[NickMar26]

Browsing craigslist in my area I found a guy selling a 1987 2.8L V6 firebird with t-tops for $800. He is leaving for the Marine Corps and is looking to get rid of his car. Being a prior active duty Marine myself and a huge fan of third gen firebirds in general I am wanting to purchase it. here are a list of new parts he has had installed with paperwork within the last year,

Starter

Trans

alternator

fuel pump

ignition coil

The interior is a bit roughed up but definitely not bad for a 29year old car. entire right side of the dash is missing, glovebox area, but he has a oem replacement but its up to me to put on.

I have yet to go take a look at it in person because he is an hour and a half away so I don't want to make the drive unless I know its worth it. My question is, anyone own a 87 or used to own and 87 V6 that can give me some insight into the pros and cons of owning this vehicle.

P.s obviously not gonna buy until I have driven it and had hands on with the car but I want to make sure it's even worth my time to go look at.

 

[Kyle11863]

I've got an 84 2.8. Not sure how much help I can be but I'll do my best haha. Besides general used car stuff I don't know any pro con stuff to these but feel free to ask questions

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NickMar26]

Thanks. My intention for this car will be to use it as a daily driver. Obviously every car is different but based on your car how does this generation ride at highway speeds ( granted I'm only on the highway for 4 miles.) that is probably my biggest question. Is it practical to use this as a commuter or daily driver?

 

[ZumpTA]

I had an '89 RS Camaro, 2.8L automatic. It did just fine on the interstate back then. My only complaint was, and this is only my personal opinion, that 2.8 was underpowered even for the Fiero. From what I remember though, it was peppy enough.

If you're not big on doing doughnuts, burnouts, or drifitng, you'll probably be happy with it.

 

[sea dog]

I have a 90 with the 3.1 v-6. It's just like the 2.8, just has a few more cubes. My 90 has been one of the most reliable cars I've owned. It gets decent gas mileage. It's not a high performance car by any means, but for a daily driver, it fills the bill nicely.

Like most old cars, it has squeaks and rattles, but she keeps going & going like the energizer bunny.

 

[NickMar26]

Thank for the replies.

Yea I have heard the 2.8 doesn't quite have the get up and go you would want out of a car like this but like I said I'm looking more for a daily driver for right now. So I figure the V6 will give me all I need right now.

good to hear Sea Dog. If you don't mind me asking what is the mileage on your 90?

 

[Kyle11863]

For some reason I wasn't getting notifications for this. Anyways, what you want to do is pretty much exactly what I do with my 84 currently. Thing feels great at highway speeds. I've driven back and forth between CA and AZ several times with it, averaging 85 the whole way and it feels fine. It only starts to feel troubled when I start to climb closer to 100 which I'm sure you won't be doing in those 4 miles haha. One advantage I'd think that 87 would have over my 84 is I would think its fuel injected while mine is carbureted but I could be wrong there.

For fuel mileage, here's the link to my Fuelly account where you can check out the mileage I've been getting. A couple things to consider while looking at it is

A) my average is a little lower than it should be because I didn't use it right the first couple times I used it

B) I am now back in the cold mountains where the elevation is making it run like crap due to not having enough oxygen which is giving me lower mileage than you should see

C) I don't think my carb has ever been tuned right since I got it, another issue you shouldn't see if yours is indeed EFI

I have no doubt that you'll be somewhere in the 20's at least. That's where I am usually when I'm running on the highways. another interesting thing to note about my account is that the 25 I logged was on a trip where I gunned it at 100 for awhile. Not sure why I got better gas mileage with spiked RPMs, any of you more experienced guys have a clue why?

 

[sea dog]

My 90 has about 165K on the clock. Or if your asking for mpg, I'm getting about 19 to 20 mpg every time I fill up.