jecpontiac

I have a Bright Red 1996 SS Conv #1503, one of 264 SS conv made in '96. This one has Taupe Leather and originally had a Taupe Top and an automatic. I know there were only 42 bright red SS automatics made in '96 but havn't been able to find out how many of those had Taupe leather and top, most of the ones I have seen have black interior and top. I am looking to sell the car to move onto something else, so if anyone is interested, check out my ebay ad.

NW-99SS

iTrader: (6)

I'm not the kind of guy that believes option combinations make a rare car. Like paint, interior and trim combos. That's fine if you do, but I would never be willing to pay any type of premium for a "rare" combo of options on an otherwise normal LS1 or LT1 car.

It's the special editions that mean something to me. Berger, Intimidators, Dick Harrell , Blackbirds, etc. Anniversary cars don't even mean much to me except the 99 TA 30th Anniversary ones as they are tough to find a clean example intact. I just hope to have a chance at a Dick Harrell one day - a white one with the 427 or 454 and houndstooth interior please!

98_1LE

iTrader: (17)

NW, I see your point, but that is a very fine line. To be a true special edition IMO, it was either blessed by GM (e.g. CETA), or was done special enough by the aftermarket company/dealer to be truly special. On these cars, that means engine swap or internal work.

While no quicker than a stock LS car, the 97 LT4 Hawks rate really high IMO.

stage274

You are correct, out of those 29, 3 where 1le... And I know where one is, its my cousins car.. It has 6k miles. And its for sale to the right buyer... One went to 70k, at auction and the guy did not take it, and it was not a 1le... My cousin would consider offers... Let me know...

screamin chicken

Well my 2000 Black WS6 is far far far from any 1 of 1..... lol

ONE EYE

got to page 11 and got tpp tired to stay awake, but curiosity on a fluke rarity car......1999 HOSSmn6 BBS with 1LE and white leather, documented at GM to be the only one ever sent back cause the dealer miss informed that SLP had closed. so after arguing with gm to send it back instead of offering to build the same car so there was two floating out there.....it has a gm door sticker stating it was built in January 1999 and all of the SLP options except bilstein were documented and installed at st therese Quebec....in may of 1999 five months later...and it also was ordered with all performance options and no luxuries...except it flukey csme with power door locks.

Docrocket1967

iTrader: (1)

Idk how rare or legit this car really is but it's currently for sale on ebay right now.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

There are lots of 1 of 1 cars as others have stated. The Pete Estes 68 convertible may or may not be the most desirable, but it certainly isn't rarer than any other 1 of 1 car.

The 1989 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am is indeed rare, but not remotely the rarest of them all. There are a select few, like the 24 leather interior, hard top TTA's that are up there in rarity, but again there are several one of one cars as well. I think the one SLP Firehawk with the competition package and 383 engine is more interesting than any TTA aside from the few non-white TTA test vehicles.

I've always thought that the third generation cars handled better than thier fourth generation counterparts. I am the former owner of 2002 Firehawk #220 and my 1987 WS6 Trans Am handled just as well if not better once I refurbished the suspension. Granted I did have urethane suspension bushings instead of the factory rubber, but I had 75,000 miles on it compared to the 30k I had on my Firehawk which was much newer. I think the weight has a lot to do with it. The 4th generation cars are simply heavier than their third generation predecessors.

Indeed. Someone once had an Ebay and Thirdgen.org ad for a Trans Am that had the "paddle mirror" option with no-tilt steering in a GTA. The options combination this car had made it one of the rarest F-Bodies out there, but hardly desirable. Those mirrors were ******* hideous. Non-tilt steering in a GTA, who the hell would want that?

Indeed, the Firehawks are not only among the rarest cars, but the coolest (in my opinion) for a number of reasons.

No 1989 Turbo Trans Am came with anything but the automatic transmission (2004R) to the best of my knowledge. There were five test vehicles. At least two are known to survive to this day. One has been confirmed in red and I believe the other was supposed to be black, not blue.

Source: https://www.thirdgen.org/1989-pontiac-firebird/

I know there was at least one 91/92 Firehawk that had a ZF six-speed transmission which required the construction of a unique center console not found in any other car. I believe it's the 383 car.

Again, there were five test cars. Only two of which are known to exist today, or have been confirmed to exist. One black, the other red. Your right though, it's a hell of a car given how easy it is to make it into the 11's.

One red, one black. The other three test cars have never been officially confirmed to exist or still exist. I recall reading some article where someone who worked at GM said they'd been crushed, but I'm not positive on either my recollection of the article, or its veracity.

At this point, most of your average car guys probably can't tell the difference between a Formula Firebird and a Trans Am of the era. Especially since the 1982-1983 Trans Ams look so much like the 1987 and up Formula. You have to be a Pontiac or F-Body guy to know what you are looking at.

I think he's referring to one known prototype that sat in the Pontiac warehouse which was a 1991 or 1992 GTA that was given a twin turbo power plant for testing purposes. I've seen pictures of it and it's one sexy car.

No, it's not the rarest. A 1 of 1 car is no more rare than any other 1 of 1 car, total production numbers not with standing. That said, the Pete Estes 1968 Convertible Z28 may be the most desirable, but it's certainly not more rare than any other odd ball one of one car is.

