Things that annoy you on these cars

[Wallington]

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[b_hill_86]

Just a product of the nose change?

[roadking77]

In a world where everything annoys me, here's another one that I remembered when looking through some pics.

Why....could they not mount the radiator support to nosecone top brackets straight on 79-81 models??!

Wonky brackets 79-81!!

https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/q4-1.jpg


1974 managed to have them neat and tidy!

https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2023/08/1974-Pontiac-Firebird-Trans-Am-Super-Duty-455-7.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=683&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=1024


1977 worked it out!

https://cdn.dealeraccelerate.com/rkm/1/3114/207198/1920x1440/w/1977-pontiac-firebird-trans-am-se.webp


Guh!! Stop it!!

https://res2.grays.com/handlers/imagehandler.ashx?t=sh&id=32587636&s=fl&index=0&ts=637655883240000000

  You sound like my son!  The braces dont really bother me, in fact I prefer the look of the later ones over the early flat wide bars. Not sure if one is more structurally sound than the other?

What annoys me is not having a running A/C.

[FormTA]

I don't know if it's the cars or just the cars I've had. The difficulty open and closing the doors. I have aligned them over and over and it is still tough to open and close them.

It's been every one I've ever owned.  New hinges and strikers too. The next step is to try new not rebuilt latches.

[b_hill_86]

My doors open and close well windows up or down but I’m still struggling to get the windows to roll all the way up with the doors closed. I’ve adjusted them several times.

[Zach]

My doors open and close well windows up or down but I’m still struggling to get the windows to roll all the way up with the doors closed. I’ve adjusted them several times.

My window crank gear chipped some teeth some how, so luckily I don’t have to worry about that. My driver side windows align perfectly… 2 inches too low… One of those keep it rolled down at all time situations, same with keeping the t tops always off. At least my doors shut nice… besides it scraping the front fender…

[FormTA]

Ha, I keep my t tops off all the time too!

[roadking77]

My windows are a PIA also. My dr. side works really well. The pass side only goes up about half with the door closed. Door open it works fine. The problem is hitting/rubbing against the weather strip. My dr. side goes up and down no problem.

[stros]

Agree the windows can be a pain.  My biggest complaint is probably that my passenger side mirror is impossible to angle into a useful position.  Luckily with our massive windows we barely need the mirrors. 

[b_hill_86]

Agree the windows can be a pain.  My biggest complaint is probably that my passenger side mirror is impossible to angle into a useful position.  Luckily with our massive windows we barely need the mirrors.

Keep an eye out for an 81 (80 also maybe?) convex mirror. Dunno if pre or post crash but I posted about swapping the glass from one into my housing and it’s a WORLD of difference. Seriously. Imagine having a mirror you can actually use lol.

[stros]

Keep an eye out for an 81 (80 also maybe?) convex mirror. Dunno if pre or post crash but I posted about swapping the glass from one into my housing and it’s a WORLD of difference. Seriously. Imagine having a mirror you can actually use lol.

Oh yeah I think I remember that thread.  Will keep an eye out for one.  Glad it wasn’t just me that noticed that issue.

[FormTA]

On the opposite side of this.  I had my car out today and had to get gas. I love the center gas fill. No matter what side I'd open, I can get in. Trouble is some gas pumps have short hoses that force me to pull up really far and sometimes take up the next pump place.

[5th T/A]

On the opposite side of this.  I had my car out today and had to get gas. I love the center gas fill. No matter what side I'd open, I can get in. Trouble is some gas pumps have short hoses that force me to pull up really far and sometimes take up the next pump place.

I agree the center gas fill is nice. My Costco does have extra long fuel hoses allowing you to fill from either side.

[5th T/A]

Agree the windows can be a pain.  My biggest complaint is probably that my passenger side mirror is impossible to angle into a useful position.  Luckily with our massive windows we barely need the mirrors.

Keep an eye out for an 81 (80 also maybe?) convex mirror. Dunno if pre or post crash but I posted about swapping the glass from one into my housing and it’s a WORLD of difference. Seriously. Imagine having a mirror you can actually use lol.

My 1980 does have a convex mirror. While better than nothing, by todays standards these mirrors are tiny.

