the T/A. Formulas are rare in all years. They began in 1970 and were available in all but a few years right up to 2002. I can't remember which years were skipped off the top of my head.

ocnblu Newbie

ocnblu

Posted
Posted (edited)

One of my dream cars is a '70 Firebird, white with black lowback buckets, with a 400 4bbl and a 4 speed... no spoilers, just Rallye II rims (maybe even without trim rings) and sport mirrors.

I'm not even sure if such a car was available from the factory.

Edited by ocnblu
Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

What I DIDN'T like was the 4th gen. Firebirds' tailgate without the T/A's

floating rear spoiler. It always looked kind of Hyundai-ish, too rounded

& "beveled" reminds me of the 1960 Buicks' tailfins which also look like

someone took the edge off of the 1959's.

The 3rd gen. Firebird's decklid did not look cheap & lame without the

spoiler... but take away taht cool Trans Am wing off of a '93 Firebird,

put on that base tailgate and it looks as fabulous as a row of plastic

"button delete" tabs in a base Hyundai Accent.

Funny that you sat that. I hate the 4th gen T/A spoiler - I find it huge and gaudy, and it badly blocks rear visibilty. I much prefer the Formula/base car spoiler.

Even so, I've always wanted to do a totally smooth version with no spoiler at all. I think the bodystyle was begging for a look like that.

ocnblu Newbie

ocnblu

Posted
Posted
YES, I've thought about that, too Camino. Both Camaro and Firebird 4th gen cars with smooth hatchlids. Integrating the spoiler was a mistake, imo.
Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

One of my dream cars is a '70 Firebird, white with black lowback buckets, with a 400 4bbl and a 4 speed... no spoilers, just Rallye II rims (maybe even without trim rings) and sport mirrors.

I'm not even sure if such a car was available from the factory.

Almost, the Formula 400 would be as close as you could get. You would get all of your wishes except that you'd have a rear spoiler and twin hood scoops. The Spoiler may have been optional, but don't quote me on that. The rest would be as easy as checking the right option boxes.

Sixty8panther Newbie

Sixty8panther

Posted
Posted

Smooth decklid would be much better than that blister.

ocnblu Newbie

ocnblu

Posted
Posted (edited)

That Ram Air hood looks lower profile than the factory one. It looks good.

Oh Camino, I love the 2nd-gen Formula hood, so no problemo there. I just prefer the low, tapering deck of a spoilerless, early 2nd-gen car.

Edited by ocnblu
schuby87 Newbie

schuby87

Posted
Posted

In fact, it does wonders for the look of a T/A:

My hat goes off to the designer of the Firebird's hood. Nothing that I have seen can change the look of a car so dramatically like an hood on a Firebird can.

Personally, I like prefer the WS6 hood to the Firehawk or even the raptor, Mecham, or Blackbird hood. The Firehawk hood looks real sleek which I like, but the WS6 hood just looks mad, which I really like.

Also, I prefer the TA spoiler to the Formula. I think the TA spoiler makes an abrupt change in the line of the rear hatch. I think it looks more musclely.

And since you got to post yours, I get to post mine. :AH-HA_wink:

Posted Image

Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

:lol:

No worries Schuby, I like the T/As too.

And, most people agree with your choices - a ton more WS6 T/As were built than Hawks and Formulas. That's why I love having a choice instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted

camino, you wanted to see a 4th gen sans a wing?

im still on the fence on if i like it... it looks clean, but for some reason the back end reminds me of a 96 impala ss :huh:

Posted Image

Wow!

Thanks for posting that!

I'm not big on the two-tone or the wheels, but I like that clean look.

SuperSport623 Newbie

SuperSport623

Posted
Posted

Chevy's don't deserve it. Plain and simple. I am sorry Camaro fans, but Formula should only be Pontiac's, NOT for chevy. Period. It should be remained as Pontiac Only, Chevy's DON'T deserve any good stuff. I HATE Chevys.

listen kid... and i say kid because your posts indicate your definatley in your early to mid teens (im 17 so im not trying to preach)

your new here, so im not gonna go crazy... but your anti chevy thing is getting a lil old.. i dont think the word CHEVY has appeared once in this thread... has anyone once mentioned Formula being used on a camaro? im not just replying to this post, but to all yours overall... 1st.. chevy will always get more models.. its a fact.. chevy is volume.. thats the law of GM

2nd.. a model cant live forever... the grand prix is better off dead... it could have gotten redesigned, but the ZETA platform, like it or not, is better in most ways...

