NiG

Guys, I finally bought my 1989 GTA here in Italy !! My first true sports car, and my first USA car also

Ok, here I'm going to share with you some some modest and sincere thoughts, after owing it for 24 hours.

Photos are coming tomorrow!!!!!


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***** aesthetics *****
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Beautiful, impressive as far as european cars are concerned. Retro style wheel rim but exotic figure. Pretty small window compared to car size, and big lovely rear window. Astonishing front, expecially with opened highlights.
Inside it's quite simple but nice. Front seats confortable but rear sits very small.

A particular that I LITERALLY LOVE is the two small lights carved inside the lower part of the rear mirror!!! What a pity they are manually handled and so they don't turn off when you stop the car.

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***** tech/engine *****
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There are some cool things, and some ugly facts that I didn't expected.

Great things: engine is powerful, very responsive even if sometimes when you floor it, it doesn't shift down to give you max power. In fact, if you want to have a nice 0-60mph time, you have to accelerate from still (0mph), and NOT accelerating from 10mph because it will stay in 2nd gear. Good anyway. Nice grip on dry ground, good grip in weat ground.

Bad thing: I have to say that: awful handling. This is the major T/A weak point for me. Steering is imprecise, loose, you can even rotate the wheel of few degree and have the car going straight. My "Alfa Romeo 147" (italian mid sized 0-60mpg in 9.8secs car, conceived for young guy) is renown for its great precise steering, and it is incomparable with the T/A steering. I know, we are talking about a 2000s car VS a 1980s car, but this is just how I felt it.

Another bad thing are the breaks. On my car, when you lean you foot on the breakes lever, it will immediatly starts to slow down. On the T/A you have to press very hard. If you are fast and have to stop suddenly, you have to press as hard as you can. Is it normal or just a car of mine issue?

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***** minor issues *****
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I've registered some issues.
- loose seats. They are not firm, stuck. Instead, they seem "untied", you can always move them of some centimeters. They look damaged at the end. Headrests too are not firm and you can move them everytime you touch them with a minimum force.
- heavy and a bit awkwars doors. You have to toss a door to close it. If you just gently go with the door to close it (as we're used too with modern cars) it wont close properly. BTW, is it normal?
- pretty noisy. We are awful streets here, and holes in pavement cause big noises inside the cabin. Modern cars make that a slight noticeable phenomenon, but in the T/A is very evident (it has new suspensions). Pretty common, however I think, in old cars.
- hard to push shift button. Yeah, my thumb fingerprint is very tired


Recap:
a nice big sports car, perhaps too big and so barely precise and firm. I'm feeling it unsecure after 50-60mph (a slow speed), which is something is doesn't happen with my other car (a smaller car), but perhaps this is due to the fact I don't know yet the GTA. Noisy and then less confortable compared to european cars, but very enjoable and very stylish. Confortable in front seats, great looking from outside, nice from inside.
It's a pity the noisy and steering-precision issue, otherwise it would be a really great car.

What do you think

Love that car anyway, I'll drive it for many years from now

THANKS,
bye

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

#1 , Congratulations !

#2 , yes , the door thing is normal , and a PIA . Open the trunk and close a door , see how much easier the door closes ? This IS a known thing about our cars

#3 , get your steering checked , pronto ! Looseness like you describe indicates worn parts , and needs attention . Our cars are known for handling like sports cars when all suspension&steering components are right .....

eseibel67

Yes, handling of these cars is a strong point. You will either needs some new steering parts, or possibly a steering box adjustment.

Brakes on these cars are not the best, but they are adequate when functioning properly. The biggest downfall of the brakes on these cars is the horrible design of the rear calipers. Or you might have a problem with the master cylinder.

Take lots of high resoluion pics and post them up.

Congrats, the best attributes of these cars is their good looks and great sound. Interior design is also unique.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Your steering needs attention. They are NOT sloppy at all; very precise handling. Even my 88 STILL handles like it's on rails.
Get it checked out!

