'88 Trans Am GTA Notchback(a real one)

[V]

Back in 1996, in a high school electronics/tech class I was surfing the internet which was fairly new and I came across a picture of a car. I fell in love with that car. I wanted it so bad, only to find out the chances of finding and buying one was almost impossible.

This was the picture I had seen...



Turns out only 718 Notchbacks were built. 624 were for the US, and the rest went to Canada. Now imagine how many of those 718 still exist 28 years later. Some people think maybe 350 or less might still be out there complete.

Well, Since they were so rare even in 1997, I got the closest thing I could, a regular black GTA. But I always wanted a notchback. That picture started my love of camaros/firebirds. A few years ago I bought a low mileage white GTA and then managed to buy 2 OEM notchback hatches. I planned on building a "clone", since I wouldn't claim it was a real one. That car will still be getting built eventually.

However, back in may, I found a real Notchback GTA for sale on Craigslist up in CT, for a great price. I contacted the seller and didn't hear back so I assumed it had sold. A few days later, I finally got an email from the seller with additional pictures I had asked for. He asked me to call him if I was serious so I did. It had some accident damage and had a rough life but I still wanted it. The following weekend, I took the trip up there with my truck and trailer and bought it.




The car had been rear ended by a Harley Davidson around 2007/2008 and then parked in a garage since. The car had also had a front end accident on the drivers side which was repaired but caused the car to now have a rebuilt title. The son of the owner also explained how they swapped the black interior from another GTA, but it was originally beechwood tan. The car even came with the rear sheetmetal and bumper of a parts car in the same color. The motor was also said to have been rebuilt and a new trans installed not that long before it was parked. Due to the higher mileage on the car and the rebuilt title status, I had no intention of dumping a ton of money into this car, but I did want to bring it back to factory correct in regards to the interior. I bought beechwood interior stuff and I am just waiting to install everything.

I removed the damage rear pieces and pushed/pulled out the tail panel. I still need to finish it up a bit and bolt it all back on, but its almost done back there.





After I gutted the interior, I found a few rust holes that need to be addressed in the kick panels and under the floor. They aren't really that major and should be easy to fix. My neighbor will be taking care of that for me once I can drive it to his garage.

That means I need to get it running. When I bought the car, I knew it wouldn't start due to bad gas from sitting 7+ years so I told them not to even try. I assumed that since it was damaged it was safe to say that it was running up until then and when it was parked. All fluids and such looked fine. Today I washed down the engine bay and got it ready for a tune up which I hope to get to this week or next. I also have to drain the gas tank. Only thing missing under the hood was the washer fluid tank. Everything else looks stock and original. So I'm not even sure about the "rebuild". We shall see how it runs though.




The body has the common peeling clear coat in some areas and some minor rust spots. My plan is to just get the interior finished and the car running/driving. I have no immediate plans to do the bodywork/paint. Once I can enjoy this car and take it to local shows, I will focus more on the full rebuild of my white GTA.

[maroman88]

im almost convinced a vehicle might make it out of your garage alive...

[ThoR294]

I remember hearing about those. Nice find!

[sweetbmxrider]

What a great story, thanks for sharing it.

What's your dream for the car when its complete? aka paint/body etc

[V]

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

What a great story, thanks for sharing it.

What's your dream for the car when its complete? aka paint/body etc

Well my dream and goal for it are completely different.

I want the car to be a clean stock example.
I'd love to strip it down to the chassis and do a nut and bolt restoration. But the reality is that it would not be worth it. Due to the high mileage and rebuilt title history, the car will never be worth that much. Even though I don't plan on selling it, I still don't want a money pit. I recently saw a clean low mileage original one for sale at 10k. If I had the money I would have bought it, lol. Therefore this car will just be a fun driver. I do plan on doing a repaint in the future though, but nothing crazy.

That's my goal. But my dream is a highly modified, 600+hp, 6spd trans, digital dash, lowered, white, t-top, stock interior/exterior looking Notchback. And that's what my other '88 GTA will become, without worrying about originality. Any Notchback specific parts that are impossible to find/buy will be copied off the parts on the red one. So to anyone looking at the car, the white one will appear to be a real notchback(just without the RPO code). I will refer to it as a clone and not claim its a real one though. And when possible, I'd bring them to shows together.

[Punkmaster 98]

Looks like a great project I look forward to the progress. hopefully you can come cruise with us down to deptford sometime.

