1988 GTA with lots of goodies in Kentucky - Firebirds for Sale - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

jms · 12-03-2007, 07:41 PM

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.

Let me know.

jms

jms · 12-06-2007, 09:12 PM

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.

http://www.speedtronics.net/aboutprominator.asp

jms

jms · 12-09-2007, 06:11 PM

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.

jms · 12-15-2007, 07:05 PM

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

jms

jms · 12-15-2007, 07:09 PM

A couple more pictures.

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

cbmotorsports · 12-16-2007, 01:36 PM

Wouldn't be interested in trades for a Harley would you?

jms · 12-16-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbmotorsports

Wouldn't be interested in trades for a Harley would you?

Personally, no.

I do appreciate the offer.

James Spear

jms · 12-20-2007, 06:32 PM

NBMIROC · 12-23-2007, 03:56 AM

Take my '03 Silverado SS and its payments straight up for the car and we could have a deal.

jms · 12-23-2007, 01:09 PM

I appreciate the offer but I need the money more than another vehicle.
Thanks,
jms

jms · 12-23-2007, 01:16 PM

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.

jms

jms · 12-29-2007, 04:55 PM

jbpnumber03 · 01-02-2008, 07:05 PM

beautiful ride. bump.

BlackFormula · 01-03-2008, 09:39 AM

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 :-)

jms · 01-03-2008, 09:53 AM

Thanks for the compliment.

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.

Thanks,
jms

BlackFormula · 01-03-2008, 10:48 AM

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

RFCMJ · 01-04-2008, 05:21 PM

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!

I hope you get some lookers....

jms · 01-13-2008, 08:36 PM

Couple new pictures added. Taken on Jan. 11, 2008.

jms

jms · 01-13-2008, 08:38 PM

And yes, the third pic is my 51-year old, 5'8", 210 pound, gray-headed fat butt.

jms

jms · 01-21-2008, 06:44 PM

Spring will be here soon. This car would make someone a nice driver.

jms

tpidude1 · 01-23-2008, 03:35 PM

Nice car...can you send me some more pics on email?wery interested

llovik@start.no

jms · 01-26-2008, 10:59 AM

Spring will hopefully be here soon. This is a great car for cruising.

jms

GEOFF1983Z28 · 01-26-2008, 05:49 PM

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

jms · 01-26-2008, 10:01 PM

pm sent

jms

BlueZee28 · 01-26-2008, 11:09 PM

Very nice GTA. Good luck with the sale.

avro206 · 01-26-2008, 11:48 PM

I'd jump on this if I was ready to buy ( I want 2 eventually) Nice ride

jms · 01-27-2008, 11:22 AM

Thanks for the compliments.

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.

jms