I am looking to buy a restomod or pro touring car. I love the second gen trans ams. What are some things to look for or things to avoid?!? Thanks a ton guys!
I am looking to buy a restomod or pro touring car. I love the second gen trans ams. What are some things to look for or things to avoid?!? Thanks a ton guys!
Decide what years you want to look at. 70-73 seem to be harder to find and are considerably more expensive than the later cars.
Do you want a Pontiac motor (my preference) or an LS/LT motor; Both have their benefits.
There are enough of these available I wouldn’t bother with anything with rust.
Determine what your price range is and what is important to you. By that I mean you can have two people that are willing to spend 50k on a car; one wants shiny paint and big wheels/ one wants 800 hp and big brakes
From there you can figure out what to look for in a car
Thank you! That is some great tips!
What he said.
However, I will say that I had one heck of a time finding a 77-81 car. I wasn't stuck on any of those years specifically, I just wanted one of those years to start with as it's what I had for a first car. I went and looked at 5 different cars before I found mine (and it still had issues, just way less than the others I checked out). I learned that the "this car has no rust" guys only thought that because the spots that weren't "rusted" were already completely gone. The big places I noticed issues in were in the tail pan and frame rails. Check those areas out thoroughly. I replaced the floor pans but I expected some repair with the money I was wanting to spend.
It all boils down to what the budget is. Obviously, if the starting budget is on the higher end of the spectrum, you'll get a nicer car to start with! As far as what year you should go for, just pick what you like :cheers:.
Budget will determine what you can get. My experience is to buy the high end of your budget, you will get a better car
I agree with what the others have said. In addition to the budget (most important factor) and deciding on the years you prefer, consider whether you want a finished car or a project, and relatedly, do you care if the car started its life as a Trans Am.
My project turned out to be a lot more expensive than it needed to be because I was dead set on a '70 (last year of high compression engines) Formula (clean lines and I love the hood) in a Carousel Red or Keylime Green. The only car I found meeting these criteria ended up needing a ton of work, which was unnecessary given that 70-73s are all very similar, a base Firebird can be made to look like a Formula with a hood change, and a color change just requires paint. My desire to have the car match the trim tag cost me a lot of time and money.
I think if I were starting a TA project now, I would do more of a rolling project, and assuming a modest budget, I'd start with the absolute cleanest car I could find regardless of the year and model. Pro-touring 2nd generation TAs are just cool!
I agree with what others are advising. I'd add: Decide what the car has to do. Does the car need to be mainly a track car, street/strip or a show car / cruiser? Buy the best condition car you can find that matches what you want it to do. Don't be in a hurry to find the right car.
I'd also like to highlight what Alponcho suggested as well as I fell into the same trap trying to find a real Formula. Find the best condition 2nd gen firebird you can regardless of the ID tags. You can easily make it look like a T/A or Formula with a hood and / or fender swap.
I agree with all of this. Decide what the End goal is for the car.
Great point on the trim tags. My 72 TA clone is being built on a Esprit body I paid $2300 for and drove home.