thinking about buying a TTA. i saw alot of them on autotrader.com. what should i look for? i know $hit about turbos, and i just want to get something unique and different. and i want to suprise the hell outta people that dont know what they have in em.

also is it true that they had about 300 hp, but gm rated them at 245 cause of the ol gm rule of "nothing can beet the vette"?

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1995 Camaro
3.4 with 4L60E
Stock...for now

Currently being redone:

1988 Camaro
2.8 with T5
threw a rod...
Soon to have a 350 TPI out of an '85 vette...
http://www.nothingssafe.com

YEs the HP ratring is tru, but were rated at 250, the vette had 255. Dynos on stock motos showed 305 at the rear whells so you do the math.

What you want to look for in a TTA is the same as any car. Good condition is really important because it is hard and expensive to get parts for these. Low miles is a plus. If you dont mind modifications being done to it thats fine to, but make sure you can get all of the stock parts that change the car visually. Especially under the hood and all badges.
I tell you why I was thining of getting rid of mine before. ITs hard to do any modifications to a car that is so rare. I mean 30 years from now if I still have the car it will probably be worth like $45000-$60000. I figure this because a similar car from the 60's is worth about that. I am refering to the 66 Mustang Shelby GT Cobras, Similar car, Similar purpose, Both extremly fast for their time.
I could be wrong, but I think its a good possibility.
I have seen a lot of them for sale lately to, but at not really fair proces. THough the book value on one according to KElly Blue Book is about $20,000 (www.kbb.com). I think the # of them that have been for sale is do to the crappy economy and people cant afford to keep their toys right now. I know personally I ran out of the money I needed to restore mine and am HAving to put it off probably another year and a half till I graduate. Then I should have the money to fix it.
Then my problem will be what new car to buy. Since they wont be making Firebirds any more I think I will be getting a VW GTI VR6 in Bright YEllow.
If you have anymore questions feel free to email me.

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89 Trans Am Turbo 3.8L All stock 43,000 miles #1053 of 1555

Past Thirdgen:
86 Trans Am w/ built 355TPI with SLP goodies and too much other stuff to List. One sweet *** car, wish I would have had a good enough Job to pay insurance on three cars so I could keep it, but for a 89 Turbo Trans Am w/ Low miles, I think I made the right choice!

I was just wondering... I have read if the cars Production # is in the first 100 or last 100 it is usually worth more... But that would be if you looked at as wanting to keep it as a collectors car... Just a thought...

I can see the first orlast one being worth slightly more than the rest but if it is nice shape it should bring good money regardless of the build #.

Hardtop and cloth cars command a much higher premium even in a crappy economy. Foolowed by t-top and cloth, then the t-top and leather. You'll most likely find one of these. Check the leather for rips,cracks,seems splitting,etc. If you can look under the hood in the nooks and crannies, that will tell you if the other guy loved it or not. Mine had a **** load of leaves in it. Look to see if the maf pipe is a hardpipe or flex tube. If it's a hardpipe there may have been other mods(and beatings) then he just took em off. Check the turbo for shaft endplay. If the guy is legit he'll have no problem taking the maf pipe off.

Tranny is a tranny, if it's going it's just a tranny! Make sure the oil cooler is on there. Take a look at the wastegate, if it has been made adj. there is another sign of mods. You can also look for a tie down strap or buckle, that's another sign. Mine already had mods on it and didn't really matter to me. I don't care what she's worth or will be worth. I'm only gonna be on this planet for a short while I may as well enjoy it. If it has less than 10K then keep it original. If it had 60K like mine the mileage is up there and won't command a large premium...........................

Wow, who's digging up all the OLD posts?

I am...Yellow GTI huh...oops got a Yellow Mustang

WOW! It's been so long that my TTA isn't even Buick powered anymore!!!!!!

What is powering it now?

you engine swapped a TTA? are you freaking mad? you cpould not find another firebird to put your new engine in....

oh well, to each his own. BTW my ultimate dream ride is a hardtop/leather TTA.

right now it has nothing in it. There is a set of solid v8 mounts awaiting a v8 turbo transplant


I've had enough of that V6!