[stros]

On the opposite side of this.  I had my car out today and had to get gas. I love the center gas fill. No matter what side I'd open, I can get in. Trouble is some gas pumps have short hoses that force me to pull up really far and sometimes take up the next pump place.

I agree the center gas fill is nice. My Costco does have extra long fuel hoses allowing you to fill from either side.

+1 and I also like the 21 gallon gas tank.  Speaking of fuel - it may just be my issue but my fuel gauge seems to fluctuate significantly depending on the corner I may be going around. 

Sometimes on the same drive I go anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4.  As a result I don’t wait long between fill ups.  Maybe I bought a bad sending unit. This is a replacement fuel tank designed for EFI.

[5th T/A]

Ben, nice work around. I have thought the GM design for this was an afterthought. What did GM do on right hand drive cars?

Talking about afterthoughts, why did they ever put the sound deadening panel above the pedals on the latter model 2nd Gen cars? What a pain it makes for fuse access.

[b_hill_86]

I hadn’t ever thought about the complications of the recirculate mechanism on a right hand drive car. That’s pretty cool you modified it the way you did.

As for the fuel tank, mine has a pretty big swing from about half to a quarter depending on the severity of the turn.

[roadking77]

Not sure the vaccum is an afterthought as much as 10lbs in a 5 lb bag!  I like what Wally did with his as a necessity.

Fuel gauge, I put a new tank in my 77 with all new lines, new sending unit etc. I think I got everything from firebird central but not sure after all these years (I know all the same stuff I got for my 79 came from FC). I have no problem with the fuel gauge. No bounce at all, nothing with corners.

Annoyances=TAC has been working great for me on edge for the last 6 months or so. I clicked on a link yesterday for a long lost thread and BAM back to the what do you call it format??? Now Im back on firefox to log in correctly. Hope it will work itself out soon.

[stros]

Fuel gauge, I put a new tank in my 77 with all new lines, new sending unit etc. I think I got everything from firebird central but not sure after all these years (I know all the same stuff I got for my 79 came from FC). I have no problem with the fuel gauge. No bounce at all, nothing with

Hi Kerry - do you recall what brand that Firebird Central sending unit was?  They never let you know what brands they’re reselling on their site.  Mine is a Spectra one that I got with my Spectra EFI fuel tank back in 2015. That being said I thought my fuel gauge was doing this with the original sending unit too.  Not sure if the gauge itself could be the issue as it seems to show the right amount after filling it up and when it’s going straight.

[b_hill_86]

I clicked a link the other day on the site to go to another page on the site, on my iPhone, and got whatever you guys were seeing too. Awful. I feel for whoever was dealing with that ona. Regular basis.

Side note about Firebird Central. Im a bit annoyed with them as I bought a coolant overflow jug from them about 3 years ago and it’s severely cracked where the upper threaded stud protrudes from the tank. I sent them a pic and inquiry about it and they said it’s been too long since I bought it to warranty it and they’d offer me like 10% off a new one. I’ve always had really good luck with them so I hate to give up over one instance but why should I buy another one to fail in another 3 years presumably?

[N PRGRES]

I clicked a link the other day on the site to go to another page on the site, on my iPhone, and got whatever you guys were seeing too. Awful. I feel for whoever was dealing with that ona. Regular basis.

Side note about Firebird Central. Im a bit annoyed with them as I bought a coolant overflow jug from them about 3 years ago and it’s severely cracked where the upper threaded stud protrudes from the tank. I sent them a pic and inquiry about it and they said it’s been too long since I bought it to warranty it and they’d offer me like 10% off a new one. I’ve always had really good luck with them so I hate to give up over one instance but why should I buy another one to fail in another 3 years presumably?

I have had great luck with them.  I would say you're fortunate they offered anything off a 3 year old part, most companies would say "too bad"

[FormTA]

No 79-81 owners? The entire point of the post?

I posted my irritations, I have 2 79s. Is there more I should be annoyed with?

[5th T/A]

No 79-81 owners? The entire point of the post?

I posted my irritations, I have 2 79s. Is there more I should be annoyed with?

