I'm looking at an 88 GTA with a 5 speed. The seller claims that it has a 350, but there was never a 350 mated to a 5 speed that was built from the factory. Is there any way to tell if it is a 350 or 305 without getting the engine code off the front of the block? Does anyone know more about the GTA's? I decoded the VIN and it says it's the LB9 305 TPI. Anyhelp or knowledge anyone could share will be greatly apprecaited.

 

Officially, no. Unless he has a GM factory build sheet showing it left the plant with a 5.7L and 5-speed, it didn't.

 

No

 

No!

 

What about the 1LE? I thought it was a 5.7 with a T-5.

 

No. The person I bought mine from tried to tell me it was a 350 5spd.

 

All the GTA's came stock w/ a 350 auto, unless you special ordered it w/ a 5spd. then you got the $hitty 305.

 

That $hitty 305 5/speed was just as fast as the 350 auto.

 

brian'siroc, the 1LE's were either 350 auto or 305 5-speed tpi's. mine is a 1LE, 305tpi w/ t-5

 

LOOK AT THE VIN!!!!!!!!!!....8th digit....
F = 305 TPI
8 = 350 TPI

EDIT:
If it is a F then it is a 305 TPI 5spd most likly from the factory
If it is a 8 then it is a 350 TPI and was converted to a 5spd....if it is this...no reving and dumping the clutch...lol....good by T5....not strong enough to hold the torque the 350 puts out.

 

They did actually have some Iroc Z that came out with 350 5 speed around that year. There were very few of them because they had many problems with them ripping the T5 out. That is why they did not put anymore in with the 350. They were very few and far between but a friend of mine back in school got one with a 350 5 speed and it stayed in the shop more than he drove it until the warranty finally ran out and he put a 4 speed into it. If the VIN decodes saying it is a 305 it was originally a 305, but someone may have dropped a 350 into it. Later...

 

Prove it. Nobody else can, so I'm sure you can't either.

The torque is only part of the issue. CAFE emissions certification records would exist if those cars were produced, plus GM wouldn't spend the $$$$$$$$ to certify the car for the sake of a few examples. You really think a company as big as GM is going to stuff the T5 into an L98 car, then say "oops! It's not strong enough!" and yank production? Nope.

But regardless... if they existed, there would be a record of them. Contrary to popular belief, these cars don't just sneek out the back door when nobody is paying attention.

 

I know excatly what I saw and know. And yes, sometimes things do slip thru the door, got a whole book on rare cars that were not documented. And yes, they do put parts in cars and change them later on because of various troubles. Bet you don't know they upgraded the T5 because some 305TPI like mine were ripping the T5 out. It is Called a World Class T5, I got the paperwork from GM where they replaced it after putting in 3 different T5 that would not hold up. They kept the car for 2 months while they installed it. Do you think that is documented. I could care less if you beleieve or not but let me find the proff I do have on 350TPI T5 trans and will send it to you. And it is documented with GM. And if you don't beleive about the T5 World Class, come on down and I'll show you that.

 

but the t-5 world class was never put on the 350's from the factory. even if there was some slip up, where would it have taken place? at the factory? i dont so. so the the only place i could think of would be the dealer, but why would they take the risk of losing their business for someone who wanted a t-5 350? doesnt make sense. im sure it never happened.

 

According to GM a spokesman, there was never a 350 placed in a F-body from 82-92. The dealerships could of placed 350's in the car and put T5's behind it but what dealership would be so foolish because the T5 would be toast in no time, even the World Class T5 would be toast in no time when a kid gets a hold of it. The dealership would be losing money replacing transmissions under warranty. This is a proven fact that there was no 350 tpi with a 5 speed. If you are calling GM a liar, then so be it.

 

There were 80-something '89 Model Corvette ZR1s built also. All were destroyed by GM and none ever found their way into anyones hands before GM destroyed them. At least one did after being destroyed.

 

Everybody knows somebody that had a friend that had an 83 Corvette with a stock L98 and a T5. GM only built 1, it ran 10s in the 1/4, and it is sitting in a barn with bird **** on it with a for sale sign saying $.25/best offer.

Oh yeah, it comes with a swedish nymphomaniac blond that likes to clean and cook.

 

Back in 87-89 when I worked at shop that upgraded or added options to new cars per dealers. At that time the only way to get a 350 with T-Tops was to have them added by the dealer or directly thru us. Had 1 or 2 Irocs/Birds every week, never once saw one that had a 350 that wasn't an auto. Now this is not set in concrete, just what I saw for 3 years at that shop. cheers, Bob

 

Yeah, but the difference is, we know about it. We know that GM destroyed them, and we know that at least one made it out, as we also know about a ZR1 vert that's for sale for a ridiculous amount dispite being nothing but a pile of rubble. We've seen 89 ZR1 wheels floating around. We know they exist. There's proof, and more than one person's cousin's friend's neighbor has seen it. Why would this corvette stuff be so well documented, yet the f-body stuff is nothing but pure mystery and hearsay? It's because it's all crap!

Oh, by the way... there are thousands of DOCUMENTED L98 t-top Camaros. Plenty of them are right on this site. It wasn't until 90 or 91 that they seemed to get extremely rare.

