So for 3 years i have owned and been passionate about my sleek black very highly optioned low millage 1988 Trans Am GTA.
Yesterday a voice in my head told me to take the A pillar trims off the inside, so i did and found welds on all 4 pillars.
MY CAR WAS BORN A HARD TOP AND BEEN TURNED INTO A T/TOP!!!!!

I loved my Trans Am and have been spending out on proper nice original parts to restore it and make it perfect but keep it stock, and after seeing the welds and realising it wasnt a factory T/Top car, i have just lost all interest in it.

What to do now?
Will it ever be right?
Is it now unsafe to drive because the T/Top cars had more braces in them as the roof was no longer a structural part?
Will i ever get excited about it again knowing no matter how perfect i make it, its still a wrong car?

FYI: The T/Tops are genuine GM parts that are glass, and fit well. They leak a bit, but having owned almost a dozen 3rd gen F bodies over the years, most of them have.....

 

Wow...what does your SPID sticker say and what engine is in it?

 

Dont have a sticker in it.
Its got the LB9 L98 350 auto

 

T-top cars had no extra bracing, only a wedge in each door. I'm sure the car is fine, and perfectly safe to drive. The only place this would affect value is at a Barret-Jackson show, 20 years from now.

 

There are factory welds there, they look gold.
Another possibility is it was a ttop car originally but the top was replaced due to rust.
Any pics?

 

Thank you for that

 

Can get pics and post them up

 

Honestly, I don't see the big deal, but I too would be alarmed at first. If they are not factory, like someone else said, only value lost would be at BJ Auction.

Since it's a 350 WITH t-tops, I think that would drive the value up in the 3rd gen community, if like you say, it's a low miles immaculate car everywhere else.

Would love to see pictures of the welds, AND of the car in general please.

 

Here is my car
Pics of bad welding are following

 

Photos of bad A pillars. Rear pillars are almost as bad but difficult to photograph as i didnt take all the trim out yet.
Bad?
Scrap the car?
Tidy them up and not worry anymore?

Advice please.....???

 

I have an 1987 Trans Am 5.0 with factory T-Tops, I have the interior completely gutted except for the pillars. Give me some time I will go out and snap some pics within the hour.

 

As for your pictures, the car is BEAUTIFUL, I would take it off your hands

As for the welds, I have no idea, let me snap some pics of T-tops I KNOW are stock first. Like I said earlier though, Low Mile GTA, TPI 350, T-Tops, three of the most sought after things in the community. If it's structurally sound, I see no issues or value lost unless in an Barrett auction where everything needs to be factory/original.

 

Those definitely aren't factory welds, but I can't see them well enough to tell if they are strong or not. I would want to see how they did the rear before I decided if it was sound enough or worth redoing. As I said before, it could still be an original ttop car that someone replaced the roof as they commonly rust out before the rest of the car if it wasn't driven in salt. My biggest concern would be if the got the rear pillars done correctly considering there are some overlapping layers of steel.
The rest of the car looks nice from a quick look so it's probably worth redoing correctly if the original job isn't up to par. Since there aren't that many f bodies in the uk, it's still worth something. Everybody should forget about the collector value of these cars, they aren't ever going to be worth a lot of money base just on "originality". If it's a good car, it's worth the same as another good specimen, whether is all original or not won't change a whole lot if the changes are done well.

 

OK - Sorry for the bad lighting, but I went and ripped my A pillar off and mine looks NOTHING like yours. I can say for sure like Stealth, those are not factory. As for how sturdy they are? Only you can tell because you are in front of the car. I, personally, wouldn't worry about it as long as they are found welds. Have someone local look into it?

 

I've heard theres a site (Pontiac Historical Services I think?) that you can pay $50 to get a copy of all kind of info on your car including some of the major options it came with. If you don't have the RPO codes you may be able to find out if it was an original t-top car if that matters to you. I'm not sure if it works for cars outside the US or not. If the roof got damaged or rusted a previous owner may have had a new roof put on it. I can't say if its safe or not, I would take it to a trusted body shop and ask them. Either way the car looks too beautiful to scrap!

 

If you're concerned about the integrity of it, don't be. If it isn't as secure as you think it should be, it can be repaired fairly easily by a competent fabricator.

 

You've owned the car for 3 years and I'm guessing you've been driving it and are happy with it. If there was a major problem with the way the work was done....it probably would have presented itself by now. If you are really worried about it, get a set of subframe connectors insalled (all 3rd gens should have them anyway). Otherwise don't worry about it. Is it original? No. But unless the car is a low milage factory original...then it's really a big deal.

 

looks like a crack and not a cut from replacing the roof, also the original color is not black.

Are you 100% sure it is even a real GTA ............ ?

 

I agree looks like a crack repair and the car was originally maroon also looks like the roof and a pillar colors match so the odds are its the original roof.

 

Lots of things at work here, but like stated I don't think it's a conversion but a crack/rust repair job that was done poorly.

I too would wonder how much of the car is the original low-mileage car you thought it was. If you purchased it to sell at Barrett Jackson in a few years, you've got some repair work ahead of you, along with a full restoration. Considering the body color isn't original any more, the chassis has had repairs, i'd say you now have a very great driver...but i'd do my reserach to figure if it is indeed a low mileage car, and what exactly are the factory options the car came with. Surprised you didn't hit up the Pontiac Historical Society already and get a build sheet that would solve once and for all what you car came with, and what the factory color was.

 

Who would bother to repaint the sheet metal to match the OE color.Since both sections are the same color, looks more like a repair than a swap.

Any evidence of this "swap" on the outer sheet metal.Looks like the cars been repainted.Did you ever see anything not OE, before the paint was applied.

Clean car either way.

 

Is that a Javelin next to your 3rd gen? Must be super rare in the UK, never see them any more in the US.

 

looks like a Cuda' to me

 

Guess you're right. His ID should have clued me in. Just that door handle threw me off, looks just like every AMC handle on the planet

 

Look under the rear driver side back bucket seat and the build sheet may still be under there tucked under the carpet fold. This will verify your cars original configuration. I had no idea I had a ws6 trans am until I found the build sheet and realizes I had the incorrect rims for the year on my car.