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Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
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Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
So on eBay, a pair of 1989 Pontiacs are for sale. One is a Black TA 5.0L TPI 5 Speed with a 120 MPH cluster. Other is a 5.0L TPI 5 Speed GTA with 140 MPH.
Other than one being a GTA and other a TA, they are optioned close to the same. Seats, the most notable difference. And speedometer. Thought this was interesting...
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
The 140 car has the performance package. Notice it has N10, J65, and GM3 3.45 9 bolt. The other car is a single cat car, drums, no oil cooler, and 3.08 gears.
It's all in the details.
Edit: This also illustrates how you can have two nearly identical thirdgens to the average eye. Guarantee the 3.08 car is kinda meh to drive, and the N10 car is "Damn!".
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by Drew
The 140 car has the performance package. Notice it has N10, J65, and GM3 3.45 9 bolt. The other car is a single cat car, drums, no oil cooler, and 3.08 gears.
It's all in the details.
Edit: This also illustrates how you can have two nearly identical thirdgens to the average eye. Guarantee the 3.08 car is kinda meh to drive, and the N10 car is "Damn!".
You know what's interesting, I didn't go over the SPI label, mostly because of this:
Originally Posted by The Listing Seller
This 1989 Pontiac Trans Am is a very rare equipped car with a 305 TPI [Tuned Port Injection] engine and a 5 speed manual transmission.The car also has the WS6 performance suspension package, and the performance rear axle 3:45 ratio making it 1 of 345 cars built a rare collectible.
But GU4 is in-fact, 3:08:1 Good catch. And that's why I thought, What?
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
This is what makes thirdgens so interesting, but also what continues to perpetuate the mis-information about these cars. There are almost no 2 cars exactly the same it seems, and the performance can vary wildly for seemingly identical cars. The dual cat 3.45 geared GTA in the OP is probably a full second faster in the 1/4 than the single cat 3.08 geared car. The average person thinks these cars are all the same and they couldn't be more wrong.
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by 1MeanZ
This is what makes thirdgens so interesting, but also what continues to perpetuate the mis-information about these cars. There are almost no 2 cars exactly the same it seems, and the performance can vary wildly for seemingly identical cars. The dual cat 3.45 geared GTA in the OP is probably a full second faster in the 1/4 than the single cat 3.08 geared car. The average person thinks these cars are all the same and they couldn't be more wrong.
Precisely.
Imagine the look on that Mustang GT driver back in the day, when he assumed my black '89 had a peanut cam, single cat, LB9, 700R4 and 2.73, just like all the other IROCs.
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by PurelyPMD
M39 & MK6 too.
Charlie - I know that look, started getting it in the spring of 1987.
Yup, the MK6 too, with a more usable 5th gear.
The incident above actually got a little scary at the end. We were approaching 100 mph and the light ahead turned red. I was able to stop, with a puff of smoke coming off my right front brake pad. The Mustang with it's pathetically weak brakes had no hope of stopping and ran through the red light at high speed. Thank God no one was hurt.
A couple minutes later I caught up with him in traffic. Typically, you'd expect someone to give you a thumbs up or ask what you have under the hood or something. I mean, it wasn't a grudge match or anything. But when he saw me, he pretended to be talking on his brick phone so he wouldn't have to look at me.
How badly was he beaten? He was revving his motor as I was next to him at a red light, DARING me to race him with that smug look on his face. I was determined to let it go and not get involved in such nonsense. I was a young professional and not a hooligan, I said to myself. Somehow, I did subconsciously turn off the AC and radio, though.
When the light turned green, he did a holeshot and was a car length ahead of me before I decided to go. My goodness, the look on his face as I reeled him in and passed him. I'll never forget it!!! I'm not certain, but I wouldn't be surprised if that guy is still in therapy over that day!
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by chazman
Yup, the MK6 too, with a more usable 5th gear.
The incident above actually got a little scary at the end. We were approaching 100 mph and the light ahead turned red. I was able to stop, with a puff of smoke coming off my right front brake pad. The Mustang with it's pathetically weak brakes had no hope of stopping and ran through the red light at high speed. Thank God no one was hurt.
A couple minutes later I caught up with him in traffic. Typically, you'd expect someone to give you a thumbs up or ask what you have under the hood or something. I mean, it wasn't a grudge match or anything. But when he saw me, he pretended to be talking on his brick phone so he wouldn't have to look at me.
How badly was he beaten? He was revving his motor as I was next to him at a red light, DARING me to race him with that smug look on his face. I was determined to let it go and not get involved in such nonsense. I was a young professional and not a hooligan, I said to myself. Somehow, I did subconsciously turn off the AC and radio, though.
When the light turned green, he did a holeshot and was a car length ahead of me before I decided to go. My goodness, the look on his face as I reeled him in and passed him. I'll never forget it!!! I'm not certain, but I wouldn't be surprised if that guy is still in therapy over that day!
LOL
I know I've told this story before but I love telling it so I'll tell it again. When I first got my IROC I lived in Boston & worked in Watertown, MA & there was a guy running around Watertown in an LX 5.0 with (no lie) a license plate that said RACE ME....so I did, every chance I got. The majority of the time I beat him, there were a few occasions where it was an honest draw or we ended up in traffic but he absolutely never won. It got to the point where if he saw me in his rear view or pulled up next to him at a light, he would take the turn.
I vividly remember the first time I pulled up next to him, it was right after work & I was wearing a suit - he laughed at me. He never did that again.
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by Drew
Never. Ever. EVER. Trust the story. Trust what you can decode and verify.
Excellent point.
When I was looking to buy a Buick Turbo Regal (still am in the hunt...), I found a gorgeous Gray Metallic w/ burgundy cloth hardtop. It was on eBay.
Pics were good, but overly "general", all 12 of them. But when I asked for detailed pics of areas omitted, I got more vagueness, and leaving out key areas. Finally, I asked for pics of the door jambs and understood, given the car was in Mass. The pics I git in return showed rust forming.
Now the icing on the cake, was when I asked for the SPI Decal pic, and when I didn't see G80 on the list of RPO codes, he responded, "they all had positraction, and why would you expect a code to show if standard"
Anyways, for $18k, I'd rather the car just sit and rot in someone else's garage, which it seems to be getting a head-start.
Hard to believe I've been reading the alphabet soup of RPOs from SPI labels for over 30 years. Is it nap time?
Re: Pair of 1989 305 TPI 5 Speeds - one has 120 MPH cluster, other has 140... Why?
Originally Posted by PurelyPMD
LOL
I know I've told this story before but I love telling it so I'll tell it again. When I first got my IROC I lived in Boston & worked in Watertown, MA & there was a guy running around Watertown in an LX 5.0 with (no lie) a license plate that said RACE ME....so I did, every chance I got. The majority of the time I beat him, there were a few occasions where it was an honest draw or we ended up in traffic but he absolutely never won. It got to the point where if he saw me in his rear view or pulled up next to him at a light, he would take the turn.
I vividly remember the first time I pulled up next to him, it was right after work & I was wearing a suit - he laughed at me. He never did that again.
After that, he should have changed his plate to BEEN RACED.
01-29-2018, 09:37 PM
