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1989 ASC 5.7L GTA Convertible - my holy grail, found!!
ConvertiblesDiscussed here are problems and solutions to convertible specific questions, including difficult to find part numbers and other convertible tech help.
1989 ASC 5.7L GTA Convertible - my holy grail, found!!
Flat-out the past week, I need to get better pics.
Hopefully be able to spend some time w the car getting to know it better, but picked up a 1989 ASC GTA 5.7L Convertible.
Car sounds great, looks great, and brings back memories of the 89 5.7L t-top Gunmetal GTA I had from 1991-2005 - only BETTER!!
Car is quite dirty still from transportation- and its COLD outside. But it'll get cleaned ASAP.
Feeling fortunate this Thanksgiving for the opportunity to own such a neat car!!
Here's some pics as I gave her a bath. Cold, but it was funny how I remembered washing my previous GTA and how the lines ran.
Anyways, paint is in gorgeous shape, but needs to be waxed. Water just sheeted off, no beads or drops.
The car was covered in a layer of dust from shipping/transport. But not anymore.
When it warms up, I'll pull the gold tape stripes. My Mom dropped by to see us, and she even noticed the gold stripes. Said it tied the wheels (color) to body, but should go... Mom is always right. Lol.
Thanks. Ordered new tires today (discount tire has a sale the next 24 hours, btw)
The rear tires are date coded: 12/06 and fronts 02/01. Front tires are nearly 17 years old and toast. Rears, headed that direction.
Just going over the car top to bottom is exciting!!
So much better without the pin stripes.. every pic gets better! Looking great!
Thanks!! Can't wait for the sun to shine again - and take some real pics w something other than my phone.
It's supposed to warm by the weekend, so maybe clay bat and wax... then pics.
Originally Posted by scooter
Its a shames about that parking ticket already
Lol. That's the shipping label (scan sticker) from the transport co.
I figured as much, but it sure looks like a parking ticket.
Car looks good, nice find. Did you say what you paid for that beauty, or how you came about finding it?
Thanks. Every time I look at the car, it gets better and better...
How I found it... Interesting story...
Early Beginnings:
In 1991, I bought my first GTA. A 1989 Gunmetal Gray 5.7L T-Top car. It had 52k mi, and was parked on a hill of a farm w/ a 4x8 plywood sign, listing it for sale. As the car was under warranty until 75k mi, and the original owner had it, I rolled the dice and bought it. I had a Corvette at the time, which with two seats, wasn't very practical. So the GTA filled a nice void in my life. It turned out to be a wonderful car.
In 1993, I met the lady who would become my wife. We went on our first date in the GTA, and later in life, many more firsts... It remained a memorable car, and pretty practical, all thing considered. Fast-forward to 2005, I had just bought another Corvette, so the GTA was sold. I was pretty bummed, watching as the taillights disappeared. I haven't seen that car since...
Since selling the car, I have thought about 3rd Gens. Watched the market closely, and decided, if I got another, which would it be?
Another 1989 5.7L car, as the engines are awesome, and IMO, the best of any TPI. I figured a Convertible would be unique, and the ASC cars being legitimate in their place of Pontiac history, would be a good option. But it would have to be Gunmetal Gray.
The Search For Gray:
Finding a Gunmetal Gray GTA which isn't a roach, is a tall order. Finding an ASC Convertible, even tougher... I could find Flame Red ones and white ones, all day long, but when it came to finding Gray, forget it... None seem to be out there... I was beginning to think these cars didn't exist in Gunmetal Gray!!
I looked online, and saw the silver car in Hawaii which based on the Gunmetal emblems, must've been gray at some point. I figured, based on the low production numbers and percentages of which Gunmetal makes-up overall 1989 GTA production, it was the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack. But I was determined...
I found a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car in Nevada, looked at it, and found it was too much of a project. While the car was okay from a distance, two of the four windows were missing, the dash was a mess, and rear quarter panel damaged and repaired in haste. It was a cloth interior car, and 1 owner. It'll be a good car for someone who has time, but for the money, I kept looking...
Found a Gunmetal 1988 ASC Convertible in Harrisburg at the Mecum Auction, but it was a 5.0L/Auto w/ woodgrain dash, and other mods. Car sold for $11.5k, and while low mileage, the small engine wasn't for me. I kept looking...
Life Happens:
As they say, life happens... About 4.5 years ago, I had come across an ad for a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car. I reached-out to the seller, and because of the distance, had it inspected. All this took time, and for whatever reason, maybe I was the only one looking at the time, but things were going in my favor. The life happens...
Right about that time, my father had gotten sick. He had been ill for some time, but things got bad with his health. Right when I was ready to buy, I pulled back from the deal. I needed to focus on family. My dad passed away not long after.
As if that wasn't enough, as things cleared-up from that, my wife got sick. Really ill. I felt like history was repeating itself. She's fine now, thankfully. But it took two years to get to the point of relief. Life continues...
The Accident:
This summer, as I'd been riding a bike for fitness, I had my own ordeal, as the whole "health" thing tried to kill me. I had an accident. It left me a mess on the side of the road, and thankful good samaratins stopped.
If you grew up in my era, one didn't wear a bicycle helmet. That's something I wish I had considered, as I went head first into the pavement. Anyways, sometime between thinking I might never recover, to where I am today, I decided to reach-out to the seller from years ago, on the chance they might still have the GTA. They not only owned the car still, but would consider selling. We struck a deal, and the rest is now history...
If you read this far, I hope you found the story of interest. It's the "Cliff notes" version, and while there is much more, it's probably a good summary of how we ended up with the car. My wife can't wait to go on a "date" in the GTA again, and wind-back the clock nearly 25 years.
No, 89 had the best camshaft profile, and I think the drivability of the mass air cars (vs. MAP) is better IMO. That, and you could not get a GTA with 5.7L in a convertible, any other year but 1989. Thanks again.
Great story. Adds some interest to this forum instead of the typical how to I fix my quarter panel (one of my stories/posts) as an example. And after so many years now of hearing about 60s muscle car barn finds, etc., it is refreshing to hear stories closer to my age group.
Thanks. The story of course, is much longer... But glad you enjoyed - and can relate to some extent of the tale. I think tonight, I'll go on a search for broadcast sheets hidden under seats... Wish me luck, I'm going in...
BTW, not directly a 1 for 1 trade, but since I recently sold a 60s muscle car (1969 Charger R/T), it put me in a position to fill an empty garage space
Thanks. Ordered new tires today (discount tire has a sale the next 24 hours, btw)
The rear tires are date coded: 12/06 and fronts 02/01. Front tires are nearly 17 years old and toast. Rears, headed that direction.
Just going over the car top to bottom is exciting!!
Took all 4 seats out this week to look for the broadcast sheet(s). No luck.
Looked in the trunk area, too, in the spare tire well. Nothing but an aluminum wheel w/ a compacted tire, and a can of inflater...
On the ASC Firebird Convertibles they are almost identical to the Camaro, AFAIK, With the exception of 4 parts All of the conversion parts are the same for both lines. The only different parts are the center mount stop lamp assembly, the rear wing, and the quarter panel spears. Otherwise they are the same. This is nice because if you ever have to replace anything the Camaro parts work from the same year car.
The rear spoiler is actually a base Firebird spoiler that the ends were trimmed off of, and filled with bondo, then painted.
It’s crazy.. I bought an 87 IROC (in 1993 I think) with 26k miles and my 30 year old interior of my Vert is nicer than that car back then.. I always loved GTA seats.. I envied GTA seats when I had my cloth 87 Interior..
11-23-2017, 02:06 AM
