Appearance & Detailing Interior & Exterior Appearance Modifications

Help me improve my Silver TA...

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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:12 PM
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Default Help me improve my Silver TA...

Hey, all...

Now that the car's (knock on wood) mechanics are all sorted out, I'd like to freshen the looks a bit. It's a '98 TA with 17" CCWs:


I'd like to give it a more custom appearance without a complete repaint. Considering striping, stickers, badging, ghost flames, flames, etc. Probably black on silver, but I'd consider color if it looked right (red?) Painting the front end/portion of the hood would be nice 'cause it would hide some paint chips in the silver. I think these wheels make more subtle changes preferable... most $ that I'd spend is maybe $1000 to $1500, I'd have to pay a shop to do the work.

The part of the car that I like the least is the rear quarter panels, and of course the rear wheel wells.

Help me out here? Please post any examples, especially of silver TA's.

Thanks for your input,

Rich
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:16 PM
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blackbird stripe, blackouts(?), CETA would look good IMO
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:35 PM
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I like this; is it part of the CETA treatment?

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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:37 PM
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yeah, thats the CETA mod. It would "flow" well with your silver.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:43 PM
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Default ceta

you can do that mod for like 20 bucks yourself... their is multiple write ups on here and on ls1.... one of the write ups has pictures as welll.... i also think it would go good.... use fuzion spray paint and black out your side markers and maybe tail light covers???? w/e floats w/ u
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:58 PM
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Go to a pro painter and have him tint you tail lights.......


You dont want that flat hazy halfass look that you see most people doing
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 01:41 PM
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What about the sides of the car? The rear quarter panels really bug me.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 01:50 PM
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what about a set of 02 Collector Edition decals????
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 02:40 PM
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what do you not like about there rear 1/4's?
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:25 PM
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I guess they're the part of the car that looks more dated... and the lack of any kind of flaring outward for the wheel well. And of course the huge gap over the wheel, even on my lowered car. I can't take it down any further; I'm already scraping my passenger side piping crossover to the turbo.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:27 PM
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I did consider the CETA decals for the sides (called feathers?). Not for me, though.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:38 PM
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Ceta!
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:44 PM
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CETA, thin black-bird ram-air stripes, Eibach Prokit springs, de-molding the side, clear corners on your front bumper would go very well w/ the color & your rims. Back bumper probably as well
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:56 PM
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Well only flaw i have about your car is the rim's. Dont really like em, but if you like em. That's all that matter's.

I would say get some black racing stripes, down the hood. Do the tail light tinting as suggested by someone else, and it dont look like your window's are tinted. So i would tint those to, and if it's possible. I would try and get the "Trans Am" logo on the door's painted black or something. Just something small that stands out, similar to how the Z28 logo's are always anotha color.

I dont know if they make the emblem's for the "Pontiac" logo on the back, but if they do. Get it in black, to fill em in. Window Decal maybe??? Most ppl dont seem to like that, but i put tha RKSport on my front windsheild. I think it looks alright, changed the car up from your average appearance mod's that most ppl around here have on there t/a's, z28's & SS.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Badguy7
Well only flaw i have about your car is the rim's. Dont really like em, but if you like em. That's all that matter's.

I would say get some black racing stripes, down the hood. Do the tail light tinting as suggested by someone else, and it dont look like your window's are tinted. So i would tint those to, and if it's possible. I would try and get the "Trans Am" logo on the door's painted black or something. Just something small that stands out, similar to how the Z28 logo's are always anotha color.

I dont know if they make the emblem's for the "Pontiac" logo on the back, but if they do. Get it in black, to fill em in. Window Decal maybe??? Most ppl dont seem to like that, but i put tha RKSport on my front windsheild. I think it looks alright, changed the car up from your average appearance mod's that most ppl around here have on there t/a's, z28's & SS.
Window decal? Racing stripes on a Trans Am? how old are you? 16?
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 04:01 PM
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blackbird style stripes, CETA style rear bumper in matching color, ditch the mouldings and maybe the T/A embelms, leave the tails alone.

Pretty sharp looking ride already. Post pics of your mods.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 04:20 PM
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do the a full ceta roof mirrors and bumper and then tint the side markers 3rd brake light and do the !molding window tint and front fog and drl blackout kit and you are all set for a few hundred bucks
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 04:29 PM
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Originally Posted by DANSBIRD
Window decal? Racing stripes on a Trans Am? how old are you? 16?
No im 20, but i dont like having a car that's just going to look like the other one, just a different color, rim's, hood & etc. As for the stripes, i dont know w/e stripe's you put that go on the ram air hood. i dont have a T/A so i wouldnt know what stripes you call those.

Decal's i think they look nice, with the right color & w/e the decal say's. ive seen 1 on here with the SLP logo on the front windshield. thought it looked very nice, same color as this car i believe.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 06:48 PM
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the only thing i would do is add the CETA bumper
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 07:30 PM
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Thanks for all of the ideas, guys... I'm thinking the CETA bumper, definitely. And maybe the blackbird stripes on the hood (can you customize the lettering on those?) Black lettering overlays on the side "Trans Am"s?

kerryt1, here are a few mod pics. There's no bling under the hood, this is not a show car. Obviously.


9" w/Trutrac, QA1's, twin pump setup, etc.:


The plumbing has been cleaned up since this pic:
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