o No: My brother wants to know what makes a GS better than a T/A ??? This will be good !!ou: P/S he'll check the replys at night!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Because there are 3958497593975 TA's out there and he'd just be one of the thousands that ware driving aroud town. A GS will stand out, regardless of physical condition. It's a pride thing. Grab a 455 and he's in business. That thing could whip a T/A if he takes the guidance offered on this site. I can see many many posts coming on this one...maybe a 2 or 3 pager!
it is kinda not a good comparison. while they both can have the same size motor/tranny combo, they are different types of car. think stock car vs. sports car. you can make a GS handle very well and you can make a firebird accelerate like snot, but they both fit different purposes better than the other. for my own preference, i would take a T/A over a Z28. and i would take a GS over a GTO. i also like oranges better than apples, and redheads better than blondes. ':spank:'
"Better"? Ooh. It's a toss up for me. I like them BOTH (Ok, but I PREFER the GS):laugh: They both have 455's (although "WE" :TU: all know that the Buick outranks the Pontiac):brow::grin:. They both have cool Hoodscoops for Ram Air, and Rear Spoilers for nothing else but GOOD LOOKS!:Brow: Bucket seats, Floor Shifters, 15" Factory Mags with big meats all around, Arr, Arr, Arr (as Tim "the Toolman" Taylor would say).:grin: One thing that makes a BUICK "BETTER" is that "It's NOT a CHEVELLE (or a Cutlass, or a GTO, either)! The BUICK is DEFINITELY something MORE!:TU:
That's definitely not an easy question! It's fairly obvious to anyone on the board what's so great about the GS. Have to admit though...there have been some exceptional TA's over the 4 Generation run!! Starting with the first one - the 69 TA! What a beautiful car!! It's a shame so few were produced.ou: Then of course, there were the Super Duty TA's/Formula's. Throw some compression at them and go racing! Arguably one of the BEST F-bodies ever - the 20th Anniversary, 1989 TA - with the GNX engine/tranny!!!:bglasses: :TU: Buick powered - 'nuff said!!:TU: :TU: Last but not least - the LT1 and LS1 cars. Unbelievable cars...but victims of their own success (or something like that). The fact that a 350/6 speed LS1 can run neck and neck with a stock Stage 1 is nothing to sneeze at!! I can only hope the General isn't really that dumb!!ou: Hopefully, there will be a Fifth Gen F-body that really gets everyones attention!!! They might even try advertising this one!!:Brow: ou: *I'd have to agree with some of the above comments...kind of like picking between blonds and brunettes...auto vs. standard...drag car vs. road course car, etc. Neither one could be considered a bad choice!! The one area that the TA could get the nod, would be availability of parts/body panels.
I agree with all of the above. Tell him to buy what he likes. As far as GM continuing the TA, I look back at what happened to Buick's Grand National after it disturbed Corvette sales. I think a few potential Corvette buyers went Buick at half the price, and the bean counters said "NO MORE!!!"
Toss up Well, I can tell you that I own a 71 GS 455 and I've owned a 71 455 HO TA. Both are really neat cars with awesome big block power. The tie breaker in my opinion is the full frame under my GS. Those old F-bodys like to start to sag a bit at the firewall after about 30 yrs That TA was the only car I ever had that could boil the rear tires as easily as my GS and MAN did it handle in the corners :grin:
You could allways have the best of both worlds as I am striveing towards. I am droping a BBB 455-SF in a 79 Trans Am. Gotta have more power, Arr, Arr, Arr.p
Thats a great point. F-Body backseats are great if your a kid but forget about ever doing anything back there as a full size adult. Including sitting comfortably.
Hey, I was going to say that. I might as well add that with a GS, you don't really need the backseat either.
