Never say deals don't excist anymore, I SCORED today for my son!

[TruckDriver]

I scored this today for my sons first car. Should of bought it for myself.... Original wisconsin car, no winters since new, bought it from the second owner who bought it from his neibour on a impulse buy a few years ago. Decieded to sell it because there is no power to the car after it ran fine a few weeks ago until it was shut off. He said right out, he doesn't know anything about cars. Original 42,000 and change miles. 99.8% complete original car, new altenator and newer exhaust on it. Was asking $1000, I got it for $800 cash. YES, $800.00.No rust anywhere, except under the hood at the very front, and it is VERY minor. Original stereo is gone for a aftermarket, and the wheel cones are missing. Deals are out there yet. Even on Craig's List! I was told this is one of 1500 made in this color. From what I found so far, it is a rare color combo., but no numbers yet on it. Two people told me, the starter solenoid fried, and just replace the starter should fix it. If not, might be the ignition switch? It's like the there is no battery in the car, but when we tried a new battery, nothing changed, still completely dead.

[TruckDriver]

 

[TruckDriver]

 

[Baldwinvette77]

Not bad! hard to go wrong at that price 

[Kern Dog]

Those are decent handling cars. Good luck with it.

[Charger_Fan]

Nice, a KITT car! And I can see why it's only one of 1500 made in that color... That also accounts for it being garaged most of it's life! Hehe. No offense, buddy, at least it's not green. 

That's strange, they had it running & now there's nothing? I wonder if they had it running on a jump to a dead battery & somehow crossed the cables? I would put a good battery in it, then check for a main fuse that may be popped. Make sure both battery cables have a good clean connection at each end, both of them. Ignition switch? Seriously doubt that. Is this car carbureted or injected?

[Kern Dog]

The 5.0L H.O was a carbureted engine. It was rated at 190 HP. Funny how even 4 cylinder mills are making that now. Those cars were light though compared to todays cars. No air bags, no crumple zones, no backup cameras, simpler radio, no GPS navigation, smaller brakes, less wiring. Most were under 3400 lbs.

[Charger_Fan]

The 5.0L H.O was a carbureted engine.

Oh yes, I forgot! If I recall, '86 was the first year they went to factory injection. Ford too. And '86 was also the first year of mandatory 3rd brake lights. I remember THAT decision well, because I opposed it vehemently. People still can't clue into a car stopping in front of them, it doesn't matter how many flashy-blinky red lights they have in their faces!

[Mike DC]

The 5.0L H.O was a carbureted engine. It was rated at 190 HP. Funny how even 4 cylinder mills are making that now. Those cars were light though compared to todays cars. No air bags, no crumple zones, no backup cameras, simpler radio, no GPS navigation, smaller brakes, less wiring. Most were under 3400 lbs.

I think they were a little TOO light in hindsight.  They could have used more chassis stiffness & crash structure.  

[TruckDriver]

Nice, a KITT car! And I can see why it's only one of 1500 made in that color... That also accounts for it being garaged most of it's life! Hehe. No offense, buddy, at least it's not green. 

That's strange, they had it running & now there's nothing? I wonder if they had it running on a jump to a dead battery & somehow crossed the cables? I would put a good battery in it, then check for a main fuse that may be popped. Make sure both battery cables have a good clean connection at each end, both of them. Ignition switch? Seriously doubt that. Is this car carbureted or injected?

I kinda like it in this color. It's different. And a lot of my friends think it is the starter solenoid, that fried. They are willing to bet on it. So we are going to change that first. If that it not it, at least it is something that we wont have to worry about later down the road.

[chargerboy69]

Nice buy. I always loved the way those mid to late 80s T/As drove.   

[redgum78]

Bargain  and very cool first car!

[Troy]

I think you overpaid.

Those cars were made at the now shuttered Fisher Body Plant less than half a mile from my garage. It's a testament to poor union negotiations. The 5.0 was that crap 305 wasn't it? And it doesn't run - not surprising. Those things rattled from the day they left the factory (particularly the dash). The t-tops leak like a sieve. The plastic bumper covers usually crank or warp. The seats are horrible. I'm not sure they handled very well early on.

On the other hand, as a younger man I probably drove worse cars. Hopefully it's cheap to keep on the road.

Troy

[Chad L. Magee]

I have a couple of the F-bodies 1980s Camaros.  They can be cheap fun for cruising around in, however watch for rust underneath.  My 1989 Iroc-Z 5.7L was completely rusted out on the drivers side floor pan due to previous owners driving in salty roads and leaving the slush to melt on the floorboards....

There is a website that you may want to check out: www.thirdgen.org

They cover pretty much everything that you need to know or want to know about on these cars.....

[charger_fan_4ever]

Back in the day i had a 87 GTA trans am with the 350 TPI. Basically an iroc.
Wow did it handle well on tight corners. But what an awful harsh ride. Never liked the laying down driving position.
Performace wise i couldnt have been more dissapointed. It was stock but wow what a turd after about 3000rpm.

Lets just say when i got my 1st 5.0L mustang with gears short headers and exhaust i thought i had a race car compared to that thing lol

[JR]

I've always had a thing for these after growing up watching Knight Rider reruns.

If it we're mine, I wouldn't bother getting the 5.0 running. I'd go straight for a junkyard 5.3 swap.

[Dino]

I've always had a thing for these after growing up watching Knight Rider reruns.

If it we're mine, I wouldn't bother getting the 5.0 running. I'd go straight for a junkyard 5.3 swap.

Same here, except they weren't reruns.   

Yep ditch that pos 5.0 and get something real in there. Put a KITT nose on there, forego the scanner, and paint it a nice color.

[A383Wing]

I would check the main fusible link at the starter solenoid, that could be bad, but then you would need to find out why

[440]

I had an 84 5.0 Ford Thunderbird with TBI and cruise control. Anything other than a flat road a dog could drive it better then the TBI. Pretty scary actually.

[TruckDriver]

I would check the main fusible link at the starter solenoid, that could be bad, but then you would need to find out why

We more/less know why. And it is what we are going to check next. It is the only one we didn't check...

I was given a link to a F body site, and a thread of another person with another '84 that had the EXACT same problem. Was the fusible link by the starter.

[morepower]

I was a big thirdgen fan had one since I was 15. just recently sold it to my sister. they are good cars. i dont think you got a super deal but halfway decent deal for sure. u should join thirdgen.org so much information there for those cars.

[TruckDriver]

I was a big thirdgen fan had one since I was 15. just recently sold it to my sister. they are good cars. i dont think you got a super deal but halfway decent deal for sure. u should join thirdgen.org so much information there for those cars.

That is where I figured out where the issue was. One of the guy had the exact same problem with his '84. We are changing all the cooling system stuff now. Lot of rust was in it. Looks like it was never flushed out..

[pipeliner]

Nice, a KITT car! And I can see why it's only one of 1500 made in that color... That also accounts for it being garaged most of it's life! Hehe. No offense, buddy, at least it's not green. 

That's strange, they had it running & now there's nothing? I wonder if they had it running on a jump to a dead battery & somehow crossed the cables? I would put a good battery in it, then check for a main fuse that may be popped. Make sure both battery cables have a good clean connection at each end, both of them. Ignition switch? Seriously doubt that. Is this car carbureted or injected?

I like the color a lot. Getting sick of seeing everything painted blue, black, red and sliver

[RCCDrew]

What are your plans? Get it running and drive? Any future mods?

[TruckDriver]

He right now wants to keep it stock other then a nice stereo and we are going to loose the emission crap. It's been running for 3 or 4 weeks already. I'll be taking some photos for his Senior yearbook soon. So, I'll post them.