First its a GTA, 350 manual, then its a 305tbi, then a pic of a tuned port motor. and low and behold check out those beutifull tail lights, now thats a real Trans am, and definetally a GTA too.

Ebay Auction

 

actually I feel bad for him, he's def. not the original owner since he didnt even know the engine size, maybe he thinks its a GTA since thats what someone told him

maybe they arent the original tail lights, but if they arent I wouldnt want it anyway.

 

Sad thing is, that it has 18 bids on it, and people have no clue as to what they're buying. What Morons!

 

I e-mailed him the RPO's to check, cause it does look like a genuin GTA, it has the hood, fenders, emblems, wheels, interior, maybe it was just hit in the rear by an uneducated previous owner and got the wrong tail lights.

 

Will the VIN say GTA when decoded. That one only comes up Trans Am/Formula

 

Well just looking at the Vin tells you its a 305 and not a 350 and the only 350 cars that had manual trans & T-tops were formulas.
Most likely its a clone made from a t-a and he had a accident or whatever and bastardised it by puting firebird taillights on it.
:nono:

 

sorry, no production cars EVER had 350's and manual trans.

 

For the sake of not being smart I won't mention the car that had a 350 in it T-tops (yes one white known one was made with T-tops) and has a manual tranny in it.

Before you go downplaying my newbie status on this board check this out.
http://www.transamgta.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000917.html

A Formula 350 with a stick and t-tops all orginal Now no T-as made it out of the factory like this but several formula versions did were lucky enough to.
No
But again this isn't a 350 its a 305 you can see that in the vin.

 

not down playing your so called noob status,that term is sooo anoying,and neither am I being an ***,but.there was never a factory available to the public 350 5 speed car from 92-92.Sorry,do a search on this topic,and you will see me and about everyone else agree's

 

The ONLY 350s that EVER had a manual were the Firehawks. None of the regular production 350s (in 3rd Gen F-bodies) were standard PERIOD.

 

Well, if we want to get technical, GM did let a select, and I mean select few number of 350/5 speeds camaro/firebirds slip out of the factory. This is like in maybe 100 or 200 of them from 82-92

 

Glenn has spoken,:hail: ,I have heard of these mystery prototype cars with 5.7/5 speeds all over the internet,but no one has ever really had proof that it WASNT an engine/trans swap.5/7 5 speed Firehawk with a T-Ram man, that would be a nice car.

 

am i wrong in saying that the firehawks didn't even have 5-speeds.....they had the corvette 6-speed. at least the one owned by the guy that owns the local pontiac dealer does.

 

is it just me or what? is that a camaro 1/4 panel? look right where the tail light would start to come around on the 1/4 panel


THAT could be why it has the wrong tail light! (if it was hit)

he has also corected the engine displacement it is a 305

 

Anyone here that wants to refute this, just shut up now.

 

Good eye. I wouldn't have noticed that. But you are 100% CORRECT. That is a Camaro 1/4 panel. But even so, the guy could have at least put GTA tail lights in it. I guess that could be why it's still only at ~$2500.

Don't you wish there was a way to post messages on some auctions to warn other bidders about something like this.

I'm not saying it's a bad car, but it's far from original, or in good condition for what he's trying to say it is. Some poor sap is gonna get this thing for ~$5000 and NOT get a good car.

AJ

 

I just sold an 88 Formula,350 tpi,5speed transmission and yes t-top about 9 months ago..So yes they do exist(on formulas)..GTA we all know never came out with that all at once..As for the firehawks,that is territory I dont know about..
Thx

 

here we go!


honestly I have no room to comment cause I dont know, I just know everyone has an opinion.

 

Yeah ok. Were you the original owner.?

