Never seen snow! Ok, I’ve used that one before, sorry. The owner of this 1985 Oldsmobile Firenza says that it’s as “straight as an arrow” and it sure looks like it is. This l’il red hatchback can be found on Craigslist, or here on the CL archive when the listing goes away. It’s located in beautiful Anaconda, Montana, around 100 miles west of equally-beautiful Bozeman. The seller is asking $1,500 for this one.
I don’t know why I like these cars as much as I do, they sometimes don’t go over too well in the comments section. The photos are pretty small so it’s hard to tell if there is any rust but I don’t really see any, could that be possible? Most of us have seen a Chevy Cavalier on the street but the other similar GM models are more unusual to see. The Firenza was made from 1982 to 1988 and other versions were the Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Sunbird, and the infamous Cadillac Cimarron.
The seller says that the paint is weathered but I would have to believe that a weekend with some polishing compound could have this one looking great again, where there is paint, that is. And, stop by the local salvage (i.e., junk) yard for a driver’s side trim strip. The seller is only the second owner and they have the documentation on this car since it was new.
The photos are small but there they hit all of the main points: all sides, interior from the driver’s perspective, and even an engine photo. I know, it’s time to buy a Powerball ticket, my luck must be changing. The seats look fantastic, in the rear, too. But, alas, this car has an automatic. Small cars like this usually benefit from being able to shift your own gears. With just over 49,000 miles the interior should look good and it does.
This is Oldsmobile’s 2.0L inline-four that would have had around 85 hp. That’s why a manual transmission would be nice here. It’s not like this will be a super sporty driving car with the 2.0 engine anyway but anything to make it fun to drive is welcome. This one “runs great, starts every time.” Have any of you owned a GM J-body like this Olds Firenza?
I had an 89 Sunbird SE. Blue/silver 2 tone. 5 speed with the 1.8l I believe was built in Mexico. Nice fun car for a college kid in the early 90s. We replaced the clutch one night in the motor pool at the ANG base in Syracuse! Good memories.
My 1982 Firenza, hatchback, stick, got me through jr/sr years of high school and through college in Oswego, NY. It’s life ended (presumably) in Fairmont, WV, Christmastime 1992 when I traded it in on a new 1992 Ford Tempo.
The Pontiac J2000 version of this body style was pretty good looking, but the drivetrain could not match the look in the early years of the J-cars.
This will be relegated to the role of disposable beater. Drive it until it needs either it’s first, or second major repair, then off to the wrecking yard. If you keep up to date with oil changes and regular maintenance, you might get a couple of years out of it.
Steve R
did the Forenza ever have a V8 engine
FWD!
So no. Of course I know that GM did make some V8 FWD cars, but the Firenza is no Cadillac.
Looks good, is now rare, and is an antique. Checks all the right boxes.
Yep, I owned a 1986 Chevy Caviler Z24 with the same hatchback body, only the Z24 came with the 2.8 V6 which was had much more get up and go.
“With 2.8L of pure glory, the Z24 was not your average pizza delivery guy’s car, no Sir. When mated to the precise 5-speed manual transmission, the Z24 was more M3 than Pepperoni.”
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/gm-made-a-v6-hot-hatch-ten-years-before-volkswagen-1690296187
I miss that car.
I do like the performance J-bodies. I think they were under appreciated. The Cavalier Z24, the Buick Skyhawk T-Type turbo, and the Pontiac Sunbird GT.
The 1985-87 Firenza GT with the 2.8 V-6 would be an Olds version of the Z24 but they are very rare. Really, any performance J-body is pretty rare now especially in decent condition. Young drivers got a hold of them pretty quickly and destroyed them.
Totally agree. I vaguely remember the Firenza GT. My girlfriend’s mother had one that was two-tone gray metallic. It was sharp. I always liked driving J Body convertible’s with the V6. Those were even lighter and those 2.8’s and 3.1’s had so much torque. I also always liked the way those sounded with a dual exhaust muffler. Great times and great cars.
Not an owner of this but a new ’85 Calais 2 door. Everyone liked to crash into it so I traded it a year later for a 3 year old Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Yes it got hit too that first year but by another Grand Wagoneer. I drove it for 16 more years. Really.
15 year old tires….
Fun factor could be turned up by stripping it, installing a cage, a bigger motor, and going ice racing. Otherwise, I agree with Steve R on where this car is headed.
My wife and I had one, a 1982 hatchback. Bought it new. It was a 4-cylinder 4-speed, with a sharp gray/silver two tone paint job, gray interior, and the Rally-style wheels with white letter tires. Actually it was a sharp looking car. First car I bought with a sticker price over $10,000.
I bought it over an Accord hatchback, which even then I realized was the better car. Why? I couldn’t get past the “Honda Dealer Attitude” (YOU WILL BUY THIS CAR AND YOU WILL PAY THIS AMOUNT FOR IT) which existed even then, plus the fact that the Accord was offered in (if memory serves) only three colors. I really didn’t want to see myself at every traffic light.
