I'm possibly going to look at this 87 TA tommorow (if the guy whose selling it doesn't have to work), but i had a few questions, but the main one is about the paint. My dad called the guy up (and my dad is a former Pontiac mechanic from the 80's--so the guy was quizzed heavily-and passed), and the car has been repainted. This usually sends my dad off on a tantrum about how repaints always suck and we'll never buy a repaint. But this one, however is different...the owner before him worked at a body shop, and painted the car over the course of a few months in his spare time. The car was stripped to its bare shell and repainted to the factory color and everything. So obviously the quality of the paint is not even an object here, or else i wouldn't even be lookin at it. But one thing i wasnt sure about, was if it should be 2-toned or not. I know that the red and blue TA's that ive seen from 87 have silver bottoms---but i've never seen an 87 Black TA (such as this one), and i'am wondering if the black TA's from 87 came with 2 tone or not. (this one, is black all around)My dad doesnt think they did come with 2 tone. I am just wondering.

I also have 1 other question, which is kinda of relative and unique in every situation. The car has 90,000 miles on it--which is great for the year, but still slightly high. Now i know how long the car will last is all relative to how it was treated in the past 17 years, but lets just say that its been taken care of pretty good all of its life, how long do you expect the engine to last (now bear in mind, my dad can do practically any job to these cars given the tools--since he worked on them when they were new). The only thing my dad won't really do is replace the engine or take it apart completely--he would never get involved with that again he said. So how long do you guys think i could get out of it (and im sorry, i know the question is all relative, but i'd just like to see what some of you pros think, haha)

 

I have an 87 TA black with gold gfx.If that helps

 

Do you mean black/gold 2-tone or just like gold decal striping around the bottom??

 

I'm pretty sure that monochrome was an available option in 87 on the TA's.

 

Wow. That would kind of suck to have a dad who was an experienced Pontiac technician but would refuse to work on a TA. Then again, maybe it's working with them that drove him batty.

I would pull the whole father-son bonding thing on him. Sorry I'm not good for this thread other than to bump it up a knotch.

 

All Firebirds, Formulas and Trans Ams came standard with two-tone paint schemes. The lower colors were grey, silver, or champagne gold, depending on the interior color.

To get a solid color Firebird or Formula, Two-Tone Delete RPO WX1 had to be ordered.

The only way to get a solid color TA was to order the GTA option, RPO Y84.

 

well the car does have GTA rims...

 

Repainted 3rd gens are not uncommon. As a matter of fact, a lot were repainted under warranty.

There was a problem with the paint they used at the Van Nuys plant. The clearcoat was very prone to chalking. If you look at enough third gens, you're sure to see some with worn clear coat.. It's most noticable as white patches and is usually at its worst on top of the spoiler, on the hood and on the roof.

The original paint scheme will be on the Service Parts ID sticker.. (SPID sticker).. This sticker is usually located in the center hatch between the seats. (That's where the vehicle RPO codes are listed).

If you look in the middle along the bottom, you'll see the paint code(s) listed... ( L = lower, U = upper, W = middle )

If the Upper and Lower are different, (as in the example) then it was originally a two color paint scheme. I don't know the color codes offhand, but if you search you probably will be able to find them.

Here's an example of the SPID sticker:



I'm not aware of that many single color T/A's..

On the wheels.. The cross-lace wheel was used on a lot of Trans Ams. It was an option on the later ones.. Although they're commonly called GTA wheels,they weren't exclusive to the GTA. They came with the spokes painted in a variety of colors.. (Black, grey, white and even red).. The GTA was the only T/A to get the gold ones (which came as standard equipment).

On the engine... There are a lot of GM smallblocks that have gone over 200,000 miles. It all depends on what kind of miles and how it was cared for.. My GTA has 90,000 miles and is still going strong.

 

85 and 86 I know for sure you could easily order a TA with the same color GFX as the body. I've owned one of each, and so have some friends. 1988 the monochrome treatment became standard and you had to order a two tone if you wanted one. I cant see why in 87 you couldnt have a monochrome TA.

 

Maybe because the GTA was a new model. It had to be unique-looking compared to other TAs, and its most identifiable, advertised, exterior characteristic was its monochromatic color scheme.

The information I provided came straight from my "1987 Pontiac Firebird Car Order Worksheet."

But there are dealer override codes for some options and packages, so it's always possible, though unlikely, that a dealer ordered a car differently than it was supposed to have been available.

 

I also had a question about the spoiler....

The guy said that the aerowing spoiler was in bad shape, so it was replaced with a spoiler from an 86 --and the brake light is in it-- however i looked at 86 firebirds and trans ams and i didnt see a spoiler that had a brake light in it besides another aerowing. Now is there another type of firebird/TA spoiler that has the brake light in it that he could be talking about, or did he just throw a good condition aerowing (from an 86) on it?????

EDIT: ah screw it ill just make a new topic about the spoiler...

 

86 had the third brake light mounted high on the hatch outside, the third brake light didn't move to the spoiler until 87 until around 90 when it moved back to the inside of the hatch at the top.

 

My L03 had 161K when I decided to rebuild it.

 

The Trans Am with the WS6 package should have the same wheels as the Formula in 1987. The GTA was the only car to have the cross laced wheels if I remember correctly, and I have not seen an 87 T/A WS6 with the Cross laced wheels. Also the 16" Formula wheels were available in Gold for some years.

In 1988 the corss laced wheels were availble for the GTA, matter of fact they had several colors, like Red, White & Black.

The color of the stripe on the bottom was not determined by interior color rather than the paint color. All 2 tone Yellow and White Formulas had the Charcoal bottom.


TRANS AM Availble colors and accent color:
13U Silver / 84L Med Gray
23U Bright Blue / 13L Silver
28U Midnight Blue / 13L Silver
41U Black / 60L Champagne Gold
68U Champagne Gold / 68L Dark Brown
74U Rlame Red Met / 13L Silver
81U Bright Red / 13L Silver

The GTA was not available in two tone, and I do not belive the T/A was availble in mono.

John

John

 

Well this one has the gold GTA wheels put on. the car is all stock except for that and the changed spoiler (and 3.42 gears in the back).

I was just trying to see if when it was repainted it was repainted to look even more like a GTA, or if it was indeed an original monochrome black car. (NOTE: The car still has the regular trans am badging--so its definately not a 'wannabe' GTA).

I'm still kinda stuck in the middle, some people are saying its possible that it was an original mono car, and others are saying that it isnt?!? I dont know what to believe.

 

And another thing, all the decals are on the car except the 2 that say '5.0 LITER'.... The guy has them, but didn't like the way they looked so never put them on. Where do they actually go???

 

Right below the air extractor on the GFX.