 

heavypedal, there was no such car available in 88
*gets out history book*
350 + 5sp + TTOP + 1988 = Doesn't exist. It doesn't matter if it was a GTA, formy or firebird. If I had a dime every time I heard someone say they had that combo I would be sooooo rich right now. Only until >89 could you get a 350 w/ Ts but there was no way you could get a 5sp with that combo even if you where sleeping with the salesman(who knows someone at the GM plant) @ the dealer on Friday nights. Someone prob. put in a 5sp in at some point or it just was a 305.
*closes history book*

BTW, that does look like a camaro 1/4 panel. It was prob. in a accident and had the the rear replaced.

 

Thank you. Good point to about the swap or it being a 305.

 

Ok guys..Im not a dummy and I wouldn't post if this were not true..I was the second owner of the car..the first owner was an exec at the GM proving grounds here in Phoenix,I at the time was a brake mechanic (at the grounds)The car was ordered by him with the 5spd..Any questions yet??..and..being a mechanic.. I know it wasn't a 305 ..and frankley you can't smoke as many corvettes as I did in that car with a 305..
Beau

 

oK call me dumb, but I did hear this guys story a few months back, and I do believe it, ya know GM made some, hell, they probobly have '02 camaros and birds with the 8.1L engine from the truck in them just to play with.

I beleive this guy for some reason. and if he's lying, who cares.

but one question... why did you sell it, and how much did you sell it for.

 

..Thank you for believing me...I got the car for $6000..I know,it was a steal..But this guy has money anyway..I sold it because a guy from Chicago gave me $15000 cash!on the spot where he first saw the car..I thought very hard about it though..but it was too much money to pass up at the time..

 

OPPS ,I was wrong ,350 5 speed factory cars do exist!I saw one last night,ELVIS was driving it when he got dropped off by the UFO ,even had the window sticker still,Jim Morrison had it in his back pack

 

LOL.

Seriously though, you were the 2nd owner so who knows what the guy did to it.

And you smoke Vettes with a 350?? Hate to tell you but no mass production 3rd Gen even 350s could take a Vette.

For 20 yrs, no one has proven that there was a 350/5spd combo , no Vin, no pics, nothing, so we're not going to believe your claim that I had one. You may believe you had one, that's fine, but you don't know the whole story.

 

Even if a five-speed really was installed within the walls of Norwood or Van Nuys, there is no documentation to attest to the fact. If you choose to believe that such a combo exists, you are trusing in hearsay evidence. End of story.

 

Alright to get a 5peed 350 you had to special order it
.. at least thats what i read somewhere

 

heavypedal.......that T5 is one hell of a strong transmission, huh?
you can bust rocks in half with them :sillylol:

 

yea, just like I special ordered my 03' SS

 

87350iroc... ur makin me cry... its depressing i cant go to chevy.com and price out my dream SS anymore!! anyway... how about this... ive seen a 92 firebird 350/5spd convertable!! sellin for 12,000... says its one of 1000 built... he said he also 2nd owner i havent see the car myself... a friend of mine was tellin me he saw it in an autoshopper.. come to think 0f it.. .i have only seen 1 vert firebird...but had a 5.0 HO motor..

 

Still doesn't prove that it was original. And a 1000 made, that even more unbelievable, not to metion it was a vert.

 

Well whatever it is, it sold for $2550.

Now from watching ebay regularly, for thirdgen parts, I'd say the buyer could strip this car down and get over $3000 for the parts

If that's what he/she plans, "then no harm, no foul,..."

btw, did anyone think to contact the seller and tell them about the incorrect fender? The seller didn't seem to know a lot about thirdgens(confused the 305 and the 350, called it a tbi when it is clearly tpi), but did correct himself on at least one mistake.

 

Did you?

And what good would it have done? He did tell about the dent that was in the same QUARTER PANEL (not "fender" ) . So regardless, it needs to be fixed/replaced.

AJ

 

The problem with this whole issue is that the 350 and 305 look the same. How many here could actually tell the difference between a 305 TPI engine and a 350 TPI engine just buy looking at a picture of under someone's hood. I certainly don't know what the differences are visually and probably couldn't tell between the two myself. Honestly, if you see a small block Chevy, almost every person will think it's a 350 regardless of it's real size. I've never seen or found any documentation showing that any production thirdgen came with a 350 and a manual transmission from the factory. So, until I do, I'll still have to say it's all due to ignorance.

