cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Just picked up my new 3rd gen to replace my wrecked '87 Formula. She's an '88 GTA, L98 car, with 87,000 original miles and has been garage kept for it's entire life. It's about as clean of any non-restored Trans Am that I've ever seen, and definitely the nicest one that I've ever driven. I was amazed at how clean it is underneath when I crawled under there to change the oil today. I'm the fourth owner, the original owner was a Pontiac Salesman in Kansas City that special ordered the car. The only modifications ever done to the car is a Flowmaster 40 series exhaust, MSD ignition Coil, and a remote entry security/alarm system. Everything else is original.

I drove up to Kansas City, MO to pick it up this weekend, and just got back yesterday. 700 miles without so much as a stumble, and averaged 20 mpg at 75-80 mph. Got it all cleaned up, and decided to post a few shots for y'all's viewing entertainment. Let me know what you think.







-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

I can't help myself, here's a few more...

DiabolicalRS

nice car

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

looks good man. Glad you've got another one. I'm amazed that your rear spoiler is still in good shape!

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

I'm amazed at a couple of things on this car. Rear spoiler is absolutely perfect. Power door locks and mirrors function like new. Power antenna works great. The hatch release and pull down work perfect. AC blows ice cold. No dash cracks, no bumps and or rattles (on the Oklahoma highways, that's saying a lot). The first time we stopped, my dad got out of his Durango and started complaining how horrible the roads were. I was surprised, because I hadn't noticed a thing. The only things that don't work is the driver's headlight and cruise control. I'm working on that. Tilt column needs to be tightened a bit as well. The interior still needs to be cleaned up. It looks like its been a long time since it got a good detailing.

I eventually plan to swap over all of my chassis stiffening stuff, brakes, wheels and tires, T56, aluminum heads, headers, camshaft, and some other goodies. I have to swap the cd player first though, all I have to listen to now is the guns and roses cd that's stuck in there. I ordered all the equipment I'll need to start PROM burning today as well. Stay tuned for the build, it should be good.

How's your beast coming along these days? That car is an inspiration to us all I think.

-cal30sniper

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Thanks man, I appreciate that. Really.

latest pix are here. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...re-thread.html

this winter it's getting an oil cooler, new 18x10.5 slicks for a$$ kickin at the track, and I'm going to fab a custom adjustable rear spoiler for some extra down force. I either need some down force, or need to take out some rear roll stiffness. The car is still slightly tail happy on slicks. I've got my shocks and rear sway bar adjusted all the way down and I don't want to swap the rear spring, so adding a bit of down force seems like the next good choice.

I felt the same way you do about my GTA when I first got it. It too only has 86k original miles and is tight as a drum. It is the nicest one I've owned and after being into 3rd gens for 15 years I think I've earned it! The only thing wrong is the rear spoiler is split and the power antenna doesnt work. I'll fix both this winter. I also have a T56 going into mine too LOL!

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Wow, I just looked up the pics of your GTA. Impressive. You planning on leaving it stock appearance on the outside and just changing over to the t56? That'll be one heck of a sharp combo. I would love to keep the cross lace wheels, but they just won't go with the C5 brakes.

I can't wait to start the six speed swap again. It's going to be so nice to have the time and space to do it right this time. After feeling the grunt of the L98, it's going to be perfect for pulling 6th gear with the 3.27 rear at highway speeds (I have the early .63 final gear T56). Should make for a pretty good launch too. Are you planning on tightening up the gears, or keeping the 3.27?

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

LOL I too have the early T56, which is a PERFECT match for our 3.27s. I kinda like the 9bolt so I'm planning on keeping it. Engine wise I'm staying really mild with this one. Eventually will port the stock heads, add 1.6 rockers, shorty headers. Suspension wise I'll cut half a coil to lower it a tad, del-a-lum bushings front, J&M race control arms rear, adjustable panhard bar, J&M camber plates and poly sway bar bushings. I already put Konis on it. Keeping the stock rims and brakes for now. Eventually I'll put big brakes on it and a set of CCW classics with gold centers. Body is staying stock just going to put a 'glass hawks spoiler on it.

basically I'm just making the basic suspension upgrades, small tweaks on the engine, T56 swap, and eventually bigger brakes and wheels that mimic the factory appearance. I'm keeping this car quiet and comfortable. Keeping this one comfy enables me to continue turning up the **** on my IROC LOL

88WS-6

That car is gorgeous, great find. That's what my car is supposed to look like. Congrats man.

Motown

Gorgeous car man! And those seats are in amazing shape. Take care of it!

itsMikey

looks great dude!

