Vehicle Owner

Member ID: strc09

Location: Spring Lake, NC

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Vehicle Info

1988 Pontiac Trans Am

Bought: Apr, 2005

Bragging Rights

  • 1/4 Mile14.71 sec @ 90 mph
  • 0-605.55sec
  • Top Speed154mph
  • HP273
  • Weight3260lbs

Major Upgrades

  • turbo
  • nitrous
  • bore increase
  • port and polish
  • supercharger
  • extrude honed
  • stroke increase
  • engine swap

Modifications

Performance Parts

  • Edelbrock INTAK 
  • PCM For Less PFCHP 
  • Flowmaster EXHST 
  • MSD IGNTN 
  • Accel ELECT 
  • SLP Performance Parts ENGNE 
  • Hooker HEADR 
  • BMR STRUT 
  • Eibach SPRNG 
  • Tokico SHOCK 

Interior

  • Grant STWHL 
  • Hurst SKNOB 

Exterior Styling

Car Audio & Video

  • Pioneer SPKRS 
  • Pioneer HUNIT 
  • Pioneer TWEET 

Ratings

    • Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
    • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
    • Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
    • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.

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Last updated: Jan 02, 2010

Hits: 23,383

Patrick’s Pontiac Trans Am
“Vader”

  • Currently 4.3714285714285 /5 Stars.
130 guestbook comments

Welcome to my CarDomain site.

My name is Patrick and this site is dedicated to my ride, Vader, a 1988 Pontiac Trans AM GTA. This makes my sixth Firebird/Trans AM that I've own over the course of my life. Each of Vader's predecessors slipped thru my grasp due to one pitfall or another in my life, but I think this one is here to stay. I'm an avid F-Body enthusiast who loves to tinker and drive this awesome machine. Such a thrill. Vader isn't perfect, but this fine GTA still manages to turn a few heads on occasion...even after 20-years. :)

Before you get to far into my CarDomain site...if you're an enthusiast like me and live in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area be sure to check out my car club, "Fayetteville F-Body".

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New stuff added to my CarDomain site!  Check out the new pictures and the mods on my modifications pages.  I've also added some new pictures and a video of Vader at play on the Track and at Play page and on the Car Shows and Events page.  Continue watching Vader's transformation and restoration as it happens right here on my CarDomain page.  Also, please don't forget to rate my ride and I'll do the same for you.  Thanks for checking out my site.
Nominate Vader for

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Enjoy my CarDomain page...

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am


My smiley symbol. I created this image in 1996 when I was overseas in Hungary to initially be used as a tattoo. I got the tattoo. I generally paste it up as my identifier. This image will generally be located somewhere on stuff I own.

 

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am


My car's namesake...the evil one himself; Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith (Darth Vader copyright 2006, Lucasfilm, Ltd.) I love this wallpaper. :)

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Amstrc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am
These were taken right after I got my GTA. I hate that tacky looking gold pinstripe on the car. Hideous. Why would someone put pinstripe on a car? It looks so much cleaner without it. Dunno...will it stay or will it go? Hmmmm.

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Amstrc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am
Yup...it had to come off. The pinstripe wasn't in great condition to begin with and came off easily in the North Carolina heat/humidity. Just a little time consuming. I believe it took me about an hour and half to get it all off the car.

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am


It looks so much nicer without the tacky looking gold pinstripe on the car. Nice and clean looking now. I like this a lot more. :)

 

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am

 

strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am


Me posing with Vader a few days after I purchased the car. A clean ride. The GenIII body style F-Body has always been my favorite of them all. I've owned GenII thru GenIV and I always come back to the GenIII. This car makes my third GenIII car.

 

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Some info on Vader (stock):
- 1988 Pontiac Trans AM GTA (Grand Turismo Americana)
- L98 Tune-port fuel injected 350ci (Courtesy of the Vette)
- TH700-R4 Overdrive transmission (Yeah well...it didn't come any other way with the L98, which sucks.)
- WS6 Performance Suspension
- Four-wheel power disc brakes (A nice bonus)
- Borg-Warner 9-bolt rear axle w/3.27:1 gear ratio
- Gunmetal Gray exterior color (Sweet!)
- Charcoal/black interior color (Matches the outside.)
- Digital dash and gages (Not all it's cracked up to be.)

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strc09's 1988 Pontiac Trans Am

 

GTA Fact:
There were 9,765 1988 Pontiac Trans AM GTAs produced in 1988. Of those 9,765 GTAs 6,913 of them had the B2L / L98 5.7L V8 option. Also, of those cars only 930 Gunmetal Metallic GTAs where produced in 1988. Furthermore, there were a total of 1,770 GTAs produced in this color for the duration of the run on this model between 1987 and 1992 (Courtesy of The GTA Source Page).
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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: RPO and Technical Data
Page 3: How RARE is it?
Page 4: Photography of Vader...part one
Page 5: Photography of Vader...part two
Page 6: Photography of Vader...part three
Page 7: Vader's Heart
Page 8: Inside Vader
Page 9: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part one
Page 10: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part two
Page 11: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part three
Page 12: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part four
Page 13: Literature and Awards
Page 14: Car Shows and Events
Page 15: The Track and at Play
Page 16: My other Firebirds

Guestbook Ratings

Displaying entries 1-5 of 130

stusdime  

Posted by: stusdime

01/25/2010 01:28PM

awesome trans am man i love that body style...check mine out 5 stars man

Richard_Strahl  

Posted by: Richard_Strahl

01/18/2010 09:43PM

Killer paint, man. For some reason, the color really stands out, don't think I've seen one like it. BTW, I think I've saw you on ThridGen.org before...

355power  

Posted by: 355power

01/12/2010 02:48PM

Nice, 5*. I have always thought that color, and black were the best factory colors. The carbon fiber was done custom by a company out of California. I am sorry, but that was awhile back and I do not remember the name. 254 HP seems low based on mods, how much drivetrain loss do you have? At about 18% loss that would give you flywheel HP of 310. If you are running stock tourque converter, transmission etc... then you might have even more loss. My 700r4 cannot handle my motor, I never rev above 2500 rpm.

rejybaby  

Posted by: rejybaby

01/09/2010 01:45PM

Incredible '88 GTA *****5*****

mjsusmc  

Posted by: mjsusmc

01/04/2010 04:14PM

The paint code that I was looking for is the one on your wife's car actually. Believe it or not the color on the GTA is supposed to be different than the other Firebirds. The firebird color is a bit darker in tint. This is the color that mine was before the sanding, but somebody put duct tape over the RPO codes inside the door jam before we started sanding it so when I pulled it off, the paint code came with it. A bit of advice should yopu try the fender vents, get the whole fender from the 2nd gen and cut the metal around the vent to use with it. Cut a hole in your extra 3rd gen set and weld the 2nd gen piece in place. You will have to dent in the top frame rail on the inside of the fenders because they will hit, but a large drift pin and a heavy hammer work well. I do like the heritage T/A, nice car. Too bad it was a one off. I am pretty sure the rear diff can handle the torque for quite a while but I still need to find one with a rear disc setup.the drums are a bit rediculous for such a heavy car with that much power. But that will come after paint and long after subframe upgrades. Going to get the body straight and then pull it apart and essentially frame off it. developed a bit of surface rust on a lot of parts from constant sitting during deployments. Going to stock up on POR15.

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Vehicle Owner

Member ID: strc09

Location: Spring Lake, NC