hey everyone, I was given an 88 GTA from a family friend about a year ago, and to make the long story short, he coudlnt find the title and had to apply for a new one. I *FINALLY* got the damn title today, so now i can get plates and drive it!!!

my first car was an 88 305TBI Trans Am (the one pictured in my sig), and i was never really into much performance/modding with it, cuz that car was just tiding me over until i could afford to get a 4th gen. I've known the original owner of this GTA from birth, and I've been holding out for about 9 years for him to sell it to me (since i got my drivers license). now that I've FINALLY got the dream car of my childhood, I can't wait to get back into the 3rd gens!!!

I do post regularly on LS1Tech.com, so its possible there are some of those members on this board too. if so, send a shout out!

I plan on using this car as my DD and move the Firehawk over to Weekend and GTG Cruise duty only. it does have a few issues that need to be resolved before i can use it as a DD though (my apologies for not really doing a search first, i'll do one after i post this introduction):

1) the driver's window got smashed out the week i moved to TX, so it needs replacing. i also want to replace the weatherstrips on the windows because too much wind comes through. any suggestions as to what the best company to do this is? and if anyone has had any bad experiences with replacing side glass, lemme know!

2) car jukes to one side when braking at highway speed. i'm thinking either the caliper bushings needs to be lubed, or the calipers need to be rebuilt. i'm hoping its not the later.

3) car idles very rough when cold and will stall out if you dont keep your foot on the gas a little. problem goes away when it gets up to temp. before the battery died, i was able to pull two codes off the OBD-I: 34 - MAF sensor, and 44 - oxygen sensor (exhaust lean). the original owner believes this might be a broken vacuum line, cuz he had a brief problem with mice in his garage and thinks they might have bit through a vacuum line.

4) occasionally when the motor is warmed up and you're stopped in traffic, the oil pressure dips waaaay low. not quite to the red zone, but not far enough from it to make me not concerned. i'm thinking the oil pump is going out. has anyone replaced an oil pump in an L98 and would be able to give me an idea as to what i'd be getting into to replace it?

5) i would LOVE to run 87 octane in this car, but i'm doubting i will be able to. it does have a hypertech chip (the stage 2 one, i forget the cutesy name they had for it, thermomaster maybe?). I coudln't even run 87 octane in my old 88 305/TBI Trans Am (the black one in my sig), so i seriously doubt an L98 will run on it.

here is a pic!

 

Sweet man, very clean.

 

this old pic does hide some of the cosmetic flaws, most of which arent horrible. once i get some more cash in the pocket, i'm going to bring it back up to VG+ status... i dont think it will ever be 'excellent' cuz its formerly from Massachusetts and its got plenty of rust under the car.