Was the REAL Firebird from Night Rider a Terrible Car to Own?
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- Опубликовано: 28 окт 2022
- I review and drive 1991 Formula Firebird. This was the hero car from the 1980's hit TV show Knight Rider. While this car does differ from the actual TV car, it gives you glimpse of what was like to own this piece of automotive history. Was the Gen3 Firebird an awful car to own or was it brilliant?
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As a owner of 2 3rd gen Firebirds ('89 20th anniv Trans Am and a Formula 1LE) I really appreciate this review. Just a friendly correction. That car was actually a base Firebird convertible with the 5.0L TBI and the Sport appearance PKG.. You could not get a Formula in the convertible, just hard top or T-top. The Formula also had 3 engine choices. The engine in this car you just reviewed was the base V8, then you could get the LB9 5.0 Tuned Port at 205 HP /Auto or with the 5 speed it was designated an HO and if you added the performance PKG it was rated at 230hp. Then you could get the L98 TPI 5.7 rated at 240 HP in '91. Keep em coming, loving the classic reviews. Can't wait to see the AC Cobra replica review. I hear some of them are better than the real ones.
Thank you for the clearing this up. I thought is was indeed a Formula that had the tail lights swapped out for earlier TA tail lights. I want one of these for a LS3 custom build.
I'm 56yrs old. So I really enjoy the video on these old car's. Brings back some really good memories.
nice to finally see a video about somthing other than a hellcat/charger
You need to review the GTA it is my old car! 😁
My uncle has a bandit edition t bar roof 460 c.i 79 trans am..it came stock but then swapped.. wow till this day I'll never forget the way American muscle makes you feel :)
My brother had a ‘87 Trans Am. The passenger seat sucked as a 6’4 guy. They had a giant catalytic converter they routed under that seat so the floor was raised to make it fit.
Interesting question, Interesting video. Cool black TA. Thanks for sharing.
As a kid I always wanted one of these when I grew up. Its why I ended up with a black Challenger.
Love the car reviews!!
I had a 1983 Recaro edition that had the crossfire fuel injection system removed and it had a Rochester 4 barrel in place.. it was an extremely fast car. I paid $3000 for it in 1989. I believe I had around 83,000 miles when I bought it. I missed that car very much. The T-tops were awesome.
Did you notice the power locator is open on the Dodge website? Looking like dealers are only getting one maybe two scat packs and one maybe two hellcats ,when there's a total allocation of say 20 Challengers.
Love this Retro Car Vids !!
I would love to have a convertible from the 60s, not a powerhouse just a cruiser, great video 👍😁
By dad's first car was a late Gen 2 trans am that he bought in highschool and still has today.
I'm feeling the old school cars. I would be shocked if they had a Vega. That's was my first car out of high school
Styling wise the car was/is awesome. Unfortunately the power train was garbage from a performance standpoint as were most cars in the early smog control days.
I owned a 1991 Formula. It had the 5.7 with TPI. 230 HP. 4 spd auto.
You should go up to Ocala and see if you can get a tour of Jim Schmidt's car collection at NPD.
Really enjoying the more broader car coverage. (not just a mopar/mustang channel - no offense to them but it must make it difficult to come up with fresh content when limited to a defined niche)
Whoa! That’s brings back BIG memories… What an awesome car back then and now.. I’m definitely going to have to see this place very soon and get in some trouble with the better half😂 love it Mr Sir X🤘
It's K night rider Mr.racerX.
Those firebirds were always sporty & good looking & for back in that day they were muscle cars 💪
I've had 4 IROCs & 3 GTAs back in the late80s - mid90s0⁰
I remember when I was a kid in 72 my dad was looking at buying a Firebird I begged him to get the trans am which I think only came in white with a black and blue Firebird decal and a 455 cu in block He ended up with a mustang Mach 1 so that was ok too lol
1:15 says DO NOT TOUCH while Racer X gets to drive, life aint fair LMAOO
I had an 87 IROC-Z with the 5.0 TPI with a T56
Truly cool seeing you reviewing classic cars! Great video RacerX!
