1986 pontiac firebird trans am 5.0l blue automatic

1986 Pontiac Firebird TRANS AM Additional Info:

1986 Pontiac Trans AmSo, here we have my 1986 Pontiac Trans Am. I am listing it again. Previous buyer didn't think it ran like a Trans Am should, and he was absolutely right. I fixed that! Details to follow. Please keep in mind, however, that this is an '86 model with the 165hp 305 engine. It is not a speed demon!It has the carburated 305 engine. I am going to explain all the good and bad about the car, so there are no surprises for anyone.I purchased the car with 26,765 miles on it back in 8/2021. It was running a bit rough, and the fuel gauge was not working. I replaced the fuel gauge, and still have the "always full" issue. There must be a short to ground somewhere. So, I was using the trip odometer to keep track of mileage, so I knew when to fill up. Well, one day I hit the trip meter reset and the little gear inside crunched. Now, the odometer and trip meter to not work.I have a little GPS unit I installed which now keeps track of my mileage, speed, too. I bought a used dash cluster which didn't show "000" on the trip meter, hoping it was not stripped out. After swapping speedometer units, this replacement also does not work.There is a company that sells a new gear kit, but they don't have any until 6/30 of this year. The title will be marked as True Mileage Unknown.So, here is a good spot to say why I am selling the car! Mostly old age, being out of shape, and arthritis in my hands getting worse. I think my days of tinkering on cars are in the past.Moving on.Some of the rough running was due to a clogged catalytic converter, which I had replaced by one of these Craigslist shops. Did a fine job, but it's a bit noisy. Could probably use welding. Anyway, that fixed the problem.I replaced the fuel pump, because I thought it went bad when it was really out of gas. I removed the AIR pump and lines to the exhaust manifolds. The cat is still in place, so if you have to pass emissions, make sure the car is nice and warm. It's over 25 years old, so should be exempt.I flushed the radiator. It was messy, and looked fine after I did it, but when things dried it left some brown patina looking stuff in the engine bay which I show in the pics. It will come off, but requires lots of scrubbing. The car stays nice and cool, and I also installed a little switch in the engine bay you can use to run the fan when the key is on.Cruise control works!Heater core leaks. I bought a replacement, then the day when I was going to tackle the job, I just said "nope!" Way too much work. Also, the wire control to the temperature selector is stuck. That would be fixed when the heater core is replaced by the new owner.Power antenna quit on me a few months ago. I unplugged the relay to stop it from growling at me all the time.Rear shocks need replaced. I bought a pair, but have not installed them. Would be handy to have a lift... I did put in 2 new rear-hatch shocks, though, so that stays up nicely!Lock to the side storage in hatch is pretty much gone. Lock in the package area is still fine, though.Rear spoiler was a mess. I patched it up a bit, and it looks good from 10ft away.Cassette player did not work, so it currently has an Alpine unit in it which sounds great!I replaced the steering wheel with an excellent used unit.New Alternator. I also replaced the ECU.No rips or tears in the interior. Driver side door panel has a crack in it. Not an issue, but it is there. Dashboard has no cracks. Seats look brand new. Headliner is a little floppy near the rear hatch.The car still wasn't running great, was still slow but better, and stalled out on me on hot days once in a while. I performed a tune-up with new cap, rotor, plugs and wires and it seriously woke the car up. I added a braided steel fuel line from the pump to the carb, and ran it so it doesn't lay on the block. That fixed the stalling (vapor lock).The car is not perfect, but pretty darn close. I get compliments on it all the time.One last thing; on long trips every once in a while I will get the Check Engine Light coming on. Doing the paperclip code read, it shows either a bad oxygen sensor, which I replaced, or the alternator is overcharging, which I also replaced. It always goes off on restart. It's a mystery.

On Jun-09-24 at 10:01:56 PDT, seller added the following information:

*** So, I didn't like the way I had set up the fuel line and added a 90 degree elbow, making sure it wasn't going to kink or bend. Then, I took it out for a test drive. This thing runs great! I do not expect any more stalling at the side of the road acting like the car is out of gas. All signs pointed to vapor lock, and that is now taken care of.The speedometer is acting a little squirrelly, running a couple mph off either way at times. The majority of the time it is correct, but I wanted to add that. This is the one I added hoping I would get an odometer, but no luck. I thought about putting the old one back in for total accuracy, but it is a big job. Not hard to do, but a lot of steps. Plus, if anyone decides to do the odometer gear repair once they have them back in stock, no reason to have to take it out again. Also, the little GPS device works just fine!

On Jun-09-24 at 22:16:30 PDT, seller added the following information:

*** One more thing, then I'll let this auction o its course. The A/C system does work, mostly. I converted it to R134, meaning I added the adapters. When I vacuum the system it seems to hold its negative pressure just fine. The refrigerant does leak out over a month or so, though. I added some of that Red Angel sealant, just in case it might help, but it didn't do much. Those 38 year old rubber ac lines are just not up to the task. Replacing those lines is not something I am ready to tackle.I am also adding one more pic, which shows another reason I am selling the Trans Am; I bought myself an older Porsche 911 for my "after midlife crisis". I know people often wonder why a car is being sold if it's so wonderful.