Potential purchase, need opinions:1998 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

LEDetailng

LEDetailng

New member
Original owner is selling his 1998 Trans Am, not WS6, dark blue, leather, automatic Trans, no modifications. Most importantly it has the LS1:)

Only 8,100 miles, says he never drove it. Still has original tires. He says it is in very good condition, no winters, heated garage.

What do you guys think this car is worth? Going to see the car tomorrow.
 
The fact that it`s an automatic and doesn`t have the WS-6 package will hurt the overall value. You`ll obviously want new rubber since it has the original tires.

Some things to look for:

- Bubbling on the sail panel that wraps around the top of the car. Very common because the glue they used to attach the panel wasn`t compatible w the paint.
- Cracked dash pad near the windshield.
- Problems with the VATS (alarm) system, and/or faulty electronics.
- The trans mounts will continually break if the motor mounts are worn - probably wouldn`t be an issue here.
- Cracked door panels. Check the tops of each one. I`m 99% sure they will be cracked.
- Check the power window motors. They can burn out because both are wired to the same circuit and they don`t get enough power.
- The flip up head lights can also be a problem because Pontiac used plastic gears rather than brass (go figure). That probably won`t be an issue here given the mileage.

As far as what it`s worth - it`s worth what someone will pay for it right.....I had to say it...........

Seriously though, you can get decent current market values on Hagerty.com. That`s a good place to start. There are also some Trans Am/LS-1 specific forums that can be helpful. Try LS1.com and LS1tech.com

Good luck!! Let us know how you make out.
 
dschribs said:
The fact that it`s an automatic and doesn`t have the WS-6 package will hurt the overall value. You`ll obviously want new rubber since it has the original tires.

Some things to look for:

- Bubbling on the sail panel that wraps around the top of the car. Very common because the glue they used to attach the panel wasn`t compatible w the paint.
- Cracked dash pad near the windshield.
- Problems with the VATS (alarm) system, and/or faulty electronics.
- The trans mounts will continually break if the motor mounts are worn - probably wouldn`t be an issue here.
- Cracked door panels. Check the tops of each one. I`m 99% sure they will be cracked.
- Check the power window motors. They can burn out because both are wired to the same circuit and they don`t get enough power.
- The flip up head lights can also be a problem because Pontiac used plastic gears rather than brass (go figure). That probably won`t be an issue here given the mileage.

As far as what it`s worth - it`s worth what someone will pay for it right.....I had to say it...........

Seriously though, you can get decent current market values on Hagerty.com. That`s a good place to start. There are also some Trans Am/LS-1 specific forums that can be helpful. Try LS1.com and LS1tech.com

Good luck!! Let us know how you make out.
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The car was a 9.5 out of 10. Tires honestly look good. The rotors look perfect. No rust on the original rotor hats. The wheels still have that new/wet just polished look. The car is a time capsule. Paint has light, almost undetectable wash induced marring. Owner used a brush to wash it. I`m hoping to get by without compounding and just using polish. BFWD will be sealing the paint.

BTW, of course I bought it. Will pick it up Thursday. Price. More than $10k less than 15k:)
 
Ronkh said:
Need pics. :D
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Ron,
You`ll get the first photos.

It was in his garage (really big and full of cool toys) and out of respect I didn`t want to take pictures. I will definitely be posting photos over next few weeks documenting the progress. I plan on making the car as close to perfect as possible. I`m thinking 30 plus hours to bring to 98%. Right now I`d rate overall condition at a 9-9.5 out of 10. If we traveled back to 1998 the car would be graded as like new condition. Really excited to show this car.
 
LEDetailng said:
The car was a 9.5 out of 10. Tires honestly look good. The rotors look perfect. No rust on the original rotor hats. The wheels still have that new/wet just polished look. The car is a time capsule. Paint has light, almost undetectable wash induced marring. Owner used a brush to wash it. I`m hoping to get by without compounding and just using polish. BFWD will be sealing the paint.

BTW, of course I bought it. Will pick it up Thursday. Price. More than $10k less than 15k:)
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Sweet. Can`t wait to see it!!

Make sure to get some new tires for the car no matter how they look. Especially if you plan on doing some "spirited driving" so to speak.

