Learn me the classic mullet mobile - F-Body Trans Am

I received a really interesting trade offer for my BMW today.

A pretty clean '87 Trans Am GTA and $1000 cash. I've never had a "muscle car" before, and I figure I could always clean it up and flip it for a huge profit...people seem to love these damn things...regardless, where are the problem areas? What do I look for? I knew a guy in high school who had an IROC and it seemed to blow intake manifold gaskets every month, but that's all I remember.

This is the car in question, btw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Hzv9P6PAM

Aw, man... it's even got the requisite Flowmaster sticker at the center bottom of the hatch.

ReverendDexter wrote: Aw, man... it's even got the requisite Flowmaster sticker at the center bottom of the hatch.

I know, right? Time to dig out the Guns 'n' Roses tapes....

Probably the weakest point would be the previous owners in a car like this. That one does look reasonably nice.

I can't view the video here, so I can't see the car. But anyway...

Some problem areas:

-Aftermarket BS. (this goes for any car) look for out of place aftermarket garbage. If it has all sorts of nonsense bolted on there, it was most likely abused.

-Check the front spoiler area and make sure that everything is there. These cars are bottom-breathers, and I'm pretty sure there should be some ducting or an undertray that brings fresh air into the engine bay. If it's missing, there's a good chance it's overheated in the past.

-Check the cowl area for stress cracks, especially with T-Top models. This is common. they make chassis braces and stuff, but if it has a lot, I'd pass.

-On T-top cars, check out all the gaskets and T-bar for rust, and definitely check out the floor pans. If the T-tops leak, the floors get wet, and if the floors get wet, then, well, you'll probably need floors.

-Check for oil smoke on start-up, especially on 305 cars. I remember a lot of those having bad valve seals after about 100,000 miles.

-Make sure all the important electronic stuff works, like the gauges, light motors, etc. Since it's a GTA, they are loaded with 80's electronic goodness. Some of it's bound to have failed by now.

-Also since it's a GTA, make sure the wheels are where they are supposed to be. They have different front and rear wheels with different offsets, and are labeled F and R on the inside.

I'm sure there's a lot more to look for, and you can always check out ThirdGen.org, which is a pretty decent forum/site for those. Good luck!

Nothing tricky about intake manifold gaskets if you know how to do them on a small block. The bolts are a pain since they are perpendicular to the head face, and not up and down, so they can be tough to get at. The valley gaskets at the ends get thrown away and a double layer of RTV goes in their place.

Get ready for iffy interiors, but swappable everything. Seriously, I think every single piece of that car, save for some interior parts, could be sourced from some other, of not multiple other GM cars of the era. Third gens are under-rated - I always liked 'em.

I used to think the 5.7 TPI was the only engine available in the GTA. I was wrong. Apparently there was a 5.0 TPI as well. IIRC, and you should google it, the 5.0 is identified by a "G" in the VIN and the 5.7 is an "H"

i am a third gen camaro owner and i love it, but i'm not sure about that deal. the 305 is anemic at best and that car seems to have body rot everywhere. especially on parts that are hard to find good replacements for like the deck wing... the interior looked a bit thrashed too. you can get a decent iroc or trans am around here for about 3500. i would say that one in particular is woh less than that. so the real question is, is your bmw worth more than $4k or so?

as for the problems with intake gaskets, the tpi manifold to cylinder head bolts are a pain in the a** to get to in a couple of places so i can see it if someone did it themselves they might mess up.... maybe even multiple times, but as rule i havent seen or heard of this a s a production problem for these cars.

The GTA is prized among f-body fans. The 5.7 was auto-only as far as I know. The 5.0 won't win any drags but makes ok torque. Lots of chassis upgrades are available, only a tubular k-member is truly expensive, the rest is not bad. They are big and heavy but are easy to work on, parts are cheap and they make entertaining sounds when you drive them. I have an un-cracked dash pad gathering dust if you ever need it.

Edit: I would be concerned about this example and would pass on it.

Didn't some Trans Ams get the turbo Buick 3.8?

3.8 Turbo in the TTA. Not cheap, very rare.

SlickDizzy wrote: I've never had a "muscle car" before,

You still don't.

That's a pony car.

racinginc215 wrote:

Looks like a mid-70s Plymouth Satellite.

Those cars rust fierce where you can't see it, and the bra leads me to believe there is moderate to heavy front end damage because the front ends are low, low, low.

Every one in a yard will be in worse shape than what you have there so good used parts are tough to come by.

I would pass.

wow.. last time I saw one of those flat glass "hatches" was in 1989 when I graduated HS

Whoops, I misread.