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This is my 2nd 1989 Gunmetal GTA, and I have a soft spot for these cars. I bought the first one, a T-Top 5.7L car, back in the summer of 1991 and kept it until spring 2005. Always wished I had kept it...
Anyways, other vehicles came and went, but the GTA stayed on my mind. I thought, if I got another, it would be the pinnacle of 3rd Gens - a convertible.
So to get a 5.7L GTA Convertible, it had to be an 89. I was on the hunt...
I travelled over 2,200 miles to look at one, and passed on another, but this one I found and bought, was a 4 year process. Allow me to explain...
Early Beginnings:
In 1991, I bought my first GTA. A 1989 Gunmetal Gray 5.7L T-Top car. It had 52k mi, and was parked on a hill of a farm w/ a 4x8 plywood sign, listing it for sale. As the car was under warranty until 75k mi, and the original owner had it, I rolled the dice and bought it. I had a Corvette at the time, which with two seats, wasn't very practical. So the GTA filled a nice void in my life. It turned out to be a wonderful car.
In 1993, I met the lady who would become my wife. We went on our first date in the GTA, and later in life, many more firsts... It remained a memorable car, and pretty practical, all thing considered. Fast-forward to 2005, I had just bought another Corvette, so the GTA was sold. I was pretty bummed, watching as the taillights disappeared. I haven't seen that car since...
Since selling the car, I have thought about 3rd Gens. Watched the market closely, and decided, if I got another, which would it be?
Another 1989 5.7L car, as the engines are awesome, and IMO, the best of any TPI. I figured a Convertible would be unique, and the ASC cars being legitimate in their place of Pontiac history, would be a good option. But it would have to be Gunmetal Gray.
The Search For Gray:
Finding a Gunmetal Gray GTA which isn't a roach, is a tall order. Finding an ASC Convertible, even tougher... I could find Flame Red ones and white ones, all day long, but when it came to finding Gray, forget it... None seem to be out there... I was beginning to think these cars didn't exist in Gunmetal Gray!!
I looked online, and saw the silver car in Hawaii which based on the Gunmetal emblems, must've been gray at some point. I figured, based on the low production numbers and percentages of which Gunmetal makes-up overall 1989 GTA production, it was the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack. But I was determined...
I found a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car in Nevada, looked at it, and found it was too much of a project. While the car was okay from a distance, two of the four windows were missing, the dash was a mess, and rear quarter panel damaged and repaired in haste. It was a cloth interior car, and 1 owner. It'll be a good car for someone who has time, but for the money, I kept looking...
Found a Gunmetal 1988 ASC Convertible in Harrisburg at the Mecum Auction, but it was a 5.0L/Auto w/ woodgrain dash, and other mods. Car sold for $11.5k, and while low mileage, the small engine wasn't for me. I kept looking...
Life Happens:
As they say, life happens... About Six years ago, I had come across an ad for a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car. I reached-out to the seller, and because of the distance, had it inspected. All this took time, and for whatever reason, maybe I was the only one looking at the time, but things were going in my favor. The life happens...
Right about that time, my father had gotten sick. He had been ill for some time, but things got bad with his health. Right when I was ready to buy, I pulled back from the deal. I needed to focus on family. My dad passed away not long after.
As if that wasn't enough, as things cleared-up from that, my wife got sick. Really ill. I felt like history was repeating itself. She's fine now, thankfully. But it took two years to get to the point of relief. Life continues...
The Accident:
A little over two years ago, as I'd been riding a bike for fitness, I had my own ordeal, as the whole "health" thing tried to kill me. I had an accident. It left me a mess on the side of the road, and thankful good samaratins stopped.
If you grew up in my era, one didn't wear a bicycle helmet. That's something I wish I had considered, as I went head first into the pavement. Anyways, sometime between thinking I might never recover, to where I am today, I decided to reach-out to the seller from years ago, on the chance they might still have the GTA. They not only owned the car still, but would consider selling. We struck a deal, and the rest is now history...
If you read this far, I hope you found the story of interest. It's the "Cliff notes" version, and while there is much more, it's probably a good summary of how we ended up with the car. My wife can't wait to go on a "date" in the GTA again, and wind-back the clock 25+ years.
Since buying the car, I've enjoyed every moment behind the wheel. Driving the car is like a trip down memory lane, and it's an awesome feeling. Seems everyone I encounter has a story about a GTA they had, or the one they always wanted.
The car is 100% stock, with an added alarm system only. It has some rare Pontiac options including the rare 1989 Factory CD Player, and quite possibly, a One-of-One, as built.
Thank you again for the nomination, and hopefully for your vote.
Addl. Pics:
Last edited by Big&BadGTA; 10-25-2019 at 10:00 PM.
First, I'm honored that Darin nominated my car and punzak9 seconded. Thanks guys!
Many of you may be familiar with my yellow '85 thread, so I'll give you a back story. This all starts around 1986-ish. There was a guy in my neighborhood with a new '86, yellow IROC. This car was ALWAYS so perfectly detailed every time I saw it, it glowed. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it whenever it drove by.
