The Future of the F-Body
 

OK.. Here's my contibution to the TFP.. Welcome back!

As we all know 2003 marks the first year since, what, 1968 that we don't see an F-Bod roll of a showroom floor. I think I cried when I heard that there would be no more Firebirds and Camaros. Ever since I was a young boy, I have been in love with the F-Body style and performance, and have owned 2 that I must say were the most exciteing drives, and still have one today.

I would be interested to hear from other F-Bod fans, and get your feedback on this lost legand. What are your feelings on this "end of an era"? And do you think there will ever be a comeback? Also, if you have pics, lets see em'! I'll post mine later, as soon as I find the disk that I have them on..

I own a Beauty of a 89 GTA and I am definatly a fan. I would bet alot of money that camaros will be coming back. Firebirds and Trans Ams, sadly, I think are gone forever.

Man that sucks, I've always been a fan of these.....I wonder what they will be replaced with or just gone forever? Is there a good reason why they are doing this? Gosh I'm so sad now.

Mine was a 89 Camro RS I miss that car!

I disagree, I think they're holding off on them for maybe a few years. Might be to add some value to the old stuff, but I definitely think they'll be back. They have a market there that's not being filled in. I'm sure it's part of a masterminded corporate plan.

theres no telling y they really killed them. there are rumors anywhere from they were starting to compete with the vette to they cost too much to produce and import from canada. i just hope they dont pull a GTO with the f-bodies.

i have an 88' formula and a 97' formula. i will always love f-bodies :D

I think the problem is they got to the point where younger people couldn't afford them and had to settle for a Cavalier or something else. I would love to own one, but the insurance on anything newer than about an '84 would be prohibitively expensive, even with a clean driving record. I worked at a Chevy dealer for a while, and almost all of the Camaro owners that came in were middle age men who either had one or wanted one when they were young. I think it will come back, they just need to find a way to bring the cost within reason.

I'm glad those cars are either dead or dying.

Well.. I can't post my car because I don't have a host server to put the pic.. So a discription will have to do..

Red on White 95 Firebird 3.4 L V6 with custome Red on Black leather T/A Interior. My first was a Black on White 85 T/A w/350CI Corvette Crossfire, Shift Kit, and Rear. W/T-Tops

Passed everything but the gass station.

http://www.boomspeed.com/reconmike/dsc00484b.jpg


Here a two of my f bodys,

89 IROC ragtop with a 383 tuned port stroker

97 firechicken formula LT1

I would say that f bodies (3rd gens espically) are some of the best looking cars to ever come from GM


http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/atta...postid=1090280


:D

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/atta...&postid=699890

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/atta...&postid=700501

I too, think one day the Camaro name will be back, but I hesitate to say it will really be an "F body." The next camaro we see may very well be a front wheel drive V6 car. GM will be doing whatever their studies say there is demand for. Sad but true. My brother has a 68 Camaro SS, I have a 68 Nova SS. They actually share many many parts right down to the A arms. But, there is nothing like sitting in that Camaro and running down the road. The F body will always be a special car few will understand.

-mighty mouse

OH, AND I LOVE YOU TOO SIXATE!! rofl

WOW! I'm stoked! Thanks guys.. I realy wasn't sure if this thread would take off. I'm glad to see that there are others out there who share my love for these beautiful cars.. And thank you 89transam for these great pics.. Are these all yours?

I said I didn't have a server to host my pics, but I do have a page on cardomain.com. I hesitated to post the link because I didn't care for the format, but I'll post it here anyway. If any of you wouldn't mind shareing some space, I'd like to take some new pics and post them here, but I need someone to host them.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/242400

Thanks again guys.. Keep it going!

look for the next gen camaro/firebird (probably one, but not both) to be sitting on the C6 chassis.

im just telling you what ive heard...

I heard there is a new Cadillac being produced that is actually just the test bed for the new Camaro drivetrain/chassis setup. It's what I heard, but I have no first hand knowledge.

Hopefully, before too long, I can start to work on my 91 Camaro RS Ragtop. It used to be a really sweet lookin car. With luck(and money) it will be again. Right now, the plans are to drop in a LT-1 and six speed out of a newer z, Id like to use a LS-1, but they are still too expensive. Its already got four wheel discs from when I replaced the rearend witha posi equipped disc brake rearend.

There have been alot of rumors circulating about over the return of the F-bodies. As stated earlier, if they do return, its 95% likely that it will just be the camaro that does return. As for when and what it will look like and the chassis it ride on is still up in the air. There have been pictures of a car taking serious cues froma 69 camaro that looks killer. But they were just ideas. Personally, that is the route Id like to see the car take.

Very well put Ashton!

