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1988 Pontiac GTA. 105,350 miles on it. L98 350, 700R4 automatic transmission, 3.27 posi 9-bolt Borg-Warner rear, aluminum driveshaft, ceramic coated SLP 1-3/4” stainless steel headers (without smog tubes) and ceramic coated y-pipe, 3” edelbrock cat-back (no smog pump or cat convertor but still have pump).
Most everything done to the car in 1999 and 2000. Very few miles since (under 10,000).
Less than 10,000 miles on rebuilt original engine. Engine was pulled and rebuilt in 1999. New rings, bearings, gaskets, oil pump, etc. Did not need boring. The heads were ported, three-angle valve job, 1.6 ratio Comp Cams roller-tipped rocker arms. TPI intake was slightly port matched, AS&M 1-3/4 tube runners (the engine photo shows stock runners I have since replaced with the AS & Ms), fully-ported plenum, Corvette metal distributor cover, Crane adjustable fuel pressure regulator, Accel coil. Stock cam and roller lifters.
Car has a PROMINATOR installed and working beautifully. The Prominator unit has the 8-position switch that allows up to eight different computer programs. TUNE ON THE GO with TunerPro which is installed on my laptop computer. . I will also throw in the great lap-top computer that I use to download programs. This setup lets you tune the car the way you want and you can leave a stock tune in one of the eight switch positions and switch from mild to wild---while running down the road.
Car has a home-built under car ram-air system with in car control (can be closed or run open). K&N large cone shaped filter. Have a stock MAF sensor and a Wells (swap between them when experimenting).
NO RUST. I bought this car from original owner in Montgomery, Alabama in March 1999. Car was originally Fire Red but was painted Bright Red in 2000. Paint is still very good condition. Body is in great shape. Has a minor issue above the driver’s door, b-pillar area where the car’s torque tends to twist the body on higher power cars. Car really needs sub-frame connectors. Doors are good but do droop just a very, very little bit on the driver’s side. Not much, they still close very well with just a one-handed push. Fiberglas Aerowing spoiler on rear deck. Door seals, fuzzies, and rubbers were replaced when car was painted. Headlight motors fixed, extremely good tailights (plus another good set).
Was a Camel color (Beechwood?) interior but converted to black in 2003. Has 2002 power black leather T/A seats front and rear, black carpet, black seatbelts, headliner, plastics, etc. Door panels were dyed black and have held up very well. Console has minor “pull away” issues and console lid has a small cut. The leather around shift knob is almost new. Lighted inside mirror, power outside mirrors, power door locks. Really good shift knob and dash pouch. The plate around the radio and electronic HVAC controls is almost new as is the unit that houses them. Lighter works. Power windows work good. PLEASE NOTE--pictures are before black interior was installed and before I swapped from Edelbrock headers to SLP headres.
Radio is an aftermarket Pioneer P47DH Unit with CD player. Nothing super great but good enough for me. Stock (?) speakers. Still have original radio/cassette with a tape stuck in it.
Digital dash. Cruise control works great. Recently replaced wiper switch controls. Have toggle switches to control each fan individually (they still work without switches). Tilt column is tight. Regular T/A steering wheel (also have original radio control wheel). Could use new pedal covers. Air conditioning and heater work great. A/C converted to R134 several years ago.
Tires have less than 10,000 miles on the original GTA lace wheels. All lug nuts and covers. 245/16 on front and 255/16 on back. Spare tire and jack tools.
Folks, I have seen over 30 mpg driving this car in my hilly-curvey part of the country. Most time it is in the low-mid 20s. I have seen it drop to about 17 mpg when running it at the drag-strip. At the drag strip (Beech Bend in Bowling Green, KY), the car has run a best of 14.02 at 99.6 mph as it sits. Futura Ultra Z tires (made by Cooper) hooked good enough for a 2.0 60 foot time. The car runs out to 140+ mph (haven’t done that recently).
The car drives great except if it is cold it takes a couple miles for the tires to quit bumping due to the fact I drive it so little (tires flat spot until they warm up). Steering is tight, brakes are very good with front rubber lines recently replaced as was all pads front and rear. Probably 2/3 to 3/4 tread left.
The tranny shifts very good but it IS making a whinning sound at slow speeds. Will shift into Overdrive at very high speeds (some won’t).
