I found a clean (as far as I can tell by the pics) '91 T/A for sale.

It's black on black, with the L98 and black GTA style wheels. Nice looking car. I emailed the seller, he's asking 2700 for it, and the car has 178k miles.

Assuming it really is a clean car, and everything works, is the price in line with the mileage? I imagine I can get him down to 2500. He says the body is great, with the exception of rust on the hatch hinges and a spot of rust on the roof.

My plan for this, or any car I get, is to buy a driver that runs good that I can mildly mod and enjoy now, and then later on down the line get to the serious engine work. Is it worth it to do this with a car with that many miles?

I was thinking of doing the free mods, plus exhaust, and running a 100-150 shot just for kicks at the track. With a near 200k motor, I would guess that's a bad idea.

He's going to send me more pics today, I can post them if anyone is interested.

What are some things to look for in a car with that many miles?

Thanks for any info or advice.

here's a pic:

Little high for the rust thats formed, you can believe it needs paint if it has spots of rust showing on the body. Not a good idea to throw that much juice on a motor with that many miles. You dont know the condition of it until you really take it apart. You really need to drive the car, how does the motor run, tranny shift, suspension handle? Thats all the stuff you need to check out and worry about before modding it. What shape is the interior in? All ripped up? The car is from the northern states? Better get under there and examine closesly for rust.

Depending on how the rest turns out then $2500 could be an OK deal...definently not a good deal.

I also do know and understand the rarity of 91-92 T/As but just make sure its not more work then its worth.

Stevo, thanks for replying to both posts. Your car is goreous for 131k miles!

I'm thinking I'm gonna take a pass. I haven't seen the new pics, but I've been thinking more about it. Unless I can get him down to the 2k range, it's prob not worth it. He said he's got a bunch of new parts in boxes, that go with the car, but I have no idea what they are.

Between the paint work and the engine rebuild (and the transmission and rearend work that's sure to follow), I'd probably be dollars ahead buying a low mileage version in the 6-7k range. I saw a near mint 87 GTA with 47k on autotrader for 6,999 (still a bit much, IMO).

And for that price, I could get a decent LT1 car, or even a 80-100k mile LS1 car.

Plus, I remember always wishing my GTA had tee's. I think I'll hold out for one with lower mileage and tee's. If I'm spending the money, I might as well get what I want.

That sounds a little high to me...I picked up my t-top 91 T/A for $400 with 167k on it. Granted, its an LB9, and it didn't run, but you can pick up a used SBC all day long for $500 or less. And it didn't have any rust. I'd keep looking.

I got some more pics today. I have to say it's a nice looking car.







The hood pins are weird, and there looks like a few small dents in the hood.

The PVC intake and chrome alternator kind of scare me. Other than that it looks like it's in good shape for the mileage though. Too bad.

After seeing pics, anyone have any thoughts to what a fair price would be?

The true value is going to fall in place based on how it runs/drives, and how you feel about the car. For the money, you probably aren't going to find much better. I've seen a lot worse sell for a lot more.

Its a good looking car. I recently bought a similar car here in NJ. Its a 1992 Formula, 350TPI, decent shape. Interior was really good, exterior has some paint fading. Has 199K miles on it though. Picked it up for $700. Just trying to give you a comparison here. I would say 2k would be a fair price, depending on how it rides.

Is there a dent on the DS quarter, or is that just an odd reflection I am seeing?

I'm pretty sure it's an odd reflection. I think if it were a dent, the side marker light would probably be broken or appear crooked.

Anyway, the more I think about it, the less I want it. I can't justify spending that kind of money on a car with those miles.

I just saw an ad for a 91 GTA with 103k for $2,000, and another for an 89 Formy 350 w/t-tops and rebuilt engine/trans for $3,000.

I'm thinking the Formy is the way I want to go. Sounds like I can just toss in a bottle and head for the track.

Where is that '91 GTA listed?

WIth that many miles everything needs to be replaced down to all suspension bushings, links, etc. Third gens are cheap, not worth spending money on something with a million miles on it. You can get a really, really nice 3rd gen for $3000. That hood is fubared too. The hoods are so thin that doing body work on huge dents like that is going to be time consuming. It would be a lot easier to replace the hood, unless the paint is perfect enough to warrant a couple hundred dollars worth of Dent Wizard repairs.

I am not a Firebird man but I bet that GTA is a better deal than what you are looking at. And don't buy rust for over $1000. It cost $2000 to make it go away the right way.