1988 Pontiac Firebird

1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA Coupe GTA, said one sales brochure, stands for Good Times Ahead! Pontiac Firebirds were proving less popular than Camaros, but they held a loyal following of buyers from different age groups, who relished its flashy styling and muscular performance. Chevrolet now marketed a convertible, but Pontiac wasn't ready to slice the top off its Firebird just yet. Thus the 1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA. Auto.howstuffworks.com  For consignment, a 1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA coupe with a title verified 192,632 actual miles. Owned by our consignor for 27 years, this bird has newer fuel lines, brake lines, fuel tank, radiator, and other maintenance items. ***Due to modifications of the emissions control devices installed by the manufacturer, please check your local, state, and federal laws to determine if this vehicle is applicable for use on public highways in your area.***     Exterior White as the driven snow and badgeless, this clean, wedge shaped F-body is a now classic design. The lace design wheels were so unique to the line, they became known as GTA wheels, offset in gold and carrying slightly staggered width tires. Translucent, smoked T-tops give the cockpit a fuselage-like profile and this car sports a cowl hood for a little extra muscle that balances the rear wing, while body cladding creates a lower profile. This generation continues Pontiac's tradition of trend setting tail lights and distinctive lightbar. A repaint has held up wells, and imperfections noted include various scratches, areas of thin paint, some delamination of clear on the wheels, inclusions in the paint, paint runs, chin scrapes, and minor cracked cladding.     Interior Gray cloth inserts live inside the gray vinyl door panels, showing a touch of age here, especially the driver's side that shows a tear and some age through staining. The leather buckets and rear 2+2 seating remains in very good shape and in front, a Grant GT steering wheel replaces the stock unit and leads to the slightly weathered but always cool 80's instrument cluster in a gray plastic faceplate and leather map pocket where the glove box would be. An aftermarket AM/FM/CD is in the center console along with the standard A/C panel leading to a center console holding a T-handle shifter in a grid adorned flat faceplate. Our gray carpet shows some slight aging and T/A mats take the brunt of the workload and the hatch area has a contoured area for the T-tops.  Drivetrain Driver quality esthetic conditions are found under the hood where a 5.0 liter L89 V8 resides. This power plant is rated at 195 horsepower, fuel injected, and mated to the ubiquitous GM 700R4 4-speed automatic transmission routing power to the 10 bolt rear axle with 3.27 gears and Positraction.  Undercarriage Generally clean underneath where dual exhaust runs through FlowMaster mufflers and find their way to the atmosphere through straight pipes in back. There are no catalytic converters on board. This performer wears power disc brakes on all four wheels and suspension consists of coil springs at both ends with a torque arm helping out in back.  Drive-Ability The Trans Am is still a thrill for the money, and this '88 still delivers decent power, outstanding handling that we don't fully vet on 25 year old tires, and a comfortable cabin that would easily cater to long drives. There's also a healthy exhaust note. On this example, we note the A/C is not working and the reverse lights do not light up. Beyond those two things, all functions available on this '80's rocker work as they should. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. This was such a good design from Pontiac that when they were called upon to produce a Pace Car for the 1989 Indianapolis 500, they didn't change much on the outside of the car. This on