Kind of amazing that Pontiac was able to keep the Gen II TA In production for 11 years. If I recall correctly, they almost pulled the plug on the F-body’s in 1972. I am a bigger fan of the 70-73 cars, but I think the best sales years by numbers were 79-81.

[roadking77]

Sorry for the delay, as I have not been able to pull up the lobby section
No idea on the manufacturer of the fuel sender or tank. It very well may have been spectra. That sounds familiar. There is a company about 5 miles away from me in my town called gastanks dot com. I figured I could save a bunch on shipping and buy from the direct. They did not stock anything f body and had to order it in, the end price was considerably more than what I paid to Fb central. I really wanted to do business local but.................

I own a '79 as well.

[FormTA]

It does look odd, that's for sure. But hey, they were keeping costs down using dated parts.

[apfstg]

I’ve been looking at that bracket every time I open the hood now - should I drill another hole or modify the bracket…(ha ha)
The worst thing I can come up with so far on my project are the hood hinges 5 more minutes in the design stage would have been well spent..

[rkellerjr]

Nothing annoys me, its perfect!  []

[nas t eh]

I get annoyed by long threads where the original question is ignored by those with the information. Yet, when others ask a question it gets answered straight away.

You asked for an answer to a question almost nobody could possibly have an answer to. Most likely, the real answer is it was the simplest way to get the job done at the time and nobody cared how unorganized the engine bay looked on a Firebird in 1979.

[FormTA]

Oh, my bad. I thought the focus of the thread was what others were annoyed with on their cars and you were posting first with a rhetorical question.  Should probably relabel this thread then.

[rkellerjr]

Oh, my bad. I thought the focus of the thread was what others were annoyed with on their cars and you were posting first with a rhetorical question.  Should probably relabel this thread then.

Ya me too

[Wallington]

You asked for an answer to a question almost nobody could possibly have an answer to. Most likely, the real answer is it was the simplest way to get the job done at the time and nobody cared how unorganized the engine bay looked on a Firebird in 1979.
[/quote]

Not at all, it involved an owner of the many 79-81 vehicles to stick their head over and see if there was a reason or not.

And yes, it was simply for conversation since this forum sucks balls.

[nas t eh]

And yes, it was simply for conversation since this forum sucks balls.

Look I know things aren’t great for you, but being miserable is not the answer.

[stros]

I liked this thread.  Something a bit different than we normally talk about here.  Got some additional conversation going.

Overall we have very minor gripes for 40+ year old cars! 

[5th T/A]

I liked this thread.  Something a bit different than we normally talk about here.  Got some additional conversation going.

Overall we have very minor gripes for 40+ year old cars!

Great point, kind of one of those is the glass half empty or half full. Depending on what year, we are talking cars 43-54 years old. Looking at all the cars you could purchase brand new today. How many will be collector cars in 50 years? If something becomes collectible, will there be parts available to keep them running? What happens if the power train or body control computer dies? Can you get parts for an early ATRI or Apple computer?

[roadking77]

Exactly. My son and I bring this point up all the time. I have a 2001 MB ML320 that has been sitting in the garage for about 5 years now. I bought the truck in '03 and it ran great. Motor was still running strong but the computer crapped out. It was 'too new' to scrap, and just old enough that the fix was far greater than the value of the car. I keep hoping that one of these days there will be a 'cheap' fix for the bad computer, or just do an LS swap

[stros]

You guys are right - thank goodness folks still sell parts for our cars.  Not all of them have been great quality but at least we still have some options. 

[Wallington]

I've mentioned this before, the 78-81 door armrests should have had a small recess behind the top pad where a hand could also hold instead of the flimsy forward extension. Camaro LT? Had these from 74 so plenty of time to see the weaknesses and adjust instead of trying to lever a massive, heavy and long door from the front. Bad design.
Don't mention the adjustable recliner option some Camaros had or the full recliner that Japanese vehicles had.

[N PRGRES]

And yes, it was simply for conversation since this forum sucks balls.

  Then maybe you should leave, I for for one know I wouldn't complain, since most of your posts just seem to be you wanting attention and you get all butt hurt when noone responds.

[Wallington]

Arrange it then.

[Jack]

Not being able to get in especially with a bad knee...