If what you all say about the Camaro is true, then I am somewhat sad. I've always been prevy to the Firebirds and Trans Ams. I like the Camaro, don't get me wrong (or flame me), it's an F-Body.. But I will always love the Birds..

Keep givin' the rice burners hell guys!

I grew up near the Van Nuys GM plant that made the F-body during the 70's and 80's. One time during my scouting days we took a tour of the plant and during that time it took one hour to make a car from start to finish. At peak performance, they could crank out 1 car a minute.

Thank you for your honasty Tanalizer, as I said before, I'm prevy to the Chickens And T/As myself.

hopefully the camaro will be back. when i heard that it was going to be the last year i promptly ordered an 02 SS. only time will tell...:rolleyes:

I have owned 8 F bodies over the years - and I defently miss them. I don't understand why some people don't like them though. These cars are classis - there is no question about it. These cars have a nitch that no other can replace. Power, (in the later years) handling but yet low cost and very easy to work on and modify.

Currently I have a ex-T2 car that i have converted and can run and beat tuned Vipers, Ruf's, Z-06's and Cobras. The fact that these cars don't have IRS makes them a little old school but it is a heritage that I am proud to be a part of. For the money you spend on a 911, Corvette etc you can easly purchase a F body and have it out handle, out brake and out accelerate any of those. Its the classic - and original - america muscle car :D

Just one :D

Anything for post numbers, right?

Take them ricey plastic sedans, crush them into little cubes, and shove 'em up your ass.

"Gee, I wonder why the economy is floating out of the country into Japan? Maybe I'll hop in my Honda, go to my house, walk across my Japanese rugh to sit on my couch, play some nintendo, and ponder it some more!!"

"You think you're tough, but MY civic will do a quarter in SIXTEEN SECONDS!"

F-bodies kick ass. Sucks to see them die, and I hope GM returns them to production.

Damn, those Gen 3 verts are nice. :)

"You think you're tough, but MY civic will do a quarter in SIXTEEN SECONDS!"

My mom's Lincoln Town Car will do 17.5, and it weighs nearly 5000 pounds with me in it.

Anyway, I've always loved the F-Body cars, and I'll be glad to see them come back, as long as they don't do to them what they did to the GTO.

Ahmen!

ROFL @ Ashton

Thanks man! You rock!

*bump*

the cancelation of the f-bodies is not just from imports. a lot of it is the mustangs. i don't want to start a Ford/GM fight but the fact of the matter is that Ford is selling an assload of Mustangs and GM isn't selling f-bodies. i personally think that a large reason of this is the stance of the car. the f-body fits a small niche of the population. not everyone wants to sit low and lean. you sit higher in a mustang and have a better view of the road, it's also shorter. the f-body is one of the longest cars out there and a lot of people don't like that. whatever the reason, GM just can't compete right now.

i do not believe that the f-body is gone forever and i don't necissarily think it will just come back as the camaro. i think GM is just going to sit back for a few years and let the demand build up, then when they come out with a new one, people will scoop them up.

i also do not believe that it will EVER come back as a FWD v-6. there is no reason for it. GM already makes the GTP and the Monte Carlo SS. to create an FWD f-body would be just like having a grand prix, and i don't think GM has any plans of getting rid of their w-bodies. also, new cars coming out today are becoming more and more RWD as the technology improves. cars became FWD for a long time because of a smoother ride, but with new suspension and body frames and things like that the RWD is returning. look at the new cars coming out... the Infinity G35, the Nissan 350Z, the Chevy SSR, the Pontiac GTO, the Mazda RX-8, the Cadillac CTS, the BMW Z4 and cars that have come out in the past few years like the the Ford Thunderbird and the Lexus SC 430, all of these cars are RWD. i don't see ANY reason why GM would ever make the f-body FWD, they would just not bother bringing it back first.

It wasnt the ride quality that created the shift to FWD, the shift came about for many reansons, one of the main ones if not the main reason, needing vehicles that handled better in bad weather. The FWD layout was much better at handling wet roads, and snow covered roads than RWD was(for the majority of drivers). With the onset of more wide spread traction control and handling control, that advantage has been all but eliminated, giving automakers the option of going back to RWD.

I am a young person(18), and i like imports, but i also like domestics like mustangs and camaros, as do many of my friends who drive imports, however, insurance costs and gas on a camaro or mustang are very expensive. As such, it's more realistic for me to own a honda prelude than a Z28 or whatever. If i were able to afford to own one, i most likely would though.

Anything for post numbers, right? ;)

Excuse me.. Bumping is aloud.. It had nothing to do with a post count sir.. I was trying to revive an otherwise dead thread, to bring to the new members.. As you can see, it has received more posts since that time. Otherwise I would have just let it die..