[V]

Originally Posted by Punkmaster 98

Looks like a great project I look forward to the progress. hopefully you can come cruise with us down to deptford sometime.

I saw that pic once, lol.
Did the owner of the white one sell it yet?
And the black one is the kitt car replica type one with just the hatch right?

[Punkmaster 98]

Originally Posted by V

I saw that pic once, lol.
Did the owner of the white one sell it yet?
And the black one is the kitt car replica type one with just the hatch right?

No rogers nevere sold the white gta, he still has it. yeah the black ones is just a trans am with a kitt nose. more of a wolf in sheeps clothing lol

[madness410]

awesome story. i hope it all works out and you get it running in due time...i cant wait to see it.

similar story with me...the first time i saw a ws6 i knew i had to have one sooner or later, although not as rare as your notchback.

[V]

Progress has been slow but stuff has been getting done.

-Currently the interior is still out. Floor has been cleaned up, sanded and painted, plus all seams have been resealed.
-I replaced the missing washer fluid tank with one that I had laying around.
-Fuel pump was dead so the gas tank came out. (dropped the rear). But in the process I had to cut the sway bar end links. I got the new ACDelco end links today as well as new rear shocks since they were out anyway.
-Other new parts that arrived today were new fuel pump, new sender gasket, new pump strainer, new fuel filter, and new oil filter. All ACDelco parts.

I'm picking up another gas tank this weekend so hopefully by mid next week, I'll have the tank back in the car and ready to try to get the car running. I just need to do an oil change first, check all the other fluids, and charge the battery.

I still need to get the wheels off the car though and get new tires on them. Apparently the car has the GM wheel locks but there was no key in the car for them.
I checked my white GTA and that too has wheel locks, but no key either. I was sure I had at least one laying around from previous cars but I couldn't find one so I bought a NOS GM wheel lock kit off ebay just to use the key. It arrived yesterday and I tried it this morning. No luck. The set I bought was the larger diameter version, same pattern but just bigger. I decided I would just use a 20mm 12-point socket to bash on the locks and get them off that way. So tonight I decided to look one last time for a spare wheel lock key and of course I finally found one that fits. So now I can at least get the wheels off.

[PolarBear]

Nice man.

[Jersey Mike]

Lmfao at the wheel lock story. At least you found it, man.
And love the update. Keep at it!

[Punkmaster 98]

I gave up when i couldnt find my key. ended up using a lug remover. glad you found yours

[BonzoHansen]

Lock lugs, stopping no one but owners for 47 years lol

[V]

Well, fuel pump sending unit wasn't salvageable. I installed the assembly in the tank and I tested the level sender and got no reading at all(still out of the car). I took it back out, touched it and the top of the float resistor setup fell apart. So... new sender it is. Lines were rusted pretty bad anyway so its for the best. Should be here in a few days. Also ordered a new fuel pulsator so at least everything in the tank will be brand new.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by V

Also ordered a new fuel pulsator so at least everything in the tank will be brand new.

I don't remember a pulseator in my 88, I thought only the later cars/V6 cars got that?

[V]

Its possible i had a later model sender. I think i mentioned that to you since wire colors were wrong. But rockauto had it listed for a 88 5.7 so i just got it. 15 bucks.

[PolarBear]

Oh yeah, that is plausible

[V]

Tank is all back in the car, along with new fuel pump, sending unit, shocks, sway bar end links, and fuel filter.

The rear wheels have also been swapped out. Both had been painted (one originally black) and now the car has better condition oem gold GTA wheels I picked up instead.

This weekend, I plan on doing an oil change, dropping in the battery and cleaning/installing most of the interior.

[PolarBear]

But did it start?

[V]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

But did it start?

No idea yet, I haven't tried.
The tank is still empty and there's no battery in it, lol

[PolarBear]

Well the battery could have been installed instead of different wheels and you COULD have siphoned gas out of your car, or the other car, or a different car

[V]

Did the oil change today. Also noticed the thermostat gasket was leaking so changed them too. I have to order front sway bar links apparently, the old ones rusted away. Oh and i put the battery in too. It now runs! Took a while to fire since all fuel lines were dry. Ran it for 10-15 min, great oil pressure, alt is charging and heated up normally. No weird noises at least lol.

Also power washed the carpeting and interior plastics. Came out pretty decent. Once the carpet dries, I can finally install the interior.

[PolarBear]

See? Was that so hard? lol Glad to hear it started

[maroman88]

This is ground breaking! you put a car TOGETHER and got it to run! this should be declared a national holiday or some ****