The car will sell with ALL the stuff I have replaced over the years---including the original seats, seat belts, and lots and lots of potential EBAY stuff. I bought this car for $1,600 in 1999 and have receipts to show way over $12,000 since.
Also included will be an original GM service manual (the good one) and owner's manual.
I am asking $6,000 which, like I said, includes All the original stuff that was replaced over the years as well as the PROMINATOR and NICE lap-top computer. I would drive this car anywhere. It would be a shame to make it a daily driver but could be. It is not so original you would be afraid to mod it.
Original stuff to also go with car-seats, front and rear; rear spoiler; extra sets of taillights; seat belts; interior plastics; exhaust manifolds; GTA steering wheel with radio controls; GTA cassette radio; visors; and more
On a 1-10 scale, 1 being rust pile and 10 showroom new, I would honestly grade this car an 8, maybe 8-1/2. Friends' say 9 but I know the flaws. You couldn't begin to build a car this nice for twice the price.
Life changes things and I need to sell some stuff.
Located in south-central Kentucky, 80 miles northest of Nashville, Tennessee; 50 miles east of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
I would sell the car for less if you do not want the Prominator and laptop computer. It is just a matter of about 5-10 minutes to take the Prominator out of the stock computer.
However, once you've seen what the Prominator and TunerPro can do, you would probably want to keep it. It's that good.
Please remember there are lots of extra parts with this car that the buyer could sell or Ebay.
The price is not extremely firm and can be dealt with.
Original seats, seat belts, plastic pieces, exhaust manifolds, intake runners, and lots and lots of other parts that came off the car will go with it. Plus there are some other nice "goodies" that could go with the car to sweeten the deal.
It would probably take a van or regular size truck to carry off the extra parts.
Also remember the car can be sold without the Prominator and nice laptop.
A buyer could easily end up with less than four grand in this car.
Some pictures of the interior. If you look on the passenger side, you may see the cable from the Prominator that connects to a laptop for using TunerPro.
Also, don't mind the dirty carpet. It was too cold to vacuum! lol
Note in the underhood picture the AS&M large tube-runners and also the SLP headers.
I can take off the AS&M runners and put back on the stock ones to save you about $400.
I could also take off the headers and put back n the manifolds to save you about another $300-$400. But, who would be that crazy?
The cable hanging from the mirror in front of the radio is from the radar detector.
And if you look above the radio, just toward the driver side, you can see the switch (just above the blue connector) that controls the 8 different programs that can be loaded into the Prominator.
jms
Last edited by jms; 12-15-2007 at 08:12 PM.
Reason: explanation
To those that might be interested, I would be willing to take off the very ported plenum and AS&M large tube runners as well as put the computer back to stock.
It would take me probably 2-3 hours to change the car.
I would probably ask around $4,500 or so for the car that way.
I know it is a tough time of year to sell a vehicle but it would be hard to find something this nice (and with all the extra parts) for this kind of money.
as much as i love ur ride man, the only thing i can offer you right now is a trade for my IROC, which only needs paint, but thats all im workin with :-)
I really hate to sell it but things in life make people change their priorities.
Like I've told a few people that have contacted me, the car is not a show car by any means but it IS much nicer than probably 85-90% of the other thirdgens that still exist.
It rides good (for a thirdgen), runs VERY well for the number of mods it has, handles very well, gets excellent fuel mileage (when not hot-rodding it), looks extremely sharp, has been very, very reliable, and more.
When I got back on my feet following my divorce in the mid 1990s, I needed something to fill my spare time so I bought a couple thirdgens (one wrecked T/A) and a standard 'bird. I put all the T/A stuff on the 'bird (including interior) and drove that car a couple years and sold it for about what I had in it.
Started thinking about what kind of vehicle I would like to have (couldn't afford new or nearly new then or now) and decided to stay thirdgen.
Bought a wrecked GTA and was going to fix it, changed my mind and was going to pull engine and tranny for a S-10 V-8 conversion. Before pulling anything, I got on the internet during Christmas 1998, found this and other thirdgen sites, and advertised for sale what I was going to have left.
Frankie Rider (GTA Sourcepage) contacted me and we struck a deal on the complete car. His web-site left a favorable impression of GTAs with me.
A few months later, found my current GTA in Montgomery, Alabama, on one of these sites, went and bought it and brought it back to Kentucky.
