1999 PONTIAC FIREBIRD COUPE
Medium Gulf Blue Metallic (20U)
Fourth Generation F Body Firebird  (1993-2002)




I have been looking for one of these cars for at least 5 years, after giving up finding
a unmolested 1967 Pontiac Lemans in tyrol blue.
It seems when those cars are found, they are often turned into fake Gto's.
My daughters first car, which she had to have was a 1999 firebird in red. Btw she still has it
and it's a daily driver, now with a new engine and warranty from Gm.

At a new job, I noticed the version of Firebird coupe shown here in a color I had never seen before.
The color is very similar to the color of my first car the Lemans in Tyrol blue.
After a little investigation I found this color was used on only ONE year of Firebird 1999.
There were only 652 built in all variations in this color out of 36,212 firebird cars built that year.
Of the 652 cars only 374 of these coupes were built. There are 2 other colors even more rare,
bright green metallic (21U) , 42 cars built and finally the rarest color maple red metallic (44U)
only 14 cars were made and only in the base coupe. Coupes do not fetch premium prices.
TransAm versions on the other hand sometimes are over priced.
The 3.8 car gets slightly better gas mileage than the 5.7 cars and
it's going to be a daily driver for me. It's not something I want to take to the track, spend tons of time and money modifying or want to draw attention from law enforcement.
I am happy returning it to the condition it left the factory and using it.
Plus I really like the way it looks, more like the Banshee IV concept car, versus the TransAm

         
                                                             actual                                                                    comparison  concept                                                 Banshee IV concept car

That's the background.



The survivor car above has not been altered with the exception of a passenger window motor relay addition, it's never been in accident, and has original paint.
It requires some minor attention, such as rebuilding the power antenna, putting back an original radio and generally restoring things neglected over the years.
I have plans to put the factory optional 12 disc changer in it. The car has the wiring harness to support it, the original radio, or a monsoon version will be installed to control it.
(Note: found the original am-fm-cd radio, that came stock with the car can not control the changer)
So plan "B" a Monsoon radio will replace the after market pioneer radio currently in the car.

I intend to make 12 greatest hits discs, which should give access to over 200 songs

I'm sure I'll find additional things that need attention
Here are some Specs.
1998–2002 Firebird's were equipped with a 5.7L 346 cu. in. LS1 engine
OR
1996–2002 Firebird's received a 3.8L (231 cu in) 205hp 3800 series II
Production of the 3800 V6 engine officially ended on August 22, 2008 at plant 36. There was a ceremony and speakers
who extolled the virtues of the engine. Originally, GM had set this date for January 1, 1999; however, due to the popularity among investors and customers and the reliability of the engine, the date was extended.  (wikipedia)
19 city/30 hwy mpg



Email me if you are one of the few that owns one of these cars.



Here are some additional photos at the time of purchase.






Here the car is being loaded for transport
Update:             There have been some repairs made as of this update
The "upgraded" pioneer radio was removed and a GM Monsoon radio installed in the car.
An oem Pioneer /GM Cd changer was found and installed.
This is an upgrade as it was not included in the original build.
Instead of installing the original mounting for it, not included with this car
which includes a bracket attached to the car along with 2 brackets on the changer.
 I built 2 custom brackets  for it. They were mounted to 3/4 plywood, painted gray, then onto a gray carpeted mat, all sized to fit in the space the factory left for the changer. The control cable from the radio to the hatch area was located under the plastic panel on the rear drivers side.
It was just taped up and wrapped in foam.
To be clear the original am-fm-cd radio installed in the 99 coupe could not control the changer.
Turned out an earlier Gm am-fm-cassette tape radio can, as does the Monsoon radio

Update: Both door panels had issues, the driver's had white staining below the window across most ot the panel, the passenger panel was cracked which is common.
I located a pair of early door panels in good condition that shouldn't crack and installed them.
More about the door panels later.

Additional repairs completed
The passenger window had a number of issues, one or both of the relays appeared to be intermittent
The window regulator had a badly worn track wheel and a slow motor
I replaced the window regulator with motor, along with the 2 relays.
Normally the windows do not have separate relays to control them.

The air conditioner had a leak, this turned out to be the compressor.

There was a misfire after a bad rain storm, one ignition coil, wires and plugs were replaced.

Hatch lift cylinders were replaced.

 A split loom was installed over the additional wiring routed for the passenger window relays.

Dash carpeting added to protect the dash from the Florida sun

New embroidered Firebird floor mats added along with Pontiac headlight lettering and Firebird
decals on the back of the car

The power antenna was repaired, along with a new black mast.

A front license plate cover was located, painted to match the car and installed, the original missing.
Here is information about the wiring of the entertainment system for the coupe

1999 GM Firebird Radio and CD Changer