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

When I was younger my Favorite thirdgen was a Flame Red Metallic GTA. What is the color code on yours? Looks sweet! Should be quite a bit more fun with the t56 and vette heads. I am planning on a T56 swap for my formula. I guess that is what she wants because she just finished eating her 2nd 700r4.

Cristof021

nice car bud. ive got an 88 gta notch back. im trying to get it back to the status of your beast. just gotta get her painted and get the emblems on her. but its always nice to see what my hopefull end results will be

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

The paint code is 74U - Flame Red Metallic. Interior Code is 66D - Beechwood Cloth. I like the T56 a lot, I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to be able to get it back in with no real garage to work in. Everything else I feel comfortable working on in the driveway, the trans, not so much. As far as the TH700 goes, the trick to making them live is keeping them cool. Every one that I get ahold of gets a Trans Cooler, B&M Shift Kit, and Synthetic Fluid (Dexron VI). This seems to work wonders with these transmissions. I towed 9000 pounds of stuff down from Maryland in my Suburban with those mods done on the 700R4. Worked like a champ and never got over 165 degrees transmission temperature.

Haven't gotten a whole lot done to the GTA yet except odds and ends necessary to make it a driver and get it inspected. I got the driver's side headlight motor replaced, and had to replace the tilt column as well. I pulled it apart with the intent of figuring out what was wrong with the horn. Lots of broken plastic pieces and loose ball bearings later I said screw it and just pulled the tilt column out of my black formula. I initially planned to swap my VATS ignition cylinder over to the new column, but come to find out, the ignition cylinders are different diameters. For now I just have the old cylinder with the key in it tucked up under the dash. Lo and behold, with the new column I now have a working horn, cruise control, and no more wobbly steering wheel. I also got rid of the silly looking radio control steering wheel and went back to the standard 3-spoke Trans Am wheel. I took her down to Washington on the Brazos Saturday after I got it all put back together, and my does it drive nice. Snapped a few pictures while I was there:




I'm in the process right now of burning a new new chip to get rid of the VATS. I'm also disabling EGR, AIR, dropping the fan temps, and ramping up the spark timing. As soon as I can get that chip in, I'm going to put my other steering column back together and drive the black formula down to get the subframe connectors cut off. After they're off, I can have them welded into the GTA. I'm waiting on doing the suspension and brake swap until I can get the subframe connectors in. I want to minimize the amount of jacking up I have to do without them.

When I get rolling with the big stuff, I'll be sure to start up a build thread. Also, if anybody has the AKXX, AKXY, or AKXZ bin for these cars, please let me know. I'm using the ABWT from the '87 GTA as a base right now, but I heard the '88s got better spark advance.

Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm really enjoying her.

-cal30sniper

waterboy87

Very nice car. Flame red is my favorite color on a GTA. Good luck with it.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Do you just want a custom tune? you can get an adapter from moates and I can burn a chip to put in it, or I can buy the adapter and chip and just send them to you, I'll only charge you the cost of the adapter, chip and shipping. I don't like mail order tuning, but your car is bone stock, so I can take a stock tune and make mild changes that will be very safe. Heck I can send you the tune I've got in my GTA right now if you want. PM me if you're interested.

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

I have a Trans Cooler, using Dexron VI, and my first transmission had a shift kit... still no luck. I am done messing with them. Besides, I think it will be way more fun with a T56. So your Formula is still drive able? Are you going to switch the wheels over and strip your formula before you get rid of it?

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Man, that is one heck of an offer. Actually though, I'm already knee deep in the process. I got the burner, datalogging cables, and adapter from Moates. I also downloaded Tunercat and Datamaster, and picked up an old laptop to do all the logging on.

I've been playing with the programs all week trying to work up a good tune. I managed to get ahold of a copy of the factory AKXY bin for an '88 L98 GTA, as well as the ABWT bin for an '87 L98 GTA. I also found a copy of the ARAP spark tables. I'm currently working up a spark advance table that is just about middle of the road between the ABWT bin and the ARAP bin. I found that the AKXY and ABWT spark curves were very similar, but the AKXY bin has a lot less low load spark advance, presumably for emissions concerns. The ABWT table also did not have any WOT spark advance. I basically took the values from the ABWT table and averaged them with the values from the ARAP table. The AKXY table had a bit higher spark advance at WOT due to the WOT spark advance table being added in. For these load values, I took the average of the AKXY and ARAP tables. The end result is a much better spark advance table that emulates the ARAP table but is a little less severe. I think I should be just fine as long as I run premium fuel (which I do all the time anyways).

