1989 Pontiac Trans Am

1989 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am Pace Car - #897 – Built March 13. 1989

I purchased in 1997 with roughly 35k miles.  Bone stock except for Koni shocks and 3” cat back exhaust when I got it. I took it to the track and ran 13. 187 @ 104. 44. After many upgrades. it's much faster now. however I never brought it back to the track.  It has always been on the road. garaged. and well kept.

New paint in 2010 still in excellent condition. driven about two thousand miles since.

Now showing 62. 00 and change.

This car is a thrill to drive. With the upgrades to the engine. there is no need to ever ‘punch it' or ‘floor it. ' Whether I am on the highway or at a stop light. I steadily ease into the pedal and let the machine do what it was engineered to do.  I don't do burnouts or beat it at all- there is no need for any of that.

A friend at GM ran a “Vehicle Option Content” report. it defines all of the RPO codes listed in the glovebox and it is where I obtained the build date of March 13. 1989.

Selling car with:

·        Added performance options. obviously. and original parts removed. I have every original part removed or replaced. including the original battery - except: the emblems I replaced with NOS ones and the exhaust pipe from the cat to the muffler.

·        Glovebox paperwork: 1989 Firebird Owner's Manual. Maintenance Schedule. Service Signals. Tire Inflation. Customer Survey

·        1989 FIREBIRD TRANS AM SERVICE MANUAL

·        1989 20TH ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM SERVICE MANUAL SUPPLEMENT

·        Trans Am 20th Anniversary Aftermarket Emblem Key Chain. with keys and tab printed with “Record Number & Destroy Tag” (isn't keeping the tag with the number on it recording it?)

I have maintained since day one. including: replaced ECM when I first bought it. before diagnosing I replaced multiple parts. MAF. ignition module. etc. . and I should still have those extra parts. O2 sensor. fuel filter. serpentine belt. center link and ball joints. oil and filter changes at 3k using Mobil 1 and now Royal Purple. transmission filter changes. Rebuilt the rear hatch locking mechanism. replaced hood struts. All four rotors turned. new pads and front brake lines. New Interstate battery. front tires. rear street slicks. NOS lug nut covers.

Previous owner: He had the radio fixed. however the display light still goes off and on. Replaced shocks with Koni. have the original. replaced air filter with K&N. have the original. put on 3 inch cat back stainless exhaust. have the original muffler and chrome exhaust tips. he discarded the exhaust pipe from the cat to the muffler.

Engine: see performance upgrades below.

I have never taken the engine apart other than removing the intake to port it. Since these cars make large amounts of pressure. I replaced every gasket possible including the front and rear main oil seals (they were rope seals from the factory. wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it). pan gasket. oil return line from the turbo gasket and Teflon tape on the engine side. (yes. nothing sealing these at all).  The original oil cooler gaskets suck and they do not make reproduction ones. so I bought an assortment of oil filters and found gaskets that fit.  PCV replaced with a check valve type to prevent back pressure from the turbo. The original style oil filter fits. but barely as it is long. and has made contact with the idler arm once and leaked. so I replaced with a shorter one. a common issue.

Platinum plugs. new wires. kept the original correct wires. copper exhaust gaskets. The EGR valve quit and I disconnected it. I fabricated an air cleaner tube and mount for a larger K&N filter which is located behind the fog light. I kept the metal from the hole I cut and the original triangle fender bracket. this was replaced by the filter mount which holds the filter and bolts to the original triangle bracket mounts. No more under hood engine heat into the air filter. noticeable improvement. It runs even better when the weather is cooler. I wrapped the MAF sensor to isolate heat from the radiator hose. Some areas are a tight fit. even from the factory. I cut the turbo shield to fit the wastegate. I do not have another. Added the small air filter to the valve cover.

Transmission: replaced the tail shaft bushing. rear seal. added a shift kit.

