86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Found this while looking for parts on Craigslist...I had to have it. The ad was about to expire when I saw it. I called the guy and he said he still had it, I could barely contain my excitement!

It is a time machine back to 1989. Black, saddle interior, 350, and everything works. There isn't a rattle and the car is solid.

I am kind of surprised how it sounds, it has the original muffler. It sounds very nice.

I bought it from the second owner who's friends with the original owner. I got to meet him the day I bought it. He had pictures of it new, which he gave me! He gave me all of the maintenance records since new, the window sticker, the original BMV statement from the dealer, the original lein, and the build sheet. Car sold new 18 AUG 1989.





Original paint, after hours of buffing! The car didn't look like this when I bought it.









I have always wanted a nice GTA with low miles and it was luck I found this one. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Beautiful Car !!!!what's wrong with the rear spoiler,looks as though it's lifting in the front.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

I didn't notice it until you said something. It is just the picture angle, it does look weird though.

yo soy el warg

The spoiler looks typical of spoilers of that year that have come loose from the mounting bolt that was originally put in the spoiler and not holding. It can easily be fixed or replaced with a fiberglass reproduction.
The car looks to be in great shape. I wouldn't hesitate to add it to my collection of third gen camaros and firebirds. Very nice find!!

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

Very nice car! Its getting harder to find nice low mileage cars like that.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

It doesn't need replaced..

Here are a few more at a better angle:

Motown

Thats the classiest thirdgen of them all. Nice score!

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Very very nice.

gp90gta

iTrader: (1)

Beautiful car man, good luck with it. Make me wish I was the first owner of mine.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Wow, that's a gorgeous car...

Sidethumper

iTrader: (1)

What did you give for it if you dont mind me asking?

DancesWithDeath

iTrader: (1)

She's....she's beautiful ;(. All my cars have 130k. Hell my engine just blew 2 days ago too. Bought a 86 z28 383 stick to replace the 91 305 auto

88camaroscv6

iTrader: (1)

niceeeee

BumpaD82

WOW ! Sweet car

Jason E

Beautiful car...enjoy it. As someone who has owned high and low mileage third gens, I will take low mileage any day.

Nice find.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

Absolutely beautiful! Great score.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Thank you all for the kind words! I never thought I would have a GTA this nice! My wife laughs when I go out to the shop at night and stand there looking at it, still can't believe it is mine. Other than tires, battery and mud flaps, it is an original unmolested car. I actually thought about removing the mud flaps but they have done such a nice job of protecting the paint that I am going to leave them on.

Here are some more pictures, under hood pictures will be up soon.





It amazes me still that it is so nice. I didn't want another black Trans Am, but it was so nice I couldn't let it pass. I love the flame red or red and always figured if I bought another GTA, it would be one of those colors. But, I am not complaining! I love it! There is something about owning a GTA that is 'right' and not all hacked up by someone.

akanitro

iTrader: (2)

Congratulations. Your car is amazing. You are right. There is nothing like an unmolested original car. Only upgrades would be the original SLP options. Other than that, don't change anything. Enjoy it.

cuisinartvette

Man that steering wheel is horrid but thats what was goin on in 1989

That is one beautiful GTA dont change a thing..enjoy!

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

And, I am already lucky enough to have one of those. My 91 GTA has 42K miles and the SLP Dealer Installed Options. I'll put picture up later.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

akanitro

iTrader: (2)

You are lucky. I have everything but the TOTL muffler and I am getting the parts together for the T-Ram intake(all I need is the trans kickdown/cruise bracket) and the package SLP package will be complete. Anyone with that part, let me know and I will buy it.

2007xl50

Awesome car man, but the mud flaps have to go, Removing the mud flaps was the first thing I did to mine. Looks like you got a nice car there.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Thanks everyone! I can hardly wait to check your comments each day!

I hear you guys about some of the stuff like the steering wheel...it feels so 80's. My wife was impressed it had that stuff though, just like her new car and 21 years older!

As for the mud flaps, sorry all, they are staying on. Like I said above, they have done a fantastic job of protecting the paint and I don't intend to take chances...

Here are some pics taken today:


I don't intend on doing any modifications to the car, I have other toys and want to keep it original as much as possible. The seats needed a lot of leather treatment, I don't think anyone ever did that since it was new. I have them feeling much better now, they are starting to soften up and are much more comfortable.


Here is something you don't see hardly anymore: an original L98 engine bay. It needs a lot more cleaning, but you all get the idea.


It has been raining all day. I wanted to get some pics outside with the overcast clouds so you all can really see how the paint shines, but I wasn't going to get it wet in the rain. Knowing my luck, it would be acid rain! HA!

Enjoy, let me know if you want a picture of something specific.

neeb_usmc

iTrader: (2)

wow. beauty

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

The weather was perfect today, so I took a few shots to show off the paint.





5 minutes after taking these, a bird crapped on it! WTF?

86WS6

iTrader: (1)

BEAUTIFUL! Not you, the car... Seriously, Nice Find.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Thank You!

This car almost ended up with the owner's son...a 22 yr old college student (nothing wrong with that) who was going to daily drive it....the thought of door dings in a college parking garage made me cringe...Can you imagine? A car like this sitting in a college parking garage?

I missed a nice 96 WS6 Trans Am at the beginning of the summer. Solid roof, 6 spd, 37k Miles and it had the red leather interior (Exactly how I would have ordered one new!). It was one of about 20 cars that year equipped like that, I spent to much time thinking it over. When I decided to buy it, it was gone. Things happen for reasons, and I wasn't going to miss out on this fine GTA.

Thanks for the comments!

BumpaD82

That '96 would have had an LT1 and even though the HP is LOWER:

TPI engine > LT1

86WS6

iTrader: (1)

You are right, everything does happen for a reason.