Of course, disabling EGR, AIR, VATS, changing the cooling fan temp, etc are all simple operations. As soon as I get the chip finished and burned I'll start logging to get the MAF and BPW values straightened out. Then of course, I'll make some modifications and have to start all over, haha.

I started a tuning thread over at the DIY PROM board. If you wouldn't mind looking over my work and letting me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it. I'm still smoothing out a few rough spots, but I think I'm getting close...

Thanks again for the help!

-cal30sniper

Here's my most recent spark advance table iteration:


Here's my DIY PROM thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-...rk-please.html

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Very sharp car. I don't think I've seen an '88 without a digital dash. I like it. Looks like my car's twin minus the hardtop lol.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Yeah, that's the plan. I drove it to work for a couple of days this fall before I got the GTA, gas just got too expensive for using the Suburban as a daily driver, haha. After I get the subframe connectors off of the Formula and onto the GTA, I'll start swapping all the suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, etc. over. I'll be parting out the formula after that, so if you need any black body or interior pieces, keep me in mind. The ground effects are perfect, and I just had them all repainted, along with the rear bumper cover and doors back in April. The interior is just about perfect in it too.

I like the T56 a lot. You do lose a bit of launch though compared to the extremely steep first gear of the TH700. Then again, you don't spend near as much time roasting the rear tires either, haha.

-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Looks like about 5100 of the 9700 GTAs that year came with the digital dash. I never really liked it that much. It looks cool, but it always seemed like too much effort to tell what's going on. I like the analog gauges. When the needles aren't in the middle, something's wrong. You can tell what speed and RPM you're doing using your peripheral vision rather than having to look at and interpret numbers on the dash. I got in a big argument with some of the more technological minded members of our FSAE team last year about that principle. I subscribe to the KISS principle, haha.

maks10

replied to your other post on the pic thread, sweet pick-up and glad to see u grabbed another bird!!!!

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Why get rid of EGR? it does not hurt WOT performance. It DOES allow you to get more aggressive in highway mode and run more timing with a leaner mix. I never disable it because frankly, it doesnt hurt performance.

Same with the AIR. I wouldn't disable it unless you have removed the equipment. If you have disabled it, make sure you change the 02 offset when AIR enabled to 0mv.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

No real performance reason for either, just less things to go wrong, and opening myself up for a few months down the road. The AIR tubes and equipment will be coming off when I transfer my headers and y-pipe over (no tubes on them). The EGR will be inoperable after I swap over my 113 Aluminum heads (no EGR provisions in the head).

As far as taking AIR out of the code, if I just take the AIR Control Enable Coolant Temperature slider all the way to 150C, wouldn't that just ensure that the AIR never comes on? I was under the impression that the 02 offset only came into play when the AIR was activated. If you set the activation temp so high that it never comes on, I would think that would solve the problem, wouldn't it?

I'm not anti-emissions, I just don't like the heft and clutter of the components under the hood. I'm also not a fan of GM EGR valves. The one on my TBI Suburban gave me nightmares until I did the carb conversion and got rid of it. I realize the trucks and cars used a different valve, but I bet they're equally capable of messing up and being expensive to fix.

-cal30sniper

Sean O'Hara

Beauty, keep up the good work.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

The work begins!

Hopefully getting the subframe connectors put in tomorrow, then I'll be able to start swapping all of the other chassis stiffening and suspension components from the Formula. A lot of it is already pulled and just waiting to go. I also ordered some J&M caster/camber plates, a cold-air kit, Edelbrock hi-flow water pump, and some other goodies that are waiting to go on...

If the weather holds, I'll be installing my 4th gen CD player this afternoon. I'll post some pics up when I get it finished. Can't wait to get rid of that ugly looking adapter that's in there now.

-cal30sniper

SpeedDemon91

That's beautiful!! Looking forward to see more!!

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Well, she weathered a tornado, hail, and six inches of rain last night without so much as a scratch. Things got a little touch and go for a while though. I ended up getting caught in a huge storm on the way back home from the store in the suburban. I weathered it out under an overpass on the highway for over an hour before I could finally make it home. By that time, 6-8 inches of water was flowing freely through my front yard, down the driveway, and into the pasture behind my house. There wasn't even a blade of grass poking up out of the water. I got there in time to move the GTA to high ground before any water got up inside it though. It's sitting out in the street for a few days until the water gets down a bit. I found out this morning that a tornado touched down about five miles from my house and destroyed a FedEx shipping facility. I drove out there and took a look today, it was bad. Good thing I didn't ship any stuff out with them Friday.

