Special TTAs

[72firebird]

Ok I'll just post the links since I tried to keep the images as big as possible so that you can see details. These are about 1/2 the size of the originals so if you want an original of a specific picture let me know and I can email it to you. This post will just be the TTA at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. I may have posted some of these pictures already but this is kind of like an update for those who didn't see them, and to put everything into one thread. I'll post up the 6sp TTA that GM has in it's Heritage collection later on tonight.

To start with here's a few pictures of the spoiler and it's lightbar.

http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1590.jpg - this shows the lights from the rear, as you can see they look kind of like marker lights
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1732.jpg - the glue that was used around the center brake light for the light bar.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1733.jpg - the glue down in the corner of the spoiler on the drivers side. As you can see this wasn't exactley neatly done.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1734.jpg - more glue around the 3rd brake light.

The camera: as some of you may know the 1989 20th Anniv TTA was the first pace car to recieve an in car camera for the Indy 500. It was by far the largest camera I saw in any of the pace cars at the pace car reunion.

http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1591.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1593.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1717.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1721.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1722.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1723.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA.IMG_1724.jpg

Finally just some things that I found a little odd about the car:

http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1587.jpg - this is the rear window and what looks like overspray. My car has the same thing and almost everyone that I know (including several painters) have tried to tell me my car was repainted in the back.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1699.jpg - another paint flaw that my car also has. This is a clear drip on the rear hatch right on the corner.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1657.jpg - the door protector, showing a some signs of wear. However I found some buffing compound will take this yellowish tint right off and it'll look brand new.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1704.jpg - rock chips on the rear fender wells probably from things picked up on the track.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1707.jpg - more rock chips on the rear reflector.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1592.jpg - A donated by GM for educational purposes tag. This tag is typically put on cars that are donated to comunity colleges or automotive schools.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1706.jpg - another photo of the donated by GM sticker and a number 3 sticker. I don't know the significance of the #3 on the car, might be the pace car number since there were 3 cars made.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1594.jpg - a picture of the defrost button that is now a yellow button for the pace car lights
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1719.jpg - another picture of the light button
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1656.jpg - an outside overall view of the car
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1701.jpg - a shot of the intercooler scoop
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1702.jpg - the IMS wings emblem showing it's typical wear
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1720.jpg - only 4730 miles on the car. But it really seems like a lot considering the only time the car was driven was during the race and to and from the museum storage a little bit.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1725.jpg - the obviously didn't really bother cleaning it up too much before bringing it out.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1726.jpg - they left the keys in it with the windows down for like an hour, I was tempted to take it.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1730.jpg - The whole dash
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/IMG_1731.jpg - the drivers side cloth seat.

These last couple pictures were taken by Matthew Elliot of Greenlight Toys who's working on our TTA model. He was able to crawl around the car a little, where as I asked if they could open the hood or the trunk and they couldn't find anyone with the authority to see if it was ok. I'll be emailing him to see if I can get the rest of his pictures but this was something interesting that he saw and I didn't, but neither of us know for sure the purpose of them.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/86___89_pacecars_079.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/86___89_pacecars_080.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/86___89_pacecars_081.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/86___89_pacecars_082.jpg

 

[Who Needs 8]

but neither of us know for sure the purpose of them.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/IMSTTA/86___89_pacecars_082.jpg

I'm guessing the control boxes for the rear strobes.


VERY COOL Pics.

 

[j13smiley]

that would be my guess as well - all the wiring for the light bars.

thanks for hte pics!

my car had hte overspray on the rear hatch glass... i thought it was overspray from the body work i had done around the ttops.

 

[72firebird]

I'm guessing the control boxes for the rear strobes.


VERY COOL Pics.

yeah you're probably right, we were thinking some sort of a noise reducing thing. Like extra weight to keep the hatch from rattling or just some sort of noise deadening to keep any noises away from the camera. Better be ready for tonight though cause there's a whole bunch of stuff to find on the 6spd car. There's a couple control boxes and stuff that I don't know what they're for. But I should have those pics up by 7 probably.

 

[davege]

Thanks for the shots!

The interior shot shows 37 on the key fob. I am wondering if that is the number the car was assigned at Indy. I would have thought it would have been 1,2 or 3.

- Dave

 

[72firebird]

Thanks for the shots!

The interior shot shows 37 on the key fob. I am wondering if that is the number the car was assigned at Indy. I would have thought it would have been 1,2 or 3.