3rd.. chevy deserves good stuff.. they are THE money maker... you hate chevys? i LOVE them.. i love pontiacs too..

sorry to be a dick, but it seems at times you talk just trying to be heard... dont let this discourage you from posting here, its a great site, but calm down and un-bunch your panties...

mustang84 Newbie

mustang84

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah, I prefer the spoiler lip to the big WS6 wing thing. Here's a cool bit I found on a website about Formula history:

Formulas were always Firebirds that were taking the fight for GM to the streets. In a dark age of performance when the Camaro became the ugliest, least performing F-body ever produced, in an age when the Z28 died a slow death, the Formula and Trans-Am were always there, shining examples that performance at GM, or at least at Pontiac, was not dead. When everyone else in Detroit was throwing in the towel, when performance was bad, government emissions controls on the rise, when the Ford Mustang II was a joke, when the Cobra II option was even more laughable, when the Corvette was suffering from smoglegalitis, that was a hey-day for Pontiac. When the Z28 finally died and the Camaro was available with only a LT package and the anemic 350 smogger engine, that's when the Pontiac Formula really shined. In the '70's, Chevrolet gave the F-body performance title to Pontiac on a silver platter.

The Formula was a survivor. Pure and simple. During its eleven year initial reign on the streets, it saw the slow and horrible wasting deaths of many of its competition and its good friends. Gone were the Pontiac GTO, the Judge, the Chevy SS Chevelle, the SS Nova, the SS Camaro, RS Camaro, and the Camaro Z28. Gone were the Plymouth Road Runner, Dodge Charger, Plymouth Barracuda and the Ford Boss Mustangs. Gone were the Mach I Mustangs... The wasting sickness that was pollution and emissions controls killed such great engines as the Pontiac 400 Ram Air series motors, the Super Duty 455, the LS-1 454 big block, the LT-1 350cid small block, the 302 Boss, the 351 Cleveland, the 440 Wedge, the 426 Hemi, the Six Pack Mopar engines, the 427 Cobrajet and 428 Super Cobrajet engines, and a host of others. All around Detroit, the automotive ghosts of once great performance cars and the echoes of high performance engines lived on only in memory or in private collections. Yet, through all the darkness, there drove two examples of high performance in America; the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, and the Pontiac Firebird Formula which were neck to neck with the Chevy Corvette for title of best American performance car.

If I could have any of the Formulas, this would be it. And as big of a Mustang fan as I am, if I were offered the choice between a '93 Cobra and a '92 Formula, I would probably take the Formula.

Posted Image

vonVeezelsnider Newbie

vonVeezelsnider

Posted
Posted

camino, you wanted to see a 4th gen sans a wing?

im still on the fence on if i like it... it looks clean, but for some reason the back end reminds me of a 96 impala ss :huh:

Posted Image

Looks like a Pontiac Sunfire...

:nono:

ocnblu Newbie

ocnblu

Posted
Posted
Cool, I like 'em without the spoiler. I prefer the teal car (sans stickers). The two-tone car is too flashy. Interesting that losing the spoiler really draws your eye to the greenhouse (particularly the swoopy back glass) and the taillights.
BatmanGTO Newbie

BatmanGTO

Posted
Posted

In fact, it does wonders for the look of a T/A:

Posted Image

How come everytime i click on your photos the "Find sexy women in your area" ad always comes up? HMMmmmm? :rolleyes:

BatmanGTO Newbie

BatmanGTO

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I prefer the spoiler lip to the big WS6 wing thing. Here's a cool bit I found on a website about Formula history:

If I could have any of the Formulas, this would be it. And as big of a Mustang fan as I am, if I were offered the choice between a '93 Cobra and a '92 Formula, I would probably take the Formula.

Posted Image

Minus the spoiler off that 3rd Gen and thats one of my all time favs

GMTruckGuy74 Newbie

GMTruckGuy74

Posted
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That black '92 Formula is hot! I grew up as a teenager in the late '80s and early '90s, and I instantly fell in love with teh Pontaic Firebird line. For a long time I wanted a '91 or '92 Trans Am GTA. I love the spoiler on those T/A's and FYI, they were styled from the 1988 Banshee concept car.

I had a '95 Trans Am and still to this day I love that spoiler. My all time favorite is still the 1997 Trans Am WS6 Ram Air coupe with the <outdated> T-tops option. :hot:

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