Paint: done in May of 2010. A previous owner sprayed white over the original color only on the outside of the car. Everything was removed; weather-strip. t-tops. ground effects. bumpers. lights. hood vents. door mirrors. handles. locks. panels. door jamb vents. gas door. rear spoiler and light. emblems. The car was stripped. prepped. primed. and painted. There were minor dings on the right rear quarter. one behind the door. one above the wheel. There were minor dings on the left rear quarter. one above the marker light. one on the top of the left rear quarter. Replaced front bumper cover with aftermarket. fits well. kept original. Replaced front ground effects with GM parts. Replaced driver's side fender. I had a new one. the original has a minor dent. Restored the original rear spoiler. Retains the original door jamb. trunk. fender. bumper. and hood. VIN and PAS stickers. I did not paint the engine compartment. under the hood. or the back side of the gas door. I bought the stickers for these areas. however I decided to keep the original paint. Bottom of hood has original primer exposed when the paint was sprayed.

New weather-strip. NOS GM pre-painted body side moldings. Door handles and locks repainted black. have NOS white door handle tape. not applied. New GM front marker lights and headlight surrounds. NOS door decals. the windshield decal I had went missing when painted.

Emblems: I bought available NOS GM emblems when I bought the car as a friend worked for GM. NOS “Turbo Trans Am” fender and sail panel emblems. Front emblem was the last NOS emblem. there were 2 in the US. I bought both. one had a major blemish and was returned. Flag emblems were unavailable. specific double sided tape purchased. reused originals. Rear bird emblem unavailable. reused original. Rear “Turbo” emblem. reused original. Has original “Trans Am 20th Anniversary” sticker on the air conditioning line. I put a zip tie on it as it started to slightly peel off.

Interior: Seat bolsters had wear in the typical spot. professionally replaced with new leather. Driver's side door lock switch replaced. Additional VDO boost gauge and boost controller added. Floor mats. trunk shade. t-top bag present. T-top shades in original bag with Velcro and instructions. never used.

Misc: Bought glass t-tops. have originals which are Lexan and can crack. glass durable and looks better. Original Lexan t-tops in another bag. Replaced rear hatch glass with new. when I bought it the window had a wiper mark on it. clearly replaced before but poorly done with used glass.

Issues: Paint chip on the driver side headlight door. one on the driver door rear edge. one on the rear ground effect. paint worn on the leading edge of the driver side door molding. A mouse ate a small spot of the hood insulation. Small crack on top of driver side pillar. typical. Rear spoiler was restored and painted with car. same issues plague it again. cracking. warping. typical. Small areas of clear peeling on two rims. Tach sporadically will not work for a second. Sometimes it will crank as if the battery is week. crank again. fine. unable to repeat when needed. probably a bad ground. Recently. I noticed the rear hatch needs to be pushed the rest of the way up. Driver door panel has small separation of cloth and vinyl. Rear seat has very small blemish.  Front seats and steering wheel need to be detailed. no rips. tears or spots worn through.

Performance Upgrades (ATR = Applied Technologies & Research)
K&N filter kit. routed under car
VDO Boost Gauge. install kit. pillar holder
ATR copper turbo. exhaust. and downpipe gaskets
ATR billet thermostat inlet tube with 160 F SS thermostat
ATR billet vacuum block
ATR check valve. PCV. brass
ATR RP547A Bypass-Sneeze Valve. billet. 12-18 psi
ATR stainless hose clamps and hose kit
ATR Adjustable Boost Control Valve - CV100A
ATR race pipe. 3" x 14"
ATR TA301 Stainless Steel Downpipe. 3". up to TE63
ATR WG100D adjustable wastegate. 1 3/4" billet
ATR MAF pipe SS
ATR injectors. 40# @ 45 psi
ATR turbo oil supply line. braided stainless steel
ATR Turbo TE44. 63 850 CFM
ATR Pit Bull chip. 40# injectors
ATR intake manifold porting
Accufab 70 MM throttle body with intake hat and step hose
Walbro high performance fuel pump
B&M shift kit – 35229
Platinum plugs

Also published at eBay.com

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