Is a 1988 Pontiac Firebird a hard car to find? Not really. But tracking one down with under 20,000 original miles doesn’t happen every day. This car is such a vehicle, with just 19,285 original miles, featuring the 5.7L eight-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. A sharp color combination and the WS6 package puts it over the top, and only a manual transmission could make it better. Find it here on eBay with an opening bid of $11,500 and a Buy-It-Now of $19,000.
The engine bay looks super fresh, and this is the engine you want to find under the hood if you’re shopping for a Firebird of this generation. The seller notes the only exception to stock condition is an aftermarket exhaust, a modification I’ll allow considering it probably sounds fantastic. The seller mentions new shocks and seals as recent maintenance items, so hopefully it’s leak-free.
The interior is a bit of a let-down, as it’s just gray mouse fur inside. I suppose you could argue that this makes the Firebird more of a purist’s car, since it’s not loaded up with luxury features and the original owner focused solely on getting the best performing car for his purchase price. This is what makes the lack of the manual gearbox even more disappointing, considering the bare-bones nature of the car otherwise.
The seller doesn’t provide much else in the way of detail, other than it being the sort of car you need to see in person to fully appreciate. If you want to do so, it’s in Brewerton, New York, making it all the more incredible it doesn’t show any major cosmetic deterioration of any kind. Assuming it was a Sunday driver only, this would help ensure it never saw the ugly side of the northeast’s climate. While I think the asking price is optimistic, finding a low mileage example like this doesn’t happen everyday.
Manual trans not available with the 5.7 engine
Correct. To get the manual, you had to get the 305 LB9 which had 10 fewer horsepower and 45 fewer ft/lbs of torque that year. Supposedly the Borg Warner T5 manual could not handle the torque of the 350.
The LB9 was okay but the 350 had a truly wonderful torque curve that was way better, so it was worth it to forgo the manual, in my opinion, as a former owner of both.
Call me a child of the 80s but that’s a beautiful car.
If I could spec a Firebird it would be this one
Lol… “Grey mouse fur” upholstery… I bet that wasn’t as described in the original GM promo material.
I had one with the mouse fur upholstery . My cat loved it !
Rather have a 305 tpi and a 5 speed but still a nice car.
Back in the mid 1980’s (I don’t recall what year exactly) my Grandfather’s uncle, who was well into his 80’s at the time…could have even been 90 something by then, was looking for a new car. This old guy was not a gear head & knew nothing of cars. He wanted something luxurious. So he bought a fully loaded bright red Trans Am, same color, same interior, same powertrain. It had tee tops too. I don’t think he ever realized what a hot car he had lol.