History / RestorationGot a question about Third Gen (1982-1992) Camaro or Firebird history? Where can I find these original parts? What is this option or RPO code? Those questions, answers, and more!
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which will be more collectable?
an 89 GTA with 5.7, t-top black, auto OR
88 GTA with 5.0, 5-speed t-top black? Looking at 2 for the same price.. both have very low miles
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I think the 5 speed would be worth more. When you look at muscle cars from 60's and 70's the ones with sticks seem to be valued higher or they have higher asking price. There is the 350 vrs 305 thing, but its only like a 20 hp difference isn't it? I know one thing, the 5 speed will be ALOT more fun to drive. I mean, look at all the guys on this forum that go through all the trouble to put a manual transmission in their cars that originally had auto's. Then compre that to guys that want to get rid of a stick and put in a auto, besides for drag racing, why would you. not many people do that. and when it gets down to it, a 3rd gen is more of a roardcourse car than a drag car by desine from the factory, and in that respect I think the stick would be better. In the end, what will people wanting to buy one in the future want to have, one thing for sure, is that rarity equals value, and the manual trans cars are deffinetly rarer.
I tend to agree that all else being equal, a 5-speed car is worth more. However, all is not equal with these cars in that the 305 is not the top dog engine (even though the output is not all that different in some years, the L98 always gets bragging rights). So that might make them more equal in the eyes of most collectors.
At least with the older muscle cars, extra displacement and horsepower tends to trump transmission in determining the value of the car. For example, a '70 455 GTO with an automatic will generally be worth more than a '70 400 GTO with a 4-speed. (Unless it's a rare Ram Air IV 400, but you get my point).
Personally, I will always pay more for a stick shift because I like them better in these cars. To me, the extra "fun-to-drive" factor and simpler maintenance outweighs the small horsepower advantage.
My advice is to buy what you enjoy. These cars are still a long way from being investments.
__________________ Tom
1992 Z/28 1LE, 305 TPI 5-speed
Radio delete, Red/Red leather
8K original miles
I agree w/ Tom. Buy what you like. As far as an investement....cars are a horrible investement either way you slice it (with VERY few exceptions.) Personally I like 5 speed cars just for the fact that they are more fun to drive. Does the 5 speed have a disc brake rear end? However, 350 T-Top isn't a bad choice either! I just don't see how you can loose either way.
do you plan on sticking it in a storage shed and never driving it?? only starting it up once a month or so to keep it mechanically sound?? thats about the only way your ever going to make money off of investing in a car. insurance costs, maintenance costs, mileage will make your car worth less with each drive. buy it you love third gens. dont buy it if your looking at reselling later odds are against you ever making a penny off the deal less your flipping it right now. even flipping you gotta make a pretty penny as sales taxes registration fees and transportation costs will eat a big pot of money out of any profit your gonna make flipping.
old cars are like boats you wont make any money off it less you stupid lucky. people that buy these things buy em for reasons other than making money on them.
I say get the biggest engine (350) and the T-tops. I think 1989 GTA was the only year you could get the 350 and T-tops. All other years the GTA's with the 350 engine came without T-Tops, you could not order it. And if you wanted the 350 engine they mostly all came with auto, I think there might be some factory 5-speed 350's but not many.
I will drive it about 1000 a year I think. I am wondering how much you guys think it would go for? I think it is worth more than I paid (10K) due to low prod numbers for 5-speed and millage/condition
Hard to put an exact value on it. I'd say 10k is good, considering the low mileage. However, it could probably be worth a tad more if it had leather, and maybe the digital dash setup. Like my dad says, "It's worth exactly as much as someone is willing to pay for it." :P
__________________ North Texas Third Gen Association 1988 GTA 5.0/M5/3.45 LSD, T-Tops, Digital Dash, Leather - Current Ride 1983 Firebird S/E - Stripped 1995 Chevy 1500 5.7 Ext. Cab - Daily Driver
all i can say is wow! That's one fine GTA! Can't believe you even got the gm floor mats! I'm so looking for those!! Hard to find!....
I'm jealous for a few reasons...1) you have stick, 2) it's black beauty and of course 3) cloth interior! If i had it my way...
I'd would own two GTAs...i'll keep what i have and then get exactly what you have...
so i have the best of both worlds...one auto/leather/ttops and then one stick/cloth/hardtop