GNX is the exception to your rule I believe.
Kinda cools, like a 90's corvette at the front.
...Wait a minute!
FYI, it’s a 5.0 TBI, not carbureted.
Really like videos like this takes me back I actually like the designs of the 80s and 90s they just needed a little more of a push in the ass imo
That particular car has the L03 throttlebody injected 5.0 liter V8. It felt fast from 0-25, then immediately ran out of breath.
now i miss my old 91 GTA! was the dark metallic green, blk leather. why'd i let her go?? 🤪
I had an 87 trans-am with t-tops it was slow by today's standards but rode and sounded great. It was interesting to see one in such great shape. They are usually very worn out if you get to see them and they are getting rarer to see in the wild. Great review keep them coming.
When I was 25 years old I had a 1990 Firebird White I believe there was a turbocharged one and it came out of the Grand National Buick
That was in '89 Pontiac come out with around #1500 3.8L v6 turbo Trans Am's, but.. it was much more like the Buick GNX!
Yes the 89 TTA ,I owned one of those in 1993 ,Another Awesome car
Man that Flame red GTA is the exact spec that I had. I miss that car
Great review bud! I think this car design was ahead of it's time. That made it perfect to be used as the car for Knight Rider. K.I.T.T. and K.A.R.R. (Knight Automated Roving Robot) both looked pretty great in the show. K.A.R.R. was the first vehicle used by the Knight Foundation, but K.A.R.R.'s A.I. cared only for itself and self preservation. Nothing more. K.A.R.R.
was deactivated. When Michael Long was shot in the face, he was left by his Trans Am to die. Wilton Knight, saved Michael Long's life, and restructures his face to look like Garth Knight, (Wilton Knight's evil son) and gave Michael Long a new Identity as Michael Knight. His Trans Am was used as the new vehicle to house K.I.T.T. I love this show to pieces. Thanks for reviewing that Trans Am! I can't wait for you to review one of those Cobras! I wonder if they are Factory 5 Racing kits? Well find out soon enough!
Knight rider Firebird had the crossfire injection fuel system which was complete garbage hence why they only kept it for maybe two or three years
Kit was 82 first year gen3
The first 5 vehicles I owned were all mid 80s (with 1 late 80s). The worst part was, it was the early to late 90s when I owned them. The only thing worse than an 80s car/truck/ was driving it when it was 10+ years old in the 90s.
When I was in college back in 98-02 I had a 88 GTA notchback. I thought the car was awesome. It was a 5.0 tpi/auto, black with a digital dash. I did many of the internet forum suggested mods and it was quick back in the day. I still own the car. It's been in storage in a shed since the mid 2000s when I bought an ls1 trans am. It's always a great to see a third gen on the road they are all but extinct in New England.
@Pat Luxor lol I beg to differ.
@Pat Luxor wrong
"There's not much difference in this and the kitt car " as Rodney Dangerfield once said "you're way off"
I had a 1989 V6 Firebird (my first car) and I traded it for a 1992 Firebird 305 V8 with 5-speed. I loved both cars, neither were exceptionally fast but they were so fun to drive as a young guy. Both had t-tops. I still feel very nostalgic about the cars. They were well known at my high school. I sure miss those old days.
3rd Gen camaros & Transams were all i owned back in the early 90s ,I actually still own one ,Its a 86 Iroc z a Tpi ttop car with 3600 miles, This one my Dad bought brand new ,The one you have in ur video is when i lost interest in them i didnt care for the changes they made to the appearance pkg ,1985-1990 were the best years ,That particular car as shown wouldve been the least desirable at the time with that engine, Now for the Burgandy GTA you shown was one of the kings ,I owned 2 of those and had a blast ,These cars were funny tho because u can get a Tpi car and it would be a dog ,then u can get the identical car and it would be an animal (for the time) The rear played a very big part in if u had a fast or slow car,I raced my dad in one of my GTA's years ago ,He destroyed me ,His car was ordered with a 3.23 rear were mine had a crappy 2.77 ,and the difference was huge believe it or not
How does a car scan for bad guys. I'm just trying to figure it out 😆. Anyway good video, it's nice to get a little reminder of how we really do live in a great time period for car guys. Going somewhere with 650/700hp is like going out to the playground as a kid. Even though I'm sure people back in the day thought 170hp was just REALLY ground breaking 😆. I'm thankful that I live in a time where if your car is under 300hp you've got some weak ass sh!t.
