i was looking to buy a GTA. found a 89 WS6. 350 motor... looks like a GTA but the car has no 'GTA' anywhere. it dose sport a WS6 Trans AM on the bumper. Is there a differnence? are the one an the same? i know the ws6 is a suspension package.. but none of the GTA's i have found say Trans AM on them.? did they make a Trans AM and a GTA? i'm really confused.

 

Ok, let's break it down...
The GTA package is based on the Trans Am... All GTA's are Trans Am's, not all Trans Am's are GTA's.
WS6 was a performance package available on the Trans Am, but it was optional on the Trans Am. It was standard on the GTA and the Formula.

A WS6 Trans Am is not always a GTA.

If you want to know how to tell a WS6 Trans Am from a GTA, do a search for all the specifics.

 

GTAs had no Tran Am/WS6/No decals of any kind, just the badges.

A Trans Am could get the WS6 suspension, but that didn't make it a true GTA. Only the Y84 RPO code did & that was basically interior stuff, although the WS6 was mandatory for getting Y84.

The GTA was an option for TAs. So they are technically Trans Am GTAs. There are no Firebird GTAs/Formula GTAS/etc.

 

Trans Am's had the vent extractors in the front fenders, GTA's did not. All of the options that came standard on a GTA you could order on a Trans Am except the GTA badging and mono paint.

If you goto http://www.gtasourcepage.com/ there is a section for authentication tips on how to tell the difference.

 

A WS6 Trans Am is not always a GTA.

but a GTA will always have the WS6.. if this is ture.. then i understand!! YAY!

thanks guys! looking forword to owning one of these cars!

 

Without the Y84 RPO code on the SPID sheet, it could be just a well optioned TA. Absolutely no other way to truly identify a real GTA from a TA.

 

Side topic here, but the Trans Am could come in mono paint and it isn't uncommon and was documented here when last discussed.

In addition, I think the steering wheel controls were not available to the Trans AM.

 

As was said above, GTA's do not have the fender vents. Only trans am's did, unless the PO changed the fenders to thier liking.

 

Good point...TAs could have ground fx not body colored...black, whereas ALL GTAs had the ground fx body colored. Black/white/blue/red....whatever. But the ground fx always matched the body color.

And yea....GTAs had no fender vents, but there were Firebirds without vents, just not Trans Ams.

 

Actually, all 91-92 Trans Am's don't have the fender vents. As mentioned, the color of the ground effects doesn't matter either.

GTA's will always have body color ground effects, but not every Trans Am with body color ground effects is a GTA.

GTA's never have vented fenders, but not every Trans Am without vented fenders is a GTA.

This is all repetitive since the subject has been well covered in the past... That's why I suggested doing a search. Anytime a topic like this starts and people start getting into specifics about identifying an Iroc or a GTA or whatever, someone posts confusing (or blatantly wrong) info and a bunch of us have to jump in and set the record straight.

 

And with 20+- yr old cars....Anything can be changed. Don't rely on visual/physical differences, if you care. Which is why I brought up Y84 on the SPID sheet. Without Y84, it could be a V6 Firebird tat has been changed.