- Dave

37 is probably just how they identify the car in the warehouse that it sits in. They just have like all the keys together and some of the people who move the cars don't even know what they are so they have to identify them by numbers.

 

[Quiky One]

Neat pics. Couple ?'s...Why did they do away with the 3rd brakelight? Could they not have kept it? What about the rear defogger? Is it not usable anymore? I know it was a pace car but didnt it have like 45k miles? or was 4k?

Jason

 

[Who Needs 8]

What about the rear defogger?

So that the lines weren't on the Camera Shots during the race.

 

[Quiky One]

So that the lines weren't on the Camera Shots during the race.

Awwwww

Thanks Jason

 

[phillyturbosix]

Cool pics! The flaw you saw in the clear is comon of how they painted cars in 1989. A razor blade will take that right off. My car has it and I left the drip there. Just look around at the body panels on these cars. None of them line up perfect and there is gaps all over the place. Just the way things were built back in 89. I'm sure that car had a nice hard 4K put on it. I talked to a guy who drove a press car into Indy and he said they beat the living hell out of all them. He said he spotted some of the pace cars with bald tires by the end of the race!

Jason they did away with the 3rd brake light because they didn't want anything to distract you from the strobes.

 

[72firebird]

Alright here's the 6spd TTA that's in the GM Heritage Collection. There's a lot of stuff mixed up with this car so I'll try to catch it all but I know you guys will catch some more stuff. Again, there's no engine bay shots and I wasn't able to open the doors or trunk.

Some exterior shots including some undercarraige shots:

http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2264.jpg - an outside picture showing the hard top. Notice no nose emblem and the Turbo Trans Am badge being below the door guard.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2277.jpg - another front shot.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2265.jpg - again the lower Turbo emblem and a little shot of the wheels.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2276.jpg - another show of the wheels.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2266.jpg - another front side shot
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2279.jpg - a good shot of the wheels
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2272.jpg - rear show with the single exhaust.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2404.jpg - a shot of the exhaust from underneath
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2274.jpg - rear side shot, notice the regular firebird badge on the sail panel.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2275.jpg - closer shot of the firebird emblem.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2283.jpg - shot of the oil/tranny coiler up front.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2414.jpg - another shot of the oil/tranny cooler lines
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2415.jpg - the intercooler scoop, it appeared stock.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2285.jpg - front fog light hole, turned into a brake duct
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2286.jpg - the ducting for the brakes
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2416.jpg - I'm pretty sure this is where the air came out from the brake ducting I couldn't really tell but as you can tell it looks like the ducting feeding into it.

Some interior and other random shots, this is where things start to get sketchy.

http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2267.jpg - little glimpse of the roll cage.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2268.jpg - If I remember right the car had swing outs.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2269.jpg - you can see the 6spd from the ZR1s
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2270.jpg - some more shots of the cage
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2271.jpg - I'm not sure what the red control box is or the steel line running up so someone else can guess.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2280.jpg - the gauges, everything looks fairly normal
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2282.jpg - Only 644 miles on it. One weird small change is the x2 on the speedometer. I don't know if they just didn't take the time to recalibrate the speedometer or what.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2405.jpg - a push button ignition and you can see the clutch pedal too
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2406.jpg - Some wear on the drivers seat. It looked really weird like something had been pressing against it and pinched the leather or something. You can also see where the cage bolts together.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2407.jpg - the window net, I don't really know why they needed it. I tried reading the paper but couldn't really get in far enough and there were people constantly watching us.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2408.jpg - this shows how the shifter is lower down in the center console.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2409.jpg - still had a regular Trans Am map pocket
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2410.jpg - a better shot of the pedals and what looked like some sort of brake controller better shot in the next picture
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2411.jpg - the little bleeder valve that I'm guessing was a brake controller.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2412.jpg - a better shot of that control box that strapped to the cage, still have no clue what it is.
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2413.jpg - another shot of it.

That's all the photos I have of the car. I might try talking to a guy I know that got us in for this "tour" of the collection and see if I can make an appointment to see the car again. I'd like to see under the hood and just really get the chance to search all over the car for a couple hours. It's a very interesting car and is definatley a one of a kind.

 

[72firebird]

Cool pics! The flaw you saw in the clear is comon of how they painted cars in 1989. A razor blade will take that right off. My car has it and I left the drip there. Just look around at the body panels on these cars. None of them line up perfect and there is gaps all over the place. Just the way things were built back in 89. I'm sure that car had a nice hard 4K put on it. I talked to a guy who drove a press car into Indy and he said they beat the living hell out of all them. He said he spotted some of the pace cars with bald tires by the end of the race!

