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I finally got a buy on an f body and didn't drop the ball on this deal. All the ones I've wanted to get seem to always get sold before me. I'm picking them up on Saturday morning. Yes, I said THEM. 1988 GTA with a rod knock, and a 1989 Firebird with mint interior. $800 for the PAIR. I'm gonna save the 88 GTA, and possibly part out the 89 Firebird.....or build an LS car out of it. Hard to believe there are still good buys around!
Looks like that'll clean up pretty decent! From the pics it's been sitting in doors, usually when you find a project with a bad whatever it's been sitting in the mud for 10 years already, and the exterior/interior is shot.
Wow, what a deal!! Score! I would have easily given 800 for the GTA alone without hesitation just based on those pics! The GTA appears to have a fiberglass replacement spoiler and the third brake light missing. Looks like the sail panel emblem is now on the rear bumper. Is that a factory ground effects kit on the Firebird? It looks different for some reason. Can't wait to see more pics of these once you get them cleaned up!
Yeah I cant wait to get them scrubbed up! I see the GTA tail light filler panel has been changed at some point. It should have the gold bird. Both cars are supposed to be clean and rust free. The GTA seats are supposed to be rough, though. I havent seen them in person. I bought them over the phone
Great deal!!!! So I’m guessing your camaro didn’t need any repairs/upgrades lol. This should cure some of the winter blues
Also, as much as I want it to be an easy fix, I’ll argue wanting more of a challenge to keep you occupied until cruising season next year. Good luck!!!!
Yeah wouldn't that be awesome?? I'm not getting my hopes up lol
Yeah, usually if it sounds like rod knock.....it actually is rod knock.
Many years ago, a guy I knew of, bought a mint, low mile Olds 98 from the original owner. The owner just wanted to dump it because of "rod knock" and sold it for $700. It turned out to be a loose rocker arm and the car saw many years of use after tightening.
My best friend had a 4 cylinder Grand Am given to him back when we were in high school. Car had like 60k miles and was super, super mint. Lady owned, etc. This was probably around 1993 and the car was maybe an 86 or 87. Anyways, the car was given to him because the engine was locked up. We pulled it in my dad's shop, pulled the alternator off and it turned over just fine lol. Put a new alternator on it, and it ran perfect! Hard to believe a locked up alternator could keep an engine from turning over lol
My 92 S10, 2.8L did that one dark and lonely night. Got about a 1/2 mile after work, took a corner and everything went dead, engine wouldn't even think of cranking. Had it towed, shop called later that day and said the alternator seized.
One more seized motor story. I read about this on one of the Mustang forums a few years ago. A Las Vegas used car dealer took in a Mustang SVO trade with a "seized motor". It sat at the back of their lot for weeks and the dealer didn't want to invest a penny into diagnosing or repairing it. They had it for sale "as is" for like $3500. An enthusiast worked a deal and got it for 900 bucks. He then went across the street to the parts store, bought a battery, put it in and drove it home.
One more seized motor story. I read about this on one of the Mustang forums a few years ago. A Las Vegas used car dealer took in a Mustang SVO trade with a "seized motor". It sat at the back of their lot for weeks and the dealer didn't want to invest a penny into diagnosing or repairing it. They had it for sale "as is" for like $3500. An enthusiast worked a deal and got it for 900 bucks. He then went across the street to the parts store, bought a battery, put it in and drove it home.
Like Chaz said, you never know.. some people think they have a big problem and end up giving stuff away..
I was helping a guy load a snowblower into a pickup truck at Tractor Supply and he said he bought a snowblower last year and it suddenly stopped driving so I could have it if I wanted..
I asked him if he checked the drive belt and said, “you can just take the cover off, pry back the tensioner and slip it back on”.. he said, “Na, I don’t know how to work on these things, if you can fix it, you can have it..”
I should have taken him up on it, fixed it and sold it.. I told him someone should really check it out.. could probably fix it in 5 min and he could return the new, new one..
Great score! If the engine is shot you can make it even better than stock and still be ahead on that deal! I picked up a mint 83 GMC pickup years ago with a rod knock also..wound up being a broke rocker arm and it ran flawless after that fix.
Great deal!!!! So I’m guessing your camaro didn’t need any repairs/upgrades lol. This should cure some of the winter blues
Also, as much as I want it to be an easy fix, I’ll argue wanting more of a challenge to keep you occupied until cruising season next year. Good luck!!!!
Yeah, all I can think of that the Camaro needs, is I need to take the drivers side floor mat out and wipe it off. And that's about it lol.
The GTA will be a lot of fun to mess around with. I cant wait for tomorrow!
Well here they are after a quick rinse at the car wash. My brother and I want to do a build for my 78 year old dad, so one of these will be the car. The 1989 Firebird is actually a very nice, clean car. It's actually surprisingly nice... I think if we build one of these, it will be the Firebird with all of the GTA parts transferred to it... Both of the front fender ground effects are inside the car
Wow. The 89 Firebird looks like it's brilliant red metallic. I've only seen that color on GTAs and Formulas! Cool. I would have never guessed that was the color by the dust pics! Looks like it has 4th gen seats? That GTA actually looks really good. You could fix the engine and put about 2,000.00 in the interior and you'd still have a profitable car if you sold it, or a really nice GTA to enjoy! Both cars look worth saving to me for sure. Any rust??
We put the cars in a shed at my brothers farm. I should have taken pics of the interior of the Firebird. It has 4th gen gray cloth seats, and is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN
Wow. The 89 Firebird looks like it's brilliant red metallic. I've only seen that color on GTAs and Formulas! Cool. I would have never guessed that was the color by the dust pics! Looks like it has 4th gen seats? That GTA actually looks really good. You could fix the engine and put about 2,000.00 in the interior and you'd still have a profitable car if you sold it, or a really nice GTA to enjoy! Both cars look worth saving to me for sure. Any rust??
The GTA has some rust on the rear wheel wells, and some on the drivers floor pan. The firebird is almost rust free....just one little spot on the drivers fender, and a little spot on the windshield post
Both cars have some positive aspects.. might have two projects!
They both look much nicer cleaned up..if the GTA only needs the seats redone, might not be too bad.. couldn’t see the dash so good..
The GTA needs a ton of work. It has an amateur paint job, and everything is halfassed on the car. Heck the exhaust has a Mountain Dew can patching it together at the muffler. The GTA makes me appreciate the condition of my Z28.....A LOT
The GTA needs a ton of work. It has an amateur paint job, and everything is halfassed on the car. Heck the exhaust has a Mountain Dew can patching it together at the muffler. The GTA makes me appreciate the condition of my Z28.....A LOT
That sucks about the GTA. I was wondering if it had been repainted at some point since it was missing the rear marker light bezel.
Have fun with it! You have all winter to collect parts and start repairs. If anything this is the cure for winter boredom since the camaro is hibernating. Good luck!
Build both of them. It's one of the core elements of Thirdgen addiction. One becomes Two. Two becomes Six. Six becomes Twelve. You can fight it, but you'll just end up tired with half a dozen or more Thirdgens.
Build both of them. It's one of the core elements of Thirdgen addiction. One becomes Two. Two becomes Six. Six becomes Twelve. You can fight it, but you'll just end up tired with half a dozen or more Thirdgens.
If I had unlimited space, AND unlimited funds, I'd have dozens of third gens stashed away the were in the condition of yours!
Forget the beaters....I want the brand new condition ones!
But the fun is turning those beaters into the like new ones!
Congrats on the find Dagwood sounds like this is going to be a fun build for you and your brother.
11-22-2018, 05:19 PM
You can fight it, but you'll just end up tired with half a dozen or more Thirdgens. 