After a couple of hard years working on the car and doing the TLC things it needed, my GTA is EXACTLY what I wanted (and still do). Great looks with a very nice combination of power, ride, fuel economy and reliability. What more could I want?
I ran it at the strip a few times with an area f-body club, beat several LT-1s (all but one was automatic), and could hang with LS-1s to almost 1/8 mile.
Being an old oval-track car builder (plus drag and pull truck), I knew how to cure that problem and set out on a 400 project. And was within a year or so of having everything ready to drop the 400 in the GTA.
In the meantime, things changed at work and more and more time had to be devoted there. I thought for my betterment. Which leads to why I have to sell all this stuff you may have seen advertised. I'll not get into those details but will say I feel wronged after 17 years of hard work based on promises.
So I have begun selling off some very good stuff, including the 400 project and other parts.
I would love to keep the car. I realize it may be priced a little high for some. Of course it is priced too high for those looking for steals. Always a few out there.
However, I will guarantee you could not build this car for anywhere near the money I'm asking. Plus there are several dollars worth of other parts (that came off it but still could be sold) going with the car.
Times are hard in this area and appear to be getting hard over the nation. The time of year is also not the best to sell these type vehicles.
But, it is my sincere belief if someone wanted a sharp looking, very good all-around performing car (that will be going up in value in a few years) for the same price a 4-year old 100,000 mile Chevy Cobalt (or Cavalier) sells for, then this is their car.
It is too nice to be a daily driver but would handle those duties. It is not too nice to further modify or "play" with. This car is right in the range where you could have fun with it. (I need to mention here it has no cat-or smog pump on it for those people that have to have that stuff.)
In addition, the stuff most people on this site want to do to their cars is already done. Headers, cat-back, bigger tires, "free-mods", slight engine mods, etc.
I've read many threads where "youngsters" seem to buy a clapped-out $1,500-$2,000 thirdgen and immediately dream of doing this and that. Many times they don't have the money or the experience (or knowledge) to do the things they dream of.
Well, if they can come up with a little more money (sell the other thirdgen), they can be on the road immediately, having fun instead of headaches.
No, the car is not perfect and I've tried to point out the flaws. But, it by no means is a hunk of junk.
However, if the thing was perfect, I would be asking at least twice the money or have it at Barrett-Jackson for those type people to buy.
The car has not moved out of my garage in about 6 weeks. I will guess it may have had about 250-300 miles put on it in the past year and not over 1,000 miles in the past two years.
I really wish my other parts would sell first so that maybe I could keep the car longer (or at least until spring). Maybe my other issues would be cleared up by then.
Sorry for the length of this note but I wanted to let folks know that this car IS worth the money (which is negotiable---slightly) and a person could do a whole lot worse for that kind of money.
yea i know the feeling. i picked up my roc for around 1500, left for dead with lots of issues. now ive fixed everything and right when i get it ready for paint i start running out of cash...but a 1 year old will tend to do that lol
Your car is VERY sharp.... and if we had not already bought one last summer, we could have driven over to see you. Unfortunately, we bought a car that has now needed repair after repair....
I sure can understand the life issues....if I was in a better place, I would buy it for my own fun!
tHIS CAR HAS CAUGHT MY EYE SINCE DAY 1 .I AM NOT INTERESTED IN ALL THE HIGH - TECH STUFF BUT OVERALL LOOKS LIKE WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR ,COULD YOU SEND ME SOME INTERIOR PICS? I AM A HARD TOP GUY AND YOURS FITS MY CRITERIA, ALSO YOU ARE IN REASONABLE RANGE AS FAR AS PICK UP.
PM ME ALL INFO U CAN WITHOUT ANY MODS (COMPUTER STUFF ETC ,AND BONE STOCK PRICE)
I WILL PM MY PHONE NO.
GEOFF
GEOFF1983Z28, did you get my pm (private message) I sent last night?
It is getting sunny here and supposed to be 45 to 50 degrees today. I may have to get it out for a drive and possibly a few more pics.
No, scratch the drive part, they salted the roads the other day before the bad weather. The car has NO rust and I sure don't want to give rust any chance to get started.
Notice the Prominator switch to the left of the hvac controls, just below the manual fan switches (they also work like stock or I can turn them on seperately).
Miles read 105347.2 but I did put on a couple miles today. It was too nice outside not to.
