1985 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 5.0L 4bbl from North America
Summary:
Very fast
Faults:
New eadiator because of a small leak.
Seats are worn (got seat covers).
Motor has gotten weak from racing around a lot.
Needs a paint job (small blotches of rust are showing, especially on the drivers side door).
Some electrical problems with turn signal/brake lights.
Steering column became loose.
T-tops leaks slightly and seals around the door windows are not too great.
General Comments:
This car, although getting old, is still very fast and very sharp if not looked at too closely. I still have not maxed the speedo out. Rips out of second gear!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th March, 2001
21st Jun 2008, 01:58
To the above comment (even though from 3 years back) the speedometer in a car is no gauge of it's performance; at least not in the late 70's/early 80's era. As I understand it, back then the car companies were petitioned by some special-interest bleeding-heart facet of the government with this idea of the 85 mph speedometer to try and keep people from getting into 3 digit speeds. I guess the logic was that if you couldn't tell how far above 85 you were going, you'd back off the gas pedal or naturally assume that the car's mechanical limit was 85mph.
Truth is, these cars can usually get up around 130mph with the stock V8, acceleration all depends on how the car is geared. Some are neck-jarring at lower speeds, some tear it up at higher speeds.
BTW, if anyone seriously knows how to handle a car at those speeds, they won't be busy looking at the speedometer, anyway. Too bad they stuck the tach on the wrong side of the display.
2nd May 2005, 13:01
I've been all the reviews of the 85 Trans AM and most said it is very fast.. are we talking about accelerations or top speed? The one that was given to me only has 85mph on the speedometer..