Oh, and by the way.....if your tires are worn, you may have a little wonder from them tracking in the groove of the road so to speak which will make you have that "wondering, sloppy feeling in the steering.

Congats on the purchase!

NiG

THANKS GUYS, I'm answering you soon.
For now, here you can find some exterior pictures: http://goo.gl/KsFj04

BYE

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Good looking! Take care of it !

FRMULA88

Congratulations !

The steering box could be worn or simply need adjustment.
possibly the centerlink, pitman arm and tie rods as well..

have the suspension inspected.. including the sway bar bushings.


It is a big American sports car 3,500 lbs (1,600 KG) You have step on the brake pedal like you mean it, LOL You will get used to it. If the pedal feels firm that is good.. what you don't want is a spongy brake pedal or a pedal so firm you can hardly press it down (means the power assist is damaged or disconnected)

the doors are big... again big American sports car.. When new from the factory your doors shut perfectly. As the car aged the hinges have worn out from the weight of the doors and are sagging.. You can try to adjust the striker plates or door posts but you can have the hinges rebuilt... Another reason is the car is a uni-body so the body does flex. I can tell you from experience when I installed sub-frame connectors my doors open and shut like bank vault doors because the body is now more rigid. No slamming required.

Looks like a nice clean mostly original car. enjoy it but be ready to replace 25+ year old components.

FRMULA88

After 25 years you should go thru the car and flush replace all the hydraulic fluids, transmission fluid, and rear axle.

GTAs have 4 wheel disc brakes normally;

Old, dirty, brake fluid will affect performance. same with power steering..

The original 700R4 trans can take some getting used too.. it will also downshift into 3rd gear at high speed (can't cruise at very high speed in over drive) but there are kits that solve this at other issues.


what part of Italy are you in ? My great grand father immigrated to Buenos Aires from Calabria in the 1900s.

Maybe we are cousins LOL

Scorpner

iTrader: (4)

Welcome and congrats on the purchase! There is a lot of information available here if you look around for the various topics. I'll try to hit on a few things as well.

The transmission should down shift when you floor it. It may mean that the TV cable needs to be adjusted. If it is left like that it can wear out the transmission prematurely. Search “TV cable” and/or “700r4” for more info. Also take a look at the fluid, it should be pink and at the proper level after the car is warmed up and on level ground. If it ever needs to be rebuilt there are better performance parts available in the US, or you can buy completely rebuilt for race purposes.

To me the loose steering might also be a loose steering box or rag joint. It's still important to check the rest of the linkages as mentioned. If you are able to, (with the engine off) you can try turning the wheel back and forth within in the loose area while watching where the slop ends. For instance you can tell if it's the steering box when you can see the shaft move but not the output arm. The ball joints are sometimes more difficult to find and takes a little finesse. There are also tools to check it as well as taking it in to a repair shop, you might also need it off of the ground to check. Many of the linkages will also cause vibration and uneven tire wear. Front wheel bearings on a new purchase should also be checked.
If the steering box is loose you can try adjusting to reduce the slack but that must be done with the knowledge that you should only adjust it so much, otherwise it could indicate that it needs to be rebuilt.
If your GTA has a lot of miles you should also look into replacing bushings, strut mounts and other parts people often overlook. Be careful with what you choose as some options like poly bushings can reduce comfort and add noise but are good for tightening up performance. You would need to do a lot of reading to determine for yourself what is important to you. Worn strut mounts and loose/broken Sway bar links can cause a clanking noise on bumps.

The description of the brakes are not typical and should be looked at. A few things that come to mind are the vacuum booster, air in the brake lines, and the condition of the front brake rotors (should be dull and smooth). I would look into a new set of rotors (or resurfacing if appropriate) and pads as well as replacing the rear brakes. Old brake hoses (the flexible part that attaches to the caliper) should be replaced as well, they can balloon out or, alternately lock the calipers down on the rotor. Bleeding, or better yet flushing out the old fluid should be done regardless, and the fluid will let you know the condition of the inside of the brake lines.

I'm not sure what's going on with the seats, but they are held on with four bolts and it may be worthwhile pulling one and taking a look at the rail/tilt mechanisms?

