LONG POST BUT AT LEAST PLEASE READ AND RESPOND TO THE FIRST HALF PLEASE

After checking out several 3rd gens over the past month or so, I think I finally found one worth buying. I need some help though:

I haven't gone to see the car yet, I'll be going Wednesday; but the guy selling it told me of a problem it has:

He says the car idles very low (500-700). From what I've been reading on this board, these cars tend to idle low anyway. He says that when the car idles this low coming to a stop or pulling up a driveway, the brakes get really hard. Other than that it brakes perfectly. What could this be? Master Cylinder going bad? The parking brake also doesn't work, and it's connection to the rear passenger caliper won't come lose. He thinks that caliper may be the cause. What do you guys think?

I am really excited about this one, but this is the only thing bothering me.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance. For those of you who read this far, the next blurb is all about the car, if you have an extra second tell me if this is a good deal. THANKS!

1989 GTA 90,000 original miles. The interior is supposedly flawless with only a small cigarette burn in the passenger seat. No rust at all or ever (but the undercarriage has been coated
). The car doesn't smoke, doesn't leak, all accessories work including AC. T-tops do not leak. Car needs paint but body is straight and solid. Has new exhaust minus cats. New alternator, battery, torque converter (not sure if stock or aftermarket). Mechanically runs perfect. This guy talks alot, knows a bit about cars in general, but nothing about TA's, he also seems real cool and told me the entire history of this car since he owned it, everything seems legit. What do you guys think? How much should I pay?

Thanks again and sorry for the short story. BTW this board is awesome and full of tons of useful information.:hail:

 

Unless it's got an aftermarket camshaft with very little vacuum at idle, I'd have to say that it's losing vacuum at low RPMs when you hit the brakes. I've seen this happen when a brake vacuum booster went bad, or the vacuum hose going to the booster had a leak. It may also be a bad check-valve on that vacuum line. I'd start checking around that area.
It just sounds like the brake booster isn't working very well.

Also it's very common for parking brakes to not work. GM always says it's because people do not use them regularly enough to keep them adjusted.

 

Thanks sbc, do you think the car will be unsafe to drive about 20 miles home? Also, I've never done any brake work other than basic rotor/pad maintenance, is this a big deal? Expensive?

Thanks!

 

Yea you shouldn't have any problems. You can drive with the vacuum booster completely disabled if need be. You just have to mash the pedal harder to stop.
I doubt it will be expensive if you do it yourself and look for salvage parts when possible.

 

The brake problem does not sound to serious as was mentioned above. Nice thing about the 1989 GTA is that it comes with a lot of goodies like bigger brakes, aluminum drive shaft, good rear end etc. and looks really neat. Hope it works out well for you as it is a great car. Allen

 

Hey thanks guys. I hope the car is what I expect it to be. If I'll get it I'll be sure to post pics.

I appreciate the help. Anybody else? Feel free to give me your input.

 

The GTAs were heavy. Don't be dissapointed - brace yourself for a possible best of 14.9 on your base runs. Other than that, it is a thirdgen and therefore one of the best looking cars ever produced

Also, the T-Tops are nice, but you almost have to get a decent pair of subframe connectors to bring handling up to spec with the hardtops. Spohn or Kenny Brown seem to be the consensus here. I got spohns, they're great.

I wouldn't shell out more than 5,000 bones for this car. GTA or not, it is still an old f-body.

 

You should pay a whole bunch for it for sure, there are good deals out there. This is what I got for $3500, but it has 145,000 on it

 

Back in 99 I bought an 88 GTA, with 112,000 miles on it, at a dealer. They were asking $3,900. It had a small dent in the driver's door, the check engine light was on, and the left front of the dash was ripped, and the leather seats were worn a bit but still functional. The a/c did not work. No leaks. The selling point for me was the paint. It looked like a new paint job. And it has the huge wing of course. I really was a little scared about buying it without a mechanic checking it out, but I did test drive it (hard).

I was about to leave, saying I would check back later maybe, when they asked me what I would be willing to pay right then and there. I had gotten a price from someone here on 3rd gen already, so I knew what to offer, which was $2,500 (by check). They took it !

It came with absolutely no warrantee at all, and they made a point of mentioning that. I think they picked it up at auction.


It lasted about 2 years before stuff started going wrong, the usual stuff with third gens. No huge expenses though. I'm still happy I bought it. Don't know if the GTA's are a collector's item yet, or not.

Good luck with your GTA search !

 

GTA's will always catch a fair bit more according to the books. Check out the prices on a TPI Formula and a TA of the same yea/mileage/conditon. The TA will book nearly $500 more every time. The GTA's not rare, but they aren't exactly common compared to TA's and Formula's. I think the TA's outnumber the normal base birds for some years in production numbers.

 

Hey kpowr82 - I work in Auburn Hills. If the car is relatively close and you'd like me to take a look at it with you, send me a private message on here...

 

Thanks Thirtybird But I just went to see it yesterday. Here's what I'm dealing with:

The interior is almost PERFECT! No rips in the dash (it still shines), EVERYTHING works including all of the steering wheel controls.

There is no rust anywhere on the car except where some small paint chips are there is surface rust.

When I went to start it up, I had to treat it like a carbed car, giving it gas while turing the key. It then would immediatley die if I wasn't constantly giving it gas. What do you guys think it could be? (the seller says it just started doing that today and he'll have it fixed before he sells the car)

The car has some bondo on the front driver side fender and where the door meets the fender. And there is quite a bit of bondo on the driver rear quarter panel. It doesn't look like it was in an accident because the repairs are kind of spread out, and there is no rust on the car so it doesn't look like a rust repair.

The guy is asking $2500 but I know I can probably get it for about $1800. It's the damn body that's keeping me from buying this car. How much am I gonna dump into her having all of the things repaired or replaced?

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate all of the responses.

 

I'd be a little hesitant seeing bondo on the body, especially the rear quarter. But for the price, that doesn't sound too bad.

 

I'm pretty confident I can replace the front fender myself. The passenger quarter has only a small amount of bondo on the wheel arch (exposed area, not wheel lip).

The driver side quarter has more bondo but in the same area as the passanger quarter.

Again, I can't find rust anywhere on the car. Is there any type of repair that can be made to only replace the bad sheet metal rather that the whole panel? The quarters don't appear to be warped.

Also, what are some telltale signs of a bent frame?

Thanks again,
Matt

 

Like was mentioned above... sounds like a vacuum leak. If you do end up buying, take a look at the stored codes. For me they have been the best way to narrow down a problem. (Assuming the Engine light has come on)

 

"jiggajiveturkey" <-- nice name lmao!

Okay, apparantely it has a stored code that it just started throwing again. Code 34. I'll be posting this elswhere on the forum too.

Code 34 is low voltage to the MAF right? I'm going back to try and help the guy fix the car (he doesn't know where the MAF is or even what it is?) even if I don't buy it I still want to help him get it running instead of him getting jacked at his local repair shop. It's probably something easily repaired.

Any suggestions? Keep in mind I've got good mechanical knowledge but little hands on experience, and I don't know what and IAC is.

thanks,
Matt

 

Code 34 has to deal with the MAF burn off. The relay is located on the drivers side firewall. Right next to the fender.

I know this because my wireing was all messed up there.

 

FruityOne-Not to be pain or anything, but what does the MAF relay look like?