well as you all know i am the second owner to my 1985 pontiac sunbird sedan i know i still havent gotten any pictures on here for yall to see but there coming i thought about selling it then what not family sickness going on alot .... But i decided to keep my sunbird because im 18 now i bought it last year in april and i put to much work into it new belts new oil filler cap and thermostat cap im only lacking a muffler and radiator hoses and a radiator ... but to the point i wanna upgrade my bird its a base model sedan the only options i see it has is a tilt sterring wheel and power door locks i wanna upgrade but i dont know where to start and what my options are any info will help and im in the process of making a photo bucket acount to up load pictures for yall to see



I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...

I think the easiest thing to do is throw a set of Pontiac 14" option rims on there. That will keep it stock, but give it a little better look. If you really want to change it up go with some aftermarket wheels. Someone on here can probably let you know how large of a tire you can put on and have no clearance issues.

Something like this.

Those are my rims

I mounted up a set of 16" grand am rims off of a 96 SE a few years back with no issues.

I've got 205/50/16 tires on mine

Now because the rims are wider than factory, I will get some rub on fast turns, but no real problems. With this size tire, my speedometer/odometer is also accurate.

That reminds me - I'm going from 13 inch to 14 inch wheels, both designed by GM for the Skyhawk. Should I expect any problems with the speedometer, etc., or is the tire size the most important factor there?

not as long as you keep the factory size from the 14s on the 14" rims.

Basically, the factory size tire is 23.9" across. so with my 205/50/16, yes my rims are 3" wider, but my sidewall is much shorter, and I still have a 23.9" diameter overall tire.

the 205 is width of the tire in millimeters. The 50 means my sidewall is 50% of the width, so my sidewall is 102.5mm from rim to edge. The 16 is of course the rim diameter in inches.

So, converting the 205 millimeters to inches, that would be 8.07 inches. Then multiply that by the 50% for 4.035 inches. That is my sidewall height. Since there is a top and bottom sidewall on your tire, you then have to take the sidewall height and multiply by 2. In my case, since my sidewall is 50% of my width, it just brings it back to 8.07 inches of total sidewalls on my tire. Add to that 8.07 inches, the 16 inches of rim and you have 24.07 inches. Since the factory size tire was 13 inches on my Hawk, but the sidewalls were huge, bringing that factory size to 23.9 inches, I know my speedo/odometer is reliable and accurate.

84 conv i was already gonna swap to the alloy wheels i love the look it gives the car and if you stay within the stock range of tire sizes it will not hurt the car. But is there any other things like swaping stuff from newer cars that i can do i know ima swap in the newer sunfire seats but i wanna know more because idk where to start and i know i dont know everything...... thanks for the help


I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...

I have a set of Sunfire seats in my SkyHawk. I always figured it was a direct swap, and it is...sort of...

you need to use your current seat tracks on the new seats.

there are only four bolts, all at corners holding the seats to the tracks, so it's still easy.

First remove your current seats by the four bolts on the tracks in the car, then remove each seat from the tracks (four more bolts to deal with, one is a little tough to get at with a socket as it's behind the track, but it's doable.

Then remove the new seats from their factory tracks and bolt them on your old tracks.

Put new seats in car and enjoy!

thanks wayne i know i had to swap the tracks... i wanna do front and rear seats... but also as well i want to swap more things it didnt come with... its a base model like i say and i dont have many opted items and i wanna add things but like i say idk where to start


I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...

Just a heads up. The rear seats of a Coupe are more narrow than the Sedan version. I did swap in a compete set out of a Firenza in the '84 J2000 but I had to cut out some of the outer support rods inside the foam padding with a dremel tool to get the fit right. In the end it looks just right. Since you are working with a Sedan I'm sure you will find the opposite situation I had - the Coupe rear seat will be a bit too narrow in yours.

Before & After

thanks orlen and i know the sedan swap isnt as hard i saw a post or something from a kid that had a 86 sunbird gt sedan he swapped seats in and the pictures of my car are coming soon i just gotta upload them to a website to post them on here but ive been messing around with some pictures...but i have upgraded the radio and speakers minus the dash speakers there stock but yet it sounds good and also i love your bird orlen its a nice car and it gives me inspiration with my build.


I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...

1st I am glad to you as a young man take a true interest in what some consider a boring car and just cookie cutter and or lack luster.2nd these cars are none of the things I said as they are very unique have some simple,cool style's that are interchangeable among some models and generations.The key with a car this old is keep is true to it's generation by simpley swapping items that can easily be changed right back to the stock version with out damaging the car and retain it's history!! I will say I have only one change on my car and that is the radio and speakers and the speakers fit the original area so no foul.I went as far as routing new speaker wiring from the rear exactly as the oem harness thru every area all the way up front and nice,neat,zip tied and just a updated version for the best quality sound with new heavier gauge wire and same goes for the fronts.Cosmetics changes like wheels are easy and add some clout.Now on the hp gains your not really going to be able to do a lot with out mucking up a easy to maintain engine.I personally run the oem stock ac delco plugs (plain yep) but they are cheap,econimical and work perfect.You could upgrade your plug wires to some accels,or msd and just go with a k/n air filter but,for the time,cost not sure it is worth it.I run napa wires 7mm and a true ac/delco coil as I think the accel or msd will not fit under the intake as intended but do boost some performance areas.I could ramble on with a variety of items but left me keep this simple for now.Lastly if your fuel pump ever goes out buy a AC DELCO pump only anything less is just junk.Your new here and I want to say welcome and any questions and issue's that pop up just ask as we older guys can either answer it or find the answer for you!!!! Btw I am 45 in case your wondering.Ron

well i say this Ron i love to be different and stand out in a crowd. Also the bond that i have on this car me and my dad working on it together and they are cool little cars and i mean i dont know why people dont see them like we do, but so far I've had about 15-20 people try to buy it but im not selling it. i am going to do a 3400 swap and build it the way i have in my head i wanna find turbo taillights instrument cluster and a trunk spoiler. i have buddies that have all build hondas and nissians but im the only one with a bird, but im taking my time and enjoying the car trying to figure out all the stuff i can actually do to the car. also i dont fully know but someone said that just my motor alone (1.8 brazilian ohc/fi) was worth some money he says $2,500 but i dont know.


I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...

If that motor is worth that much, mine is for sale! Then I'll take the bucks and put in the 3400...

i know right wayne i would to thats what i rally want in my sunbird


I'm new to the scene ... I'm 18 and i have a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird sedan...