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I am finally getting around to posting my 88’ GTA that I bought 2 years ago, I was cruising the site and really liked some of the restoration threads and decided I would start one. I searched for quite awhile for a solid Trans Am and found this car on Craigslist and went out to look at it and was surprised to find what appeared to be an all original 1988 trans am gta in bright red with grey interior equipped with the L98 and auto trans. It only had 78,000 miles on it and even had the original floor mats, the car was truly unmolested down to the original paint which actually is pretty presentable minus the clear coat peeling on the hood, the rubber aero wing spoiler and a few small spots of surface rust in the wheel wells. The GTA also started right up and ran good considering it had been sitting for nearly a year next to the guys garage, it also had the best interior of any third gen I’d seen, very clean. Best of all the guy selling it only wanted $3500 for it. After negotiating that down to 3k my buddy and I trailered it to my place. Here are some pics of that day:
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Sep 28, 2018 at 10:42 PM.
So after I got the car I immediately went through it to see what I had and what needed immediate attention. The original exhaust was about shot past the cat, it exhibited symptoms of worn out injectors/fpr, needed a full tune up including the most of the ignition system, the distributor was so crusty I couldn’t believe she still started, and a tps sensor for starters. Over the first summer I replaced the exhaust with a cat back from magnaflow, full tune up and filters, replaced TPS, also added a wonder bar from TDS which is a well made piece and helped shore up the front suspension. The last big project of my first summer was replacing the injectors and fpr with new Bosch III’s from Southbay...my buddy and I spent 10 hours on it over 2 days using the guide from this website and my Haynes manual but it was worth it in the end. Also rebuilt the hatch motor assembly and the pop up headlights with the kits from TDS.
This spring/summer I also got around to having my original headliner recovered, found a guy in colchester, VT at a place called the recovery room, he did a great job and even matched up the color to near exact with the rest of the interior.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Nov 15, 2020 at 09:44 PM.
I also replaced the broken AC with all new Ac Delco parts and got that recharged and running again, replaced the shocks all the way around with KYB excel g as well as kyb strut mounts. Really freshened up the ride, I thought the car rode good before but now it’s really tight.
Worked on a bunch of other small projects like replacing old sensors, upgraded the proportioning valve spring( made a difference in brake feel for sure), hatch struts and a ton of other small things along the way but the car is really coming together now.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Sep 26, 2018 at 09:15 AM.
Where I'm at now is pretty much going to start planning the body work after I replace the fuel pump next spring( from all I've read on here its like a maintenance item). Would like to hear some opinions on either going with a full respray or partial, the hood needs it and so will the spoiler when I get the fiberglass one. The original paint is in pretty decent shape and has a nice shine and the only real fading is the bumpers. Had a guy quote me 7k to fully repaint it when I first got it but thought that was a little high. Only rust is surface in the wheel wells, some minor rust under the hatch, and a bubble or 2 near the lower quarter.
That’s what I thought, there are some real deals on Craigslist around here. Before I found this I found a white and gold 84’ trans am WS6 with only 36000 miles on it in Vermont. Car was in excellent shape other than this weird rust on the hood and faded paint, guy wanted 3400 but changed his mind when he realized it was a WS6...car had a mint interior and all the original books and manuals. He raised the price to 5k and still hasn’t sold it.
Yes you got a deal! Very nice car I wish I had found one like it before I sunk a fortune in mine and I'm still not where I want to be yet. I partially painted mine to begin with, bumper and hood. Waste of time , id say bite the bullet and paint that nice classic car. Great score!
Great find and great work! As for a paint job... It all depends on whats getting done and where you take it. I had paint fading, chipping, drivers door damage and a few other dents here and there. I shopped around and was quoted anywhere from 3k to 10k from a few different shops. I ended up (haters inc) going with one of my local Maaco's. I wouldn't have done this if the shop didn't have a ton of great reviews. I opted for their most expensive paint BC/CC. I spoke with the painter and got some background on him and what paints they use. Maaco uses Axalta which is Dupont. I also paid for an extra clear coat so I can be sure the paint is thick enough to be wet sanded and buffed. All in all I am super pleased with the work they did and they give a 5 year warranty on any paint failure which includes fading of clear coat. I'm going to be just under 4k after paying someone to wet sand and buff it (I'd rather not take the chance doing it myself because I'm not patient enough). Here is a link to my build with pics https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...a-project.html .
