Hi, I'm new to the forum..obviously with the amazing total of 1 post counting this. I used to have a 1995 t/a back in the late 90's/early 2000's, but ended up getting rid of it. Wish I hadn't. Anyways, I have the opportunity to take hold of a 1997 t/a with the following list of modifications. I don't know the current gear ratio in the rear, but really doesn't matter as the car is going to be a toy anyways and not a daily driver. Just wanted thoughts on this as the guy is bringing the car over tomorrow for me to look at and wanted some education before his visit. My 95 was completely stock. However, I'm not completely uneducated about cars. Here is the list of modifications:
1997 Pontiac TransAm SLP with 79,000 miles.
-Auto transmission with shift kit and built transmission
-2500/2800 stall torque converter
-Upgraded big brake system with drilled and slotted rotors
-Bigger rear with LSD
-Aluminum Radiator
-BBK throttle body
-SLP dual intake
-SLP headers
-Custom exhaust
-OEM Corvette C6 wheels
-Hot cams
-Port and polished head
-All new pulleys
-Harmonic balancer
-New serpentine belts
-Also has a custom sound system (not really concerned about this)
thanks for the thoughts and opinions! Here are pics of the car.

 

What is the asking price? How many owners? Get a car fax for a title check.

Looks clean, a little over done on the decals and the red/black theme...

 

2500-2800 stall screams ignorance and would reduce me faith in the quality of the tranny rebuild.

Drilled brakes is ignorant as well.

Ported and polished sounds very 70s wouldn't have high hopes for that.

Look up axle ID pics on google and try and figure out what axle it is. I can't really see anything but the red boltheads but from that it looks like it could still be a 7.5".

That exhaust looks well constructed but isn't going to support a decent heads/cam setup well.

 

That looks like a stock 10 bolt rear. You said cams, it has 1 cam. You said head, it has 2 heads. I'd stay away and find a stock one to learn from the start on, buying something someone else modded and knowing nothing about is just a recipe for problems.

 

Thanks guys! Yeah the specs are what was pulled from the ad, so that's all I have to go on unfortunately until I can actually see the car. He is wanting to trade for my motorcycle, so no asking price. He has the carfax report and says that everything is clean on it, but I'll be running my own. Thanks for the input. And yeah, the over done decals would go if for some reason I decide to go through, though I think I will look around more. Thanks again!

I ran my own carfax and it does not show any issues whatsoever at this time. No accidents, seemed to be well maintained and on a regular basis. Guess I'll have to wait and see how it appears when it arrives and perhaps take it to a shop to have it inspected. As I said before, it's just meant to be a toy and not a daily driver. Something to take out for a short ride every couple of weeks or so. Thanks again for your help and thoughts!

 

If that is a cut and paste from his ad that would rattle my confidence in the car even more.

Relatively few modded cars are actually done well and mods do not add appreciable value to the car compared to their cost. A member here has been offering a verified 10second NA street car modified very well for I believe under $10k for a couple years and it just sits, cost a LOT more than that to build such a car.

 

Yeah, that was a cut and paste. Like I said, we will see how the visit goes tomorrow, but I have a different outlook on the car after reading what you all have had to say. Thanks again for the help.

 

I don't know the current gear ratio in the rear, but really doesn't matter as the car is going to be a toy anyways and not a daily driver.

It does matter. If it's got 4.56 gears, your rpm's are going to be pretty high during average driving, and that can get to be real annoying. It it's got 2.75 gears, it will be a real slug on take off; and where's the fun in that?

-Auto transmission with shift kit and built transmission

What type of shift kit, and what dies "Built" mean?

-2500/2800 stall torque converter

That's about the same as stock, isn't it? But, depending on the cam, it could be about right for a street car.

-Upgraded big brake system with drilled and slotted rotors

Drilled and slotted rotors are OK for now. But plan on changing them soon; they don't last long. And what other upgrades have been done?

-Bigger rear with LSD

As said above, exactly what rear is in there now. And what kind of LSD was used? A stock clutch type is good, but doesn't add a lot of value. A gear drive like torsen or Tru-Trak is better, and more expensive, so would add a little value to the car.

-BBK throttle body

How big? And what manifold is it attached to. A slightly bigger TB attached to a stock intake isn't worth much - if anything.

-SLP dual intake

They look cool. But not sure there's any power advantage, since they draw from behind the radaitor.

