Hi everyone, I just got my first third gen.
I got an 89 GTA minus engine and trans for 700. It has the original hood as well as a fiberglass aftermarket hood that I really don't like. It also has a 91-92 camaro wing on it (which I'll also be getting rid of, just doesn't look right with the bird tail lights in my opinion) It has the original interlaced wheels with great tires on it, a new looking dynomax muffler,the interior is REALLY nice, the body is rust free, and in primer, needs a LOT of sanding, but no rust, no dents :]
needs a windshield, tail light and center panel. The interior has one crack in the dash, other than that its great.
plans are to lse the fiberglass hood, loose the maro wing and replace it with a bird or TA wing, and to lose the red gta seats and replace them with summit street seats, and put a carbed 350 in it. not sure if I'll be able to use the 4 speed auto shifter with the th350 or not, guess I'll have to wait and see. The guy I got it from emailed me that he cleaned up his shop and found the headers that he had in the car for a short time, hedman's with the y-pipe and O2 sensor, he said I can have them for 100 bucks!!!
anyway, just wanted to say hello, and tell you about my baby :]

 

Hello and welcome to the underground thirdgen lair..

 

don't have any great pics yet, but here are a few

 

That bird looks to have alot of potential in the future always loved the birds. But bought a Camaro myself but either way they are great cars and you can do alot with them.

 

Wow that Interior is clean. Why did he pull the trans and engine? Welcome BTW!!!!

 

for 700 nice body for only 700 bucks. very nice. great potential can't wait to see it finished. and welcome to the 3rdgen race.

 

Welcome


looks like a solid car, good luck with it

 

who paints a car dirt brown?

other than that it looks like a good starter! The interior seems pretty nice and the body seems clean. And its a hardtop

good luck with it!

 

Good buy for 700 and welcome to the board. Looks straight and clean! Why don't you like the seats? Ever thought about putting a stick in it?

 

Nice buy. Looks clean! Should be a fun project. And I don't know why, but I like that color primer.

 

thanks for all the welcomes.
they didn't actually paint it dirt brown, its primer :P I don't like the seats because they are red, LOL. I want to make the interior black, and figure it would be easier and probably cheaper to replace the seats rather than have them recovered in black. I thought about a stick for it, but the way my knees are, its probably only a matter of time before I won't be able to drive a stick.
I couldn't believe I got it for 700, between the condition of the body and interior, the tires are good, the aftermarket hood AND the stock hood, the exhaust thats on it, the ecu that SUPPOSEDLY has a performance chip. Seemed like a NO-brainer :] not to mention I've always wanted one :]
now I just have to get rid of some parts so I can get an engine LOL

 

A metallic rootbeer color would look good on that car. Car looks good though btw.

 

hmmm, that might look good with the red interior too...
that would save me the trouble of going black on the inside.
wonder what other colors would go with red, other than red, black, white, or silver

 

welcome! nice looking car you got there!

 

a quick and crude photo chop of what it will someday look like.... put your sunglasses on :P

 

I hope yer joking about that?

 

is it wrong to paint a pontiac a mopar color :P lol

 

nice now just get rid of that ugly hood

 

I'm trying I'm trying, LOL
It looks like the hood is leaving tomorrow :]

 

that green is beautiful... didnt they do 70's charger's and cuda's in that color?

 

Damn nice car, and I'd expect you got it for so cheap because it didn't have a motor or trans so it couldn't be driven, automatically drops the price to cheap. But anyway I'd really like to see this car in green, it'd be sick as hell.

DO IT DO IT


You remember the 70's-80's Brown, gold, antique colors were AWESOME.

 

thanks for the encouragement... and yeah, it was used on the old cudas. Mopar called it sublime green. At least thats the color I'm going to use, the photochop version came out more like plymouths sassy grass green, but anyway.
and yeah, its great when people need a motor/trans for another project and don't want much for the car... thank god my inlaws have a race car hauler and a place to store the bird :]
progress... it looks like I've got my hood sold to a forum member, going to come pick it up tomorrow or friday... that's 250 dollars toward pieces and parts!!!!

 

Where do you live?

 

I'm live in nowhere , ohio :P LOL up in the nw corner

 

I kinda like that wing.. I want one.

 

I'd make you a good deal on it if you lived closer :P
I don't like it. not to mention I EVENTUALLY hope to put a notch back hatch on it

 

Welcome to the site.

