[RAJ7395]

Check out e-bay item # 200174727555.

Comments??

I say if you can get and half million for it more power to you!!

[70ra455]

Only about 430K overpriced. Not too bad.

[JimFB400HO]

Looks like a really nice car but WOW!.

Perhaps I'm not familiar enough with the '69s and quite wrong here but I was wondering about a few items when thinking about a 400 out of 400 rating:

- Screws through the console shifter plate.
- No emissions stickers
- crooked front valence panel
- rear spring bolts, perch and axle tube black instead of steel
- unpainted trunk latch

[GTOGreg]

I've paid more for a haircut

[steveK]

Hey RAJ....yours has to be close to that one in caliber Jim, nice catch on the shifter plate screws, 398 point car now so 480,000 bid then!

[trmjr1]

If you are going to ask $500K for a car, it had better be 100% correct and expect it to be picked over for every little detail.

I am certainly not a TA expert but have been messing with 1st Gen Firebirds since 1978 and have seen quite a few TA's over the years. Jim noticed a few obvious things to First Gen owners. I also noticed that the emergency brake cables don't look like anything I have ever seen under one of these cars - maybe just the lighting/way picture taken, but all the e-brake cables I have seen have the wound cable shield on them. The fuel tank straps and insulators don't look right to me. All the originals I have seen are painted black and have the asphalt insulator pieces on them, not rubber. There is no trunk spatter paint over spray on the hinges and the way the brake line to the rear differential is run looks "off" to me - I will have to look under mine to be sure. Again, could be the angle and the way the picture taken. I think the rear spoilers were installed after the car was painted and therefore the spoiler mounting bolts would not have been painted? I am not sure about the differential housing being painted black or not - there seems to be some instances where they are painted black but the mounting loop, T-bolts and nuts were plated, not black.

Overall, a very nice car and if documented, looks to be worth somewhere in the $100K range.

There is a "Make Offer" option on this auction - you never know. They may take a reasonable offer of $75-100K.

Tom

[Kurt S]

The axle assemblies (including brake drums) came into the plant painted black. A cardboard shield was placed over on the U-joint mounts to keep that area paint free.

[Chiefpontiac]

Originally Posted by JimFB400HO

Looks like a really nice car but WOW!.

Perhaps I'm not familiar enough with the '69s and quite wrong here but I was wondering about a few items when thinking about a 400 out of 400 rating:

- Screws through the console shifter plate.

This is correct for '69.

[einstein]

The shifter plate only had screws after the pot-metal tabs (which held the spring clips) broke off the bottom of the plate. I believe it was actually a dealer technical bulletin that made the fix, I am thinking the factory did not do the screws.

[steveK]

....learn sometin' new everyday. Thanks Glenn!

[Matt Meaney]

Originally Posted by trmjr1

If you are going to ask $500K for a car, it had better be 100% correct and expect it to be picked over for every little detail.

I am certainly not a TA expert but have been messing with 1st Gen Firebirds since 1978 and have seen quite a few TA's over the years. Jim noticed a few obvious things to First Gen owners. I also noticed that the emergency brake cables don't look like anything I have ever seen under one of these cars - maybe just the lighting/way picture taken, but all the e-brake cables I have seen have the wound cable shield on them. The fuel tank straps and insulators don't look right to me. All the originals I have seen are painted black and have the asphalt insulator pieces on them, not rubber. There is no trunk spatter paint over spray on the hinges and the way the brake line to the rear differential is run looks "off" to me - I will have to look under mine to be sure. Again, could be the angle and the way the picture taken. I think the rear spoilers were installed after the car was painted and therefore the spoiler mounting bolts would not have been painted? I am not sure about the differential housing being painted black or not - there seems to be some instances where they are painted black but the mounting loop, T-bolts and nuts were plated, not black.

Overall, a very nice car and if documented, looks to be worth somewhere in the $100K range.

There is a "Make Offer" option on this auction - you never know. They may take a reasonable offer of $75-100K.

Tom

i've been to their show room many times over the years (although not recently). the quality of the car (lack of) vs. the price is mindboggeling. imo no way, no how would they accept a "reasonable" offer.

[boater bill]

Maybe being overly critical, probably just jealous,

But the back of the hood looks like mine, kicked up about 1/4" because the aftermarket hinges aren't worth a ****.

And the screw fix looks hokey. Get a plate that doesn't have broken tabs.

but man that is a beautiful dream

[trmjr1]

Boater Bill,

I don't think you can be too critical when someone wants $500K for a car!

Of the '69 TA's sold recently, that I am aware of, only one was over $100K and it was a Ram Air IV car. The others I have watched were between $75 and $96K.

