I inherited this car from my grandfather and I love it but she needs some attention. That’s why I’m here. I’m 45, I work in IT/education/management and this is my first cool car.
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Howdy from tx. 81 Firebird 305 manual
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OMG that looks a lot like my uncle's old 1981 Trans Am. His had the 305 with the manual transmission as well. I'm not sure his had the gold skirting, but that car is LOVELY. Welcome. 
(I know I repeat myself here but I am a lover of the 1979-1981 Firebirds!)
(I know I repeat myself here but I am a lover of the 1979-1981 Firebirds!)
Thank you, just trying to get her lights all working.
The factory wheel is in the trunk!!! I plan to put that back on soon.
Thank you, I love it!!!OMG that looks a lot like my uncle's old 1981 Trans Am. His had the 305 with the manual transmission as well. I'm not sure his had the gold skirting, but that car is LOVELY. Welcome.
(I know I repeat myself here but I am a lover of the 1979-1981 Firebirds!)
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5,269 Posts
Don't worry. She will get a huge amount of attention wherever she goes!
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16,131 Posts
Are you sure you didn’t have one “back in the day”…….
I'm not so sure. While not OEM, maybe spoked wheels should have been, or even "might have been" before some budget meeting.
The Snowflake wheel was an iteration of spoked design, the Rally wheels were "5-Spokes", and I want to say there was a wire-spoke hubcap for Firebirds back then but I'm not positive. Look forward to the 3rd generation GTA wheel though and it is clearly and without doubt a modernized version of the spoked wheels on that car. The 3rd gen Trans Am/Formula wheels were an evolution and modernization of that same spoked design in combination with the 5-Spoke Rally design. Pontiac was clearly all about the spokes in one form or another. The Turbo wheels could be argued as "technically spokes". ...but given what we saw in the 3rd generation, it's almost like "spokes" was the Factory style they were evolving and modernizing.
Back in the day, "spoked wheels" were associated with class, and the more spokes your wheels had, the more class you had. In that context, and thinking of Pontiac as more of a luxury arm of Chevrolet than a competitor, seeing spoked wheels on a 2nd gen makes sense. Old School spoked wheels is a period correct mod at the very least, and being a bit sentimental here, for myself, that's the way Grandpa wanted it; that's the way it stays.
The breed ended with a 5-Spoke design used throughout the 4th generation. I don't know if it was supposed to be reminiscent of the Rally wheels or just "what was popular" for the era, but it always struck me as odd that the most iconic wheel of the breed (the Snowflake) was never carried into or modernized for future generations by Pontiac.
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5,269 Posts
Never. I drive/navigate by the stars and/or sun ;-)Are you sure you didn’t have one “back in the day”…….
a lot of "showing your age" jokes get thrown around on this forum but this... THIS takes the cake... never have I seen someone admit to using a sextant for navigation! [/sarcasm]
That is the best response I have seen in awhile!
Some might call you a dinosaur but you keep on keepin on 'grandpa' if only we could've see what you've seen in color!
Some might call you a dinosaur but you keep on keepin on 'grandpa' if only we could've see what you've seen in color!
lol, it was grandpas, I assure you, it’s gone!
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72 Posts
I second that! She's in great condition. They are only original once.
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