Fast forward a decade or two. There was another yellow '86 IROC I'd see from time to time in the town I moved to. Always noticed it. Sometimes I'd see it 2 or 3 times per week, sometimes I wouldn't see it for a year. One day, I saw it parked at Target and parked next to it. The lady who owned it, (original owner), came out and I asked her if she ever considered selling it. She said, yes! She was planning on buying a Jeep. I gave her my number and expected a call any day. The call never came. But by then I was hell bent in finding a yellow IROC.
My car was a trade in at a Minnesota Buick dealer. I spoke to all the 3 previous owners, they all knew each other. The original owner's father owned a track where the IROC Series raced. After going to a few races, she WANTED a yellow IROC and that's what she got.
Anyway, I called the Buick dealer, literally one minute after they posted it on Autotrader. I think they just considered it an old car in a weird color and just wanted to get rid of it. Got a bunch of pictures, talked to the previous owner and sent a deposit the next day.
So I got the car, original paint, zero rust, needed some love, many hundreds of stone chips from Minnesota gravel roads. Last owner gave it to his nephew for senior prom. Pretty sure that little farker beat the $h!t out the car that night, judging by the things he broke, including the trans. Three years later, the lady with the yellow '86 in front of Target called me and said she was ready to sell.
I really love this car and have owned it 8 years. Drives so nice with L69 cam and 3.42 gears and I feel like a rock star when I drive it with all the waves and thumbs ups it gets.
Okay, let me get some pics:
The day I got it. Paint finish looked so blah and man, the pinstripe was so ugly:
Thank you for nominating my Camaro for the November 2019 car of the month!
It is an honor! I have been a member of thirdgen.org since February 2002. This website and you its members have been a real blessing in the vast amount of information, help, and advise you have shared over the years. I am older and not so tech savvy as many others here. Please forgive me if I don’t post this correctly. But I promise I will try my best!
After recovering from cancer back in 2010 I had a renewed desire to finish restoring my 88 Dark Red Camaro RS. The only problem was it was a 305TBI and I wanted more if I was going to show this car some day. I built a 355 TPI engine the spring of that year and put way too much money in the engine. In August of 2010, I was on thirdgen.org surfing the classified and found a 1991 Camaro Z28 for sale in Springfield Missouri by another thirdgen member oners2nv. It had already been painted and had a LS swap in it. I immediately fell in love with this Camaro. I made an offer to Kyle and by the end of that week the wife and I were driving from Kentucky to Missouri to bring home my new pride and joy. Thanks Kyle!
All of us have a vision of what they want in their rides. Some are purist, some like street rods, some like drag cars. I set out to create my dream Camaro. I don’t think it will ever be finished as each year something is added or changed. I hope you like it as well!
The LS engine has remained mostly stock except for the LS6 intake, cold air intake and a good tuning. The transmission is a 4L60E from the same donor car the engine came out of. They both had only 9900 miles on them when the swap took place. The engine bay has 3 core Aluminum radiator, UMI camber caster plates chromed. Spectre Cold Air intake system. Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, plus many other upgrades and mods under hood.
The rear differential is out of a 97 Camaro with 3.42 gears and a posi unit. PBR calipers, UMI control arms and adjustable panhard bar. Yukon aluminum differential cover with bearing supports. The front end has UMI lower tubular A arms, BAER brakes. Eibach pro line springs, cross drilled and slotted rotors on all four wheels. KYB struts and shocks. JEGS subframe connectors. All suspension components upgraded to Energy Suspension.
3” Exhaust made by Warner’s Automotive going to Flowmaster 40 series muffler.
The wheels are 17 X 9.5 C6 wheels and Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Tires. (One picture below has my old Nexen Tires)
Paint was originally solid blue (ultra-blue metallic) but had several places fixed and repaired and added the custom white stripes. Paint by Partons Rods and Customs.
The interior seats where recovered in black leather, new door panels, sail panels, visors, headliner, dash pad. The dash gauge panel is blue LED by Intellitronix. Floor shifter is a B&M megashifter. Many new trim pieces in the interior. Custom LED sill plates I designed and had made by Emblem Pro.
The sound system has a double din Pioneer DVD touch screen, Rockford Fosgate speakers in front and rear. JL Audio custom sub enclosure with two 12” inch subs, 2 JL amps totaling 1500 watts. Digital LED level meter display. I searched online for ideas and looked at other sub enclosures others had used or designed for their thirdgens. I spent two and a half months building this enclosure and fabricating everything in it. But hard work payed off as I was pleased with how it turned out and sounds.
Most of the work you see is my own. I love to fabricate, design and rebuild as time and money allow.
I am an old Star Trek fan from many years ago thus the name of my Camaro “Warp Speed”
Thank you for allowing me to share my Camaro with you! Its an honor!
Last edited by kyrenegade; 10-23-2019 at 12:41 PM.
I have been on here for over ten years and never thought I would be up for COTM. So excited!