I looked at a '69 TA Ram Air III w/4 speed earlier this year. It was a rust bucket and in pieces. The engine and trans did not match, could not determine if the rear end was correct due to rust, there were no ram air pans and the interior needed to be replaced. It was priced very high for the condition.

I think any of us who love these first gen Firebirds "dreams" of owning a '69 TA. I was offered one in 1982 for the grand sum of $2500. I was in college, had just bought a house and couldn't afford it. Oh well, what can you do? I keep looking for that proverbial "barn find". Maybe some day I will find it.

Tom

[RAJ7395]

Steve- Man I wish!! I've got most of the pieces now but really need to quit being a perfectionist and just get the thing done.

I just couldn't dolly out the floor pans and get them to look right and blew some holes in them trying to fix the pin holed portions. SO... out went the pan and in went a new one piece pan. Next, I found filler and rust in the outter cowl panels so I replaced them as well. Somehow, I managed to drop the body off the jackstands and crunched my new passenger side rear quarter panel. DOOOOUGH!!! I just had to walk away from it for a while after that. I bought a rotisserie and put the body on it and tinker around a little.

I have made some good progress on the parts side though. I found the following date matched parts; production 7029270 carb, intake, distributor, heads, block, crank, power steering gear box, TH400 housing, blower motor, water pump, flex fan, power steering pump and a nicer OEM rear wing. I already had an original steel hood, tubes, hood bezels, NOS fenders, RA pans, fender extractors, 1 inch sway bar, 3.55 posi with nodular iron center section, and rear wing. Unfortunately, I just found out the that UP radiator that I have isn't dated correctly for my car so I'll be looking around for one along with a real 400 front bumper emblem, some date correct single piston calipers, correct spiral shocks, and some other parts.

I do enjoy the hunt for parts as I get a chance to meet so many great people.

[steveK]

Sounds like it is coming along nicely. You like that scavenger hunt stuff doncha? I was saving parts since 79 in hopes one day I would get a 69 TA. So my efforts paid off well but now that I am more edumichated now in this subject more then ever Iwish I knew then what I know now. Woulda been a helluva lot easier!!! As long as you keep the project moving along It"ll be well worth the trip!

[tom s]

Tom,the Barrett RA IV car for the 99K was not a real car.The owner copped out when a buyer asked if he would pull the heater to prove the car if he bought it.Still a 100K clone.I believe a true PHS IV car would be way over the 150-175 range.Tom

[trmjr1]

Tom,

How's it going? Haven't seen/talked with you in a long time. I lived in Foothill Ranch from 2001-2004 and used to hit all the POCI shows. We talked quite a bit at the 2003 POCI Regional show at the Long Beach Airport. You had your RA V TA and an another RA V engine on display. Matt L. came late with his RA III TA before he sold.

I agree - a documented RA IV is in the range you mentioned. Anyway, the RA IV car I am refering to was local and it reportedly sold for $125K. It was a true RA IV TA, just not sure if it had the original block and had not been restored - was pretty original. I have not seen a RA III go for over $100K yet, but then again, I am not in the "circle" when it comes to these cars. Only what I have seen on the web and talking with people at TA Nationals. Another friend recently purchased a local RA III 4 speed TA and is in the process of restoring it. He wants to have it ready by next spring.

Tom

[tom s]

things are good,might be selling my T/A,dont drive it much anymore.I have a Xtra 303 short deck engine so I might just build a 69 RA bird and put it in it.Tom

[RAJ7395]

Steve - As crazy as it may seem, I do enjoy the challenge associated with the hunt for rare parts. Once in a while, I get to help others with their projects and that's rewarding as well. Yeah... I too have become way to edumichated on the 69 TA and can't stop myself from picking out flaws in the pictures people post rather than enjoying the car for what it is. I looked at the $500K TA and my first thought was "Hey that guys got the wrong power steering cooler line hose clamps, the foam protective sleeves that go over the heater core line and the upper radiator hoses are missing, screws in shifter plate, Burlwood dash applique on a standard interior car?, no emission sticker on the upper drivers 400 baffle, and on and on.

[threefidee]

I am pretty sure this car is the one that sold at BJ back in 05 for $109,000 ish. One sold this fall around here for $127,000 and it was a RA 3. Probably a low 2 car from what my friend told me. A RA 4 car that is good will bring way more than that. I thought the car that sold this fall for 127 brought more than it was worth. There will be one available this Spring that is a true #1 car that I think will be interesting to see what a RA 3 car can bring. My guess is 150 considering the average car bringing 127. I am no expert by any means but it is fun to watch. A $500,000 buy it now is silly as we all know but it would be fun to see what kind of bids he is actually getting.

Jody