Thanks for the responses everyone, I've been following your build mwill316 and that is one sweet gunmetal gray GTA! That color is awesome and rare. My car is in similar condition to yours in terms of body and that looks like it was a great deal for 4k(which incidentally is around what my budget will be), unfortunately I'm 2.5 hours away from a Maaco and as you found out there are some good ones out there. I will have my brother check out the one in Albany, NY which is closest. Was thinking I would probly try to prep as much as I can myself to save some $$$ but that may be next summers project. I need to find an interested shop first, most are only interested in insurance work these days.
Just wanted to post an update on the GTA, I recently got the car out of storage and had some trouble right off the bat. Car did not want to over 60 mph and would not go into overdrive. Turns out my catalytic converter is pretty plugged up and my tcc solenoid died. Just ordered a magnaflow cat to match the rest of the exhaust and am replacing the tcc solenoid along with adding a stock depth TCI trans pan #378010 with drain plug. In case anyone is interested derale makes a pretty good magnetic drain plug which fits that pan nicely.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Apr 26, 2019 at 08:59 PM.
Almost forgot I also have the sail panels and visors out getting recovered too. Hoping to save a few more dollars this summer to get the hood and new hawks spoiler repainted.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Apr 26, 2019 at 08:35 PM.
One of my winter projects was rounding up the missing spare tire compartment pieces ( was missing jack, jack hold down, wing nut, and eyelet) and putting it all together. Here is the finished product:
In case anyone is also shopping for paintwork, I got a quote last fall for getting some bodywork done. The shop I went to will paint the hood and new Hawks spoiler for around $450ish and would do the whole car base/clear in factory color for around $4500 to 5k. Will likely just stick with hood and spoiler this year seeing as how the rest of the car is pretty presentable. Eventually want to do a full respray when I have the funds to get it done right.
You're making some good progress! GTA's with new/perfect red paint look excellent, I'm looking forward to seeing yours when it's done. Do you know what happened to the emblems?
Thanks! It is coming together nicely and will hopefully clean up the underside a bit this summer ( wire brush some light surface rust in the floor area etc). The emblems on the sail panel were missing when I bought it, the rest of the emblems are there but it’s odd that the fender emblems are white...probably a previous owner swapped out the original red ones. When I respray the whole car I will replace all emblems for a factory correct look.
FInally got the new magnaflow catalytic converter on, what a difference... it’s like night and day. The car is so much more responsive and the magnaflow cat back sounds amazing.
Update: By the end of the month will have the hood and new Hawks rear spoiler re-sprayed and installed, found a good local body guy to do it as well as try to push my passenger side fender back (previous owner jacked it up on the bottom of fender) and install new roof rail weather strip from 1A. Will post pics when completed.
Another project I have been messing with is the infamous code 32...a pretty frustrating problem but think I am getting to the finish line. The GTA only throws the code while cruising at highway speed for 15 minutes or so, had it tested and the egr solenoid was shot (nearly fell apart when I took the old one off) so I replaced it with a Corvette one from Ecklers when they were on sale ( could plug into the original socket with the Vette replacement ) but mounting it was a hassle and I used some rubber vacuum hose from O’Reillys to customidify it. Still threw the code after so I found a AC Delco replacement egr valve and a Corvette egr temperature sensor and will just replace both while the plenum is off (should’ve done all this when I did the injectors and FPR). Apparently the egr temp sensor is notorious for failing but it’s just lousy that you can’t get proper replacements for these parts and have to rely on over priced Corvette parts.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Jul 14, 2019 at 09:25 PM.
Got the code 32 straightened out finally, wound up having to go with EGR valve ac delco 214-5538 after pouring over the forum. Only thing I didn’t like with the part is it’s made in China. The problem was that damn egr temperature sensor but of course the old one snapped when I tried to remove it so had to replace egr valve too. Job was cake until the last bolt on the egr( the hardest one too) but it was worth it when the check engine light was no more and doing it myself was rewarding as well. So in total the egr solenoid was shot and replaced with Corvette solenoid, egr temp sensor was replaced with Corvette replacement that installed easily just needed to splice into the original line and that finally cured it. The wealth of knowledge on here made it possible.
Just got it back from the body shop for the hood and new spoiler, turned out pretty good and even had a very close match to the color. The only thing now is the bumpers which are faded because they age different than the metal but I’m not dealing with that until I re paint the whole car down the road. For now it looks like a great daily driver that I can drive and enjoy without worrying about the first scratch. Also wanted to note how nice the Hawks spoiler turned out other than the third brake light not being perfect but for aftermarket it’s still good.
Completed another small project on the Trans Am tonight, replaced both oil pressure sensors on it( the one by the filter and one by distributor) both were very easy, was really surprised how I didn’t have to remove anything to replace the one near the distributor, 2 extensions and a deep well 3/4 socket and I was in business, was lucky that I could turn the whole unit from the top. Car actually shows somewhat accurate oil pressure reading now rather than pegged at 60 most of the time.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Apr 2, 2021 at 11:24 AM.
