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1983
•Press Release
•Options
•Decoding
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1983 Pontiac Firebird Restoration
Here's my restoration project. A 1983 Pontiac Trans Am. I purchased this T/A on
eBay from a dealer in California. It's pretty much what I was expecting, which wasn't
much. However, what caught my attention about this particular T/A was the engine
VIN code, “7”. In late 1983 Pontiac released the high output 5.0L V-8 (RPO L69),
rated at 190 horsepower. This is one of only 662 1983 Firebirds with the high output
V-8. It's even my favorite color combination black and tan. It even has t-tops!
The car has been smacked around a bit, however, its in pretty good shape. Those
non-factory gold stripes will have to go.
The interior was a little rough, fortunately much of the plastic pieces, although
faded, are not scratched or damaged. I'm hoping they are salvageable.
The first thing to do was to remove the interior and see what kind of shape the
body was in. fortunately this car lives most of his life in California. There is
virtually no rust anywhere. Some areas have some minor surface rust that nothing
to bad.
Although this panel looks pretty bad it is actually in fairly good condition. There
are no scratches, cracks or breaks. I'm going to try to dye the plastic and see
what happens. If I can reuse it that would be swell, otherwise, I'll need to hunt
down replacement parts
The carpet looks like the skin of an old sick dog. It will need to be replaced.
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