-Hot cams

What does that mean, exactly? What cam is in there, and what are the specs. A huge cam with a stock intake and stock heads will not run well, and will probably cost power. When was the cam installed, and what springs were used? If it's a big cam with high rate springs, it might be time for a spring change.

-Port and polished head

Might be a good thing. A geed shade tree mechanic can take the stock heads and do some port and bowl work, polish the chambers, and gasket match to the intake. That will gain some power. But a professional CNC job with milling for compression can make a lot more power, and increases the value.

-All new pulleys
-Harmonic balancer
-New serpentine belts

Why? Pulleys and balancers almost never wear out. If it was to install underdrive pulleys, that might be a good thing. But to underdrive the alternator an then install a giant sound system could be a problem. See what happens when the sound system is making power and all the lights and A/C are on.

-Also has a custom sound system (not really concerned about this)

A good sound system built for clarity is always nice. But if it's just built to be loud, it does not add any value, and might actually reduce the value. And, there's not much usable trunk space. Taking off for a few days of fun might be a problem.

Does it still have a spare tire?

I would like at the KBB for the approximate value of the car. Add up the cost of all the add ons and mods that you like, and then divide that in half. That's about the value of the car. Do the same thing for your bike, and see what it's worth - be honest with yourself on this point. Then you have a good basis for a trade.

That's a 16 year old car. From the pictures, it looks like it's been very well maintained and cared for. At nearly 100K miles, there's a lot of stuff that's wearing out and either needs replacement or will soon. Battery, shocks, tires seem to be the big things with used cars. It might also be due for other routine items - plugs, wires, oil change, coolant flush, etc.

Ask for any maintenance records. The car looks so good, I'd be surprised if he doesn't have any

You also live in salt country. Be sure and check underneath for cancer. If the undercarriage has recently been painted or coated, be very suspicious. Also check the seams at the bottom of the door. Be sure and have a magnet ready to check for body putty.

Give the car a good look over, and a test drive. Write down the answers to all your questions. Then tell him you'll consider it for 1-2 days and let him know. Then you'll have time price out the cost of the upgrades, and be able to put a good value on the car.

 

saw this on my local craigslist. It looks clean but just its so weirdly put together that it scares me. Red diff cover bolts, stock panhard rod painted red? decals everywhere, oh and 2 subs to make t-top storage just that much more difficult. Just needs more pictures and more explaining the way it looks for me to bite.

 

Far as rpm, overdrive and lockup means even deep gears like 4.10-4.56 aren't nearly as "bad" as old school guys think. 4.10s with a lockup converter is less cruise rpm than a old 3-speed with 3.08 gears.

2500-2800 stall is a good bit higher than stock which I believe was more like 1800 BUT is too small to get truly good performance out of even a stock cammed car. The quick bolton cars with the A4 tend to use 3400+stall. Modern "high stall" converters can drive quite well if the builder has proper data on a well setup car. You buy a GOOD 9.5" lockup stall in 28-3200stall with 3.42 gears and you could hand the keys to your mother-in-law and she wouldn't thing twice about it. Basically anyone who wants to mod an f-body is going to be OK with 3400/3.73s.

 

Ok, so it's snowing like crazy here, so obviously the car isn't coming over today. I have been speaking with him on the phone and he informed me that the previous owner had the modifications performed at a professional shop. I have the carfax record and the person that has it now is only the second owner. The previous owner had it maintained very well according to the records. I guess it'll just be a wait till it gets her and do a very precise look over with the tips that everyone has mentioned. As I said before, I'm not completely uneducated with engines as I have been around drag racing for 30+ years and helped build a couple of race engines and rebuild a few engines for my dad's cars, but figured the extra advice on these particular cars would be beneficial. Also, 96capricmgr, I couldn't let my mother-in-law drive the car, she had polio when she was younger and is now confined to driving minivans with running boards on them. Just saying :-D

 

My thoughts on this:

It looks to me as if it's been modded by someone who had no idea what they were doing. For one, the stall converter is too small. Most A4 guys go for AT LEAST a 3k stall. Why he went any smaller makes no sense to me. Also what does he mean by "built transmission"? I hope he doesn't think that putting a tiny stall and a shift kit constitutes for 'built'.

Slotted rotors are fine but drilled and slotted wear fast. Unless he is doing some heavy autoX there's no need - unless he wanted to look cool.

