1984 RecaroTA 5spd

Description for Pontiac Firebird 1984

1984 Pontiac Trans Am RecaroTA for sale.
This Recaro started out life as an automatic car but early on it was converted to a 5 speed manual. The conversion was done well and everything associated with it works as designed originally except the clutch switch. The transmission still has the ending VIN of the 1984 F-body it came from.
With that said.
Here we have a fantastic and ready for its next owner to take it to the finish line 1984 Recaro TA.
I have taken the time to bring it to the 1984 level of performance so that I could experience the car for what it is and what it felt like in 1984. I had the electronic Qjet professionally rebuilt by a Cliff's High Performance in Ohio. I replaced the camshaft and lifters back to the original grind for the 1984 5.0HO engine. The original aluminum intake was reinstalled then as well. I replaced the oil pan gasket and vibration damper as well as the timing chain set and gaskets. The motor is relatively oil leak free! It runs super for a 35 year old car. As far as I can tell, the engine has never been rebuilt and while I had the intake off, there were no signs of oil sludge. Someone kept the oil changed in this motor. I ran the break in oil for the new cam and changed it to a full synthetic after the break-in. The only thing I did not do was replace the valve seals. Simple oversight on my part but it only smokes the mosquitoes out on a cold start. I like to think it keeps the top of the pistons lubricated.
Onto the driveline. The clutch engages very well and is in the right spot in the pedal travel. There are no abnormal noises from the transmission and all gear changes are smooth and easy. I was told the transmission was rebuilt but have no way of confirming that. Again, the transmission is a T5 5 speed from a 1984 f-body. The partial vin is still stamped into the side of the case.
I replaced a wobbly u-joint in the driveshaft and things smoothed out.
The rear axle is the original open differential with disc brakes. You can see the option on the option sheet as WY6 rather than the WS6. WY6 simply meant the positraction was not included in the suspension package. The rear disc brakes have new rotors, pads, and calipers.
Moving on to the body.
I have done the best I can to get the car to shine. I had the front bumper replaced with a reproduction piece and new paint was applied to the hood, front bumper, bottom half of the car sides, and rear bumper. It is getting professionally detailed soon and all blending is unnoticeable. There is a very small spot of surface rust on the tops of the rear wheel arches but zero rust through. This is it for rust. There are previous body repairs, mostly on the left rear quarter panel and the entire body was resprayed at some point.
The headlights pop up as designed and the taillights shine bright. I replaced some door seals along the top and have the big seals to install. The left outer door handle has been replaced and the original RecaroTA handle stripe went away with it. Fortunately, the right door still has its RecaroTA handle stripe but is working but broken. The car is also missing the stripe package along the bottom of the car and along the wheel wells. I left these off so the next owner could decide if they want to find them and put them on. Even the hood decal was left off. I DO have three of the VERY SPECIFIC sail panel decals. They are specific to the 1984 RecaroTA. I did not install them either but they go with the car. In addition, as anyone who has been around these cars knows, the t-tops have a drip when it gets rained on. Nothing serious. When I replaced the carpets, I found no signs of rust on the floors. I even found the build sheet has made itself a part of the floor. It is there but is not coming out. While I had the carpet out, I had the transmission tunnel re configured to look as an original manual transmission hump. I found a trans hump here on ebay and had my guy set the opening to have the opening support piece welded to the opening. He then made it look original and sealed the edges. You don't see it because it is covered but it looks factory. New shifter seal was installed too.
Inside the car has some new items. The carpet has been replaced front and rear and cargo area. I cleaned up the side panels. The headliner, sunvisors, and sail panels have new material and it looks super! It is not factory perfect but shows well. The rear seats are fair. The sun has baked the tops and the seams are splitting. The front seats, the stars of the show, need recovering. I have decided to leave this for the next owner. I have had a couple quotes from $1700 to $2300. While I admit that this is what makes the car, I have put more than enough into it to get it where it is and the next owner has very little to do. The dash top was replaced at some point and is the later 85-92 style. The original has fake stitching along the edge. These are very hard to find but the one in the car is fine. While the console was out, I found an original radio that has the 5 band equalizer and grey power button. The radio works fine and the cassette works well. The original power antenna is long gone and unavailable so a solid mast style is in its place. I replaced the speakers with modern pioneer units. 4x6 in the dash and 6x9 in the sail panels. This car was originally equipped with an amplifier and special sail panel speaker boxes. The original pieces go with the car. The amp button is still installed in the dash but does not operate anything.
Interior comfort has been increased. A new heater core is in there and the AC system has been converted to R134a and blows cold. The original compressor (specific to the G-code engine) is included with the car as is a seal kit to reseal it.
Sitting in the drivers seat, we find the tachometer needle goes wherever it wants. It does not show an accurate engine RPM. It is about 2000 too high. A similar problem exists on the speedometer. It reads 10 mph high at all times. I got a quote of about $300 to rebuild it. The seats move back and forth and recline by a knob on the side. There is even a working thigh support that is a feature of the Recaro seats. The steering wheel leather needs to be replaced and would be great to do along with the seats. The door panels are clean. The power door lock buttons have lost their labels over time but work. The door lock actuators work when they want. The power windows work albeit mid-eighties GM slow but do go full travel with no concerns. You don't notice all these faults when driving around.
The driving experience is fun. The engine roars to life easily and settles into a nice mellow rumble. The flowmaster muffler gives it a nice tone along with the large left exit exhaust tip. The catalytic converter is new and it passed the emissions testing in Delaware no problem. As I said before, the transmission goes into gear easily and clutch actuation is nice. Getting going is easy and this engine LOVES to rev. It makes sweet sounds at higher rpms. It shifts into second with ease and keeps going strong. When the four barrels open up you feel the burst of power (keep in mind this is a 1984). The hood scoop flap opens (or at least it is supposed to) and allows the cooler outside air into the carburetor. The 3.73 gears allow plenty of quick movement and one tire frying. The car feels tight during cornering. New shocks all around and steering linkage along with an alignment have been done. The car rides on later model black mesh 16" wheels and newer sumitomo tires. The original gold colored 15" wheels are included with the car. Braking is strong with four wheel disc brakes. New pads and rotors up front as well.
I could ramble on and on about this car. It has its positives and some negatives but it is ready for its next owner. There were 1321 1984 RecaroTAs made and very few still survive. Grab a piece of history now. Drive it and enjoy it for the 1984 performance that this car is.
Thanks for looking.
Zero feedback bids will be cancelled. Contact me if under 10 feedback.$500 deposit required with the balance due within 7 days. No scammers and I am not soliciting anyone to help me sell it. This is an auction I set up to sell this car. As-is Where-is No warranties expressed or implied.

On Jul-04-19 at 09:01:45 PDT, seller added the following information:

I added a picture of the four gold wheels, the sail panel bird emblems, and a sample picture of what the car would have looked like originally.