If you had bought the 96, you might have missed your GTA.

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Not sure what that means....


You are right...I love the GTA, but that red 96 WS6 would have been awesome also. Don't think either choice could have turned out bad! Wife would have made me make a choice...Thank God they weren't available at the same time...!

Glad I bought the GTA though.

Thanks for the comments.

neeb_usmc

iTrader: (2)

it means TPI is better

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I got it...

I drove a friend's 97 WS6 for a week back in '99...I got to tell you, I was sold!

That was one of the reasons I was considering the 96 I saw last summer so seriously.

Glad now it turned out like it did, I got a nice GTA.

carlos64030

iTrader: (1)

Man, your GTA is beautiful! It's my favorite color combo too... black with Beechwood colored interior. I have a '97 WS6, but my '91 GTA means sooooo much more to me than my '97. Since you like 4th gens and was considering on buying one, here's a few pictures of mine to help persuade you to buy one:

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

That car is absolutely awesome! I love the stance and the wheels.

Who makes the wheels?

85_ZED28

Beautiful GTA!

GOATS2QUICK

iTrader: (5)

lucky you. thats a very nice car. i love black birds,

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Thank you.

I would kill if my 86 looked as good as your car. Trying to decide what to do with it now, I have 2 nice GTAs and a TA. I have put so much into my 86 and have had it since high school, I hate to part with it. The other part of me wants the space in the shop and is tired of putting money into it. With motor, rear end, interior, and wheels tires/front end rebuild, I am over 10K$ and have a lot of paint and body work to do still. I think it is about time to send it down the road and look for a 76-78 TA to restore.

Again, thanks for the comments, I really enjoy them as all of these years I was the one wishing for a nice GTA!

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

That's an awesome GTA dude, congrats! Crazy thing is, my daily driver has seen the same mileage in 10 months that your GTA has seen in 23 years lol.

ScreaminRedZ

Beautiful car, congrats! I want another GTA someday. I'll have to pick one up with higher miles though, so I don't feel bad when I mod it, lol.

Myfirstconvert

!!!!GIVE ME THE BIRD!!!!!

IMissMy86TA

almost got your miles ....will in a few more years

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Thanks again, car was nominated for COTM, January. Lot of nice cars on here, never thought it would be considered as one of the best...I am humbled.

ROCFATHER

Damn thats nice! You scored big time.

FrankieRider2

Very nice GTA! Congrats on such a great find.

carlos64030

iTrader: (1)

Still waiting to see pictures of your '91.

TICK, TOCK...

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

Carlos,
I'll try to get you some, been busy and with winter in the mid west, not much into playing with cars during this time of year.
Here are a few from cardomain.http://www.cardomain.com/ride/245864...ans-am/page-5/

Jason E

That statement makes absolutely no sense, and has no merit whatsoever. YOU make LIKE TPI better than an LT1, but there is no quantifiable reason why an LT1 isn't a better engine. It makes more HP, gets better MPG, is a newer design etc...its the simple progression forward in technology.

I have owned an LT1 for 12 years...an L98 for 3 years...and an LS1 for about a year. I would not say an LT1 is better than an LS1 for the same reasons why an L98 is not better than an LT1. Bias is one thing...but don't confuse people and lead them to think a slower, older, less efficient engine is somehow better.

Its just not...sorry for the side rant.

Slater126

iTrader: (1)

And don't forget the reverse flow coolant system that allowed for substantially higher compression ratios with the LT1. The statement that the L98 is better is utter ******* nonsense.

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

Stunning!

86TA355SR

iTrader: (1)

My end of year review: I have owned it 1 year now! Car is going into storage this weekend and I plan to fix a few little things on it during the winter months. Biggest project will be a complete fluid change, new front brake hoses, and a little work to the center console.

Enough of future plans, here are the things I had to fix this year!

April 6, 2013: This is why we don't drive on old tires! Ruined a Sunday afternoon, but everyone was OK and so was the GTA!

April 6, 2013: was a bad day. After the blow out, I was driving home, getting dark outside and turned on the lights...KABOOOM! Nothing! Blew the fuse and no lights! Almost had a Jonny Law encounter! Think he felt sorry for me AND said 'F#ck it, leave him alone, he had a bad day!' I spent the rest of the early summer looking for this:


I am no electrician, so it was difficult to figure what was wrong. Good thing some guys helped me on the gtasource site. Finally found the parking light wire was pinched between the car and the lens mounting pad. Took the time to detail everything I took apart and added all new bulbs.

August: After that, headlight control module went out. Put a new one in.

Late August Headlights start acting weird. Ordered the kit for TDS and found this when I got the motors apart. Lon is a great guy and the motors work great now. Thanks!

What is left of the bushings is in the gear, they should look like the 3 new ones above the gear. Here is a short write up I did: http://www.gtasourcepage.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=54568

Late August 2013:
After all the little issues I had during this year, what else could go wrong?

Jumped in the car to move it out of the shop and the headliner was hanging down. Strange because one day it was fine and the next it looked like this. So, I had to recover the headliner. Looks great now.

September 29, 2013:
Snapped a few quick pictures of my GTAs before winter.

My red '88 GTA.



It was a great year despite all the little things. And, I really enjoy working/maintaining and keeping this GTA nice. I feel like it is my obligation because it was so nice when I bought it, plus I promised the original owner I would keep it nice. I drove 500 awesome miles on it this last year. Probably the most it will see for some time, I don't intend to plate it next year.

In the future, I'll probably have to buy/paint a new spoiler and hope to take it to Trans Am Nationals. Long story why it wasn't there this year...Don't want to bore everyone.

Here are some sets of my GTAs if anyone wants to see more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100927481@N08/sets/

More to come...!