not familiar with the 3rd gen fbodys.
always liked/wanted a GTA.

what should one look at when buying /inspecting a high mileage car?
body has 160k, but the drivetrain has been refreshed,
trans is still the 700, motor is now a carbed 350.

from pics it appears to be very clean, the body's mileage is the thing im worried about.
am i going to have to rebuild the entire suspension soon with this mileage?

anything else i should look out for when looking at one?
any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanx

 

why would he switch it to a carbed. . I love fuel injection. Ahh that's not too high. Shocks and Springs and stuff could use a freshen up. Summit has a nice front end rebuild kit and you can option kyb shocks with it. If you plan on keeping it stock a nice interior is always a plus, and make sure all of the emblems are there cause for a new set they can range from $189 to $250. eBay has them for the cheapest. What year is it?

 

The main thing I would look at is the work that has been done to the engine. People love to hack apart these cars without knowing what they are doing. Just make sure all of your accessories work and if possible check to see if the wiring has been butchered too much. Electrical problems can be some of the most frustrating and difficult to track down, especially if a previous owner has hacked apart the factory setup. Also if it has the original motor but only the tpi setup has been removed, you might want to double check that it is in fact a 350. Everyone who sells these cars claims that is has a 350 but they are usually 305s. I even had someone try to sell me a tbi car that was a "350". Anyway, those are a couple of things to look at just so you know what you're getting. If it looks decent and you're happy with it I say buy it!

 

Welcome to the board! Do you have a link to the car and how much is it? What year? 160,000 miles over 18 years is not bad.

For right price, car might be worth it. I would try to wait and find a nice gta with 350, lower miles and that is stock. A 350 GTA is a little more rare than the 305 but many were produced. You are in a good position to wait and find the right car.

These cars are at least 17 years old and some stock parts will need replacing regardless of how many miles it has. Do you have any plans for car once you get it?

I agree with checking to make sure it is a 350 engine. You can see if car came with 350 by checking VIN and RPO list. That is no guarantee though. Look under body for rust. There is a hole in under driver side that you can see floor pan. If lots of rust here may be signal for rest of car. Also are bumpers ok, bent fenders? These cars seem to have a lot of body mishaps.

 

First thing I would do is verify that it is an actual GTA. Look in the center console and look for the Y84 option on the SPID sticker(87-90) or in the trunk on left side inside the lock box/glove box.(91-92) If thats gone, you cant tell by the VIN so you would have to send to Pontiac Historical Service and request a reproduction window sticker for your VIN. There are other tips on how to tell if it is a GTA on the GTA Source Page for GTA stuff.

Smitty

I have an 89 GTA Gunmeta

Smitty

 

i know, right?
some people are faithful to carbs though, so it makes sense.

saw it today, it handles excellent, brakes stop good and were recently refreshed, it's an 87



the install looked fairly clean, i didn't really dig too deep into it though.
everything power works, locks/mirrors/windows.
headlights and all signals work, had recently replaced the motors for the headlights too.
pretty sure it's not the original motor and just a transplanted 350

Thanks!
It's an 87
here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...TQ:MOTORS:1123

yeah i hear you, he is pretty firm at 2800
and i would rather have an FI than Carb car.
it's not a dire emergency, but i do need to get another vehicle soon.


no plans as of now, if i fall in love with the car, an LS1 or LC2 swap is not out of the question

how can i tell from the vin?
the body seems very straight and solid, was a florida car.

Not sure if it is a real one, and it dosen't have the big steering wheel i see many with, was that an option?
either way, i like the car, be it a real gta or a rebadged ta.


my impressions:
overall, the car looks great, sounds great, has a decent amount of power.
i never drove a 700r4 tranny car, but compared to my 2004r grand national, that 200 shifts much more firm and responsive, though it is not slipping... could possibly need to be worked on soon...
handling was great, the racing seats arent as pretty as the GTA seats but theyre comfortable. the radio sounds good.

few concerns:
the drivers door handle, on the outside of door, it's not working properly, it does work, but it's loose and you have to jiggle it a little to open it,
i can see that getting on my nerves, how difficult would this be to change?

the heat/ac controls:
don't seem to work properly anymore, at all.
heat and vents do work, but when the dial is switched to the "hot" side it makes a hissing noise, switch it to the cold side and it's silent.

dosen't seem to have a rear window defogger, i guess that can be added in aftermarket.

 

Hhhhmmm.... sounds to me like the car has been thru a bit, and a fair number of parts are gone, or have been replaced. For the money, you might want to just keep on looking.

Door handles are easy to fix, and not really expensive even if you have to replace it. Just time consuming.

