Trying to verify a 89 GTA ragtop, cooling probs
 

OK - just came back from looking at the GTA, I can't tell if it's a real GTA or a rebadged TA with new fenders with a 5.7 in it. The VIN number has the "8" in the right place which tells me it IS an original 5.7L car. The GTA the steering wheel with the radio controls are gone - it has been swapped out for a Grant GT wheel, the SPI sticker is gone from the consolde storage compartment so the "Y84" option code can't be used to verify it and the seats look too generic to be a GTA seat. I'll dig into it some more. I've been to the GTAsource website, that got me real smart very quickly. In anycase the asking price is $4800, the car looks great from 10ft away, nice red paint, the gold GTA wheels etc. I fired it up and the exhaust is shot from manifolds to tail pipes - no big deal I'd replace that anyway. The big item that got me concerned was some rust I found in the left rear wheel well just in front of the tire, I was able to put my finger right thru into wherever it went to, I also noticed the the floors under the driver's rear seat (not the foot well) was rotted thru, maybe a roof leak for a time. The only other rust I saw was the edge of the trunk lid and the very bottom of the passenger door (not too bad). The other thing that happened was when the car was running for about 5 min the water temp needle got pinned to the high side, very strange. I shut the car off and it wouldn't start again for about 30 mins. BUT, the engine didn't seem to be hot??? The hoses were cold, the fill bottle was fine, the cooling fans never went on - strange. Any ideas on that one? Is there a sensor that kills the car when the guage reads too hot and it is shut off? Head gaskets? Air pocket? The very non-mechanical owner seemed concerned about selling the car in this condition, but I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty and it can sit in the garage until I'm done with it as it's intended to be a 3rd car, but I'm not sure of it's worth if its not a true GTA, were there many 5.7L Trans Am 'Verts?

Thanks in advance,
Dave C

A pic of the above car...
 

I'll try and post a couple of pics... thanks again...

Can't seem to get a 53kb .jpg file to attach correctly - I'll keep trying

Ok here we go

I'd talk him down to $4000 and get it
Looks nice!
Not starting when the engine is hot can be a problem of a starter going bad.
However, tha fans should've come on before it got really hot.

By the looks of it, I'd say it's a GTA. The TA's had vents on the front fenders behind the front wheels. Someone would have to go to a lot of work to make it look like a GTA by switching out fenders and then adding emblems. Alot of hassle when all they probably want is the emblems. What's the vin number, I have 89 build sheets from ASC and can tell you what dealership ordered the vehicle. Maybe that could help you. Or try Pontiac cust service, not always the most friendly people but be persistent. Maybe cautious if he trying to hard to sell you the car, more mech or engine problems then your aware of. Have it checked out if you serious. Good luck.

You can see the vent on my TA.

I'm going to pass on the car - I don't want to deal with the rot - I bet someone can grab this thing for $3800 if they wanted to deal with it - it'll make a nice car.

Thanks,
Dave