Anyways, today the weather cleared up real nice, and I was able to get my CD player and speakers put in. I installed a factory 4th Gen Trans Am CD Player. It was almost a plug and play fit. I ended up having to buy an antenna adapter (apparently '88 was a crossover year, because I had the post-'88 style wiring plug, but the pre-'88 style antenna plug.) I also had to do a little cutting on the brackets to make it fit inside the radio pod, but I still managed to bolt it up to the factory location, and even the little metal plug sticking out the back fit right into the hole in the pod to keep it from flexing up and down. Pretty nice. The best part was, it's a remanufactured radio that I found on eBay with a warranty and an Auxiliary jack installed in the face plate. It works using the radio, so you don't even have to have a CD playing to use the AUX jack. Very, nice. I honestly can't tell a difference in sound quality between it and the Pioneer head unit I had installed. It has all the same features as the Pioneer, but fits right without sticking out and has the right color red lights to match the rest of the interior (works with the factory dimming too). All in all, I'm highly pleased with how it turned out. Here's some pics (excuse the mess in the floorboard, things are still a bit muddy around here):





I also replaced all the factory speakers with slightly used Pioneer units out of my wrecked Formula. I put 4x6" 2-way speakers in the front and 6x9" 4-way speakers in the back. Sounds very clean, crisp, and full compared to the factory setup. I also found it very shocking that the factory speakers were still all in place, and look like new. No one has ever been in and hacked the wires or any garbage like that, they even still have the fiberglass surrounds behind them to cut out vibrations in the body. Luckily, I was able to utilize some of the plugs out of my wrecked formula and splice them into the new speakers so I didn't have to cut up the factory harness on my GTA at all. Turned out real nice I think.

I'll be taking it in on Tuesday to get the SFCs welded in. The fun starts after that.

-cal30sniper

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

Looking good so far! Glad to hear she survived the bad storm.

User Error 87

wow that thing is amazing

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

^^^^ Twins! That's a nice looking GTA you have yourself there.

Got the UMI Performance Subframe Connectors welded in today, and WOW what a difference they made. It's much tighter than my Formula ever was (thank you hardtop).

If anyone ever needs SFCs installed in the College Station/Waco Area, I highly recommend Addictive Auto Works in Calvert, TX. He laid some freaking sweet beads, and he was an awesome guy to deal with. Very pleased.

Here's some shots of how it turned out:







Now the real work can begin. I'm hoping to get start getting the brakes and suspension stripped out of the old Formula this weekend. We'll see if the weather cooperates this time.

-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Forgot about these two shots from my trip to Longhorn Caverns State Park over Christmas Break. I thought they turned out pretty good:

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Hey all, got a new update with the work done this weekend. No pictures, because it was all underneath the car and I was cold by the time I finished...

Items I got swapped over:

-UMI Performance Lower Control Arms
-UMI Performance Panhard Bar
-UMI Performance Wonder Bar
-Polyurethane front and rear sway bar links
-4th Gen LS1 Aluminum Driveshaft and new U-Joints

Along with the subframe connectors, these upgrades have made a HUGE difference in tightening up the chassis of what was already a very tight car. I can't believe how good it drives, and I can't wait to get my Konis and rebuilt front suspension swapped over.

Stay tuned for further updates, I've got the following planned for the near future:

-Window Tinting
-Removing Pinstripe
-Swapping Front Suspension
-Swapping Brakes, Wheels, and Tires
-Swapping Hooker Shorty Headers (after blasting and coating)
-Swapping Exhaust w/ new Magnaflow Muffler
-Some goodies under the hood

Lots of plans in the works!

-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Oh, and if anyone ever gets a line on a supercharger kit (Paxton, Vortech, etc) for a serpentine belt TPI car, let me know. I've been thinking again...

-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Well, I just wiped out my tax return on Summit Racing and Rock Auto Orders... Here's what's on the way:

-Hotchkis 1" Lowering Springs
-New Front Spring Isolators
-UMI Tie Rod Sleeves
-Moog Inner Tie-Rods, Center Link, and Idler Arm
-Magnaflow 3" inlet, dual 2 1/2" outlet muffler (to be used with my Edelbrock Cat-Back piping)
-MSD Cap and Rotor Kit
-Mallory 8.65mm Ultra 40 plug wire kit
-NGK G-Power Platinum Plugs
-AC Delco TPS
-AC Delco Igntion Control Module
-K&N Filter for my cold air kit
-Soft Aluminum Header flange and collector gaskets
-ARP header bolts
-New Rear Axle studs (Extra length for my 10mm spacers)
and some other odds and ends that I can't remember right now.

