Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - Any hope for the old girl?

I've got a 1998 Pontiac Trans Am, (built Aug of 97, actually) with 94k on the clock. I work at a Pontiac dealership, and know the ins and outs of my car pretty well, however, I've been experiencing several malfunctions in a short span, and my spider sense is telling me to just repair the poor thing, and drive it nice.

1: Rear end backlash is out of spec, so I get a healthy clunk on takeoff, and a nice, low-frequency whine at speed.
2. I can HEAR the TCC cycling on and off when I hit the brake.
3. It's the older LS-1 block, with the drinking-straw oil galleys, so I'm reluctant to put much power into it.
4. I backed the car into a drag car's trailer when I was adjusting the toe on a friend's '69 Nova bracket racer, and tore a chunk out of the bumper cover.
5. Left rear quarter panel is crushed in, needs replacement and repaint, frame and unibody skeleton is good, but the skins are trashed, and that's the side with the gas filler neck

And then there's the whole 100k thing... I'm not getting rid of the car, I'm getting the body fixed this month, and MY price for the rear diff assembly is somewhere around $600. That's going to tally about $2100 total, and that still doesn't address the problem of the TCC being audible, which'll be ANOTHER $900 for a new 4L60E, since I don't have time to just set the car in the driveway while I rebuild the old trans how I want. I've got another $1000 til it's paid for, but I'm just wondering with all that, will those L92 cylinder heads, matched intake manifold with the 36lbs/hr injectors, rowdy-ass cam, and all my exhaust goodies be availabe for much more than a few months before it just gives up?! Again, working for Pontiac, the prospect of a new GTO with 0 miles on employee pricing looms large in my mind, not to mention the possibility of a low-mileage C5 'Vette from our Chevy sister store. If I'm going to buy all that kit, I want to just install it once (warranties be damned, cheaper to do it myself anyway), and be done with it, not put it on my Trans Am, blow it up, rip it off, and plug it all into another car with the Gen III smallblock. I do that kind of stuff all day for other people. I want to just be able to DRIVE my own car

Any thoughts?

::edit:: And I don't wanna hear some 16 yr old Pontiac fanboy telling me 94k's "just broken in" I've worked on these cars, replaced a few LS-1s after just 30k because of serious abuse, and sometimes for reasons outside the drivers control. No offense, kids. I love thes cars, I've just been around 'em too much to be able to justify claims like that. They're machines, machines break, and I know better than anyone the shape mine's in

You know my 97 WS6 had the same problem with the Trac control slash ABS, I would see the lo trac light come on and I would feel the brake pedal start to modulate, then after a while (couple of months) after the Lo trac light would come and go my ABS inop light came on, I heard it was just my speed sensors on the front wheels, so I just let it go, now I can do some awesome burnouts and get sideways real nice.

But anyway, I would say to keep the TA. Maybe consider getting a later model engine and tranny, one with all the "bugs" worked out, since 98 was the first of the LS1 F-bodies. ?Why are you replacing the Tranny anyways?
As for the rear end, all you need is a new ring and pinion get a new set from summit and a rear end shop could set you up for 300 bucks.
those are my $.02

the gto idea sounds kinda sweet....but id rebuild a newer block, and give her a second chance

Call me a kid if you want, I'm 20, but in my expericne it's ALWAYS cheaper to fix the old than pay for the new. I don't know what kind of employee discounts you get, I know mine from Chrysler weren't bad. But still, you're prolly gonna shell out a pretty penny for a GTO, or a Corvette. And really, to go along these lines, "refreshing" the T/A will/can give you an almost like new vehicle for a bit less than actually purchasing newer. My .02, take it or leave it, good luck wither way!

id also rebuild it how you want... new block new tranny new rear and new paint and still end up cheaper then buying the gto/vette but its up to you

Dump it. Sell it for zero profit if that's what it takes... who cares?

Then buy a low mile SS or something for $15k... modest payment, nice wheels. You'd be much better off putting nice parts on a fresh car. ~Joshua

I thought you couldnt use the l92 stuff because of the smaller bore of the LS1 than ls2. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

You have basically said your ride is shot. Don't let that beaten beast become a money pit. Like posted above, some babied, low mileage garage-kept rides are available for around $15,000 or so, or if you can swing it, a new GTO is even better. Say good bye to your old ride. :wavey: