This 1988 Pontiac Trans Am GTA is a rare one, not only for its GTA configuration and digital dash panel but also because it’s one of a mere handful of notchback models ever built – supposedly, under 1,000 were produced. Sadly, it has fallen into disrepair and needs total restoration, which includes rust repair in the floors. Find the GTA here on craigslist with a $3,000 asking price and located somewhere near Kansas City.
According to the website dedicated to providing owners of the 1-of-718 notchback cars with plenty of background info – appropriately known as www.GTANotchback.com – “Instead of the normal hatch glass that was found on the Third Generation Firebirds, the optional Notchback package replaced the hatch glass with a fiberglass decklid, small glass rear window, and straight decklid spoiler. In addition to the fiberglass decklid, the optional Notchback package replaced the standard Trans AM GTA rear seats with unique rear seats featuring integrated headrests.”
The rear seats are quite distinctive, but the seller notes that the notchback design had a tragic flaw: water intrusion. He further claims this is an issue with this car, and that there is water getting inside. He doesn’t elaborate as to where it’s pooling, but one of the unique rear bucket seats is shown tossed across the rear seat, so I’m guessing there’s some water getting in behind the rear seat panel or underneath the cushions. In general, the interior appears to be in need of total clean-out and restoration.
The seller hasn’t done much with this rare GTA aside from letting it sit, it seems. He notes the headlight buckets have been repaired, which seems like an odd thing to focus on given the extent of needs it has to prevent it from being junked. He says he’s going to work on getting it running again, and that the price will increase once the notchback is operational once again. Personally, while I do love rare, factory cars like this, the price of the GTA hasn’t increased so much that a basketcase like this is commanding big money. $3K seems like all the money as-is – anyone agree?
I love third-gens and the uniqueness of this option, and would restore/modify this into a daily driver…if I was made of money.
Had always thought these were some kind of JC Whitney add on.. didn’t realize it was factory.
Could this be a case of rare not equaling valuable?
Just the build quality and cheapness of the interior parts makes me shy away from this generation Firebird. I realize they were trying to keep costs down and make them affordable, which is great if you were buying a near base model new and planned to keep it 5-7 years. While cool and rare, the back panel was form, not function unless the car never sees rain. Nah, take a pass on this one at any price.
Those hatches were also an aftermarket item, a friend of mine put one on his new Camaro and spent two weeks making it fit and look right. I didn’t know that they were factory option. If one likes the hatch just stick it on a good car and go.
I liked this option more then the standard bird or Camaro. They were different, and I don’t care what other panty wasted sissy men think about it. They seem to cry over anything different.
Opinions are like something… something….
The same ones who cried when Corvettes lost the round tail lamps!
Like anything that has rust its only metal ! Id rather this for racing as its lighter then the glass but to each his own .
It is heavier than you realize.
This generation of Firebird/Camaro always looked like kit cars to me with their poor panel fit and awkward styling, so making one look like a Fiero with this dopey “notchback” hatch isn’t a major improvement.
The styling on these are very streamlined, aerodynamic- there’s nothing awkward about them.
The rare hatch option on this one is more attractive than a notchback mustang of the same era, which inexplicably has a cult-like following. The glass hatch Trans Ams, especially with the aero wing, is the sleekest and most attractively styled pony of the 80’s
The price seems a tad optimistic for what appears to be a wheeled Petri dish, inside and out. Although the notchback is a cool feature, the aftermarket sunroof is disconcerting given the water infiltration.
Wow, this is one car that I didn’t even know existed! Very cool!
I have one and no mention about the heavy duty race car steering .Only problem is that the rear lift takes different lift tubes that can’t be found. Longer than the glass and attach different. Anyone know where to find a set, sure would like to know. I do miss the bird on the hood. It would look good there.
I never understood these. Why would you want to pay extra to make a good looking car ugly and less functional? Can’t be for weight savings since it only came on the bloated GTA instead of the formula. It’s like a continental kit for sports cars. This one is worth whatever that hatch and the mesh wheels are.
The GTA is only marginally heavier than a Formula. Plastic cladding isn’t that heavy. The most weight savings in Formulas would be from manual windows/seats vs power options and both models were available without T-Tops.
While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I do agree that the notchback lid marginalized the rear storage capacity but I can see how some buyers would have seen the benefit in reducing the amount of sun coming into the car from the expansive glass hatch (lest they invest in a set of louvers) and also being able to conceal the contents, however small they had to be.
It’s my understanding that there were fit/finish issues – the material used didn’t seem to be fond of paint sticking to it…
I totally understand the sunlight and cargo visibility angle. I have an 83 mercury capri rs so I know all about having wayyy too much glass! Trying to find a rear window louver, but they appear to be made of unobtanium :(
Does anyone remember the 1985 Kammback?
