F-body-fan

Who has changed their GTA emblems, & what are your reviews? After spending a couple weekends detailing my 89, I am leaning towards replacing the original emblems. They are all in pretty good shape, but the gold edges are dingy & degraded. I am thinking a nice bright gold edge would really make an improvement but I struggle with messing with this car too much as it is a survivor with original paint & low miles. Any thoughts or recommendations? Or would you just leave the originals. I'll post a few picts later of my emblems if that helps.....

I did a really quick search & found these on ebay. Not sure what options are the best if I do go that route. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-87-90-GTA-Trans-Am-Emblem-5pc-Set-BRIGHT-RED-/160638408112?hash=item2566cb95b0&vxp=mtr

Thanks!

F-body-fan

Decided to post a picture quick. Boy, when I took a close up with good lighting they look even worse under close inspection. Just looking at the picture bugs me........ I'm guessing these chronically get like this?

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

It's called patina, old aged and original. If it's a survivor, I personally would leave them alone. The aftermarkets are nice, but not original to the car.

Don't fret it, save your money. JMO

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

MintWS6FORMULA

Is that paint or chromed gold paint. Will metal polish work? If not, leave alone.

F-body-fan

looks like a very cheap plating of some sort.

paulo57509

I'd either leave the originals in place or be patient and wait until some new, NOS emblems happen to turn up.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

The repro's look great, at least the 85-90's do. I bought mine from this store: http://pwdstore.com/index.php/cPath/2_29

carlos64030

iTrader: (1)

Someone wanna tell me what makes the reproduction emblems a bad option if his originals look like ***?

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

It's not as much about the looks,as it is about the authenticity

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

I'll give it a shot.

The "originals" were cast with porcelain inlay material. A lot of the "aftermarket" are a hard plastic inlay type material. Although some of the aftermarkets look great.

Hard to tell the difference in some.

It just comes down to originality.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Agree mantaguy!!

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Those look sharp Bill!

F-body-fan

I guess that's where I struggle. So far I pulled the original tires, & put them in storage. They are junk, worn out & dry rotted. I replaced the original headlamps & put them in a box (didn't want them to burn out & easy enough to put back on the car) the car has just over 50K on it & while it is pretty original, its surely not perfect. I would say its condition is comparable to what you would expect a 2011 or 2012 50K mile car to look like. It has a couple small dings & stone chips up front. I will also be replacing the rear spoiler as it is cracked & looks poor. So, Most of what I am changing could be reversed. I also stripped the clear off the machined part of the wheels. Typical GM clear coat failure.


with exception to the TTA & the ultra low mile cars, my guess is these cars are a solid 10 years away from being collectible to the point where these details effect the value. I could always watch for NOS ones over time I suppose.


On a side note, Back in 1995, I ordered all of the emblems & decals for my 87 Iroc (in my avatar) knowing it could use a repaint because of some small chalking clearcoat spots. At that time the gold 5.7 TPI rear bumper emblem was already discontinued but everything else was still available. I Never painted the car & still have everything in a box in the event I ever decide to. So glad I bought those when I did as I think its all been discontinued now? My only fear is the stripes drying up over time & becoming unusable, but I looked at them about 3 years ago & they still seemed perfect. Pretty sure I spent around $400 plus for them in 95, still have the receipt in the box

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

"Most of what I am changing could be reversed"

It all depends on what you want with the car. Sounds like your on the right track and have a plan.
Keeping it stock and original is a nice idea. If your plan is to keep the car for years and years, great.

I bought a 1985 TA 56K mile survivor, all original down to the date coded vacuum lines and hoses. I changed and saved EVERYTHING including complete brakes, rotors, calipers, brake hoses, and tune-up parts.. Being I wanted to at the least drive it and feel secure. Why keep it all...not really sure, but I have it all for the next guy.

1988CamaroSC

iTrader: (2)

original is great but there comes a time, right around now, where its not mechanically possible.....if u want ur car to look its best, replace, if not, keep em.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Agreed. Original, authentic cars are only that way once.

No, it won't.

Which is what I did to replace a chipped one. At the time, I didn't have a choice-my color wasn't made in a reproduction.

Exactly. I'd rather have a safe driver I can take anywhere than original car with 27 yr old hoses and tires.

At Trans Am Nationals this year, I talked with the owner of a beautiful 15K mile 87 GTA, complete with original Gatorback tires. He complained about how bad it drove-I wonder why?

I could tell a story about front brake hoses almost killing me, destroying a 15K mile GTA because they were original...but I'll spare everyone the drama.

This sidewall gave out at 75 MPH on the interstate, starting story of brake hoses above-Here's why you never drive on old tires:


Ok, enough preaching, let's get you in business.

Remove the old emblems-Need patience, tape, a PLASTIC 'squeege', patience and hair dryer. Patience young Jedi!



IF you replace the emblems, make sure you put them back on in the correct location. Nothing screams f##ked up more than emblems in the wrong place. That can be seen across a parking lot! GTA Source Page has the correct measurements. Unless you're buffing it with the emblems off, you'll have a 'shadow' of the old emblems-easy. If you don't have the 'shadow,' see below.

If your emblems are in the original locations, make templates out of paper. Trace several body lines. Remove template and cut out emblem location with a razor. Here's a few examples:









Hope this helps, let's see more of your car when done.

1988CamaroSC

iTrader: (2)

great advice 86 ta...funny u mention all that, when I bought my Camaro last month, the P/o was all about originality. the stock front brake lines were so collapsed they would let fluid in but not out, car pulled all over the road and not predictably. the upper rad hose was leaking like a siv at the thermo housing...the stock radio sounds terrible.....the factory drivers seat all has the rails digging into my hind end, rear diff was leaking, ses for egr, but she was damned sure original!!! needless to say I have addressed all of that or am in the process. nice car tho, 56k miles. PM me the brake line story, im curious to hear what I may have evaded....

