Ok guys, Im gonna give this one last kick at the cat! Since my wife has expressed interest over the past week or so in the Notchback, it has resparked my interest in restoring it. However it does need ALOT of work. But this is what is going to be the deciding factor for me, and I would like all of your opinions as well.

The time that my friend owned the car I always thought it sat a little funny. It looked to me like it was always a little high on the drivers side. There's a picture of my '88 GTA, The Notchback, and a friends '91 GTA that really shows what I am talking about. But I cant seem to find it right now.

Anyway... I think the car has been in a accident. If you look at the pic below, you'll see the drivers side fender is a dark black or blue color behind where the ground effect would be. That indicates to me that it is a aftermarket fender.



In the next picture below you can see the passenger side fender, and it is painted red like it would have been from the factory...



The same can be seen with the doors. Unfortunately I dont have pictures of that online anywhere, and Im not going to the trouble of uploading any. But the inside of the drivers door, that would be hidden by the interior panel, is the same dark blue color as the driver side fender. The passenger side is red, like it would be from the factory.

What do you guys think?? I am I wrong in thinking these are aftermarket parts?

 

The door missing on the driver's side would make it sit lower if it were on... my old stock springs, car sat to one side too.... not with new springs... Thought it sits a tad higher than before...

Rafael

 

The period of time that my friend owned this car, and the picture of the 3 GTA's that I am referring too, had the Notchback complete. It was my friends weekend cruiser. I bought it off him in the condition you see in the pictures. He began to restore it but gave up on it.

 

There was VIN stickers on those front fenders and other body panels. If you want to see if the fender was replaced, I'd check for the VIN sticker on the fender. It will be on the inside. You may be able to view it with the battery removed and trying to look on the backside of the fender. If the VIN sticker is missing or does not match, it's likely not original to the car. The sticker is like the sticker that would be found on the Notchback lid. White with the complete VIN numbers in black type.

 

Don't think that because they were replaced, they are aftermarket. They are probably factory panels, but from another car. If that side of the car was in an accident, I would check the front springs and verify that the driver side is seated correctly. I bought a used 88 Sport Coupe and had the struts replaced. The shop didn't seat the springs correctly and the front end sat a good inch higher than it should have. I fought with that issue until I sold the car in 1994. If they are seated, then I would take it to a frame shop.