I have had this car since 2005. I was living in Springfield IL at the time and 2 tornadoes came through wrecking everything in sight. A friend of a friend owned this this car and it picked up the garage around it and left the car. The owner was looking to sell cheap, and he had just changed the water pump for $220 so $220 later from me and the car was mine.
It was rough. hard to see but the bumpers and ground effects were all cracked and the interior was trashed. BUT, i had bought a parts car that had what I needed before this, so I went to rob if for what I needed
Tear down and paint went smooth, and the paint just flaked off
Some sanding and patching here and there and it was coming together
Then time to put it back together
I did go to hawks for a new Wing and 17 in Wheels
So, the plate is accurate. It is a 91. I just cheated and went the cheap route to make the car I always wanted.
And now it's getting tucked away for winter with my wife's 91 Formula
Thanks so much for looking and letting me share with you!
Wow, great month of cars... Chaz, you did wonders for that paint and getting rid of those stripes!
Thanks! It was a lot of fun and very satisfying! The previous owner had a quart of touch up paint mixed previously, ( nephew - prom night), and dropped it off at the Buick dealer before the shipper came to ship it to me. An absolutely PERFECT match. I touched up many hundreds of chips with it. Megs #7 really helped bring back the the single stage finish by feeding it the oils it was starving for. I worked on it every night during the winter and in the spring people thought it was a different car!
Thanks! It was a lot of fun and very satisfying! The previous owner had a quart of touch up paint mixed previously, ( nephew - prom night), and dropped it off at the Buick dealer before the shipper came to ship it to me. An absolutely PERFECT match. I touched up many hundreds of chips with it. Megs #7 really helped bring back the the single stage finish by feeding it the oils it was starving for. I worked on it every night during the winter and in the spring people thought it was a different car!
Chaz, how did you touch up the chips so nicely? a pencil thin brush and just fill the "hole" where the paint is gone?
Chaz, how did you touch up the chips so nicely? a pencil thin brush and just fill the "hole" where the paint is gone?
I started off with a Dr Color Chip kit. I've used that several times with great effect. In this case though, the yellow paint was too far off from matching.
That's when I opened the can of paint the previous owner was nice enough to drop off at the dealer for me. It matched perfectly. I used a combination of a high quality artist brush and those plastic applicators you can find in a hobby store. But the trick was the paint. If it's a perfect match, you can get away with murder. The front spoiler was really bad, with chips, scrapes and a crack. I was convinced I'd have to remove it and take it to a body shop for a repaint, but it came out great after I touched it up, wet sanded and buffed..
On the crack I used some 3M panel bonding adhesive and clamped it. When it cured, the crack was invisible.
I started off with a Dr Color Chip kit. I've used that several times with great effect. In this case though, the yellow paint was too far off from matching.
That's when I opened the can of paint the previous owner was nice enough to drop off at the dealer for me. It matched perfectly. I used a combination of a high quality artist brush and those plastic applicators you can find in a hobby store. But the trick was the paint. If it's a perfect match, you can get away with murder. The front spoiler was really bad, with chips, scrapes and a crack. I was convinced I'd have to remove it and take it to a body shop for a repaint, but it came out great after I touched it up, wet sanded and buffed..
On the crack I used some 3M panel bonding adhesive and clamped it. When it cured, the crack was invisible.
I really enjoy taking an original car with some needs and flaws and correcting them as much as possible,.while retaining as much originality as possible. It's fun and rewarding for me. I guess you can kind of tell that by the cars for sale I post on the History and Originality section of this site.
I really enjoy taking an original car with some needs and flaws and correcting them as much as possible,.while retaining as much originality as possible. It's fun and rewarding for me. I guess you can kind of tell that by the cars for sale I post on the History and Originality section of this site.
Either that, or I'm just a cheapskate!
I’m in the same boat as you.. I was on the fence about painting my 88 because the paint was really good and I could have improved it, but too many things bothered me about it and for this car I wanted it to look like new. It was a hard decision but its my only IROC so it had to be perfect..
If I get another one I wouldn’t go through the time, expense, and worry of that again. My Vette has some minor paint flaws, but it was so well kept I’m proud of the originality and just leaving it alone. It was in slightly better shape than the IROC. I think the IROC was decently cared for but the Vette was greatly loved by the owner.
I totally get where you’re coming from and every decision you have to think of the originality. I don’t think it’s being a cheapskate!
It’s cool to have something old that’s not perfect, but also more perfect than any of the other things out there from that time because someone thought it was worth saving.
No need to break a second place tie (unless there are only three(3) competitors. In this case the runner up (from the first place tie) will be in next month's Wild Card.
I was worried for a minute too. When I first read "two ties" I thought we had a "three way tie for first place" situation, which is a contingency I was not prepared for.
No need to break a second place tie (unless there are only three(3) competitors. In this case the runner up (from the first place tie) will be in next month's Wild Card.
I was worried for a minute too. When I first read "two ties" I thought we had a "three way tie for first place" situation, which is a contingency I was not prepared for.
Curious, how is a tiebreak broken? Do you cast a vote Linson?
10-21-2019, 02:40 PM