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/pontiac/trans_am/2027280.html
I guess the aftermarket didn’t offer such a hatch cover as that? Sure, the curved glass might be difficult to reproduce, but they could have made a solid roof with windows just on the side. Does not look that difficult to fabricate that way. & it would increase luggage space tremendously!
Now THAT’S the type steering wheel Pontiac should have continued with, until air bags were required. Looks like an aftermarket one thicker even than used on ’70-76 T/A’s. I could never figure out why Pontiac tooled up a THINNNER! larger diameter one for ’77-81. Makes no sense. I think the latter is made cheaper than the earlier one too – the way you can tell if an older t/a has an incorrect one is that the ’77-81 steerin wheel has a SEAM running all the way around the outer edge.
Wrong steering wheel, this does not have the radio controls. Also I have the original paint that still looks like new. This car is semi fast and handles like a race car with comfort. There is negative in any car made. The Notch back would have gone into full production, the boys in marketing did not do their job. The word got out to late to many dealers.
Sorry to see Pontiac gone and replaced by rice burners. Not much American made anymore.
Kammback looks way better, and it’s more functional. I’d love to see that on like a brown berlinetta camaro with the gold wheels and tan interior. Maybe do some kind of faux woodgrain on the sides. Seriously…..as long as it had a 5 speed I’d rock that.
For some odd reason, I love rear window louvers- remember that time when they were everywhere? And sometimes painted to match?
A brown and gold Berlinetta- Funny you should mention that, as there’s one on eBay RIGHT NOW. Automatic, however…
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253928217486
I have original louvers on my dodge Daytona and they still look great! The first thing people say after admiring my little car, is wow you still have the factory louvers! So I guess alot of people like them! :-)
To Capriest! I don’t know where you live, but I wanted to share with you what I believe will solve your louver problem! If you have a shop around you that fabs aluminum you can get them to make a nice set of louvers for that back window! Just make sure that the guy has your vision in his head! Sit down by yourself and design what you want! Then when they are finished and fit property just have them powder coated! They will be better than factory and probably pretty much one of a kind!
I’ve seen 1 other such notch-bird before. I also thought it was an aftermarket add-on. As this car is from the height of GM’s malaise era, I doubt the rarity of this option will equate to much increased value. This isn’t a $3k car, no matter how many were made, or how many remain. There are better ones out there for your dollar. I don’t see anyone taking this one on as a restoration; it’s best as a source of parts.
Dovi65, technically since the notch hatch was made by an aftermarket sup0plier, you could say it was an aftermarket add-on, even if the car was offered and sold through Pontiac dealerships.
Rare because nobody wanted them , goofy looking and made the already cramped interior even more cramped , does not equate to valuable, 3rd gen has enough credibility issues already in the car world without non factory add ons,might as well buy a fiero kit car
Here is a little history of the notchback.
It was going to be a GTA only option to set it apart from the rest of the Firebird line. The hatch was made by Auto-Fab, Inc. There were a lot fitment & quality issues with the hatch. There were wide tolerances of the car body that didn’t help with the fitment either.
There were a lot of these cars ordered yet with the fitment issues they had to cancel almost all of them. There were 649 were sold in the US & 69 were sold overseas bringing the total to 718. Of all of those only 100 came with the digital dash & only 50 came with the 5.7L engine.
The back seat was unique to this car, it was split with a slightly larger gap between the seats & had a built in head rest bolster. They carried this seat over to the ’89 TTA pace car. If the factory issues would’ve been resolved the TTA would be had this hatch as well.
To help sell these some dealerships sent the cars out to Cars & Concepts (C&C) to have t-tops installed because they were not available on the 5.7L Trans Am/GTA in ’88 due to weight restrictions.
I landed one of these 2 years ago. It needs restoration; but it is one of the more rare versions having the digital dash, 5.7L, & the C&C t-tops. I will probably be selling this in the next month or so.
Pete S.
What is the solution for the lift support struts that have gone bad. Have you had this issue of being told, not made now? I use a lift lock so my head stays the same shape for now.
Hi
I’m looking for a window for my notchback. Anyone who has one let me know.
I have a 5.7 digital dash notchba k with 115 thousand miles. T tops were not offered with the 5.7. Only the automatic transmission was offered with that engine as well. Why? A little item called torque. The tops would pop under hard acceleration due to body twist. As far as clutches, only if you liked replacing them due to extreme wear. My car needs interior and p paint job. The car was offered as a 1989 model also, but never sold. All 1989 orders were pulled back. I have a 1989 Pontiac brochure with the notchback included as a feature model. GM decided the production problems and the provider of the hatch, not being able to produce projected sales volume, wasn’t worth continuing.
I have a ’88 5.7L notchback, C&C t-tops, and a digital dash. A dealer would send the car out to have the tops installed.