Was such a car ever produced? I saw what appears to be one. It was black with gold cross-lace wheels, a rear wing with integral stoplamp, definitely a notchback and had personalized plates, "GTA 4 ME". It did not have any GTA emblems though. Any thoughts on this?

 

Frankie's notchback is a GTA. Its on his page over at the gta source page

 

Yes in 1988 624 were made in 1989 one was made.

In fact I am looking in Pontiac Firebird 1967-2000 Photo History and Frankie's car is the one shown in the book!

 

Here you go, Willie. This is my Notchback.... these photos were made late last year before the car went in for winter:





The GTA Notchbacks ended up being produced only a single year... 1988. The info I have for the 1988 intro for the Firebirds states that all GTAs were to be Notchbacks for that year, but it didn't turn out that way.

The oft-bandied about production number for the cars was 718 total units built in 1988 and 1989. But according to the PMD GTA production figures that I was granted access to a few years ago, the code AA8 shows up for 1988 as installed on 624 cars and only one car in 1989.

These two figures can be verified by crossmatching the D80 flat Firebird spoiler which was used on the Notchbacks instead of the standard aerowing unit. The number of GTAs using the D80 spoiler match exactly with the number of AA8 installations for each year.... 624 and 1. So that is what Pontiac has as far as documentation.

A couple of years ago Brandon Karpowitz sent me a copy of an internal release from Pontiac that he obtained through his mother who evidently works at a GM dealership. The release stated that:

"Effective immediately, the GTA Notchback Option UPC AA8, has been canceled. No further orders with this option will be accepted. All preferenced orders have had UPC AA8 removed. No 1989 GTAs will be built as Notchbacks. All stock orders on order will have UPC AA8 removed by Pontiac."

The date of the release was August 30, 1988.

The really odd thing is that Pontiac made no mention of the Notchback option in any of the 1988 promotional catalogs, brochures, or pamphlets. On the other hand, the Notchback warranted a full-page color spread in the 1989 Pontiac full-line brochure.... released at a time when the option was already cancelled from production.

Anyway, hope this sheds some light on your question. They were very much produced.... just for a short time.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Frankie Rider 2, the car I saw looked just like yours, including the rear spoiler, except it had no emblems. So the notchback option was exclusive to GTA's. Was it available through GM parts? I'm just trying to figure out if the car I saw was original.

Willie

 

Willie, the GTA was the only F-Body model that the Notchback was offered on from the factory as original equipment. But the decklid and all the hardware that made up the option also had part numbers and was available through GM's SPO branch. I suppose a certain number had to be built for replacement parts, warranty concerns, etc. I don't have my '88 Firebird parts book handy or I could tell you the part number of the decklid itself.

The replacement decklid that I have was purchased for $150 off of a salvaged 1984 Trans Am.... so I suppose that, yes, they were available. Was that car you saw original? Who knows. I've seen the decklids on just about every Firebird model at some point in time.

But if it was a GTA, I hope it was one of the original ones....

 

Notchback part # 10070763 @ $2144.00

Part # and price is as of 1996. All notchbacks and parts were discontinued as of '96. This does'nt mean there are'nt some parts laying around though. GM locator could possibly find some, but GM and the dealers just toss stuff in the dumpster that's been laying around too long.

I snagged mine in '91. It was a warranty piece and bare. I repaired it, and used a piece of tinted Lexan for a back "glass".

Glass, Pontiac tinted: part# 1007062 $334.00
NAGS-green: part # DB07434GTY

I'd bet at least half of them were warrantied. (Replaced) They bubbled up like a bad case of big acne. We sold two new ones, and replaced two notchbacks. It seems UV was the problem so it was probably worse down South and out West. I don't think the replacement ones were at all different. They could'nt figure out the SMC formula or something. I'm sure that's why they pulled the plug on them. The only way to repair them is to completely coat them with SMC filler, and a polyester filler of your choice. Every inch.

Frankie, the pinicle of the third gens IMO. Very nice. Fortunate for me, mine looks just like yours, except for the'82 front/GFX/taillights. If my notchback was ever wrecked or stolen, i'd have to go out and pay who knows what for an aftermarket one because it just would'nt be the same car without it.

Willie, maybe the lack of emblems was a repaint, did'nt put them on yet or does'nt want to, or an imposter like myself. LOL.

 

I've been looking for a factory notchback to slap on my 91 GTA..so far, I found one for 600$ but I didnt have 600$ at the time ;(