pedl2themetl

Hey, I might buy an 89 GTA with 130,000 kms on it. It has the 5.7L. Now I
want to verify that this is a GTA. I heard that not many 89s had the 350 and
T-tops ( like this one). How many out of the 8500 GTA's that year had
t-tops? Was the digital dash and steering wheel radio controls available in
89? How common were they? Could you get power lumbar on a regular TA?
And finally: 20 thousandths over on a 350 is 355 cubes, right? The engine
was rebuilt 30,000 kms ago by a shop.

Anything else to look for? This car needs: air pump for power lumbars,
drivers door bushing.

How good of a deal is it?:
89 GTA, 130,000 KMs or 78,000 miles
ATC, PW, PDL, PH, PM, PL, T-tops
New: Black Paint, Exhaust, Sensors ( MAF, etc), Fuel Pump, Battery, Newer
Rad, Brand New Comp TA Tires, Pioneer CD + JBL speakers, 30K on engine, new
brakes
$8500 Can or $5700 US, OBO

This is a good price for a 89 GTA with this many miles here(canada)... what do you
guys think? The reason for the new paint is that it got in a small accident
( on wet grass, couldnt stop, ran into the door of his cabin) and it got one
new fender and the new paint ( base/enamel, was there clearcoat from the
factory?)

thx!

rondubbs

surf this site and you will get most of your answers,, gtasourcepage.com

GTA Jim

Yep.. you have to go to the GTA source page. It has *everything* you need to know.. There's even a section that tells you how to spot fake GTA's

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was there clearcoat from the factory?)
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I think most of them were clear coat.. Next time you're near the car, look for the sticker on the underside of the center hatch on the console.. On the bottom left it should have BC CC (for base coat, clear coat).

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1990 GTA L98/4L60

Black Missile

In reply to the questions posted by "pedl2themetl"-->
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by pedl2themetl:
[B]Hey, I might buy an 89 GTA with 130,000 kms on it. It has the 5.7L. Now I
want to verify that this is a GTA. I heard that not many 89s had the 350 and
T-tops ( like this one). How many out of the 8500 GTA's that year had
t-tops? [End Quote]
---------------------------------------------
Total GTA production for 1989 was 6,920. The (1,550)'89 Turbo 20th anniv T/As were also considered GTAs and were included into total GTA production of (6,920)+ (1,550)=(8,470). Total number of 1989 GTAs with T-tops including Turbo T/As were (6,820). Most GTAs for 1989 had T-tops making non-T-top equipped GTAs for '89 quite rare. Most GTAs for 1989 were equipped with the 5.7 liter B2L at (6,554) units.
--------------------------------------------
[Quote]
Was the digital dash and steering wheel radio controls available in
89? How common were they? Could you get power lumbar on a regular TA?
[End Quote]
--------------------------------------------
The digital dash was discontinued as an option during the 1989 model year. However, there were (3) 1989 GTAs equipped with the U52 electronic instrument cluster at the start of production. Steering wheel radio controls with the UT4 radio continued as standard equipment in 1989. However, during mid-year '89, there was a U1A factory CD radio option available. Only (394) GTAs had the U1A CD radio option for 1989. The AQ9 Ultima power lumbar seats with manual controls were only available on GTAs during 1989.
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[Quote]
Anything else to look for? This car needs:
air pump for power lumbars,
drivers door bushing.[End Quote]
---------------------------------------------
Look for the (Y84) GTA code on the SPI label in the console. Check the eighth character of the VIN for the number (8) which is the 5.7 liter. The air pump for the seat may be hard to find and relatively expensive.
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[Quote]
How good of a deal is it?:
89 GTA, 130,000 KMs or 78,000 miles
ATC, PW, PDL, PH, PM, PL, T-tops
New: Black Paint, Exhaust, Sensors ( MAF, etc), Fuel Pump, Battery, Newer
Rad, Brand New Comp TA Tires, Pioneer CD + JBL speakers, 30K on engine, new
brakes
$8500 Can or $5700 US, OBO [End Quote]
---------------------------------------------
Except for the fact that the engine has been monkeyed with (bored-over)and the factory radio (better than that pioneer) is missing, it is a fairly good deal considering the mileage and new paint job.
---------------------------------------------
[Quote]
was there clearcoat from the
factory?)[End Quote]
---------------------------------------------
All GM F-bodies adopted the basecoat/clearcoat paint systen in 1986. Goodluck!



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1989 Firebird GTA: black on black 5.7 liter (N10 dual exhaust) with T-tops and leather.

Andy 91GTA

iTrader: (2)

Before you buy the car, you should get a mechanical inspection, that way you know if anything else needs to be fixed and you could probably knock the price down further. You could also check Carfax. It won't tell you if it is a GTA or not and it won't list the right engine but it may tell a few things about the vehicle's history. http://wsf.carfax.com/cfm/PromoPage1.cfm?promo_name=FOX
You could also call SGI to get a VIN check to see the claims history of the vehicle, sorry I don't remember the number, costs $10. Also do a lien check, any bank can do it for a small fee. If the car has been driven in winter check underneath for rust. I think the RPO codes on that GTA is underneath the console door. Look for Y84 which is the GTA code. 130km isn't too bad, if the car is in reasonably good shape after you get it checked out by a mechanic, I'd say $8000 or less is fair. Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Andy 91GTA (edited July 31, 2000).]