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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
Hey all, I am a new member, and a new Trans Am owner as well. I just recently purchased an 86 Trans Am, that is a 2 owner car, with only 64k original miles. The car is in over all good shape with zero rust. I was told it was a special edition, due to the paint and interior scheme, and the VIN, but I am having a heck of a time finding anything on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Not rare. There's a sticky'd thread about rarity, it's worth reading.
There was still a S/E in 86, but the S/E was not a Trans Am, it was a mid-option somewhere between a base Firebird and the Trans Am. What you have is a Trans Am. It's a WS6 car, judging from the 16" wheels. The interior scheme doesn't mean anything either really. Two tone interior was a popular option on the Firebirds early on. They stopped offering the two tone somewhere in the late 80's, like 88, 89, 90. It doesn't really add any value.
Just because the car isn't rare based on options or production quantity, doesn't really take anything from the car. It's still a well optioned car for the year. 1986 wasn't a sparkling year for performance, but the 305 TPI with WS6 was the cream of the crop, same as an IrocZ with the same options. The 5spd wasn't available with the TPI until 87, the 350TPI wasn't available yet, etc. Later cars offer more performance, but still, for it's year it's not a bad car to own. Personally the 85-90 Trans Am body is my favorite of all the 82-92 cars. I still miss my 86 T/A. Clean it up, fix what you can, avoid the temptation to chop it up or throw away the wheels, and it certainly won't go down in value.
Aside from the missing Air Conditioning and the cute little slip of cardboard under the radio, it's got potential. 1986 was an interesting year. It was possible to load-up a TA, as yours might be, before much became part of the GTA package.
Your car has the somewhat unique WS6 wide wheels. There were also options like "performance sound", which had a slider switch in the dash and other parts.
There may have been confusion with the Special Edition Recaro Trans Am, which was a black and gold theme. Your car does not have this option as the Special Edition Recaro was no longer available for your year. Only the Recaro seats continued through 1986, which you don't have.
But that doesn't really matter if the car is what you want and the condition isn't bad.
It's not a special edition per say, just the black & gold scheme inside and out for 1986, top options Trans Am, and low mileage makes it a very nice find. Plan on getting on of those in the future.
Given the fact that 30 years have passed since it was built , and the fact that some hack was obviously at the mechanicals (like the chopped out A/C and the cardboard under the radio) it's likely the instrument cluster could have been swapped for one showing lower mileage .
PS , $4800 ??? In it's present condition that's a $3K at best car where I live .....
i buy third gens all the time and i wouldnt pay 3k for that car
And once again, the "enthusiast" crowd is undervaluing our cars. It's no wonder the rest of the automotive industry pays us no regard and values our cars so little.
This car does need some work, but it's not a $1500 or $2k car. It appears to be a straight car, which will provide a good foundation. I don't see this car being the trashed out cars we see all the time. I think his asking price is fair for a car that doesn't need body work and is complete, minus the AC. Looks like it needs mostly cosmetic work.
And once again, the "enthusiast" crowd is undervaluing our cars. It's no wonder the rest of the automotive industry pays us no regard and values our cars so little.
This car does need some work, but it's not a $1500 or $2k car. It appears to be a straight car, which will provide a good foundation. I don't see this car being the trashed out cars we see all the time. I think his asking price is fair for a car that doesn't need body work and is complete, minus the AC. Looks like it needs mostly cosmetic work.
agreed. the body does look very straight, the paint is just shot from being 30 years old. As long as there's no rot on the car I would have no problem paying $4000-$4500 for a 64k miled car. The issue is that a proper respray would bring it right to its value which wouldn't make it a profitable car unless your painted it yourself. Of course not everyone is buying these cars to sell and make a profit. The AC issue isn't really a big deal, just one of those things you expect to have to fix to get working on a car this old, even with someone previously messing with it.
If the owner cleaned the engine bay, wiped down and vacuumed the interior, and took some pictures showcasing the condition underneath and other areas of the car to make it a little more presentable it would go a long way.
If it didn't need paint, and if the seats weren't shredded, I'd probably agree with the asking price. Paint is expensive. Correct reproductions to fix the seats don't exist. It's not a highly desirable thirdgen. If it were local, and priced at $2k, I'd probably have trouble ignoring it. If that car were for sale as-is around here, I'd expect it would be priced around $3500. If the A/C were there, even non-operational, and the seats weren't shredded, a little TLC like cleaning off the lower stripe adhesive, I wouldn't be surprised to see a price closer to $6500.
There's potential there, but it's going to take some effort.
If it didn't need paint, and if the seats weren't shredded, I'd probably agree with the asking price. Paint is expensive. Correct reproductions to fix the seats don't exist. It's not a highly desirable thirdgen. If it were local, and priced at $2k, I'd probably have trouble ignoring it. If that car were for sale as-is around here, I'd expect it would be priced around $3500. If the A/C were there, even non-operational, and the seats weren't shredded, a little TLC like cleaning off the lower stripe adhesive, I wouldn't be surprised to see a price closer to $6500.
There's potential there, but it's going to take some effort.
Bingo !! The paint issue is the biggest wall for top asking price !!!
I say do a Maaco $499 special , Clean up the interior/engine, Armor all spit and shine and let the "Magic" happen on Ebay
Where I am right now, it'd probably be around a $3 - 3.5k car. Maybe a bit more depending on the time of year and what neighborhood it was for sale in.
