Ok, i just recently purchased a Trans Am, Primer and in need of some detailing, paint and plastic. But the motor runs like a ***, is low mileage and handles great. But...i really have no idea what im working with here.

Ok first my VIN: 1G2FW21E1JL246672

Hummm, ok maybe im confused but when i decoded it i believe it said i have a 1988 Trans-Am with a 305 motor....

Now my Title and papers say i have a 1991 Trans Am....
It also has a Manual 5 speed trannie....
and a 350 TBI out of an 88 Caprice (as per the last owner)...
and an RPO of 8HC ( 3.42 Std??)
60K Miles on the motor.


Is my car a freaking mutant or what? Im getting really really confused here now since before i can begin restoring it i need to know what it is that i AM restoring. Im trying to figure out what has happened to this car to make it so mutant like in the last years before i got ahold of it...
Hell, anybody have any specs on the 350 motor that was in the Caprices? Ive been unable to find any information!

So please, and help?

 

The Vin # indicates a 1988 Trans Am originally equipped with an LO3 TBI 305 V8.

 

Heh, what happened to my poor car then? And what about the differences in the paperwork?

EDIT: Sorry its a TBI, not a TPI, but the last owner swears up and down its 350. Is there a casing number i can check? Hell, were there 350's made with TBI in any other model vehicle (like the caprice?)

 

350 TBI cars were made in the early 80's, not in 88.

 

Yes you can check casting numbers on the block. Do a search for more info on finding and decoding block numbers ( I couldnt tell you exactly where to find them, I just know they are near the back of the block)

Paperwork: Are you sure the vin on the title matches the vin on the car? Perhaps the car has been re-titled at some point and whomever re-titled it claimed a different year for some reason. The vin should also be on the rpo code sheet, make sure that matches as well.

 

Well then, assumming it IS a 350 then what vehicles in the mid 80's came with a 350 TBI?


EDIT: Ok i found a picture of what it looks like underhood almost EXACTLY including a few odd ball items. The only difference seems to be the location of the accessories.



The valve covers are exactly the same type/style. The accessories are in the same place. Also my oil cap is of a real oddball size. Its 1 1/2". 99% of all oil caps i could find are for 1" - 1 1/4" diameter size. Basicly nothing, i mean nothing, at either autozone, pepboys nor napa would fit it correctly when i went looking the other day.

Know what doesnt make sense? The picture is of an l82 motor, and i really doubt I found a car with one under the hood, though they look similar.

 

I had an 88 chevy blazer with a 350TBI

 

Trucks came with the 350 TBI for almost all of the 80's as far as I knew.

Uh, what about the body? Are the GFX from a 85-90 car or a 91-92 car?

 

Its been primered by the last owner lol....heres the Pics i have, maybe that will make it easier....










Thats all i had laying around until tomorrow when the sun comes back up.

 

Well the steering wheel sort of looks like a 91, but the spoiler is definately not. Pics of the bumpers and side skirts would help a lot more.

 

Ill get more pics tomorrow, though i should have you know the spoiler is (im not joking here) glued on the rear end. Stock or not, i have no way to tell. The side skirts are complete though and look stock. Full runners from the front wheel well to the rear wheel well, and they come up a bit in the front.

Anybody tell anything by the motor pics? It looks like both a 350 and a 305 from the pics ive seen here. Maybe the valve covers are a clue?



Sorry, im just desperate to get to the bottom of this so i can begin this project, and knowing nothing about 3rd gens (but being a huge fan, IMHO 2nd and 3rd are my favorites) hampers my judgement.

 

That's because they're externally identical. Check the casting numbers on the block behind the driver side head.

 

That steering wheel is deffinately not 90-92.

 

Well, I would have to say it's an '88 Trans Am. Exterior parts are easy to change but very few people change the interior. That is an '88-'89 steering wheel and the gauge cluster trim piece is an '85-'89 style piece. It also has rear lap belts which were only used from '82-'88. Everything in the interior points to it being an '88.

 

Does the VIN # on your title match the one on your car? That is where i would start, then i would start to locate the previous owner, something defnatly isnt right.

 

Look at the headlight door in the pic. That is 91-92 only when it has "PONTIAC" actually stamped into the door itself.

 

Well,by the tailights and spoiler its obviously pre91 unless that has been changed.I just hope you didnt pay much for it.

 

Last year for TBI engine was in 1995

 

It's got a '91/'92 front end("PONTIAC" on the headlight, flush with bumper cover), but other than that, the rest of the car says '85-'90...

Taillights, spoiler and bumper cover/gfx are '85-'90, lower part of dash bezel looks '85-'90, and steering wheel looks '88+. So I'd also agree that the VIN is probably correct and that the car is a 1988.

Looks like you've got quite a project on your hands, so good luck with it, and have fun!

 

Actually if memory serves the LO5 engine was the 350 version of the LO3.

The LO5 (7) was available in Chevy Carpices, Buick Roadmasters, and the Cadillac Brougm from 1992 to 1993, in 1994 it was replaced in these cars by the LT1. in 1991 however the LO5 was a 4 cyl.

The LO5 (K) was also used in Full sized trucks & Vans from 1987 thru 1996.

John

 

Ummm, I have never seen a steering wheel like that on a F-body, only W and J-bodies.....

 

That poor car!

 

I know i know, im trying to restore it the best i can.


Holy crap, lookie what i found on an 88' grand prix..



My steering wheel.........WTF did the last owner do to my car?!
Gotta wonder why someone would swap steering wheels like that when f-body's are plentyful enough at junk yards.

 

The steering wheel in your car came on '88-'89 Firebirds so it's what would have come on your car. It's not from a Grand Prix.

 

Don't buy that wteering wheel if its originally from a Grand Prix...

If you look at the back of the wheel its square, our are round.

Find a Bonneville if you want to go that route.

JOhn