Front 245/50 tires and the very small issue of a hairline crack at the driver window/b-pillar junction (like I said in the original post-the car has plenty of power and can twist the unibody without sub-frame connectors).
Bump for a real nice car and good luck with the sale. Kinda' off topic, but, I'm an also an old geezer. Which makes me way less than a computer wiz. So, how easy is it to use that prominator and tuner pro? Do I have to wade through V/E tables and whatnot or can you just lean/richen it a bit or add/subtract advance or what? Will it work with a modified engine? Thanks.
Using TunerPro (which is a seperate program) and Prominator is extremely easy.
I am by no means a computer whiz. If I can make the changes, anyone can. You can change any part of the car's factory computer program you want. However, one change CAN affect other areas. But not always.
I am from the old school mechanic line. I can tune carbs blindfolded. I've been involved in all types of motorsports since the very early 1970s.
However, being able to make tuning changes by hitting a couple keys on a laptop is much better than getting under the hood.
Jump over to the DIY board and look in the stickies for more info. Also look at the TunerPro web site (there is a free TunerPro download to play with if you just want to look-but I bought the full version) as well as the Prominator web site (a free download).
I was really beginning to get into the programming until my father became ill in spring '06 and passed away. After that, it has been other things that have come along to keep me from getting back into learning more about programming.
The Prominator (with the eight position switch) allows me to keep a stock program and have seven more program positions to try whatever changes I want.
This comes in very handy for modified cars as you can go down the road with changes in the program(s) you want to try and if they don't suit you, just switch back to the stock program, even while running.
You can even load a "blank" program into one of the positions, remove the switch (it unplugs) and walk away with your key still in the ignition. The car will not start if you don't want it too.
While not wanting to get laughed at, I once downloaded a 1989 program and forget to uncheck the anti-theft box (my '88 didn't have that). I was testing the car with a different program and clicked over to the '89 program and the car shut off immediately while going down the road.
I pulled over, looked at my lap top (which does not have to be hooked up except to download or to watch the running parameters-think on board diagnostics), unchecked the box that listed anti-theft, downloaded the change (think hit print), cranked the car and headed down the road.
It really is amazing the things you can change using the Prominator and TunerPro. Plus being able to have on board, real-time diagnostics.
I have had several people ask about buying the car without the Prominator. I would sell it without it installed (very easy to remove) but if they would see how easy it is to use, I feel they would want to keep it.
It truly is having your cake and eating eat, too.
And thanks for the hair compliment. However, after every shower it seems there is more and more hair in the drain.
You could buy the car and pull the parts you don't need and sell those parts.
You probably would come out better that way, also.
And again, thanks for the compliments.
jms
a believe a yes or no answer would've been appropriate. i take that as a no. i don't want the headache of trying to sell those parts. you have a beautiful car, but i have another engine/drivetrain avail. good luck with your sale. it never hurts to ask, right?
Folks, it has come to my attention some of my replies have not been getting back to some of you.
If you have sent me a message, either by email or PM (private message) and I have not returned an answer, please let me know.
Apparently something is not working correctly on my end. I am certainly no computer expert, so, please, if you sent a message, and are awaiting a reply, please, please, contact me again at my regular email:
Thank you to all that have sent their compliments on my car.
For those looking to save some bucks, remember, you could make a deal with me, then YOU take off the parts that YOU could easily sell. Don't forget, I have the extra parts that I took off the car when I put the goodies on.
Example: The AS&M large tube runners would sell quickly (anywhere from $250 to $375 AND NO, DON'T ANYONE ASK ME ABOUT SELLING THESE PARTS AT THESE PRICES SEPERATE FROM THE CAR).
As would the Prominator set-up (anywhere from $150 to $300).
The nice laptop could bring some good money (anywhere from $250 to $400).
If YOU wanted to save more, the SLP 1-3/4" headers could bring some nice dough (anywhere from $350 to $450).
Then the other extra parts could also be sold by YOU.
If someone wanted a stock, sharp looking car, they could potentially be in this car for under $4,000. Maybe $3,500.
Of course, I don't see why anyone would do that when most people would like what is already done to the car.
I have kept almost all the parts I took off the car when I added the "goodies". Those original parts go with the car when purchased. That allows the buyer to sell off either the original stuff or the "goodies". Either way helps to lower the actual cost of the car quite a bit.