The plan for this weekend is to swap over the 18" M-Parallel rims and tires, C5 Vette Brakes, Koni Yellow shocks and struts, Polygraphite control arm bushings, and Moog ball joints and outer tie-rod ends from the Black Formula, along with my J&M Caster/Camber plates, and the Hotchkis springs. I will post pictures up when I get it done, but I imagine I'm going to go ahead and start a build thread for this thing. I'll post a link when I start it.

Stay Tuned!

-cal30sniper

User Error 87

nice..i have to start my suspension..did u ever hear of P-S-T down here in jersey where they make polygraphite bushings? i was thinking about getting them...good luck lemme know how you make out

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

I love P-S-T's stuff. I'm using their polygraphite bushings in my front control arms right now. All the stiffness of polyurethane, without the squeaks. I pulled that front suspension apart after 20,000 miles, and those bushings look like new!

I'd say go for it, a little more expensive than some of the other bushings out there, but definitely quality stuff.

-cal30sniper

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Might be triplets if I get ahold of the person who owns it. Exact same exterior & interior colors, Its just sitting in the garage for years, got some surface rust, their also a '82 Trans Am in the driveway. Maybe I can get both for a deal. We shall see, stay tuned.....

Mr_Transam

Nice! Real clean!

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Brakes and suspension done!

Before the glamour shots, here's a list of what all was installed:

-BMW M-Parallel 18" Rims and Continental Z-Rated Tires
-C5 Corvette 13" HD Front Brakes w/ Ceramic Pads
-PBR Rear Discs Brakes w/ Ceramic Pads (4th Gen)
-Earl's braided lines
-Koni Yellow Shocks and Struts
-J&M Machine Strut Mounts
-Hotchkis Performance Lowering Springs (1" drop)
-P-S-T Polygraphite Control Arm Bushings
-Moog Ball Joints, Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends, Center Link, Idler Arm, Spring Isolators, and E-brake Cables
-UMI Performance Tie Rod Links
-Energy Suspension Polyurethane Sway Bar End Links

It rides like a dream and handles amazingly well, maybe even better than the Formula did. I set the front end alignment by measurement, but I'll be taking it in to get a full alignment job tomorrow morning. Didn't get a chance to take a whole lot of pictures because it was almost dark when I finished, but here's a few:








Enjoy!

-cal30sniper

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Also, some before and after of the brakes:

FRONT:



REAR:



Can you believe that the original shocks and struts were still in the car? The rear carpet hadn't ever been pulled up before I don't think, and the original foam covers at the top of the shocks were still glued in place from the factory. Here's a shot of the rear seat area:


Can't believe how clean she is...

-cal30sniper

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Looking good their Levi!!!!!! Yes Hardtops handle very well, but T-Tops look awsome.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Personally, I prefer not having the semi-permanent puddle in the back floorboard, haha.

Seriously though, done both, and the hardtop makes for a MUCH better ride. T-Tops are cool, but I'm glad I went with the hardtop this time.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

No 3rd gen Jaquzzi huh....lol

GTA1990

iTrader: (1)

those polished parrellels look wicked with the burgandy paint. Love that dish on the rears!

Snap a few pics of it all polished up in the sun if you can>>

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Parallels look awesome on there! It's surprising how similar our cars and mods are.

JekyllandHyde

iTrader: (3)

Looks awesome. How do the new brakes feel compared to the old stock ones? I am thinking of upgrading mine but do not want to lose the GTA wheels.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

The brakes are light years ahead of the factory front discs. I still don't have the right prop valve for the rear brakes, so they're doing virtually nothing, and the car still stops violently fast. With the proper rear proportioning valve, it will definitely wake you up when you slam on the brakes. The factory set-up was decent, but left a lot to be desired.

If you want to keep the GTA wheels, I'd recommend the LS1 brake conversion. IIRC, they will still fit inside the cross-lace wheels (don't quote me on that). I know that there is also a kit available for C4 vette brake conversions, and even some hybrid kits from ebmiller (http://flynbye.com/). Personally, I didn't feel like waiting for the backlog, and I ordered from http://www.bigbrakeupgrade.com/. They were super quick, and the customer service was awesome.

Diggler86

Beautiful GTA....

For that stereo, did you also have to purchase a harness to plug into the rear? Or did you 88 harness match?

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

88 harness was a direct match. I did have to buy an antenna adapter though. For some reason my GTA had the 87 and earlier antenna hookup. $19 adapter through BestBuy.