Jason they did away with the 3rd brake light because they didn't want anything to distract you from the strobes.

Yeah I tried explaining that to a couple of my friends who are painters and they kept telling me that no car would come from the factory like that. My car has what looks like a finger print in the passenger headlight and a couple other flaws in the paint. I bought the car with only 16k miles on it and the carfax is clean. I've had a lot of the car apart and from what I can tell nothing has ever been replace. One guy tried telling me that the seam on the sail panel where the fender meets the roof there's like a wave in the paint. He kept trying to say it was replaced and that they just didn't blend it right, but if you open the interior panel you can see the original VIN sticker and it definatley has never been touched, and if they did they did a damn good job.

 

[phillyturbosix]

When I got my TTA I took it to my body shop. My body guy has been in the business for 30 years and repaired tons of IROC's and GTA's back in the day. Him and his guys crawled all over my car and told me he remembers people buying GTA's new and bringing them to him to have the lines on the fenders and hood fixed and clean up stuff like that clear drips. That was just the way they were built. When they looked over my car all of them agreed not one panel had ever been touched. Finger prints in the paint blems and runs were all normal stuff back in the mid to late 80's. Do don't worry about what your friends say it all normal.

That picture where you thought it was a push button ignition is really a fire switch. Most likely a fire system under the hood. That control box on the bar might even be a part of it. That's why it says "fire" on it. In other words it's the "oh $hit" button

Cool pics! thanks for sharing!

 

[Quiky One]

That 6 speed car is really a cool piece. Thanks for sharing. Notice the headliner already sagging and no spoiler cracking??

Jason

 

[72firebird]

When I got my TTA I took it to my body shop. My body guy has been in the business for 30 years and repaired tons of IROC's and GTA's back in the day. Him and his guys crawled all over my car and told me he remembers people buying GTA's new and bringing them to him to have the lines on the fenders and hood fixed and clean up stuff like that clear drips. That was just the way they were built. When they looked over my car all of them agreed not one panel had ever been touched. Finger prints in the paint blems and runs were all normal stuff back in the mid to late 80's. Do don't worry about what your friends say it all normal.

That picture where you thought it was a push button ignition is really a fire switch. Most likely a fire system under the hood. That control box on the bar might even be a part of it. That's why it says "fire" on it. In other words it's the "oh $hit" button

Cool pics! thanks for sharing!

Yeah I told the guy that I had seen the actual pace car with 4k miles that's been in a storage facility all it's life and that it had a clear drip which is why I took the picture, so that I could show it to him. Unbelievable what they could get away with back then, you try anything like that today and the person will probably try to return it as a lemon. In my opinion it just adds a little character to the car. I like showing people the finger print in the headlight and most people just laugh and some just don't believe it was factory.

Yeah you're probably right on the button I dunno what i was thinking when I typed it. I tried asking Scott Settlemeire (head of the F-body division at GM) about the car but he said it was a little bit before his time so he didn't really know any history. I wonder if Jeff Bietzel might know anything about the car or if it was exclusively worked on by GM.

 

[1BADDAM]

Great Pics !!!!!!!!!!!!

Is the camera'd TTA the actual car that was clocked at 171.xx mph at Indy ?

 

[Who Needs 8]

I didn't see anyone say this, and I don't know the exact history of this 6spd car, but one thing I noticed that my crazy car brain turned a light on is that this 6spd car is a 1988 model. The picture of the rear seat only has a lap belt, shoulder belts in the rear seats weren't required until the '89 model year.

What exactly is the story of this 6spd car?

And if they multiplied the speedo by 2 than that means it actually has 1288 miles.

 

[davege]

Is it me or has the 6 speed car been repainted? Look at the "a shot of the exhaust from underneath" photo
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2404.jpg . I see red paint and the primer on our cars is grey.

I wonder if was originally a red 88 Bird?

- Dave

 

[72firebird]

Is it me or has the 6 speed car been repainted? Look at the "a shot of the exhaust from underneath" photo
http://home.comcast.net/~FIRE72BIRD/6SpdTTA/IMG_2404.jpg . I see red paint and the primer on our cars is grey.

I wonder if was originally a red 88 Bird?

- Dave

I'm going to guess that it was an 88 that was pulled off the line and worked on. Then they probably had to repaint it once they were done hacking at it.

 

[TurboJunky]

I'm guessing the control boxes for the rear strobes.


VERY COOL Pics.

Correct. That's where Dave installed the strobe control boxes.