just wondering, what exactly is the difference between a TA and a GTA, and allso how can u tell a diff. between the two just by looking, or do u have to run the VIN?

 

Instead of TA badges it will have GTA badges, although they are choice items for low-lifes to swipe. Also I believe the GTA has all the fancy interior gizmos, like a bunch of controls on the steering wheel.

 

The GTA has nicer seats, a few more amenities, etc. I have a GTA and I'm really not too sure what all it has over a regular TA. If you look at the VIN, the 8th digit should be an 8 or an F. There's also three more numbers in the VIN you should look at. Can't remember them right offhand at the moment. MAtt

 

A real T/A has front fender vents behind the front wheel openings. A Grand Theft Auto has regular sport coupe fenders. They're usually several hundred pounds heavier than a TA depending upon the TA's options, since the GTAs usually come "loaded" with options and gadgets. They're usually proportionately slower, too. Most were optioned with the 350/auto trans, but the base engine was still the LB9 305 TPI, and some of those are out there.

 

i believe the fender vents disappeared for 91-92 from the TA too, but it's still useful for telling 87-90 GTAs from TAs. The steering wheel radio controls also went away in 90 when the airbag showed up.

 

Also, T/As had the 2-tone paint scheme, whereas the GTAs were all one solid color.

 

Two-Tone? Unless you're taling about the unpainted spoiler. And this one is OEM, 17-year old paint:

 

well, that was like the seats. GTA's only came in single color paint schemes (and with the lumbar seats) whereas the TA's usually had the ground effects a different color or stripes added before 88, but after the GTAs were introduced in '87, the single-color look became more popular on regular TA's

 

Are you serious?

 

Grand Tourismo Americano (or Grand Touring America, in English).

 

GT: Short for "Gran Turismo," literal Italian for "Grand Touring," it refers to a class of cars originally built for racing and sporty touring. In the purest sense of the term, the grand touring classification meant that a car was an enclosed coupe.

GTA: See "GT," above. The "A" stands for "automatic," most recently used in reference to the Ferrari 456 GTA, which has an automatic transmission.

GTB: See "GT," above. The "B" stands for "berlinetta," which means a hardtop.

GTC: See "GT," above. The "C" stands for "coupe" or "coupé," the french word for "cut." A coupe is a two-door car, usually with four seats inside.

GTO: See "GT," above. The "O" stands for "omologato," which is Italian for "homologated." This means that the model is a regular production model, not just a limited-production option designed only for racing or rallys.

GTS: See "GT," above. The "S" stands for "spider." GTS Ferraris are usually not true "spiders" in the sense that they weren't fully convertible (or cabriolet) but rather "targa top," meaning that the roof panel is removable.

GTSi: See "GTS," above. The "i" stands for "injected." Usually refers to the Ferrari 308 GTSi, which was the fuel injected decendant of the carburated 308

 

the a in gta stands for americano or america in english

 

The SPID decal should have "Y84" on it.

 

don't forget about the gold diamond spoke rims!

 

I klnow this guy, he raises some of dem dere chickems... oh forget it....

http://www.gtasourcepage.com/Authentication.html

 

The fender vents aren't always a dead giveaway as some GTAs ended up with some of those fenders. There are theories as to why and when during their lives, but the easiest one to understand is just lack of attention to detail during repairs or lack of proper replacement parts during repairs. For instance mine has the vented fenders on it (from what I can tell it got up close and personal with something with its front end) but I have the RPO list (SPID label) and Y84 is on there, so it is most likely a true GTA but currently has the vented fenders on it.... That or somebody tried really hard to make it into one....

Course, who knows what kind of he11 mine went through before I got it .

Not that its authenticity really matters to me all that much... It isn't a show car .

Oh, and it definately is Grand Tourismo Americano .