As for what you do, and that is to spam with negative and derogatory remarks, in a thread that does not ask for it, and this thread is not the first..

If you read my opening post, you will see that I was asking for F-Body fans, their opinions of the cars, and the end of an era. I did not ask for people to come in and flame our opinions. And that sir, is what you have done..

First of all I was only joking. I haven't even checked back to this thread until today and if I would have noticed you called me a flamer I would have said something before.

HAH! You think I spam and flame! That's hilarious dude. I spam because I actually reply to posts all over the board? There are plenty of people with more posts than me. I suppose they're all spammers too, huh. There are other mods and admins with more posts than me.

You know, on the last board every time that I posted a thread of an import there would be about 10 dudes that would all come and bash what I posted way more than what I said. So can you please tell me what the difference is? I'll tell you the difference. I didn't take it personally. I suggest that you don't take simple things so personally. You cannot dictate the dirction of your thread. People will say what they want. I bet in about 90% of the threads that I start half of the people disagree with what I have to say. Are they spammers too. Of course not. They have different opinions. I can handle that and obviously you can't. Please chill and don't be so sensitive about a comment that you don't like.

BTW, there's no way in hell that my comment was a flame. I just simply stated the truth. Last time I checked the F-body cars are dying, right? I thought so. :)

I'm not getting into this.. The powers that be give him the right.. I'll just leave it at that..

Trust me, the powers that be don't give me any more rights than you. Please don't take this so personally. I don't understand why you're so sensitive about this. You don't see me getting all mad about Ashton saying he doesn't like imports do you?

Amen to that...... :D

I'll correct myself. I think you just like making fun of imports. :D

I dunno guys...as much as i like muscle cars and whatnot it is very obivious that they are on the way out. Who needs a gas guzzling v-8 when stock four bangers are now going 13.2 and can out handle our cars by a long shot. Not to mention they are more comfortable, reliable and can be argued some of them just look better.

I mean can you imagine in 10 years?

I have stopped caring about stock cars for some reason but I would tend to agree with the statments that are made...

If your going to modify something though - its a lot easier to make the power with a LS1/LS6/LT1/LT4/LT5 than it is with a Honda dollar for dollar. :)

I agree.. I have a 3.4L V-6 stock Firebird.. And There are a ton of bolt on mods that can be done to this car to pull more horses.. A cold air induction system, turbo kit, and a perfomance chip will get me 13's easy.. If I wanted to..

I'll post some pics later today of my car, as soon as I get them uploaded..

OK.. Thanks to phredgreen and Bill, I'm able to post my pics now.

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQARA!0VbTUucVB5ZvJ!ijqfFxTfvZLMG9wBigB344rrce6gcovbfuoQsqMnIpgxWgx0Aluu4XEnrhlmQxYhSlS!CrxeU*IHUPvsylLXAAUIMcz3EcetNg/IMAGE0008.JPG.JPG?dc=4675422003458516673[/IMG] http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQDjA...22003461846068 [IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQARA!cV3TMucVB5ZvJ!ilNJYiz6IbgEWTdPOuCeKJswmb4pTg8I2sWy40w4VyOqflAyravSO*nwtOMby8LLO8xWYtkdc2r7TG7AKv*kUHlhJ42G9RpAlA/IMAGE0020.JPG.JPG?dc=4675422003463761305[/IMG] http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQDjA...22003467117742 [IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQDiAukVYzQucVB5ZvJ!iqV8zivtQKdNG*Qe!mk6*b*7orSO3WoBeJnQMtZDi5kwuaJ6RJrHc!YVz3487O*vKpKQeyLbVWq5GzOK65oS6B1fRp495j819g/IMAGE0022.JPG.JPG?dc=4675422003469381349[/IMG] http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQDjA...22003471094564

For some reason, this didn't work right.. If you right click on the picture and click Show Picture in the menu, it will pop up..

Well, it did.. I don't know what the deal is... Crap

Did u put the [img] tags around the link?

I hated the F-Bodies, but i'm sad that they left because now there are very few cars to compete with! :D

Your host dosen't allow hotlinking.... but you can copy/paste the URL in a new window to see it :)

http://home.tampabay.rr.com/kphelps/IMAGE0020.JPG.JPG

Yea but....

Your car.... $4000
Turbo kit...$4000 (im guessing)
CAI.........$200 or cheaper
Chip......$200 and up

So thats $9400 for 13's. assuming that this combo wil net you 13's to begin with.

Im pretty sure you can get an eclipse into the 12's or faster for that kind of cash.

The turbo kit isn't that much.. Twin turbo is a little more than that.. But depends on wether you go electric or belt driven.