That was the first thing I did when I bought my 01 TA a few years ago. Only had 9,000 miles and it still got new tires. From a safety standpoint, I wouldn`t trust 20 year old rubber one bit. Not only that, tire technology has come a long way in 20 years. The car will ride and handle that much better.

I went w these and I can HIGHLY recommend them. They are very smooth and made a huge different in the ride. You`d need 16" since my WS-6 has 17" wheels.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Year=2001&autoModel=Trans Am WS6&autoModClar=

Any cracks on the tops of the door panels?

If the car is a T-Top, make sure to tread VERY lightly when polishing the sail panel that wraps around the top of the car. A very thin amount of clear coat might be the only thing saving the panel from bubbling up if it hasn`t already.

Congrats!
 
I had a non ws6 ls1 99 T/A for about 10 years. drove mine up to 194k miles only ever replaced tstat, suspension and brakes

definitely had the cracked door panels, and the pop up light motor went out but thsts cool, you can literally turn that plastic gear upside down and use the other 180 degrees of plastic teeth

but i agree pics...then burnout vids ;)
 
congrats on the new ride :) I would also bleed the brakes , flush the coolant, and of course change the oil (no matter what the guy said it was just done) ...

This is a great find, but also has probably not been used to its potential :notme: be gentle with her at first ;)
 
LEDetaling- Glad it worked out, sounds great!

Did you get service records or is it a "just change all the fluids/filters" situation?

I have mixed feelings about replacing the tires..I kept the Jag`s oe tires on the oe rims but got a "driver set" too. I absolutely am *NOT* arguing with the conventional wisdom of replacing tires of that vintage, but my personal experience has been that it`s not always mandatory (or else I`m just lucky).
 
dschribs said:
Sweet. Can`t wait to see it!!

Make sure to get some new tires for the car no matter how they look. Especially if you plan on doing some "spirited driving" so to speak.

That was the first thing I did when I bought my 01 TA a few years ago. Only had 9,000 miles and it still got new tires. From a safety standpoint, I wouldn`t trust 20 year old rubber one bit. Not only that, tire technology has come a long way in 20 years. The car will ride and handle that much better.

I went w these and I can HIGHLY recommend them. They are very smooth and made a huge different in the ride. You`d need 16" since my WS-6 has 17" wheels.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Year=2001&autoModel=Trans Am WS6&autoModClar=

Any cracks on the tops of the door panels?

If the car is a T-Top, make sure to tread VERY lightly when polishing the sail panel that wraps around the top of the car. A very thin amount of clear coat might be the only thing saving the panel from bubbling up if it hasn`t already.

Congrats!
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Sail panel looks new, as do door panels. I will polish lighter on the sail panel. Thanks for advice.

Tires are a good idea. Best way to improve ride and safety. Thanks for your f-body wisdom:)
 
Poorboy said:
congrats on the new ride :) I would also bleed the brakes , flush the coolant, and of course change the oil (no matter what the guy said it was just done) ...

This is a great find, but also has probably not been used to its potential :notme: be gentle with her at first ;)
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Told my friend a coolant flush, oil, air, fuel filter were getting changed. Brake fluid is a very good idea too.
 
Poorboy said:
congrats on the new ride :) I would also bleed the brakes , flush the coolant, and of course change the oil (no matter what the guy said it was just done) ...

This is a great find, but also has probably not been used to its potential :notme: be gentle with her at first ;)
Click to expand...

You might want to consider running the engine like it was brand new and "break it in" again. With that fewmiles over that period of time, I kind of doubt that it ever was broken in properly in the first place.
 
Finally got the car home today about 3 hours ago. I won`t have time to work on the car till the earliest monday after work. I will get some photos posted by the end of the week.
 
Ronkh said:
enjoy !!!!
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Thanks Ron. This is a car that I will enjoy cleaning/detailing more than driving. Driving a car with this low of miles makes me really have to plan out when, where, and how often I drive it. I probably should have looked at something with more miles, but that is really what drew me to this car. I wasn`t even looking to buy another car. Neither was the wife.

I do plan on bringing the Pontiac to some shows, just can`t travel too far from home.
 
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