Celebrating hidden headlights

[WhitneyReed]

After reading the previous post about the heavy nature of this board of late, I offer up this great story of the greatest cars with hidden/pop-up headlights. My first car was a'78 Thunderbird so this is a topic close to my heart.😊

https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-ne ... -headlight

[Galeygoo]

Very cool pics, Whitney.   As I looked at a couple of the cars, I couldn't help but imagine Crocket and Tubbs and remembering that awesome theme song.....

[billryan]

My friend bought an 81 Trans Am right off the dealer floor. Whenever it rained, he would have to manually raise and lower his headlights. The stereo shorted out every few weeks and he went through three transmissions in about three years. Just a horrible car. My New Yorker had hidden headlights and they never were an issue. I don't even remember having to change a bulb.
Some cars looked great with the lights hidden away, some with the lights out. Few were designed to look good both ways, in my opinion.

[Tedlark]

Um bill, the 81 Trans Am didn't have peek-a-boo headlights. It had a 4 beam set up in a plastic enduro front facia. Peek-a-boo headlights didn't come for may years to the Trams Am/Firebird/Camaro.

[billryan]

It was a 82 model, that he bought in late 1981. It was the first model TA with the pop ups. The model you described is the older models. I thought it was an 81 but that's when he bought it.It was the first year of the new design and just a horrible car.

[WhitneyReed]

Yup, the 82 had the pop-ups and they were pretty sh*tty, but so was just about every car that year. That generation of Firebird improved a lot during it's production run, though.

[Tedlark]

WOW!!! Quick; get that thing to the crew at Gas Monkey Garage.....

[billryan]

Yup, the 82 had the pop-ups and they were pretty sh*tty, but so was just about every car that year. That generation of Firebird improved a lot during it's production run, though.

Certainly did. The t-roofs leaked, and got stolen several times, the cat converter went bad after about 20K and if the car sat more than a couple days, it needed a jump. He bought an IROC, about seven years later and he still has it. It needs about 10 grand to get it cherry and every year something pops up, but someday.....

[Tedlark]

In November of 1987 I ordered a 1988 Chevrolet IROC Z and it was scheduled for delivery around the first of April 1988. I traded in my 1985 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta for it and around the first of March 1988 I really started getting itchy for my new ride.

I ordered it with every available option, including the t-tops, Bose sound system with cassette tape player (cd player wasn't available), and the optional 5.7 liter V-8. Black exterior with grey cloth interior, to date: still my favorite car that I've owned.