Guess I gotta change my sig now!

did you not just kill the collectability and historic value of your car?

so, uhhh... what did you um.. do with that old crappy v6 anyway. i might know somone who could take that off your hands. perhaps....

When I'm dead and buried if all that someone remembers me by is that I hacked a car I guess my life was quite unfulfilling. Seriously though, it's a car and the way this country and the world oil market is going we may not have the ability to use them in 20 years. That and it was more abused than collector!

What good would a TTA be if it were in a museum for everyone to look at....


It'll still be turbo if it matters

PETE as I agree with you that the car needs to be driven as intended because we need to enjoy them, I do not understand why you are dumping the V6.

What are you goals? I know guys runnign the base set up into the 8's that is still a relatively driveable car. Maybe not somethign you would commute in, but you could change the tires and cruise around the block.

If it was me, and obviously I dont spend your money, I would invest in building on 6cyls.

whatever makes you happy dude. it's still atrans am. its still turbo. it's not a TTA anymore, but if it was not the greatest TTA before i guess it's no big loss. like kyleF said "i don't spend your money".

you will have one of the bets looking turbo 8s out there

too many headaches with them, after countless headgaskets and other litle problems the car had prior to my ownership I decided to use a Chevy.

I'll end up spending a small fraction of the amount I wasted on the V6 to build the 8......

There a little quirks like cam lobe failures, 4 bolt holes per cylinder trying to desperately contain 25 psi, a poorly designed oiling system, etc.


Cheers

Did you ever sell your TTA swap stuff Pete?

Yes a gentlemen in California picked it up. If and when he decides to do the swap he'll have the most complete set of parts to do it. It's tough when this car was built it had $6000 in the drivetrain and I wanted $8500+ for it and couldn't even get an ounce of interest. I managed to get close to that mark by selling all the performance parts, then the drivetrain and specific tta parts. Now I have the roller to do with what I want..........

Yea, I was sooooo tempted to buy it when you were selling it as a roller minus motor/tranny. But as much as I would have loved to put myself in debt to have it, I had to make the mature decision and stay out of debt. It was a hell of a deal and I still can't believe it didn't sell. Oh well. The turbo V8 should surprise the hell out of some people in that car.

I'm really experimenting a little. I'm using a 305 roller block(very similar to the V6's bore/stroke). Rods are a little shorter so the tq curve may not be as flat, but the 2 extra cylinders should help a lot in low speed tq as well as spoolup of the turbo. A steel crank, steel rods, small roller cam, and stock LTR intake with 55's and a DFI roundsout the combo. I haven't decided on the turbo as of yet at least a 66mm.

The headers are halfed mocked(trying to find time is useless) and will be borrowing the 3 bolt design of the V6 turbo with an .82 housing. Pretty much oriented the same way as the buick headers.

I just got tired of killing the V6, As much as I tried it wouldn't play nice. The inherent weaknesses of the motor always left a lump in my throat going down the track. This setup should produce very close to what a good high 10sec TTA/GN would(numbers wise)

A lot of people get so caught up in numbers. Cubic inches, bore/stroke, hp, etc. They lose track of an engines' ability to pump air. I try to explain to the people questioning my current waste of money like this.

Mediocre heads on a 350(1.94's) flow that much better on the 305(more so when forced).

A 2 bolt main block with studs and a girdle(when everything is balanced corectly) will support all but the most outrageous of combos(if you're gonna make that much power you should be going to an aftermarket block or at the least splaying and partial filling a stocker).

No need for expensive valvetrain parts if the desired range stays below 5800 or so. The intake port size can support a 305's cylinder better than a 350. All my parts collected so far pretty much are useless above 700 FWHP. The engine when done would be below that limit anyway, so why invest large amounts into heads, intake, cams, etc.

We'll see just how well the 305 will hold together. It's really a well thought budget experiment I'm trying. We'll see if I can buck the system with it

Cheers!

Stay tuned!