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Vin numbers TTA specific?

P

PhillyD

Well-Known Member
I am preparing to register 830/831 this Friday and was reviewing my title. I discovered that Michigan registration fees are based on the original MSRP of the car ... they listed 2 Trans Ams in '89 1) Hatchback and 2) Hatchback/GTA which had a higher MSRP. My wife said "what do you have" and not knowing whether mine would be a GTA or not I checked out the Vin #.

I discovered - to my surprise - that only the TTA's had 5 in the year code in the Vin and all other Pontiacs, including GTA's, had a 2 in the year code.

Is that common knowledge? I tried to look it up anywhere and I didn't find it listed. Anyway, thought I'd pass it on!
 
Common knowledge to us TTA guys:D But yes, instead of giving them a number sequence like a GNX or 30th anniversary, we got the unique VIN. For all you newer guys, here is a thread from turbo Buick's that Jared Started back in August of '06. It was answers to some questions we came up with for Jeff Beitzel (RIP) Jeff was kind enough to answer back and the vin question was answered (#2)

Alright well I emailed Jeff with these questions:

1. Did PAS have any extra powertrain or TTA specific parts left over after production? If so, What'd they do with them?

2. Why were the TTAs never serialized build #s like the GNX?

3. Are there any photos of the assembly at PAS besides for these 2 ( http://philly.turbobuicks.net//TTA/PAS/PAS2.jpg http://philly.turbobuicks.net//TTA/PAS/PAS3.jpg )?

4. Were the TTAs truely just picked at random from the GM production line?

5. It is rumored the car was to have 17inch wheels but were dropped due to costs. If so, which wheel brand were they (i.e. Ronal R-15) and what color were they and how were they to be painted?

6. What other options were dropped from the cars to keep the bean counters happy?

7. Who did the tuning of the engines and how were the parameters of the stock chip decided on?

8. Why was the 6-speed manual transmission not used?

9. Was the TTA delivered from the factory with synthetic or conventional oil?





and I got this in response:

1) no parts were left over

2) The Turbo T/A had a unique VIN to begine with, making it more collectible in the long run. All othe Firebirds/Formulas/Trans Ams had a VIn starting with 1G2 and the Turbo cars had a 1G5, if I remember correctly. Might be the other way around. I am getting old.

3) Not that I am aware of. We really tried to downplay the amount of work that went on outside GM.

4) No. Each car was scheduled as a Turbo when it started the line.

5) We never planned anything but the original wheel/tire combo.

6) None. We stuffed the car pretty full of options to start with.

7) We did the cal, between the Buick engine guys, Rich Anderson, and myself. The cal was set up to restrict torque to 350 ft-lbs on a particular dyno test so that the hydramatic guys would be happy. That was done on dyno with little intercooler effectiveness, so real world power is obviously higher. Increased boost or decreased backpressure will increase horsepower, but the trans won't live real long in severe application unless you do some work there too.

8) We looked at a subsequent release with a six-speed, but the demand just didn't seem to be there. Less than 15% of Trans Ams were ordered with manuals.

9) Mobil 1 was the factory fill. Best synthetic, plus great flash resistance in the turbo. First time at GM, and then put into every Vette since, I think.


Be happy to help in any way I can
 
Thanks for that awesome post! I guess being a TTA guy for less than a week I did pretty good on the Sherlock Holmes thing with the Vin # :detective:

Still would have been awesome to have a little 'plate' somewhere designating the build # ... would have cost them next to nothing.

Man, the 6-speed would have been superb. This will be the first non-stick car I'm driving since my old Caddy days in the 'hood' (Coney Island) :guns:

... and a convertible ... phew ... now there's a car.
 
The 5 in the VIN is for "incomplete vehicle" or similar ... I got a photo of some documents stating that as well somewhere just have to find it :-)
 
If that's the case about the Vin # (5 meaning 'incomplete' car) then Jeff's response isn't really accurate ... since any car that was sent out for some custom modification would have had the 5 in the Vin that year ... and it wasn't a 'special' vin for the TTA.

Jan I'm looking forward to seeing your post of that document!!

Phil
 
I think the difference is that no other cars were done that way ... all other conversions were dealer conversions so the cars did leave the factory as properly built 1G2 cars ... I'll see if I can find the document in question ...
 
So only the PAS vehicles got the 1G5 and 1GD VIN, so that does make them unique! Pontiac was a 2 and 5 was US build (PAS).
 
Should we make the Jeff Beitzel Q&A a sticky or put it into History? The answers are right from the MAN himself, plus he is no longer with us. Just a thought!
 
TTA 1077 said:
Common knowledge to us TTA guys:D But yes, instead of giving them a number sequence like a GNX or 30th anniversary, we got the unique VIN. For all you newer guys, here is a thread from turbo Buick's that Jared Started back in August of '06. It was answers to some questions we came up with for Jeff Beitzel (RIP) Jeff was kind enough to answer back and the vin question was answered (#2)

Alright well I emailed Jeff with these questions:

6. What other options were dropped from the cars to keep the bean counters happy?

7. Who did the tuning of the engines and how were the parameters of the stock chip decided on?

8. Why was the 6-speed manual transmission not used?

A couple of things here :

on #6, I have some old, original literature that listed some options that were supposed to be on the car, and ended up not being because of expense. One was a roller cam which they didn't do. I'll see if I can find the literature and what else was dropped.

The intercooler was supposedly upgraded from GN, and they added boost. The crank is crossdrilled unlike the GN, and I'm sure everyone knows that the heads are different, and have, I think, less cc volume.

I'm thinking that U don't usually put manual trans' on Turbos because U get such a drop in RPM's (and therefore boost) when U shift. Alot of people have done it however.

All 4 now.
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