88GTAvert

Hello All:
I have a question for the convertible crowd and I'm hoping to find a answer here. I own a 1988 ASC GTA convertible with the 5L/5spd engine/tranny combination. I know ASC made 104 Firebird verts in 1988, but I haven't been able to get a numbers break down beyond that. Does anyone know how many of the 104 were GTA's? Any help would be appreciated.

tavert91

iTrader: (1)

I would think that the only records would be with ASC since I believe that 1988 birds were all owner/dealer conversions. Pontiac began offering them in 1991 & 1992 and that is where their records begin. Some of the site members have compiled "unofficial" records so maybe you will get something from one of them. Good Luck.

88GTAvert

Does anyone have some "unofficial" production numbers for the 1988 Firbird convertibles that they would like to share!

okfoz

All I know of is the 1989 ASC Dealers Order logs. I was lucky enough to get a hold of it and was able to decipher 95% of the VIN's to get my current breakdowns... (15 cars were exported, 1 of those I knew was a TTA, so 14 cars of the 324 cars listed are unknown.) ASC reported 330 made, but that may be a generic rounded number.

I would be very happy to find a 1987 & 1988 Dealer order logs from ASC so I could decipher those, but I am not sure if they even exist any more...

To be honest, It would be almost I say almost because it would be possible to break into PHS and steal the information, to tell the difference between a Trans Am and GTA since they have the same VIN. From what I can tell, very few Trans Am's Verts were actually made from 1987 - 1989, My guess would be less than 50. The GTA on the other hand is by far the most common car to have been converted...

John

88GTAvert

Thanks for the info John. I love that Formula convertible by the way, very, very nice. Have you seen this one yet? http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e=&cardist=263

Ward

iTrader: (1)

There were only 809 GTA's which came with a manual trans in 88 too, so there can't be too many out there which are both convertible and manual.

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

I believe the Formula in Pa is a TBI car. The car is nice but $14k is out of line. For that kind of money you have options....

jeffwilly

that formula convertible on autotrader has an electric motor to pull down the fifth bow.
that's cool!!!!

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

Was that ever a factory option?

okfoz

The blue Formula is a LB9/A4 car
Electric 5th bow pull down??? Where do you see that?

Was what a factory option?

John

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

Same question i asked John. First i have ever heard of it...14K in this economy is going to be tough to get..

my82roc

iTrader: (101)

If you look at the pics of the tonneau up you can see the motor on the underside.

jeffwilly

I remember seeing one on here that had the motor. It works like a corkscrew to pull the 5th bow down.

okfoz

That is really interesting... are you talking about the thing in the attached pic?

As far as the price... I would be interested to see if he actually gets it. On the one hand I would not be surprised, on the other I highly doubt it... Right now I would think $5K unfortunately is what he would be offered as no one is buying anything.

The white car was on ebay, he was asking $11.5K for it, I emailed them about giving them the list I have and was pissed that I contacted them and was not willing to buy it. LO3 A4 26K miles.

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

Some people are just plain ignorant....Why would anyone who has a interest in 3rd Gens be pissed because a fellow enthusiast contacts them about their car?
The blue one is pretty but i don't think he will get it. Times are tough right now & we are heading into winter when people tend to think far less about a convertible. Plus the holidays are coming up.....Guess it depends on how bad they want to sell it.

jeffwilly

[quote=okfoz;3952071]That is really interesting... are you talking about the thing in the attached pic?
yeah under the cover. I remember someone saying that ASC was trying these motors because of the pins (regular verts)were popping at high speeds. Don't quote me but I'm sure I read that on this site somewhere.

88GTAvert

My GTA has this "corkscrew" style of electric motor to fasten the bow to the deck. Is this not standard for all 3rd gen verts? If not, I hope the motor lasts! My car was made in Feb 88 and coverted and delivered to the original owner in April 88. The motor is controlled by a switch mounted in the rear passenger section of the driver's side of the car, just above the armrest. It looks like a window control switch, only black.

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

That is really something. I was never aware that such a item appeared on the convertibles. Does anyone have any ASC or factory documentation on this?

my82roc

iTrader: (101)

Here is an old thread that mentions the motor.Also has a few pics
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...questions.html

flippermtc

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Marc. That is a neat feature. I would like to see it sometime. Maybe ill head out to Harrisburg to see that Formula vert

88GTAvert

Here are some pics of my cars set up with the motor, switch control, and screw on the bow. The motor is working strong, unfortunately I can tell that the gear end of the motor is having issues. I had to work with it to get it to release the top to take the pics ...I seriously doubt there is a rebuild kit out there for the gear end of this set up? Looks like the gear doing the work may be nylon or plastic!!! Anyways, I seem to only be able to post one pic at a time...so here's the first.

88GTAvert

Here's number two...

88GTAvert

three...

88GTAvert

and four...

jeffwilly

they must have put them on the early Pontiac's. I've never seen or heard of one on a Camaro???(has anyone else?)

my82roc

iTrader: (101)

The guy in that old thread I posted had an 87 Camaro vert with the motor

tavert91

iTrader: (1)

I wish that they ket / improved this design. My 91 just has the pin and clip. I had some initial problems with it letting go while driving. I fixed it with some common sense "adjustments" but never really trusted the design. A motor/drive screw is a good idea. They probably went to the pin and clip to save a few bucks (no motor).

thebman007

Yes most all Pontiacs got the motors, screwpin, and switch in the panel. The Pontiac was considered more fancy then the Camaro. As you know there were 3 versions:
1. We called "John Deere Pin" - hard to align and easy to pop open
2. Cable type which almost all Camaros have
3. The power motor which a couple camaros and almost all Pontiacs had.

The last design was costly but easy to operate for the customer, better security, easy to align, and made a good seal for water leaks.

Still my favorite

okfoz

Bman007

Was the type 3 used thru 1988 or thru 1989? My 89 Formula I think has the same mech as the Camaro's

BTW, Did you ever run across your notebook???

John

thebman007

OKFOZ,

No notebook yet, Type 3 was thru 89 however we ran out of motors for a few weeks and changed back to the cable style.

Did find the ASC repair sheets used when traveling to dealers in 87 to update the customers cars. Early ASC cars had updates and so not to inconvience the customers ASC had customers vehicles shipped back or driven to the Livonia factory that were in the area for updates or we traveled to dealerships in the U.S. and had the customers bring in thier cars and we updated them. Then in 88 these updates were included at the factory builds.

toresin

Aha,I just bought a 88 GTA Vert,florida car
it has a srew like this,and i wonderd how and why,the cover was held in place with a pair of wise-grips.motor is missing,is it possible to find
and if i cearch for it on the net,what shall i call it/search for

okfoz

Bman007,
Do you happen to know what parts are compatible with the other (non F-body) cars. Like the motor pull down that toresin needs... If they used anything similar on the Sunbird convertibles it was more than likely similar... Or even the Buick Reatta convertibles...

Just curious.

88GTAvert

I bought a kit to convert my car over to the manual release system like the later models use. You could always go that route as well? Bought it from Hawks. If you decide you want to keep it original, I will contact you once I make the switch on my car and you could have the motor and set up from my car.
The motor works great and it pulls the top down tight, but it is hit and miss with the releasing. It may take four or five tries to get it to release the top. Not perfect, but you may be able to take the gear end apart and fix it? Let me know.

toresin

Hey,lucky me,Ill be happy to take over the whole setup,as i am going to keep my baby original,,,,,,,let me know,,,,