Seems to be a great deal in this thread, of what I've come to recognize over the last 40-some-odd years in this hobby, as "Firebird Owner's Disease", the symptoms of which are:
Every Firebird is "rare", but most especially, "mine"
The mere fact that it's "rare" means it's worth "more" (than what, I'm not sure)
My car is worth ALOT more than I paid for it / I got a deal on it
The person I bought it from didn't know "how much" it was "worth"
Because it's "rare", the "value" of mine will be on the high end of Barrett-Jackson or Mecum bids, even though mine is just an old car that's been driven around for the last 15, 20, 30 years
The particular car in question was one of the most popular color combos back then. IMO for good reason: it looked damn good. ALOT better than some of the "rare" colors, which again IMO, are/were usually "rare" for good reason. Looks to me to be in somewhere between "fair" and "good" condition; straight body, little/no rust, almost all there, would be presentable if not quite "beautiful" with nothing more than a good detailing. Unfortunately not a very optioned-up one; manual mirrors, cloth seats (not sure exactly what all options for that were available that year but that looks like kinda the base one), manual seats, no cruise. I don't see anything "special edition" about it at all; not of course the S/E model, which was typically a base drivetrain luxo barge, roughly similar to the Camaro Berlinetta, a young woman's sort of car. This is not that.
I agree, the location has more to do with the value than many other things. In W NY a rust-free car would be worth 3 times what it would be in AZ. Although, looking at the tree leaf species and a few other clues, looks to me like it's in the South somewhere; NC, GA, someplace like that, at a guess.
Forget all that "rare" and "special edition" and "finding anything on it" and all the rest of that crap. There's nothing particularly "special" about it, other than, a half-decently preserved survivor. If it's located where I'm guessing, then it's about a $2500 - 3200 car depending on condition, such as how it runs and how the transmission works. Needs tires pretty bad of course, about like any used car.
Interior looks like it has more than 64K original miles on it!
If it is correct mileage, it was a hard 64k. My Formula 350 had approx the same mileage when I bought, and the interior looks nothing like that. It was a midwest car too (orig in Michigan). The black TA appears to have spent a lot of time in the sun with the paint and interior condition.
Sorry for not responding so often everyone. Let's quiet the room a little. I posted the car, as is, the day I got it, without doing anything to it. Since I last was on here, I did a little buffing on the car, which the picture shows an example of the outcome. I have an upholstery guy, who is going to fix the seats in the spring, if I still have the car. I also included a small pic of the mileage on the title, which also says "actual" under mileage, and not "exceeds mechanical limits" or "exempt" just to debunk any thoughts of it not being accurate. I had one gentleman from the forum come see it last weekend, who wanted a donor car to rebuild his 85, that he has had since new. He advised it was the most solid one he has seen in several years, and even commented on how the dash had absolutely no cracking, even in the corners. After seeing it, he said it's worth him buying, but he can't bring himself to cut up a rust free car, to fix up his.
Just because we wouldn't be buyers for a car doesn't mean we should be flaming the guy for it. It's worth whatever he can get for it - higher or lower.
As for flipping - that's a caustic word and likely not representative of what's going on here. Most of us buy/sell cars & parts to fund our hobby.
Not all of us are flaming him. Some of us are trying to give a bit of helpful feedback now, so he has a chance to consider options and possible solutions for what potential buyers will likely see.
If d00d buys the car for what might be a "reasonable" price, then maybe cleans up / fixes / restores a few of the things that make it "worth" less than it might otherwise be, then maybe sells it at the right time of the year in the right place, it's not impossible that it might fetch quite a bit higher of a price than what we see in it now.
It has potential. But as we all know, "potential" and "reality" are sometimes widely separated. The trick often lies in, bringing them closer together.
The carpet is one of the tell tale signs of mileage, it could be a 64k car, but with a modern cd player and missing a/c compressor, back seats are tearing where the butt meets the waist, the rear spoiler is either cracking or needing paint, the t-tops either leak or they will inevitably. ( I wonder if it would pass thru a Car Wash )
The only things it's got going for it, is a clean title, TPI car, and under 100k with seemingly all power options available on it except for power mirrors.
If it runs & drives good on a test drive with no transmission or rear differential grinding noises.
Then I'd consider paying 3,100 For the car Maximum.
I knew someone who lived 2 miles from me next door To a tire shop I frequented who had an '85 Trans Am just like this black one, but it was faded Red, T-top, Aero wheels, black spoiler, looks just like this...
But interestingly Was a 305 Carbureted car, probably the LG4, automatic, it had a 140 mph speedo, not sure what were the gears, the t-tops needed new weatherstripping or else they would leak and the rear spoiler was cracked.
The guy wanted $ 5,000 For it. And it had 120k
I was interested in the car because I've never had a red car, or a t-top car, or a 3rd Gen Trans Am, I have a 3rd Gen Z28, an '85 red t-top was not my first choice for a T/A but It sorta grew on me.
But not enough to pay a penny over 3,500
That was 3 years ago.
I still drive by that street and can see his garage when it's open.
The car is still siting in there, probably not running under non operating status with the DMV and he's got a tarp over the t-tops.
12-30-2016, 01:02 PM
Given the fact that 30 years have passed since it was built , and the fact that some hack was obviously at the mechanicals (like the chopped out A/C and the cardboard under the radio) it's likely the instrument cluster could have been swapped for one showing lower mileage . 
PS , $4800 ??? In it's present condition that's a $3K at best car where I live .....
, Clean up the interior/engine, Armor all spit and shine 
