Do I qualify?

Casper · Member

Do I qualify?

66 Beau · Poncho Master!

Thats a cool little car - Ive never seen one of those before.

Welcome!

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Do I qualify?

It has 3 pedals!......so your in... Is there another shifter in the glove box?? Thinking optical illusion (Sunlight)?

/download.spark?id=2380248&aBID=118110

-- Edited by hawkeye5766 on Saturday 6th of February 2021 10:45:12 PM

Casper · Member

This was was a base automatic two years ago. I hung the pedals when I had the dash out to put the air conditioning in. Last spring the car was swapped to a 5 speed with a 4.39:1 final drive and a Torsen limited slip differential.

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Casper wrote:
This was was a base automatic two years ago. I hung the pedals when I had the dash out to put the air conditioning in. Last spring the car was swapped to a 5 speed with a 4.39:1 final drive and a Torsen limited slip differential.

Cool! Thought something was up!!

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It qualifies. Welcome the the site Paul.

I'm actually always interested in seeing something a little different.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I remember when they were new and thought it was neat that they were a Canadian model, as was the Corsica-based Tempest around the same time.

Neat car, you surely do not see those around anymore.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Welcome aboard. I worked at the CAMI plant making the non turbo versions of those cars. The Turbo versions were only made in Japan. 100hp if I remember. I took a blue Turbo Sprint for a test drive in 1988 and it was a blast to drive. Such a light car and I think only about 10 grand back then. How is it for parts availability. There was a near mint one for sale here in PEI last year and I was tempted.

GrtDanes · Poncho Master!

Its a very thin line your on but being from Saskatchewan we understand.lol
Welcome to the site

Bob F · Guru

Of course it would qualify! I love it, and remember them well! Here are some semi-serious questions, let's get some smiles going.

Confused by the "base automatic" comment. Is it documented through GM Vintage Vehicle Services as a legit Turbo model or is it a clone?

Is it Ram Air or is the hood scoop non-functional like on a 68 GTO?

Are you planning on giving it the Royal Bobcat treatment with a supertune and a bigger turbo?

With the LSD, do you get rubber shifting into second?

biggrin

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

I do know the hood was functional and sealed against an intercooler. They are actually quite fun to drive and scoot along pretty good.

cranks38 · Addicted!

SIR - Friday night street legal.

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Casper · Member

cdnpont wrote:
It qualifies. Welcome the the site Paul.
I'm actually always interested in seeing something a little different.

Thank you I wasn't sure how it would go over because I see these boards are based more around the earlier models of Canadian market Pontiacs. I have been driving these since 1987 and the are phenomenally reliable and efficient. This is my first turbo model build and I have some really fun improvements in the works. Casper the friendly G10T - YouTube

Casper · Member

cranks38 wrote:
SIR - Friday night street legal.

.

Yes I'll be there again this year Casper at the track - YouTube

Casper · Member

Canadian Poncho wrote:
I do know the hood was functional and sealed against an intercooler. They are actually quite fun to drive and scoot along pretty good.

Except for the boost gauge and boost controller everything on the car is OEM and functional. I've made mechanical improvements such as port/polish/multi-angle, a 3Tech 222 duration .365 lift cam and a 6 degree advanced cam gear - but the fuel system and turbocharger are stock. I have managed a 16.0 at 86.1 mph 1/4 mile

Casper · Member

Bob F wrote:
Of course it would qualify! I love it, and remember them well! Here are some semi-serious questions, let's get some smiles going.

Confused by the "base automatic" comment. Is it documented through GM Vintage Vehicle Services as a legit Turbo model or is it a clone?

Is it Ram Air or is the hood scoop non-functional like on a 68 GTO?

Are you planning on giving it the Royal Bobcat treatment with a supertune and a bigger turbo?

With the LSD, do you get rubber shifting into second?

Wow I am seriously envious of the Can-Am!

I bought this car out of a S.E. Alberta wrecking yard a little over two years ago. It is a base model 1989 Firefly and came equipped with the three cylinder 1.0 liter G10 engine and automatic 3 speed non-lock up transmission. The only other option was Z49 Canadian Mandatory Equipment including a rear window defroster and block warmer. Everything else you see I did. It has everything a factory turbo car would have come with down to the air box bracket I welded to the strut tower, to the Turbo car drivers sun visor - and then some. My dream car would be a MKI 1987/88 Turbo Firefly.

It's not ram air, it's an intercooler air duct that is sealed to the intercooler. The turbo is an IHI RHB32 limited stock to 7 psi, but with that intercooler I can run up to 13 psi before it set an over boost code.

As for the Royal Bobcat treatment - I have a MKI G10T being built right now with a 200 horsepower specification. It will run a ball bearing IHI RHB38 VF14 turbocharger, stand alone multi-point sequential fuel injection and coil on plug ignition. My plan is to put it in my MKII car but I hope to find a suitable MKI car before I have to do that.

As it stands if I floor it in first gear it will break the wheels loose above 3500rpm. I also have an Asseco aluminum flywheel and Centerforce dual pressure clutch so yes, chirping into second is assured.