 

Welcome aboard ! Also you could get you some spray interior dye and have fun spraying your interior black all you have to buy is the dye no seats no carpet no headliner or sunvisers just spray everything black .

 

I have seen people do this and it turn out pretty good, especially for the cost.

Might be worth a shot. Maybe test it on your sail panels first to get used to how to spray it?

 

I've use it a lot before, and can get some excellent results, but I'm leery about using it on seats. I don't want to sweat and wind up with black dye on my clothes, LOL
benefits to the color swap though, my headliner and sail panels are already black :]

 

Welcome. Just an FYI I painted a friends 70's corvette that color because that was what he wanted, it had that body kit with the huge spoiler and headlights under the bumper. It is so ugly every one that see's it say's woooooooo. This is not in a good way either, would also deter buyers if you should ever decide to sell it. His car looks like a Miami Beach pimp should be driving it! But hey to each his own. Good luck with it!

 

Welcome! Have fun making it yours! This site is the BEST.

 

I think you have an '87, that's the only year the carmine red seats were in the GTA's. It also only came with the flame red paint. Mine has that combo. I'm actually about to have mine reupholstered in the factory red cloth.

 

oh my god, that looks like my interior, minus the rip in the seat :P

 

Yep - my 87 originally had the carmine red interior as well. I replaced it with black leather, but have thought hard about a tan interior, or black/tan combo. Here's what yours could have looked like with the hood I like it...


Welcome to the forums!

 

I'm leaning VERY heavily toward black and tan myself.

 

I wish I could buy those red seats from you to have as spares, you're probably far away though.

 

My car is an 88 and has carmine red interior. I love red interior personally.

 

I wish too. I'm WAY WAY up north of you. The car's in hamilton Indiana right now. I guess I'll just deal with all the other issues then when the time comes, I'll dye the plastic parts black, and then recover the seats with some black hampton vinyl

 

Are you going with vinyl for the seats for easy to clean purposes or for some other reason ?

 

easy to clean... I have a dog that goes everywhere I can take him, and he is white, and sheds a LOT.

 

Yeah my dog is white also but I don't take him with me often because he is a White German Sheppard , Wolf , and Lab mix so he's a little to big to be riding with me .

 

Louis is an 11 pound rat terrier/toy fox terrier mix. we go everywhere together. People joke about him being my son

 

an update for those who didnt read the exhaust section. I went to visit the guy I got the car from friday evening after selling the "nostril" hood for 250 bucks :] I spent 100 for a pair of hedman headers, hedman Y pipe with new O2 sensor, and a hollowed out cat. So, the 700 original price minus the 250 for the hood, plus the 100 for the exhaust brings the current investment to 550 :] He also gave me some things he found in his garage for the car that he still had that he either forgot to give me , or realized he didnt need. Brackets, air box, the plate that goes over the radiator, the radiator itself!!! and the twin electric cooling fans :] That just saved me a LOT.
He also told me that he's not going to use the trans, so if I want it, I can get the original trans from my car for 100 dollars :] he can't find the coverter or flex plate, but still seems like a good deal for 100.
I still haven't decided if I'm getting it yet though, debating whether I want to use the 700 and fabricate or buy tv cable brackets, and rewire the lockup...or use a th 350 and modify the shifter and crossmember. choices choices..
anyway, just keeping everyone updated. I'm pretty damn happy at this point with my 550 dollar investment :]
now if I can get rid of that damn wing... LOL

 

How much do you want for the wing?

 

150 plus shipping... or trade for a trans am wing

 

I'd buy the 700r4 because you will only need a torque convertor . You need a new convertor anyways depending on the engine you run . If you go back stock you get a stock convertor and so on .

 

I'm not worried about the automatic lockup for the converter, I'd be more than happy to run a switch to the console to trigger the lockup. Now I just need to decide on whether I want to mess with the TV cable, or put a manual valve body in there :]

 

I myself will be going full manual valve body with 100% lockup through Dana at Pro-Built. It's the closest I can get to driving a stick, without doing the T56 swap, considering I will be SC'ing my TBI and need something to handle the extra power, in which the t5 won't be capable of doing.

I plan to drift with this setup as well.

 

I hoping I don't have to change the whole valve body. I'm hoping I can just put one of the transgo kits in it