I have owned a '78 Formula with the WS6 package (back when it was just suspension). I loved it. My cousin had a '78 Firebird Espirit. He loved it. My aunt had a '69 Firebird, my uncle (her brother) had a '68 Firebird 400 (in 1968). They all had one thing in common: poor quality of construction In my experience, the Buick quality was superior to the Pontiac quality. In it's defense, the Firebird/T/A is a great performer, but I've talked to late '60s and early '70's Firebird and T/A owners (guys who had them when new) and they agree with me: most of them seem to have been made of compressed rust. I'd love to have a white '78 Trans Am with a blue thunderchicken on the hood. But I wouldn't want to restore it. Some plants may have turned out better build quality; I'd suggest seeing if you could locate one made at one of those plants if seriously considering a purchase. I have seen '70-'72 Skylarks in the junkyard here in New England with less rust than my '78 developed. On the crunch-a-bility scale, I have knocked over a tree with my car (Skylark, 1970). I needed a tow truck to pull it OFF the tree, but I drove it away without a scratch on my person. I totaled a van with it on the highway and drove home. Another van hit me T-bone at 40 mph and I drove my car home. The van went to the junkyard. I nicked fenders with a mid '80s Chevy in my Formula and the sub-frame moved so much the car took a left turn by itself. I did drive it home after that, but the fender peeled up like a Coke can from the fascia to the door, and the door overlapped the rear quarter by over an inch. We were going about 10 mph at the time of impact (I will admit it was 10 mph in opposite directions). The car was 17 years old when I bought it. The brake lines rusted through. My Skylark was 19 when i bought it- I still have two bits of original brake line- without rust. That car was driven daily in winter, spring, summer, fall from late '69 to 1995. The Firebird Formula couldn't have been treated worse than my Skylark, my Buick led a tough life before it found me, even considering the accidents. I do not consider the Firebird family a solidly built vehicle. For driving, the Firebird I had was a true driver's car. It wrapped around me like a glove, very natural seating position, everything fell to hand without me leaning in any direction. Not so in the Skylark, not by a country mile. If restoring a Firebird, bear in mind that the T/A and Firebird do not always share the same dimensions, so that a Formula or T/A from certain years may not be able to accept some parts from a Firebird of the same year. The T/A and Formula from certain years were both lower and wider than a Firebird, or at least that is what my '78s owners manual indicatedo No:
What I find is most people will walk over the top of a late model TA to look at the GS. More equal on the early TA's they are very cool cars. Have to admit that the last models are great cars.
Because the GS made and still makes mad amounts of torque. I believe someone also mentioned this already but there is an uncountable amount of TA's out there while the GS is a rare and beautiful musclecar.
I have been a long time pontiac fan and had my share of T/A's I had a 76 4spd 455 built with all the right goodies and it would pull the wheels even with that long body! My favorite was the 78 gold 400 auto loaded with T-tops, man I had some great times in that car!!! And smoked allot of Chevy's!!!!I had a 79 formula with a 70 350 ponitac that was no slouch with the 4 spd and even the 85 305 auto was a well balanced performer. I think the second generation T/A's are going to start going up in value with in the next 10 years, while they had there problems (weak frame, weak door hinges and some fit and finish issues) they were a blast to drive comfortable, cool dash, WS6 suspension t-tops. I better stop before I start looking for one! I have always loved A bodies as more of a muscle car and am in the camp that chevy's are over rated and a dime a dozen. BOP all the way!!!
One of my best Buick buddies also has 2 79 T/As. I must admit, they have their place in the world. I'd take a 71 455 HO, if I HAD to have one... :grin:
Yeah, cut up for dirt track stock cars. :laugh: :laugh: Camaros & TA's. Belly-Button cars - Everybody's got one. Nobody cares!!! :sleep: :sleep:
That's easy - my GS is running stronger than it ever has, and handles better than it ever has, thanks to the WS-6 front sway bar and steering box that came off the DEAD T/A I found in the junkyard. There's quite a few GS's out there running suspension parts from DEAD T/A's. Thanks Pontiac! :TU:
I've had one of each (sort of) from 1968 My high school car was a '68 Firebird 400. Not really a T/A, but it had the big block 400, "3/4 cam", M21 muncie 4 speed, posi rear, tach on the hood, AM radio, no air. It was a perfect high school car 'cause it was about the fastest in town then (1978). Problems were serious rear quarter rustout, it would make an IMMEDIATE left turn if you let go of the wheel at any speed over 20 mph (previous crash damage, bent front subframe), and a badly oxidized second (or third maybe) paint job. It was noisy and I spent more time under it than I did driving it. It handled poorly, tracking every crack in the pavement. It was pretty much a clapped out beater, but it would be worth restoring now. In fact, replacing it now would cost a lot, even if you just bought a beater to restore. And parts would be expensive. The '68 GS400 (with 455) I have now is an automatic, has A/C (still to be fixed) and is already restored. I can drive the car anywhere I want to. It is WAY faster than the Firbird ever was. It is much quieter. It rides and handles BETTER than a first gen Firebird. There is room in car to scare the cr*p out of 4 or 5 of my kids and their friends when they go for a ride. The trunk is bigger. And I have about HALF the money into it that I would have had to spend for an equal condition '68 Firebird bigblock car. I liked both cars, but I like the Buick better.