Sweet car, IMO you got a damn good deal and just needed little things! how did spoiler fit I have one in the future for my 87 Trans am
looks good after your hood/spoiler were painted
Thanks! It’s really starting to get there. I was happy with the fit of the spoiler but the only thing I thought looked off was the third brake light doesn’t fit perfect but even with that said the spoiler is a big improvement over the trashed out original. The sides that go up the glass are slightly different than factory, look slimmer.
Got the car back out from storage a few weeks ago and now its on to the Spring projects...first thing I noticed was I had coolant coming from the weep hole on the old water pump and the very beginnings of a heater core leak so picked up a new AC Delco water pump and found a new old replacement stock heater which looks great and is actually brass like the original ( Ebay is good for some things). As of this post I finally installed my Holley AFPR, new 180 thermostat, TB coolant bypass and water pump and all that's left now is to reconnect new hoses and reinstall plenum. Also wanted to shout out the forum for all the great posts on heater core replacement, definitely saved me some time and frustration lol but it felt great doing a somewhat big job like that myself, worst part of the job was by far removing the old hoses by the firewall IMO.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Apr 14, 2020 at 03:04 PM.
At this time I also decided to replace my ECM with a brand new NOS AC Delco made in USA reman unit #16198259 found on Ebay, a direct replacement for the old 1227165 (found a few posts saying the Delco reman is better quality), since I've owned the car I've had a few nagging gremlins that I hadn't been able to pin down even with the FSM so finally followed the end of the tree and replaced ECM. The unit that was in there was a GM reman but after checking connections and replacing old ECM with the new one and a new custom PROM made by Tuned Performance (highly recommend, knows his stuff) my annoying stall 2-3 seconds at cold start up and hesitation is gone and the car runs amazing. I always thought replacing the computer would be a waste but it turns out mine had issues
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Sep 23, 2023 at 09:22 PM.
Also when I was going through my phone saw some pictures I took after I had the car buffed out last summer, the paint was filthy before but after that it really pops.
If you check out my previous post or 2 before the pics that was most of my spring projects but I do have more updates on it. I just had the UMI subframe connectors put in, that was quite a pain seeing as how a previous owner jacked the car in the wrong place but it came out great and really tightened things up and am happy with the UMI unit( planning on putting a lot more miles on it this summer), it came in red so it matches the Wonderbar in red from Top Down Solutions.
Also had the Magnaflow Y pipe installed which is so big the subframe connectors almost didn’t fit and required some customizing To both the Y pipe and different piece of steel to go under the pipe to make everything fit but I am very pleased with the sound and quality.
Lastly I changed out the power steering fluid with some Lubegard synthetic, I did the turkey baster method, time consuming but it got the job done.
Last edited by Reddragon88gta; Jun 22, 2020 at 08:19 AM.
Another update, I tracked down my annoying wind noise at highway speed to the window triangle weatherstrip on the driver side, original was loose and worn out letting in air leaks even doing 40mph. Passenger side was oddly in great shape. I replaced the window weatherstrip on both sides last year when I had the hood and spoiler done so that helped me chase the noise down. It was very easy to change out the triangle piece, just pull easy with a set of pliers and it came right out (there was a nice video if it in youtube from 1A auto as well). Re-install took me twice to get it fully seated, I used water and Dawn dish soap and lubed the rubber a bit and it went right on and used a little black silicone on the top for good measure to secure it.
Also another little project I tried was a deep clean of the throttle body, with the TB bypass it literally only took a few minutes to remove the TB which regardless of performance gain the ease of access to get that part off made it worthwhile to me. I took everything off and sprayed it down with TB cleaner and scrubbed it out with my old toothbrush and got it nice and clean. There was definitely a fair amount of carbon in there and with full removal I could get everywhere unlike with it on the car where you are limited. Have not had a chance to test it out after asnd see if there was a difference. Next week I will be having the front end lined up after replacing the idler arm and Pittman arm, the steering was really loose before and now its much tighter, looking forward to get that done so I can drive it to work more often with out worrying about wearing the tires out.
After the TB deep clean my idle has improved except when I first start it with the AC on but it’s always done that, it’s weird the idle will hunt a bit with AC on when engine is cold but the idle is perfect with the AC off. Also after the alignment the car really goes down the road nice and straight and have but over 600 miles on it since I got it back. Also the subframe connectors make the car even more enjoyable to drive and has helped with squeaks etc even though the car barely had any. The car lost that flex feel it had before. Wish I put the SFCs on when I bought it
Very nice car! I do like a hardtop GTA. Less squeaks and rattles, without the T-tops. My '90 rs was a hardtop and the weld-in sfc's were a welcome surprise, as I didn't think they would make that much of a difference, on a non T-top car.