F-body-fan

My emblems bug me so much I think I am going to put the aftermarket ones on for now & continue to look for originals. My front bumper emblem is in "decent" shape, its the sail panels & fenders that bug me. Only problem with the front bumper emblem is its slight crooked, not bad, just a assembly line rush thing. guessing it makes more sense to buy the 5 emblem package rather than individual.

One thing that makes me very sad on the originality topic is I just realized my mid exhaust pipe has a bunch of small pinholes on the top towards the floor of the car. I believe thats were the original seam is on the pipe. The PO used to start the car at least once a year & that didn't do anything good for the exhaust unfortunately. One more original part that needs to be replaced. I'll probably pull it apart today while watching some football.

F-body-fan

In case anyone needs gray ones......

was the tape really installed this poorly from GM?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201449779641?item=201449779641&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

Big&BadGTA

iTrader: (1)

I remember the gray ones which GM Parts supplied in the early 90s were WAY off from the original gray 89 emblems. How's the aftermarket sets these days for color match?

Strange how GM Parts had such bad emblems for Color match.

88IROCvertZ

iTrader: (1)

It's a tough place to be in.. if I can't tell the difference in my hand between emblems I'd go with aftermarket and save the originals.. you want to enjoy looking at the car after All!

I couldn't replace my IROC-Z emblems because the replacements sold online are either

-decals instead of emblems and don't have the same color fade

Or

-bad reproductions that don't have the correct colors and th"R" is a little off

I begged my paint guy to save the emblems because NOS are big money if you can find your color.. he said in the 80s-90s they never saved those because they were a few bucks a piece.

The GTA repros look better than the IROC ones..

you can save anything you swap out..

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I believe Car Motorsports is the place that decided to repop the GTA emblems. Back when I was looking for NOS Jamaica Yellow emblems they had me send in one of my original NOS JY emblems so they could get an accurate reproduction of the color. I believe I also I sent in one of the other 92 only color emblems for match. For my trouble, I got a full set of JY emblems, either free or really cheap. As far as I can tell they are exact color reproductions, and I would have no problem putting them on any car

Dstransam1

I have the flame red metallic repro's and they look great at first but after a month on the car they faded and the red turned brown. junk if you ask me. also the front bumper emblem is flat and does not sit on the nose the way it should.

stavrosbintas

[/QUOTE]
Hello Bill, could you please provide the store or link to where you bought the GTA emblem replacement.

Thanks

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

stavrosbintas

????? I don't understand
I'm just trying to find an emblem replacement please.
Thanks.

Reddragon88gta

I just went through this on my 88' GTA, you may have to utilize 2 separate vendors to get them all together and I will explain why. For the sail panel birds you can likely get by with carmotorsports on ebay as the ones I received were good quality and the same with the front bumper emblem except that it was flat instead of curved. For the bumper emblem I would look at eBay and see if you can find your color NOS if you want the correct curve. I wound up sending the whole kit back as the fender emblems were not useable. The fender emblems from were terrible, I ordered 2 sets within 6 months and both were sent back as the paint had black specs all through it and looked dull. When I asked about this they said that's the way they are and quickly refunded my money when I sent them back. BTW my car is Bright Red so you might be lucky and order their complete kit, which is a good price, and be all set if your color is other than bright red. A lot of ppl on FB have said they had good luck but I did not.

Where I eventually purchased my fender emblems was thepartsplaceinc on eBay, the quality was outstanding and looked great but they are limited in color selection. Even the packaging was much better than the other place I ordered from and shipping was faster too. I found a NOS set of sail panel birds as well which have worked out well. I am still on the lookout for a NOS bright red bumper emblem but luckily mine is in really good shape still.

You could also give Hawks a try, they tend to stand behind their products and if there is an issue would likely take care of it but I have no personal experience with their emblems, they were next on my list. Good luck finding quality emblems, its a shame how poor a lot of the reproduction parts are for our cars.

stavrosbintas

Hello and thanks for the reply, I am only looking for a front bumper GTA emblem in white. Is there a curve on the front bumper emblem?

Would this be a good one to buy? It has a GM # and looks like it may be curved if its GM.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/383686586848...Bk9SR_Lq6YvzYA

Thanks

Reddragon88gta

Yes there is a curve, I know that for a fact on the 87-90 cars. Some ppl have had good luck with the aftermarket one like you linked but they typically replace when painting and the body shop may be able to make it work.



If you want OE fit your best bet is NOS or a really clean used one.

Here is a NOS one in white, I’m not the seller.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13382286089...mis&media=COPY


I would compare them, but do a search on here and you will hear about the differences between the reproduction and OE.

stavrosbintas

Thanks, the problem is I'm in Canada so the one you provided doesn't ship here. Do you think my best bet is the first link I sent you? What does NOS stand for or mean in this circumstance?

Reddragon88gta

NOS means New Old Stock, which is essentially leftover original equipment parts made by the manufacturer, in our case GM. They are generally much higher quality than aftermarket especially on our cars IMO.

I would give the Hawks piece a whirl, if it doesn’t fit just send it back and get a refund and keep looking.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Its literally the very first line in the post you quoted. Aka, you didn't read.

stavrosbintas

The link does not work tuff guy

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Well then, I'd guess the place is out of business, so asking me where I bought it from still nets you nothing.

dj-george82

Hi!
I bought this set https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/87-...lem-set-white/
Looks really good. My gta has no shadows. Can someone suggest the correct location with a ruler?
Thank you

Reddragon88gta

Pretty sure I got those from the old gta source page which had really good info on the GTA. I used those measurements on mine and it turned out good.

dj-george82

Really thank you!