Bigger rear with LSD - These cars when tracked NEED a bigger rear. Most common upgrades are a 9 in or a 12 bolt along with 4.10s for M6 or 3.73 for autos. Find out exactly what that rear end is because a good rear is around 2k - definitely not something you want to find out isn't there after you purchase the vehicle.

Why the aluminum radiator? From what it looks like he isn't making nearly enough power to constitute for a better radiator. The stock one is good as it is.

Why does he have a bigger TB? Once again, the stockers on these cars are very good and there's typicallly no need for a bigger ones, especially with his mods. Figure out what size it is. If it's a 52mm then I guess it somewhat makes sense, but if it's any larger than that then it shows that they had no idea what they were doing.

SLP dual intake is a common upgrade on these cars. First mod that's done that doesn't seem out of place. Find out what kind of headers they are - long tubes or shorties?

Find out what diameter the aftermarket exhaust is. These cars came stock with 2 3/4 inch piping. If he went any less than that then is it more of a restriction than stock.

Ask him if he knows his cam specs. If he can't answer that then something is wrong.

Anyone with a dremel at home can port out a head. If it's done by a professional shop such as LE then it's a different story, but from the sound of his other mods that isn't likely the case.

Why new pulleys and a new balancer? If it's underdrive pulleys I'd be worried with the sound system he has. The stock pulleys are designed to power the alternator at idle - underdrive pulleys change that so the alternator isn't kicking in until 1k-1.2k rpms and with a big sound system you can easily see where this is a problem.

I also see it has a strut tower brace. Check for other mods the owner might not know about.

All things aside, it is a clean car. However I wouldn't trust anything without receipts. That rear is a big ticket item which like I said if it's not there after you buy it will be a huge deal. I'd find a completely stock F-body and go from there. Then you have that piece of mind knowing what's done to the car and exactly how it's done.

 

Ok, most recent update. I spoke with the current owner of the car and he has all the receipts for the modifications along with the dyno sheet and carfax report in a binder that he will bring along with. I did run my own carfax report and if the information I'm receiving from the current owner is correct, in that the previous owner had the modifications done at a professional shop, then the car has consistently passed safety and emission inspections. I can at least chalk that up as a plus for the moment lol

 

So stock rear, stock suspension, painted stupid colors, hotcam and unknown ported heads, unknown tune, unknown abuse, useless stall, no gear info, I would consider that car a high mileage (even though it is supposodly low) clean car, about $3000 max, since you (not being insulting here, just realistic) have zero experience with these cars and cant tell any different whats stock and whats not. Just my $0.02

 

Actually, I do have experience with these cars. I did have a trans am in the past, and though I didn't do modifications to it, I do have a good sense of what is stock and what isn't. I simply asked for people's opinion as I know there are plenty of people with more experience than myself. So though, my experience may not be as vast as others, I do have some experience. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm not uneducated when it comes to engines as I have built and rebuilt plenty myself. One for a mid 5 sec (1/8) dragster, one for a 66 mustang, a 72 mach 1 and a superformance cobra. So I do appreciate your opinion and your thoughts on the subject. And without all the information, that I supposedly will get when I see the car, I simply wanted to get ideas of what people thought with the pictures and info that I did have available to me. So thank you again for your opinion, but please don't assume that just because people ask questions, that they don't have any experience on the subject

 

That's all fine and dandy, I wasn't questioning your "outside of lt1" knowledge, but if you don't know why you should care about gears, can't identify a 10 bolt, don't know the seat of the pants difference between a healthy bolton car and a hotcam, can't spot the difference between ls1 front and rear and lt1 front and rear brakes, and nothing strikes it odd to you that the poster thinks it has 2 cams, 1 head, and multiple serpentine belts, I think you could get screwed by a smooth talker on Craigslist.

 

"Smooth talker"

 

Smooth criminal is more like it lol. The car is clean tho. I would trade my bike for it too if I had one.

 

stall and no cooler and no rebuilt on trans. its gonna go some time soon. and dont know what supporting mods if any came with the cam. he could have left the stock valve springs and push rods in. could drop a valve. never buy a car without knowing exactly whats done to it internally. could have a money pit later on. id as alot of questions about the mods and give it a good pondering

 

The owner says he has all the receipts and paperwork from the original owner along with a dyno sheet organized in a binder. The weather is still crap here so in person observation is scheduled for tomorrow. Nothing will be traded until I thoroughly look over the car and paperwork.