 

Ok Here's the deal W/ebay car--i'll bet money on this. Seller bought the car cheap at auction.. turned around and sold it--- car has obviously been whacked hard in the ***. some hack pieced it together beat on it more then sold it to seller. car doesn't even have plates on it--so idoubt he "still drives it around town" on his bald hole shot abused tires--And i'm sure that tow hitch makes the perfect accessory. unless you can see a car in person Idon't know how you can buy it --We all get paranoid over used parts online nevermind a whole car. although i'm sure you can get $2500 when you parted it out lol.

 

This will never come to an end. Firehawks in 91 - 92 came only with the 6 speed corvette trannies.

As for the 350/5 speed....I've done my search over the web and no proof that it ever came from factory. Now is it possible that a gm executive got one made for him? Maybe but highly unlikely. Now if you look at a 305 and a 350 TPI under the hood theres no way you can tell the difference. As for driving a 5 speed and claiming it drove like a 350 well there's a reason for that. In 91 and 92 those 305 cars came with 230hp while the 350 came with 240hp. Now if the 305 had TPI, a 5 speed with the G92 package then I'm sorry but anyone who drives one will all say the same thing...."it's a 350 man!!!!"....Those things drove so hard that if you raced an auto 350 TPI you would beat it, not by much but you would beat it. Provided the guy behind the 5 speed knows how to shift. But to smoke a corvette...come on!! My buddy owns a stock '87 corvette with a 4+3 tranny and he lays a beating on all 82 - 92 350 camaro's and trans am's that are stock or with mild mods. I should know, I'm one of them!

End of story. No one will ever believe the the 350TPI/5speed until we see gm documented proof.

P.S. Money can make anything possible with a car after it leaves factory. But the amazing story here is how the H*LL did that T5 tranny hold up against a 350 and 330pounds feet of torque ?????

 

Come on guys, if thats the orignal paint and the interior is clean and stock, then $2,550 is a deal. If you want a 350 just swap it in, real easy to do when the car is already TPI.

 

AS for the GTA on Ebay....the high bidder backed out. I contacted the owner.

After him sending me a dig pic of the SPID label IT IS A GTA!!! And a DAMN RARE one at that.

Some options on the tag ( which has the correct VIN on it )

GM3 - 3.45 posi disc brake rear ONLY 700 or so TOTAL produced in 87 for the ENTIRE Firebird line

Roof console, self dimming mirror, power EVERYTHING. Hell it even has the UQ7 Factory sub woofr setup. INTACT and working.

I ran the VIN, it's clean. He's the 3rd owner. Miles check out, even though WA state labels it as exempt after 15 years. Passed smog every other year.

He bought the car to fix up. His "buddy" does bodywork, and he backed out on him. That is NOT a camaro 1/4 panel. I've got ALOT more detailed pics than what was on the auction, and that crease you see is a reflection.

Car was hit in the *** by a pick up. It destroyed the tail lights, thus the standard Firebird lights on it he bought off Ebay. He's not a car guy...he didn't know the difference.

Rear unibody is intact. Drives straight. It IS currently tagged and inspected, he took the plate off for the pics. The later pics he sent me showed his current plates on it.

PERFECT black cloth interior. ALL the cool GTA stuff. WELL WORTH the $2500 he wanted. I was going to fly out and drive it back to VA, until I found a 383 powered IROC at a good price.

Hell, you can get the WHOLE 1/4 replaced and the car painted for under $3000, and I've only seen about 5 other 5 speed 87 GTA's since they were knew.

Tow hitch was used by the previous owner to haul a jet ski to the lake.

IF it was ALOT closer, I'd already have it AND the IROC I'm getting.

Any questions about the car, shoot me an email. I have the CLEAN carfax report on it, and it matches the WA state freedom of info act report I ran on it.

ctandc@comcast.net


HTH
Chris
87 383 IROC in a week