Hello 3rd Gen friends, I have been doing 4th gens for the last 15+ years and no longer have an F body (by choice) been building trucks. Last night I was surfing and located a VERY decent TA that grabbed my attention immediately! Going early in the morning to most likely bring home. It does need a rear spoiler, front bumper cover, seats, carpet and a dash pad for sure. I have no idea if it runs nor do I care to be honest. It is an '87 Trans Am that truly appears to be an unmolested time capsule. 5.0 TPI, 700r4, 3.23 disk brakes, NO T tops 🫣. Most of all no rust. Unsure of mileage at this time. Pics to come, I am a little excited to have another 3rd Gen.
Build date is 12/87

 

Good luck!

 

She isn't too bad...

 

 

The car was mislabeled in the ad its actually an '88

Going to give her a well deserved bath then break out the polisher and a bunch of Meguires to see if I can get that "patina" OFF..
I will also do the engine compartment . Then I will completely disassemble the interior..
Needs a battery, possibly a fuel pump or an ICM

 

Its been a while working my way around this Bird.
although the paint is oxidized and the front cover needs to be replaced i am now going to consider this Bird a' Barn Find". What i have learned about this car that was misadvertised by seller:
Dual fans
Black mesh 16x8
Performance axle ratio
Aluminum driveshaft
78k miles
Vin# 1G2FW2185JL******
Above the oil filter housing it is stamped 5.7L
Guys I totally scored!!!

 

Sounds like a high option car. Good luck with the resurrection.

 

Cool. I love the hardtops, and I love those tail lights...

 

Look in the center console for the SPID label and post a picture of it. Check if the last digits of the VIN on the car matches the VIN printed on the SPID label too.

 

I will on my next day off. Car is not at my home.

 

88 would've been my guess: 88-89 steering wheel, 88+ serpentine drive, 85-88 dash bezel, 88+ windshield washer system. 88+ air intake.

Optioned for performance, not luxury. Base seats and door panels. No Performance Sound system. No power mirrors. No rear defogger.

 

I was fortunate today, I found a cherry bumper cover. I want to put it on this coming week
but I prefer to have it painted first fingers crossed for the best.

 

Looking good. Thanks for sharing your new project. Good luck and keep posting pics!

 

The previous owner said it needed a fuel pump but I found 2 ground wires that were disconnected from a ground. I believe these are for the pump relay still need to have keys made for this TA. A new pump is definitely going in anyway.

 

Been at work out of town so no updates on TA condition. I am purchasing lots of parts though.

 

On my way home with the TA, it needs a bath and then a lot of Maguires

 

Wish the rest would come out like the roof!

 

RUDY! Glad I found your thread on here! I just subscribed. Hope the subframe connectors work out for you. Let me know if you're looking for any takeoff parts I may have laying around after my LS swap. I'm happy to help you get on the road, and I'd love to get our cars to together for a cruise after you get her running and figure out the title situation.

 

Thank you Scott, it was quite interesting to bump into you after 15 years as soon as I saw that Jamaica yellow TA I knew it was someone I knew lol.
thank you

 

Boy, that roof cleaned up nicely!

 

I wish they sides would shine better. Its not factory paint so I am being cautious with the buffing.

 

 

I have been able to get a little shine on the old girl but aftermarket cheap paint is not very easy to work with.
BEFORE


AFTER Meguires med cut

 

A few more pics

 

How far did you tow it on the dolly? Any issues moving it that way aside from needing to disconnect the drive shaft?

 

roughly 2 miles no issues whatsoever.

 

Will be doing a lot more here soon, s10 needs attention along with my fullsize 1500.
stay tuned

 

I'm watching this now.

By the way, those hood vents have been installed wrong.
Both sides are formed similarly and they do fit in there like that.


The grille part of them should be facing towards the center of the hood, so you can see them from next to the vehicle, like this.

 

I was on the fence with changing them but I am replacing the hood.

 

Not working on my TA due to work. However, I did get to visit my lifelong friend at LME in Houston. Watched a customers 400+ LS with a large blower make some rad HP 900+ and TQ 800+

Sweet dyno session



Billet Lt1 lid

 

Another customer LS 441"+ NA

over 700 HP over 600 TQ

 

resisting the urge to try and sneak one out the back door? haha

 

Back home now, so I decided to snoop around a bit and found a set of keys under the drivers seat YES!!! I now have the keys to the car cannot believe they were in the car.
I decided to repair the fuel pump ground wires put the key in the ignition fuel pump relay did its job however, the pump is actually dead so I did the next best thing I sprayed a little GO GO juice into the throttle body and it fired up for the first time in 3 or 4 years. I just ordered a 255LPH pump. A little excited guys

 

The more i looked at it I kept thinking of your post so I pulled the vents out and put them back in correctly.

 

Welcome to the club of the obsessed

 

It's great getting into a third gen That's 37 years old.And the rear hatch still functions the way it's supposed to.