DR.K.
You got a great deal on that car! I like your write up about your mods, there were times I was gonna ask a question but you ended up answering it the further I read on, keep up the great work it's coming along really nice!
After the TB deep clean my idle has improved except when I first start it with the AC on but it’s always done that, it’s weird the idle will hunt a bit with AC on when engine is cold but the idle is perfect with the AC off. Also after the alignment the car really goes down the road nice and straight and have but over 600 miles on it since I got it back. Also the subframe connectors make the car even more enjoyable to drive and has helped with squeaks etc even though the car barely had any. The car lost that flex feel it had before. Wish I put the SFCs on when I bought it
Good on SFC's!! now how about doing tubular rear control arms and panhard bars and a Wonder bar & strut brace up front you will see more improvements - will be a whole new car trust me
I’ve been checking out that UMI kit, looks like a real quality set up for sure and would really tie my suspension upgrades together. Think it would be a nice upgrade even with my KYB excel G shocks? You said those mods really helped on your car too, mines mostly a cruiser and nice weather commuter but I do like to hit the back roads occasionally...might be my next project this coming spring
I’ve been checking out that UMI kit, looks like a real quality set up for sure and would really tie my suspension upgrades together. Think it would be a nice upgrade even with my KYB excel G shocks? You said those mods really helped on your car too, mines mostly a cruiser and nice weather commuter but I do like to hit the back roads occasionally...might be my next project this coming spring
I like most of the stuff UMI makes. I have their lower control arms and their panhard bar (both on-car adjustable) I have Eibach pro springs and UMI strut tower camber plates. I have KYB AGX adjustable struts and shocks all around. All that is on my '86 IROC. They really woke the car up! Your KYB shocks should work with the parts you mentioned. I will be adding their K-member and a tunnel-mount, adjustable torque arm, as it will be getting an LS motor eventually. My '89 GTA is taking most of my time and money right now, so the IROC is kind of on the back-burner for now.
DR.K.
Sounds like I know what my next spring project will be, thanks for the input and ideas. I am also tossing around the idea of going with 1.6 Scorpion roller rockers when I do valve seals but want to maintain the stock valve covers...once you start doing a few mods it just wants to keep going.
Sounds like I know what my next spring project will be, thanks for the input and ideas. I am also tossing around the idea of going with 1.6 Scorpion roller rockers when I do valve seals but want to maintain the stock valve covers...once you start doing a few mods it just wants to keep going.
That's the truth! Sort of like a snowball going downhill.... With the suspension, I felt like the "snowball effect" was working for me. I could feel the difference with each piece.
DR.K.
I’ve been checking out that UMI kit, looks like a real quality set up for sure and would really tie my suspension upgrades together. Think it would be a nice upgrade even with my KYB excel G shocks? You said those mods really helped on your car too, mines mostly a cruiser and nice weather commuter but I do like to hit the back roads occasionally...might be my next project this coming spring
Yeah I always thought 3rd gens were stiff cars! not flexi cars like first and second gens and I was flat amazed what a different car mine was like after those mods(87 Trans am WS6)
Originally Posted by Reddragon88gta
Sounds like I know what my next spring project will be, thanks for the input and ideas. I am also tossing around the idea of going with 1.6 Scorpion roller rockers when I do valve seals but want to maintain the stock valve covers...once you start doing a few mods it just wants to keep going.
I personally dont see much gain from RR up to 1.6 may add a tad of power but I'd be more worried about the durability of "Scorpion" brand and I doubt they will fit under stock covers
lust my own
Thanks for the input, I’m pretty well sold on the rear suspension mods. I’ve heard decent things about the Scorpions but really want to preserve the factory look and don’t want to mess with aftermarket valve covers, will likely just keep that stock but I figured if I’m in there to do valve seals etc why not.
Just ordered the UMI panhard and LCAs, couldn’t wait til next year looking forward to installing them hopefully next week. Will update once I get them on.
My buddy and i got the Panhard and LCBs in today, was a bit of a learning curve but once we got going it was simple. Note do not jack on sub frame connectors when installing LCAs. Other than that it went smooth and car really feels more planted in the rear and less squeaks and rattles as well, a great mod especially for the money. Thanks again to zman1969 for the idea! Now I just need to help my buddy with his F-150 lightning...