The situation with the doors sound like loose hinges. They are a common wear item with the heavy doors on Thirdgens. The door hangs low and doesn't line up with the post so you have to either lift it or slam it really hard for it to shut. To check it, grab the end of the door and lift it up. If the car moves it's probably not the hinge. There are repair kits available and many threads here on the topic. Some doors are noisy while others close very solid. There is also a large thread on reducing common noise issues in the doors and other places. An example might be the window adjustment, loose rods, or a missing spring in the door handle. Some Thirdgens have better insulation than others especially differences in carpeting backing. Sub-frame connectors can also help reduce flexing and therefore noise.

“Hard to shift push button.” I'm not sure what that is. Your shifter **** should have a “U” shaped retainer in the front (hard to get to) that pulls out to remove the ****. Then you can remove the shifter **** (pull up) and then check the ****, or remove the shifter plate to see the mechanism inside for the shifter. The spring is on a lever and should be light weight. Otherwise there could be something wrong with the rod that the button pushes down on.

IMO, many of the issues are things you should look at yourself vs. a local shop as they might not be familiar with what needs to be done. If English is easy for you I recommend picking up a GM shop manual from Helms (or also used on Ebay etc.). The manuals are expensive but are far beyond any other manual on these cars. It may also help your mechanic with obtaining the correct information.

Here is a link to the manual ($149 US):
http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...elected_media=

Some other reading if interested, I couldn't find the thread on noise for some reason:
https://www.thirdgen.org/1989-pontiac-firebird
https://www.thirdgen.org/technical-articles
https://www.thirdgen.org/faq

If you are interested you can also check the RPO codes to determine what you car came with and learn a little about it.

NiG

Thank you guys, you were so usefull

I'll break my answer in some subjects.

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1) Steering
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This is a major flaw. There you can find a video I made, hopefully showing you the loose/play I'm experiencing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIr...ature=youtu.be

[watch near the end of the video]

I'm happy that Bob88GTA said that it is supposed to be precise, that comforts me.
I'm not a mechanic at all so I dont know what it is to be replaced. The first thing that comes in my mind is the steering box, as Scorpner said. Do you have any suggestion for a part to buy, and where to buy?
Next week I'll take the car to the mechanic and try to inspect it as Scorpner suggested. If the issue will turn out to be complex, I'll open a new topic for it.

A nice guy, in this site, suggested me this steering box: http://s27.postimg.org/yk4p6w81f/20k82mx.jpg
What do you think? Will it resolve the play/loose steering issue?

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2) Doors
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In two weeks we will be modifying the doors hinges in order to raise up the door a bit. They dont seem "loosing" but maybe in the years the kinda bended. This should compensate for the door lowering due to wear and facilitate cloosing doors.

About the interios noise (70% I notice is from doors), we will disassemble the doors, tighten some possible moving parts inside, and fill the gaps with a sort of "semi liquid rubber" that the mods-guy has. If this wont be enough, he suggested a sort of paste that you spread on the metal. When it dries, it will hold firm everything. It's made to assorb noise.


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3) Brakes
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Brakes are horrible. Mine has 4 disc brakes. In these days I'll be checking for some parts in online shops.
What do you think about this non-performace package? http://www.carid.com/1989-pontiac-tr...-31804865.html
There is more exiting stuff of course, but a bit expensive: http://www.carid.com/1989-pontiac-tr...-15983140.html

What do you think?
Is there a way to check how good calipers work?
What is the vacuum booster?

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3) Transmission
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It seems to work fine, expect when you are in "D", at min in 2nd gear and you floor it, it does not shift down. A part from this, it seems to work ok. Seems to me so it could be wrong anyway. I'll post a video soon to show how it goes.
It shift down everytime you floor it, no problems. Just in the 2nd gear in "D", it stays in 2nd :/


I'll come back soon
thanks!!!

bye

-nicola

ksith

you can always fix the trans issue by swapping in a manual transmission. Sounds like you have everything else under control.