I'd love to keep spouting more examples, but I need to go feed my sasquach.

 

LOL i just wanna say this post sounds like an x-files convention and we're arguing over whether or not the government has possesion of UFOs and if they're admitting to it...

to keep this on topic, i've never seen proof of a 350/t5 ever being sold

 

Lets put it this way:

Could any idiot go down to the local dealer and order a 350 with a stick? No.

 

But almost any idiot could mate up a 350 to a t-5.

 

Yeah, and that's a completely different issue altogether.

 

As long as we're proving things,prove that..............

 

To be honest I never checked to see if it was correct. Given that this was told to me by a service manager, and by several others, I took it that it was correct. Anyways to the point, never did one come thru with a 350 other than with an auto. Given the popularity of t-tops, I'm sure that in 3 years that if a 350 came with a T-5, I'm sure it would have had t-tops added....

BTW.. easy way to tell if the tops are factory or not.. all factory tops have the roof metal folded where the top/seal meets the glass. All aftermaket tops that I know of, American Sunroof Co.(ASC) and Cars and Concepts (C&C) have a moulding between the glass and roof. Nothin like cutting the center out of a brand spanking new Iroc.. LOL Bet you didn't know that Hurst once sold aftermarket t-tops for 71-81 F-bodys. cheers, Bob

 

I did.

 

if you think GM put a T5 behind the L98 from the factory i have some Enron stock to sell you...

 

sure, go to various websites and look at the official times. as much as i dislike the 305 and more importantly the ****ty T5 a LB9/T5 combo stock for stock will run damn close to a L98/auto.

 

FWIW, the first new car that I ever bought was a 1988 Trans Am. I couldn't find one with the options that I wanted so I factory ordered the car. I tried to order an L98 w/5spd but they ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT allow me to do so. I asked if I could get it if I ordered a Camaro and got the same answer.

 

beefy89, u think 305 t-5 combo's are slow? u want to drive down to IL and run my 1LE 305tpi w/ t-5.

 

I had a '91 Z28 5.7 with a ZF6 Corvette 6-speed in it. How many can say that?

It didn't come from the factory that way, just like all the 5.7/T5 combos.

 

If there is so much question about whether or not 350 came with a T-5 why not just crawl under the car and look at the casting #s on the block? I mean c'mon? Its not like you wont be able to tell if there has been a motor swap/tranny swap from an aftermarket shop.

 

Because the question isn't "What does it have now?" but rather "What did it leave the factory with?" Crawling up under a 10+ year old car doesn't answer the first question.

 

To tell you the truth I know the person that owns the ZR1, ZF6 car. It was crushed and sent to England where he just happen to come across it. He is now in the process of restoring it to original form with the help of the other one that he found with all of the wires in the original places. It is really a work of art to look at this car. He is going to be donating it to the GM museum when he is all done with it.

 

as for the gta I have to point this out the gta was a 350 tpi auto now you could down grade it to a 305 tpi and then you had the opt. of auto or manual.

yes the 305 tpi t-5 is faster but, bairly only by a tenth or so you also have to keep in mind this is not a 1le or b4c opt. that are tested so the 305 tpi has 3.45 gears and the 350 has 3.27 gears it is kinda a unfair conpairson.

as for the t-5 not being mated with the 350 well??? I know the t-5 wc is very strong and does hold up well behind a 350 with mods and can take a lot. look what a lot of those stangs do with a t-5 they spray and everything of couse the break them too but, so to the t56 guys when you get real crazy. I think that gm had other reasons pehaps it was a vette issue like the TTA brought up. because gm would have just used a differant trans and used it with both the 305 and 350 to make up for a cost of using a specific trans. also both GM shops I have worked at if you are abusing the car and it breaks then GM will not warrantie the part. its called "cust. Abuse"

 

who has that book with all the GM stuff they let out and no one konws?
Aj

 

Dude, it's been well-documented that GM started installing WC T5's behind all V8 F-bodies in 88-92.

 

Same deal here... went and looked at an 85 Z28 with a 5 speed. Dealer tried to tell me it was a 350, and rather than calling him out, I asked "Is that the original factory engine or has it been replaced?" He said the car was all original and that nothing was replaced other than general maintance stuff and they were replaced with OEM parts. Can you say ???

 

Being from the Motor City, this all reminds me of a hot summer night back in 1989. I was cruising Gratiot in my 1983 Mustang GT and a gun-metal blue Corvette convertible pulled alongside with an older gentleman driving it and all the testing equipment on the dashboard. He proceeded to leave me standing still from the light and suddenly i noticed that the rear end looked unique. It had the ZR1 taillights and was about 4" wider. At this time nobody ever seen a ZR1. So I get up to the guy at the next light and asked him what it was, he told me it was a ZR1 prototype and it had 32 valves and a 6 speed. I didn't believe him until a year and a half later when the ZR1's were introduced. They never did build a convertible, but this one had to have been crushed

Sorry so long, just one of the cool things you get to see living in the Motor City

 

So true!

 

It was crushed, and probably sent to England with the rest of the crushed 89s. Right now there's a person that bought the carnage of an 89 ZR1 vert. He's got it for sale for something like $130k, and it's so mangled you can hardly identify it.