I used to work with George Zappora at GM Historical in Oshawa. A tiny bit of GM Canada Trivia, the turbo car option code was Z02, but the turbo engine code was LS3. I have an LS3 in my car!

Picture is my dream car:

-- Edited by Casper on Monday 8th of February 2021 11:38:36 PM

Casper · Member

GrtDanes wrote:
Its a very thin line your on but being from Saskatchewan we understand.lol
Welcome to the site

Now wow be nice we're your bread basket.

At least I posted something more interesting than say, a Wave ;)

Casper · Member

Canadian Poncho wrote:
Welcome aboard. I worked at the CAMI plant making the non turbo versions of those cars. The Turbo versions were only made in Japan. 100hp if I remember. I took a blue Turbo Sprint for a test drive in 1988 and it was a blast to drive. Such a light car and I think only about 10 grand back then. How is it for parts availability. There was a near mint one for sale here in PEI last year and I was tempted.

I applied to get a job at Cami when they switched to the Equinox but I didn't know anyone there.

This one is an '89 and is a J vin. Canadian production began in 1990. Your right, the turbo's, convertibles and sedans were all Japanese made. Cami did export a few including some right hand drive versions sold to Los Angeles for meter maids but the vast majority was North American. After 1994 the newer model was all Cami. The 87/88's were red or white, and the 89/90/91's were red or blue.

The stock engine had 70 horsepower and 89 lb/ft of torque, but remember the car only weighs 1700 lbs. The Suzuki Swift GTi had a twin cam 1.3 liter four cylinder that came with 100 hp and 83 lb/ft of torque

GM has no parts left for any of these cars they were completely bought out years ago by ebay sellers. I have forums, Facebook groups, and a world of wrecking yards to choose from. Some parts are still available through Suzuki dealers in Europe or Pakistan and there are Suzuki part re-sellers in Japan. This body style only ceased production in Pakistan in 2017 so I can get what I need.

I know the guy that bought that PEI car. It's in good hands. 1989-pontiac-turbo-firefly-automobile-model-years-photo-u1.jpg

-- Edited by Casper on Monday 8th of February 2021 11:44:50 PM

Bob F · Guru

Thanks Casper, I'm envious of your mechanical skills! Good to see you have a sense of humor, you should fit in well around here. So many people have a thin skin these days (understandably).

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

I worked in the welding shop at CAMI on the car line from 91-97 (M2 and M3). I was on the "front underbody" team. We made everything from the cowl forward - inner aprons, "dash", cowl, rad support etc. I remember it like it was yesterday. I did a small stint in stamping. I also did some time on all the other lines in welding- rear foor, main floor, side body and final finish.

Casper · Member

Canadian Poncho wrote:
I worked in the welding shop at CAMI on the car line from 91-97 (M2 and M3). I was on the "front underbody" team. We made everything from the cowl forward - inner aprons, "dash", cowl, rad support etc. I remember it like it was yesterday. I did a small stint in stamping. I also did some time on all the other lines in welding- rear foor, main floor, side body and final finish.

You folks did damn good work. I bought a 1995 Firefly SE 3dr new and drove it daily until 2015. This car was frosty blue and was ordered by GM Shows and Displays in Oshawa for the new model shows. It was loaded, every option you could get except automatic. Old Bruiser had 940,000km on him when the left front frame horn collapsed from rust.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Actually the quality of assembly was pretty good considering the price point of the car. We did a lot of QC checks. I remember going in over shutdown to do a "destruction test' on a completed white body. We'd tear it apart to determine the integrity of the spot welds.

Yukon man · Addicted!

The turbo firefly is definitely a rare breed!!! Had a 1991 myself, these cars move I mean move!! I miss that car think about it from time to time. Super reliable, fuel mileage was so good you would almost run out of gas because you forgot to keep a eye on the tank. I kicked alot of of other people's ass when driving this. Even took down some v8 stuff no joke!! The only problem was my wife loved it to. I could only take it out once in awhile.. you have a cool car here for sure.. if your ever thinking about selling, you let me know.

Casper · Member

Yukon man wrote:
The turbo firefly is definitely a rare breed!!! Had a 1991 myself, these cars move I mean move!! I miss that car think about it from time to time. Super reliable, fuel mileage was so good you would almost run out of gas because you forgot to keep a eye on the tank. I kicked a lot of of other people's ass when driving this. Even took down some v8 stuff no joke!! The only problem was my wife loved it to. I could only take it out once in awhile.. you have a cool car here for sure.. if your ever thinking about selling, you let me know.

Kind words thank you. I never had so much fun with a car as I am having now. I've done better than 65 mpg with the turbo engine and I'm only 1.1 seconds slower in the 1/4 mile than my factory fresh 85 5.0 Mustang back in the day. I can double the speed limit on highway cloverleafs and it stops way better with the Swift GTi rear disc brakes I put in. I have gone so far as to get 6 OEM speakers and an old knob tuned Suzuki SX200 cassette deck so that even the sound system is 1989. As for selling Casper, if you can find me a roadworthy 1987 or 1988 Pontiac Turbo Firefly my decision to sell will come a lot earlier!