I enjoyed that one, thankyou, it just go to show that a nice ride is just not about power. It's about styling and handling. Yes, I have a fast muscle car but also have other cars that don't have the same power, but very enjoyable to drive. I am enjoying you showing cars from a different generation, Catch you on the next one!
Awesome review! Firebirds of all generations and performance levels are fantastic cars. Also the convertibles made in 91 and 92 are very rare. GM only made a few hundred of them during these years. Great collectible!
When are the ordering banks going to open for the 2023 Dodge Durango Hellcat?
Great looking car, that is all. 0-60 of a family car. Everything but the shell goes in the trash if you want to go racing. For some reason the "performance parts" are ridiculously overpriced.
Owned that body style, for their time they were fun. 130mph+ was scary as hell to drive even with modified suspension. Awesome for doing long burnouts and playing. TPI had amazing low end torque. Sad now day a Honda Accord would smoke it in a strait line.
My 85 felt like it was getting lift after 80mph 🤣
@@charlesvickery1724 The bar models had that issue from what I recall. The T/A's didn't have that issue, at least in the later 80's. They actually used the T/A body for land speed record cars.
Great review! Way back in 1983 my dad took me to a car show up in Sioux Falls SD. I got to sit in the Night Rider car & get my picture taken & Boss Hogg was there for a short while in character.
Cool video, I owned a 77 firebird Formula, not fast at all....all show no go but I would love to know if it is still around .
Formula didn't have those taillights. It's a T/A or someone changed them after a wreck or for preference
Beautiful 😍 car 🚗 in it day
As a previous owner of a replica: Its Knight* Rider, and yes, for a 30 year old car they are a "knightmare" to keep running or working. Its why I broke down and got a Challenger, which has similar style.
My brother had one! He loved that car until it started giving him issues.
Cool video, I really love the trans am , the 1971 72 is my favorite year
The '91 model year introduced that "aero" front bumper, which carried over to '92. That was the precursor to the 4th gen that debuted in '93.
As for Knight Rider, those all came from the infamous trainwreck in 1982. None of the vehicles had VIN's, & all were destroyed for it after the show ended. Any you see out there are not from the show. They're replicas made to look like K.I.T.T. There are a few shops around the country that can make them.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
@@Thirdgen83 So come with facts to back up your claim.
@@DJGRoc I already stated a FACT.
@@Thirdgen83 Typical idiot.
The 3rd gen firebird is a great car it was the next best thing to the C4 corvette
The actual knight rider car is horrible to drive the nose was way to long the steering wheel is horrible and theres buttons every where
Classic
Are u still in Lutz?
i love these f body cars lol
Too slow cause of emisions sadly both iroc z28 and firebird robbed of hp though they had cool bodystyles in the 80s compared to garbage later 90s.
It's "Knight Rider" not "Night Rider"!
what about nite rider lol
Ugly car and not enough power to pull a sick old lady out of bed.
This video is lame, and full of false information. Knight Rider never used a '92 convertible Firebird.
We know that kitt was a 1982 and he said that. But you can make the late 80s early 90s firebird T/A in to kitt. And in season 4 in knight rider kitt could change in to the convertible google it.
@@richardr7947Really? GOOGLE?? SMH...
@@Thirdgen83😘
Being 6'3" it was great sitting down into my 3rd gen f body and having my legs stretched out, loved the design of that car.