Docrocket1967

iTrader: (1)

What a killer first post^

jybravo70

iTrader: (5)

Looking to see what aero mods were available to improve the 2002 TA to better the '85-'89 TA's Cd numbers I came across this dealer optioned Trans Am, the Slingshot Edition Edward Feldman and Sheehan Pontiac-GMC of Lighthouse Point FL Trans AM Slingshot Edition Per the article it states:
The article states the car should have sold around $65,000 new ($30k in mods) and had 1,544 miles and was seen a few times over the years on eBay and other auction sites but never selling as list prices found were at or above $70k. The only info I can find on it today is listed on a Portuguese website Trans Am Slingshot Edition that just has a few images of it. Nothing I found here on it.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

I recall seeing that on Ebay at least once. I never knew anything about the car specifically beyond the fact I think its ******* hideous. Those headlights....oof.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Wow. Almost everything done to that car cosmetically was a huge step down from the original appearance. The floor mats look like nice Lloyd's pieces, but even those are sullied by being a terrible accent color for the car (yellow on silver? ). I'm not surprised it had a hard time selling at that price. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it had a hard time selling even for original MSRP with all those mods.

Sometimes rare is cool, other times...not so much.

Doug G

1968 Camaro 1 of 1. Only convertible Z-28 1st gen built....and was for Chevrolet General Manager Pete Estes

The Story Behind The Rarest Camaro Z/28 Ever Built (slashgear.com)

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

It perfectly illustrates the point that rare does not necessarily equal desirable. I don't recall seeing anything making mention of the car being special on the Ebay listing. I just assumed the car was another one that was modified in poor taste and made to sound more special than it is.

RONIN LSX

iTrader: (44)

I think it was around 1998+, so the LS 4th Gen, we had "specialty" Trans Ams running around Miami / Hollywood / Ft Lauderdale called the Tomahawk. No one I talked to, about the Tomahawk, has ever heard about it. We had some big dealerships down here, so it was probably a dealer option.

In 00, I bought the new WS6 M6 vert and a SS M6 vert. The WS6 was a run of the mill (missed scoring a Firehawk), but the SS had some weird **** done to it.

It had leather piping all along the carpet, the dash was wrapped in leather, with red stitching, the headliner, convertible top and shift **** also had red stitching; the exterior and engine, dual red stripes on the hood / trunk and custom black chrome with a red lip on the wheels (don't remember if they were factory WS6 wheels or not), as for the engine, it came swapped with a modified LS6. It was sitting on the showroom floor inside the main lobby. I tell everyone about the SS, and like the Tomahawk, no one knows anything about it, but I'm sure it was a dealer modded car. I don't recall what I paid for it, but it well exceeded the SS and WS6 base price. I had all the paperwork and window sticker, but lost it and the car, 3 years later, when my warehouse burned up, when crackheads broke into it. Luckily my F355, 740il and WS6 were at home in the garage.

I also had 3 Autoform 2 seater roadsters hardtop convertibles, an 83 and an 84 Camaro and an 86 Trans Am. Both Camaros were stolen and I sold the Trans Am. I had those back when 3rdgen.org was just a baby. At the time, no one heard about the Autoform Fbody and everyone thought I had it made... well first they thought I was lying, till I posted pics, lol, and other owners slowly came out of the shadows. I was the first to try and get a registry together, but it was a hassle, but now I see that someone took my lead and created one. I really miss those cars. I attached a pic of the Autoform T/A. NOT my T/A

I had another pre factory convertible, made by a designer named Todd (I think), I don't recall his last name; it came with a metal placard, with his name on it and production number, on center column below the shifter. The thing was a death trap, when dropped, to anyone sitting in the back; the way the frame was designed, it would stick you right in the skull, if in an accident... hell, getting out of the car in general, but especially from the back, you had to be careful lol.

Miss my chance at a Trojan Trans Am and an 88 GTA Notchback

two lane blacktop

As far as rare Firebirds go...The factory GM RPO 1LE (1988 to midyear 1999) cars are amongst the rarest of the rare...The Only way to get one New was to do a (COPO) Special order...Most Pontiac Dealers had No Idea that 1LE even existed...Some years they were produced in single digit numbers...with 20 or less in produced in most years...They were the last of the True Lightweight Factory Stripper cars...
The SLP second sticker cars with 1LE (not really rare) are completely different cars than the GM RPO 1LE cars...And are Nowhere close to being the same except for the 1LE nomenclature....

wannafbody

iTrader: (2)

That applies to any black car. That's the most common Fbody color. Now a Bright Purple Metallic TA is worth dropping some coin for.

two lane blacktop

Any Factory Purple Firebird/Formula/Trans Am is a rare sight...Doesn't matter the year or model...
1995 firebird convertable...Medium Dark Purple Metallic (05U)

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

That looks like either 05U / Medium Dark Purple ('95 - '97) or 91U / Grey Purple Metallic ('93 - '94). It is definitely not 88U / Bright Purple Metallic ('97 - '98).

This is 88U / BPM:


But yeah, purple Firebirds are an uncommon sight.

NC01TA

I really like those purple Firebirds ^^^ more and more as the years pass. Why should the Plum Crazy Mopars be the only game in town. Thanks for posting the photos.