I found a local backyard wonder. It's a 85-90 (haven't talked to the owner) Trans Am. It's maroon, with gold crosslace wheels. WS6, GTA, J65 (I'm assuming the RPOs are the same), tan leather, L98/700R4, convertable (tan top). I'm just wondering if anyone has the production numbers of such a car or if someone could give me an idea of how rare it may or may not be. It also has the steering wheel controls for the stereo.
I read the sticky, and know if it's a 89, it's 1 of 140, but do the other options I mentioned make it much rarer?

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get me the last 5 or 6 digits of the VIN...

The majority of the 5.7L Convertibles were GTA's, of the cars that I have info on my list MOST are red, MOST have a black top, and all of them have an Automatic. I only have ONE Trans am NON GTA listed... I suspect that there are more Formula 350 convertibles than Trans Am Convertibles...

ALL I could get you is the number of GTA's or Trans Am's ( 141 ) I do not have them in front of me BUT I could get the number that came with Black, Tan or Blue tops, beyond that the information is NA...

John

 

I'll get it for you when I go back to see the guy next week. The owner isn't in town right now but he'll be back Monday or Tuesday.
What do you think would be a fair price for the car? It's not in great shape. The seats are good and the top is new, but the clear coat is peeling and a few of the plastic interior pieces are broken. And the neighbor I talked to said he thinks the push rod is broken.

 

Honestly I tell most people...

Typically Convertibles are worth 1.5x to 2x that of an equal Hardtop car...

I have heard of 350 verts sell for $600 (a really rough Formula 350 Vert, I do not think it ran), and I have been offered $12,000 for my car, which it desperately needs a paint job, as it was a Flordia Car.

The car is Rare, and many people (that know about them) want them. The problem is not many people know they exist, and Pontiac does not acknowledge them as they were technically a Dealer Installed option...

A little History lesson for you.
Starting as early as 1985 ASC started converting Camaros and Firebirds for Dealerships that wanted one. There were already several companies that did convertible conversions, But ASC has been the Go-To company for GM since the early 80's and they ultimately got the program. As it turned out the ASC design caught GM's attention and to simplify the ordering process Chevrolet offered the cars through normal ordering channels.

Pontiac on the other hand, we really do not know why, but I seriously suspect that the conversion added too much weight and Pontiac would have added another $1200 to the Trans Am and GTA because it would have dipped below the 22.5 mpg average that the government mandated. If you recall, except for some special circumstances in 1987 and 1988 the Trans Am & GTA were NA with T-tops and the 350, not only that, they were NA with the rear shade, and the sub woofer option because it would weigh too much. That is how close the cars are on the line for meeting the EPA. The Camaro is slightly lighter and although you remove the rear window which weighs a lot, it was not enough to offset the difference.

In the end from 1987 thru 1989 the only way to get a Firebird Convertible was to order a car as you normally would, then have it drop shipped to ASC for the conversion, ASC made the car next to the Camaro. In the end the conversion was identical to the Camaro except for some exterior trim pieces. AFAIK all Firebird convertibles made by ASC were all done when the car was new before the car took delivery to the customer.

If you could get it for $2500 to $3000 and its in ROUGH to Fair condition then I think you got a pretty good deal... Being one of 141 IS rare by any standard... To give you a fair comparison, about a year ago there was a 1992 Trans Am Convertible, and a 1989 GTA 350 Convertible on ebay at the same time. The 1989 had a higher bid... The miles were within 10,000 of each other and the condition looked to be almost identical. The colors were the same IIRC too... I personally think they are a future collectible regardless of what anyone says about them not being "Factory" Neither were the Yenko Camaros If you remember...

So I would personally take a serious look at it. There is nothing special about where they rust, if your familiar with your car then look underneath at those prone areas, floorboards, strut towers etc...

John

 

Did you ever go back to look at it again, or make an offer?

JOhn

 

I went back and asked him about it. He seemed like a nice guy, but he's kinda messed up the car. He's put a carb and aftermarket heads on the stock block, rebuild the block, replaced the stock gears with 3.70s, and installed a 350turbo trans. He said he'll call me when he decides what he wants to do. If I do get it, I'm getting all the stock stuff he has and restoring that car. I don't really see a problem with hotrodding cars, but he knows this one is rare and still did that. Kinda makes me mad, but hey, it's his car....for now.

 

You did not get the last 5 digits of the VIN for me did you... ..



John

 

Dangit. I forgot to. I'll stop back by and grab them if I get a chance to. Sorry.