As for the Firenza, it wasn’t that bad. Underpowered, yes, but the manual transmission helped. I remember how the revs would stay up when engaging the clutch to shift gears. That took some getting used to; I assumed it had something to do with emission tuning. The transmission was very coarse and the shifter was notchy. I also remember the steering being very light.
We kept the car for four years and 70,000 miles. Mechanically it had a few issues but nothing out of the ordinary. We ended up giving it to mother-in-law who drove it for another ten plus years, at the rate of a few thousand miles per year. A 70 year old woman driving a manual transmission!! She too had no major issues with the car, but by then the paint was mostly gone.
Former owner of a 1987 Sunbird GT Hatchback. Yes, the manual was much more fun!
I still like those wheels. In my opinion, one of GM’s best.
I had an ‘84 sedan. The Iron Duke was a pretty good little engine, that is after I replaced the head gasket. It was a preppy little car with the five speed, if not a red light warrior. Good for what it was, but I doubt it will ever be collectible. I agree with the sentiments above… drive it until it’s dead and then move on.
I had an ’84 S Coupe with the nicer Olds rally rims and the 1.8L fuel injected OHC engine. It was a great car.
My first car was a beige ’85 Firenza sedan. My parents bought it from a rental car company, so it had AC, cloth seats and an FM radio. Ours had the 85-horse OHC motor with an automatic. Not fast, not powerful but still enough there for a high school kid to put it on its top while trying to slide it around a corner on a gravel road one afternoon about 10 miles from home. That was the end of the fun for a while.
A car I can afford. Would be neat to fix up and take to the local car shows.
Now you’re talkin’, Davis! That’s exactly why I like and show these inexpensive-but-unusual little vehicles. They could give someone a chance to jump into the “old” car hobby for not much money and have fun tinkering with and slowly restoring a vehicle that actually can still be used as a daily driver at the same time. And, when they bring it to a car show it draws people like crazy.
Good man Davis. Not everyone wants to see tri-5s Vettes and Stangs over and over and over and over again.
Agreed! I appreciate this stuff just as much, if not more.
I can see what Oldsmobile was trying to do by placing the headlights apart from each other as they did with certain 60’s models, but the tiny size of the Firenza makes the look a bit awkward.
That being said, the J bodies were good little cars. I had an ’87 Skyhawk as my first new car, my father bought himself a ’91 Sunbird. We still have the latter, though we keep it mostly for sentimental value. Still runs though.
I had a 88 and 90 Chevy Z24 both manuals. They were fun cars. The 88 had a 2.8 V6 and the 90 had a 3.1 V6. (just the 2.8 with a longer stroke I presume). My cousin had a Buick Skyhawk GT with a Turbo. He had a blast driving it until the turbo gave out. Thanks for the find.
A Cavrenza! Not bad for 1500. I had an 84 Buick Skyhawk back in the day. The 2.0 engine sounded like a bucket of bolts, but the throttle body fuel injection is what saved it. Hey, you had to make do with what you had back then.
I had an ’85 Cavalier hatchback that I bought new, stripper model with manual transmission. It did it’s job until I traded it a year later on something a bit quicker – ’86 GLH-T.
My mother had one…..think it was slightly used…or salesman car. 1985 2dr. Hatchback Blue on blue , had rocking stereo system for the day with 6×9’s in the back. Sunroof.
It wasn’t fast….but “cool” …hahaha after all…..it was “the 80’s”.👍😅😅
I had a Red ’87 Cavalier Z24 Hatchback that I bought my Junior year of high school. It was only 4 years old with 20k. I really liked that car slot buy when the Beretta GTU came out that’s all I wanted. After graduation I traded it in on a GTU. I wish I still had both.
A buddy also had a red ’87 RS hatch that had a very limited production high output 2.0. I have not seen a High Output 2.0 since. That little car had some pep. It wasn’t as fast as the 2
8 but for a 4 banger it was quick.
I think now is the time to buy stuff like this as the price of a clean Sunbird or Cavalier are at all time highs for a straight and rust free car. These cars will do nothing but go up in value. Everytime there is a J-Body or Beretta at car shows it seems that car is the main attraction. Nice article.
My second car was a brand new 1983 white Olds Firenza hatchback with broad two tone orange striping and “FIRENZA” in white letters emblazoned on the lower sides of the car. It was nicely appointed with burgundy interior and plush velvet seats, a roomy hatch area with roll retractable cover. It came with the 1.8L tbi engine, that blew the head gasket twice in 3 years because the iron block and aluminum head were incompatible, but I did love the car despite the ribbing I took from my friends for its loud looks!
Looks just like the 1985 Olds Firenza Mi mom used to drive. Would love to be able to have again someday!!