Descent95

I'm seriously considering buying a 1987 Trans Am GTA with only 42,000 original miles on it.

I found this thread trying to research the crash worthiness of this vehicle:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...h-testing.html

This really puts a damper on the sheer ecstasy I was feeling. I live on Long Island, and everyone here drives like they just dropped acid, took some meth, and washed it all down with a grape flavored 4Loko.

So yeah, this actually scares me pretty bad. Is this true? Are those videos still available? And is this problem easily remedied? I felt pretty comfortable up until now due to the giant crash bars this beautiful beast has.

Please tell me this isn't as bad as it sounds . Hopefully two years later some more information came out.

WickedCrazy

I bought my car from a guy who had his gf drive it as a dd. She was t-boned at a light and the guy was doing 40-50ish when he hit. He was driving a 95+ s10. the door got smashed to **** and moved inwards a little bit (prolly 4 inches) the fender got dented but not badly, and the b-pillar got wacked pretty good and was pushed in about 8 inches measured from the top of the door lip. Anyone sitting there woulda been shook up but would have walked away. IMO these things are pretty sturdy to side hits. Ill try and see if I can find one of my "before" pics



Found it. This is the day I brought it home after pickin it up. Drove it home, next day took it to work and had the alignment checked, everything was good except a little negative toe on the drivers side but that was unrelated.

Descent95

Wow, thanks. That's great info! I figured 105 pound doors would help.

I really, really want this car and this is the only thing keeping me from buying it.

I'd love to hear as many stories as possible and any and all information pertaining to this .

itsMikey

roll cage side bars should do it if done properly.

Descent95

Thanks again. Anyone else? I'd love to get as much info as possible.

This is the only chance I may ever get for a DD quality Third Gen and I'd love to jump on it more than anything right now.

WickedCrazy

You see that line going horizontally across the door? That is a bar on the inside of the door meant to stiffen it up for side impacts, as you can see it stopped the weight of the truck very nicely. That bar does not bend easily either, trying to get the door off was insane when I started working on it. Car literally was being dragged sideways with a come-along as i tried to bend it out to open the door.

TBH Id get it and if you are that worried about it just add a side bar. Ive seen all kinds of vehicles get destroyed from the side. There is risk in every vehicle imo.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

These cars were actually among the safest ones made, in their day... of course times have changed, but compared to their peers at the time, they did well in that area.

You might want to check out the video of some goob running from the cops on the 675 around Dayton; hit the guardrail under a bridge, where the end goes into the ground and the rest of it makes like a little ramp; it launched the car, which hit the underside of the overpass; needless to say, the car exploded; kid survived. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQ9_VDs6n4

Pablo

iTrader: (1)

This is kind of a ridiculous question. Don't buy it. If daily driving and safety is a primary concern, a 25 year old car with 42k miles should be the last thing you are looking for. Please let that end up in the hands of an enthusiast.

Get yourself a modern 3/4 ton pickup truck with airbags, abs, etc. The heavier the better. Consider wearing a helmet.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Not sure when the impact bars were built into the doors, but I'm sure sure that they were there in 1987, not like in the later model airbag cars (1989 & up). You could consider putting on later model doors that had the impact bars built into the doors, if the 1987 doors don't have them.

It looks like Wicked Crazys car in the side impact pic is a 91/92 'bird, which would have the door impact bars.

eseibel67

Don't think they crash test for hitting the sweet spot of a concrete pillar, passeger's door leading, at 80mph.

This incident was featured one one of those "When good days go bad" reality shows last year. I plan on touring the scene while at the Trans Am nationals in August. When they were filiming the TV show, there were still bits of the car laying in the ditch, including the flywheel that sheared off the crank from the impact. It had a pretty good looking clutch still bolted to it.

Descent95

I am an enthusiast. I have an unhealthy obsession with cars (Namely old American ones). I'm not looking for the safest car in the world, just something that wouldn't eject me onto the pavement if I got tapped on the side. I'm already aware these are much safer, more reliable, and have cheaper and have better parts availability than a 60's era musclecar. That makes them a much better candidate for a DD than the '70 Olds 442 convertible I hope to own someday.

See, I'm genuinely starting to think that guy has the door mounted seatbelts confused with the ones in the Third Gen. I'm fully aware of those belts and the reason why GM designed them. Those things are garbage and the tensioners release when the door pops open. Combine that with the crappy Type III door latches GM used until '89 and you have a recipe for disaster.

I saw that video a week ago. Amazing stuff. Really instilled faith in how rugged these cars are.

eseibel67

Well, if you ran a brand new S class Mercedes up that ramp in into that pilar, the result would likely be similar. Automotive crumbs.

Descent95

Definitely, but I read that the guy survived. Critical condition, but still, very impressive, because at that point you're pretty much at the mercy of the design of the seat belt system itself, tension, geometry, etc.

I'm about to call this guy and finalize the deal, right after I eat this sandwich .

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Correction.....89 did NOT have airbags. (i had a 1989 GTA, no air bag...daughter had a 1990 Camaro& iirc it had no airbag). Pretty sure 1991 was the first year for the F-bodies to have the steering wheel airbag.

eseibel67

Airbags started in 3rd gens in 1990.

eseibel67

Post up pics right after you get it home and cleaned up.

1987 GTA has the nicest steering wheel in automotive history.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

I thought so too, but was basing it on her car she had before. I guess a previous owner had changed it out.

But in any case...The first generation air bags in any car hit "hard & fast" causing many people to hate airbags. Air bags have evolved into a slightly slower release & a change in the air release from them, making not all air bags (over time) the same.

83 Crossfire TA

iTrader: (2)

Pablo is right, if safety is really a concern of yours, then don't buy anything 25 y/o. Things have changed, and mass wins. Note that similar sized cars now have tons of safety crap on them that third gens don't have and weigh 1000# more.

As far a side impacts go somewhere I have pics of my '83 after I got t-boned by a guy that ran a stop sign at about 50mph, it looks a lot like wickedcrazy's pic except the impact was centered maybe a foot further forward. It moved the door hinge pillar in a little (less than an inch if I remember), and mangled the door, but anyone in the passenger side would have been fine with some bruises. I had the frame checked and alignment checked and neither were off enough that anything had to be changed, and since it was my DD I drove it the next few days cause I had to.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Actually, Sofa, they were the safest of their day in front and rear crashes because of the huge amount of air and metal these cars have front and back, giant crush zones.
They were rated some of the worst in side impacts because of the large doors and poor seatbelts. The doors are strong, but as we all know, weakly attached. This combined with the poor seat belt retractors made it more likely for people to be ejected from the vehicle in side impact crashes.

I remember this because I had to convince my parents to let me drive a Camaro in 86 ( when I was 16). I had researched the safety factors for my argument. I decided to only mention the front and rear part.
They did let me have one... A v6

To the OP
If you are concerned about this, the best remedy seems to be to upgrade the 3rd gen seatbelts to 4th gen, which have better retractors. Search the forum for the swap , not too hard.