Anyway.. We can argu this till we all turn blue in the face. I'm not realy interested in numbers anyway.. If I wanted speed I would have bought a WS6 Formula or a T/A. I bought the car for looks.. But then next I supose someones going to say my car looks like shit.

I wouldn't say that..... I think your car is pretty cool Doc :D

http://ashtonxxx.smugmug.com/photos/...351-Medium.jpg

Thanks Ashton.. I appreciate that..

And thanks for posting it.. MSN is footing the "Bill" now, since my ISP wouldn't let me hotlink..

Re: The Future of the F-Body
 

They can;t do this to us.:(


/runs away crying

Well.. Sadly, they are, err did.. But the legond will live on..

yes restore every car you see:)

Nice car Doc... Would like to see more of it after you've dreessed it up.. :)

All in good time.. I'm thinking of PSing some of these with some ideas..

This is one concept I had.. Tell me what you think..

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RQCvBC4Vy*HVYCA64ff83mXy1WSbp4z*fNL9XHMC1FnY5lBmIw*nmtpF!XirvOvqovoQq1HKyYAk7Mvh9100CdVdX3*7*1ZAR4n*o4Y!vA4/nwbrd.bmp?dc=4675422047314952673[/IMG]

I like the red eagles, but not the solid red panels ... maybe if they were red, white, and blue like flags.

Oooo.. Then I could run around looking like Captain America!

<CENTER>NOT!</CENTER>

lmfao

I love American muscle cars, and it saddens me to see Gm doing this. What do I drive? A Nissan, however it was built in Smyrna, Tennessee, and I don't try to make it into a race car. I didn't choose a Nissan because I think imports are cool, i chose a Nissan because it's what i could afford after I figured in the operating costs. I also have a K-5 Blazer that pumps out some serious horsepower and i haven't found too many honda's that can match it.

OK.. Here's one for the PhotoShoper gurus..

I'd like to see what my car would look with a new paint job/style.
Lets get creative..

We can just look at it this way - modded "imports" don't win in GT1 (the modded class). The NSXs, 911's - all of them get schooled... by what? GM POWER! :P

Dude! I love that Sig..

"I finally found a hobby i'm good at...collecting speeding tickets!!"

thought its a end of a eara and i'm sad to see them go perhaps its for the best... god i hope so

Amen to that Sixate! :)

Hehehe.. I love you man..

Doc, this is for you. I thought you'd like it.

http://www.raceworx.com/funnypics/ho...ew%20black.jpg

Shit, I laughed when I saw this.

ROFL!

OK.. You've redeemed yourself.. Truce..

I'm sorry..

I miss G-bodies as well. Anyone else miss the G-bodies?

Hell yea, I have an 80 Malibu wagon as my drag car. IMO, they were some of the best all around American cars to come out for the money. The Malibus for example, you can fit anything and everything in them, they come with a factory 4 link, full frame, the SS's, T Types, GN's, all had quick ratio steering boxes, the M40 suspension plain kicked ass, and you can cut the weight down fast.

Compare what it takes to make a 6 cyl twin turbo supra to go fast to what it takes to make a 6 cyl single turbo GN go fast. I know two guys personally who are running deep into the 9's for under 20k, including the cost of the cars, which are mint.

I had a Malibu for a short time.. Kind of a loaner.. Not bad, but not much for looks.. I guess that was why I never bothered chasing them.. Thanks Nash for the memory, nice cars..

I really liked the look of the G-bodies, just something about the stance of the car. And I just love the torque curve on the GN.

The 2004 Pontiac GTO will be taking the place of the Firebird. I don't know about the place of the camero. Take a look at the Ford Mustang. They seem to have the better Ideal. They sell will.

Yeah.. I've seen the GTO.. I'm not real impressed with it though..

The F-Body will live forever, and the rice will continue to eat our dust...... 50 years from now there will still be F Bodies eating rice while the rice of today is recycled into a stack of toasters sitting on a shelf at Wal-Mart.

LoL Ashton, I agree whole heartedly. I just bought myself a 1998 GTP, with 58k miles. And it kicks so much freaken Rice. That car is such a sleeper, until the light turns green and the smoke clears.

I've only had the car for a month or two, and I've crushed atleast 6 to 8 ricers. I love it! Can't wait to take it to the track. *grins*

Man..I like the GTO. I think it's hot. But then again, I'm a pontiac lover, and I already own a GTP. Why not make a little bigger jump into the GTO? :)

Trust me I know the feeling.....

I love the GTO of the past, and I'm glad to see the name live on.. But I just don't like how the new one looks.. It took on the same old Pontiac features of the sugared up GPs..