HVAC controls are all vacuum operated, sounds like the system has also been "modified".... the hiss when turning the temp would indicate a broken vacuum line under the dash, or, a holed diaphragm on the temp door.

Adding a rear window defogger???? That doesn't sound like any fun at all. I have a couple rear glass, With the factory defogger... although, Jersey is a bit of a distance, and them guys are heavy......

 

I'd hold off. What's he askin for it again? Just the climate control would be enough for me to walk away from it. . I looked for months for a nice GTA. Finally found one at a dealer believe it or not. And brought her home, changed the injectors and found out there was no thermostat in it. . Funny to see how dealers will f*** you over and not tell you what's wrong with it. But ya, i'd hold off..

 

I know the auction's over but I have doubts about it actually being a GTA.

The GTA's were fully optioned. No rear defrost? Where'd it go?
The rims are correct except I believe the GTA's had dimples at the outer edges of the crosshatches.
GTA's have only badges no stickers. It seems to be missing several. Possibly body work?
I've never seen a GTA with a firebird/EARLY TA spoiler.

 

you're right, it's obvious when looking at it it's been through a lot,
but it does run and drive smooth.

and i know trying to resell this thing if i ever have to is going to be next to impossible, given the mods and the 13 owner carfax

im just used to 80s gm cars and their quirks, i look at broken things, as things that can be fixed and or made faster/made to handle better.
and there probably arent many like me

well thats good at least!

the hvac thing sounds like a project.
how do these dashes come off, i was looking at it in thoughts to changing out the dash speakers and couldn't see any bolts,
looks like even getting the dash off in these cars is a project?


2800
yeah the heater seems like it can be a PITA

i wish i had months to search, but i need to get something soon.

im not saying the car is a real one...

but i do know from being around the gbody community for so long,
the gta wheels are a common swap on those cars, and around often.
GM switched to a dimpled 2piece wheel in 88 or 89
the earlier ones are non dimpled.

there are visible spots on the quaters where the badges did fall off, im not sure where the other locations are?

for the defogger.... maybe it was a special order car? as it was originally from florida.

the spoiler got by me.
i was just amazed that it wasn't cracked.

i don't know, wish the RPO tags were in better spots in these cars.

maybe i should wait, especially as i need a semi-daily winter driver (not in the snow obviously) and the rear window and the heater have me worried.

thanks for all the advice guys, appreciate it.
my better judgement was telling me to walk away too,

but the car is nice looking and was a blast to drive and handled excellent for an high mileage car.

the thing is, i really want an auto trans, black, w/ black interior hardtop, and that seems hard to find..

i just don't want to get in over my head with the HVAC issues on this car.

there's a low mile gta on ebay fairly priced but it's a manual/305/ttop white car.
i don't know what to do..

 

anybody have build #'s for a white/gold '88 GTA hardtop 350 car with ws6 option? i was told the hardtops are more rare than t-tops?

 

6,913 L98 hardtop GTAs were produced in 1988. Don't know how many were white. All GTAs have the WS6 option.

 

wow, thought it would be less than that,
seems like 8 out of 10 cars have ttops

 

learn something new everyday!

 

sullen, the car is decent for the price but I would try to find an unmolested one. You are near NYC right? You are lucky and have a huge search area within a few hour drive. I would search Philly, eastern PA, Delaware and Maryland. Use craigslist, autotrader, AOL auto search, etc. For that same amount of money or a little more you can find a great car that is stock.

87-90 GTA's all have the same body shape and gfx. I believe 87-89 you could get a 350 with t-tops, 90 was only hardtop for 350. Black was one of the most common colors on thirdgens. Below are how many GTA's were made. Can't find right now how many were made with 350 vs 305 but probably half.

87 - 11,102
88 - 11,214
89 - 8,081
90 - 1,447

Eight digit of VIN is engine, it will be "8" for 350. Also check RPO list under arm rest for Y84, B2L and L98 codes.

 

that hatch has to have been replaced, my 87 gta has ws6 on the wheels not the firebird emblem so there probally changed from original, the front fenders are correct(no vents), the gta badges are in correct location, the steering wheel is year correct, the dash pouch is year correct for a gta,and the speedo is a 140 and those gold gta wheels are year correct with no dimples(very hard to find 87 gta wheels). I cant see in the pics but if the bird emblem inbetween the rear tail lights is gold and the pontiac emblem on the drivers side headlight is gold then its definetly a GTA. Unless someone replaced all those parts. Its a nice car for the price but with the economy the way it is you can; wait for a few weeks and get something way more original that is in better condition for under 4k I would almost guarantee this.

 

I have one =) except in maroon