1994 Pontiac Firebird Formula review from North America

Opti spark (ignition)

Transmission.

Rearend.

Headlight motor.

Power window motor.

Assorted odds and ends.

If you have to have a V8 muscle car, then just get a Mustang and build it. Fbody cars are horribly built.

The tranny is designed to burn out around fifty or sixty thousand miles. If you are thinking about getting one, put a huge cooler on it and start praying.

The optisparks are more tempermental than the tranny. You are not supposed to get them wet, but the idiots at GM put the optispark right under the water pump. The optispark is a 350 dollar distributor that you HAVE to have that is non-interchangeable. Many are too scared to even wash under the hoods of their cars or drive in the rain.

This thing eats power window motors like its candy. Apparently something else GM can't get right.

The rearend is a positive traction 7.5" rearend. Why even bother making a positive traction rearend that small? This thing makes 325lbs of torque at LOW rpms. So the clutches burn out of the rearend very fast. Many underpowered V6 cars come with larger rearends than that. Another obvious oversight was not putting in a twelve bolt from the factory.

This car runs strong to about 65-75, then it starts falling on its face. Get a six speed for more speed and top end. Plus the T56 is better quality.

I take care of my cars and do not buy junk. This was a well documented and maintained car. I have not overstated anything in the least. These are very serious problems that are being overlooked by the factory and people with under fifty thousand miles are having these type issues, so its not just the mileage.

In general if your car doesn't need a transmission, rearend, distributor, or windows that work-then this is the car for you.

I bought this over the Mustang for the sixty-seventy horsepower difference stock. With the money I put in just keeping this car on the road, I could have put a hundred horsepower in the Mustang. All of my friends with Mustangs beat their cars to death and have the same amount of repairs as me. The only difference is they had their Mustangs three years, and I have had mine for three months.

Please do not take my word for it, search the different forums and look at what is considered "high mileage" for these things. Read the LT1 tech forums on camaroz28.com and see the barrage of problems these things give. Now I know why they are on every street corner car lot.