[3tas4me]

I have noticed that there are several sub-forums in some of the year/car forums on this site. How about a Y88 forum in here? It would be a great place to share questions and info on these S/E's and keep it in one place. I will start. I have owned three Y88's, the first being a 4-speed (wish I had that one back), a base 400 and the W-72 auto that I own now. I will try to dig up some pics of them. As a side note, I have been working on trying to come up with the correct interior camel tan dye and I think I found the right one. Per SEM tech support, custom mix 1655 is a direct match for 1978 and 1979 GM camel tan.

[Nick623]

Good idea! Y88 is my favorite later 2nd gen TA. I had a Y88 before, it was an W72 auto, WS6, and it had a CB radio, it was a cool car. I am on the hunt for an Y88 W72 auto WS6 currently.

PS, thanks for the info on the SEM interior dye color.

[3tas4me]

Here are a couple of pics of my Y88 L78 auto car that I picked up a couple of years ago. Bought it as a project for my daughter and I but then decided it needed far too much work. Car was very well optioned. I had the original drivetrain for it, but it was out of the car.

[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by Nick623

Good idea! Y88 is my favorite later 2nd gen TA. I had a Y88 before, it was an W72 auto, WS6, and it had a CB radio, it was a cool car. I am on the hunt for an Y88 W72 auto WS6 currently.

PS, thanks for the info on the SEM interior dye color.

I think the W72/auto combo is one of the harder ones to find. I seem to see more 4-speeds than auto W72's out there. I know there was a thread on this several years ago. The exact breakdown of the engine/trans combos was not known at that time, don't know if anyone has come up with it since then either.

[2manyT/A'S]

There seems to be a TON of confusion and strange #'s regarding 78 T/A W72 production figures.......according to the experts...there were MORE W72 auto's built than sticks...but I'm not buying in to THAT program...

[Skip Fix]

Problem with the auto/W72s was about April '78 they quit selling them with the autos and only 4 speeds could get them.

[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by Skip Fix

Problem with the auto/W72s was about April '78 they quit selling them with the autos and only 4 speeds could get them.

My current Y88 project was built the third week of February so it fits into that time frame nicely. It is the second W72/auto that I have owned. At one time I had a 1978 Y82. That was my first W72/auto.

[johnta1]

I have noticed that there are several sub-forums in some of the year/car forums on this site. How about a Y88 forum in here?

Do like the 70-73 Firebird guys did:
(make your own basically)

Super Duty Forum

They wouldn't give us a separate area, so we use a thread as a 'forum'.
Highest ranked thread on PY!

[62cat]

What should the trim on my tops be. I can see where the gold stripe is but is the rest supposed to be black or natural. Mine dont appear to have ever had black on them. Thanks

[Judge273]

I know its a basic question? But what is a Y88? Please elaborate...

[Nick623]

Originally Posted by Skip Fix

Problem with the auto/W72s was about April '78 they quit selling them with the autos and only 4 speeds could get them.

I've never known of that before, where did you find that information?

Originally Posted by 62cat

What should the trim on my tops be. I can see where the gold stripe is but is the rest supposed to be black or natural. Mine dont appear to have ever had black on them. Thanks

The trim around the t-tops should be black as well as the window trims.

[78 TA KID]

SOMEDAY I WILL GET A Y88 W72 4SPD WS6 LOW MILEAGE SAVIOR CAR. I LOVE Y88'S

[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by 78 TA KID

SOMEDAY I WILL GET A Y88 W72 4SPD WS6 LOW MILEAGE SAVIOR CAR. I LOVE Y88'S

Might not want to wait too long, they aren't getting any cheaper. Speaking of, what do you all think the going rate is for the various Y88's these days? Assume a strong number 2 condition and identical options, how would you value a L78, 403, W72/auto and W72 4-speed? Anybody have a feel for these? Seems that the Y88's don't bring as much money as the other SE's do from what I see.

[2manyT/A'S]

Originally Posted by 3tas4me

Might not want to wait too long, they aren't getting any cheaper. Speaking of, what do you all think the going rate is for the various Y88's these days? Assume a strong number 2 condition and identical options, how would you value a L78, 403, W72/auto and W72 4-speed? Anybody have a feel for these? Seems that the Y88's don't bring as much money as the other SE's do from what I see.

I had a nicely optioned WS4 (base #'s match engine) Y88 for sale last summer....ran and drove but needed some bodywork,paint and seat covers/carpet etc.

7 of the 10 people that came to look at it were going to paint it black....

Bandit "wanna be" thing,I guess?...

[BARRACUDA1968]

Originally Posted by 3tas4me

Might not want to wait too long, they aren't getting any cheaper. Speaking of, what do you all think the going rate is for the various Y88's these days? Assume a strong number 2 condition and identical options, how would you value a L78, 403, W72/auto and W72 4-speed? Anybody have a feel for these? Seems that the Y88's don't bring as much money as the other SE's do from what I see.

I have a pretty nice Y88 T Top 4 speed car and I would call it at least a number 2 car. PHS docs



For a nice documented car the 4 speed brings a little more $$ but $25 to $40K seems to be what I've seen. Here are 3 for sale right now.

My car is interesting because it's the only one I've ever seen with standard interior. No power windows or locks but has Rear Defrost; power trunk; came with 8 track and T Tops. I wish I could find out how many Y88's with 4 speed had standard interior.

http://www.cars-on-line.com/62337.html

http://www.cars-on-line.com/57931.html

http://www.cars-on-line.com/55521.html

[68ragtop]

I am hopeful that someday there will be some clarity on the W72 Y88 Automatic cars.
As several of you guys know, This has bothered me for the last 5 years for sure..

When I was just out of high school, (1986) a buddy of mine had a Y88 automatic car that would spank my 78 trans am. We never knew why at the time, but it sure ticked me off a bit. Maybe it was the chrome valve covers I thought?........ haha.

There was no info out on these cars at the time, they weren't collector cars, no internet wealth of information, none of that stuff. If somebody would have said WS6, Y88 or W72, you would probably just get a black eye for talking stupid. They were just cool cars that were aging just enough were if you were 18-20 years old & had a good job you just might be able to pick one up for $4000- $6000 with 50-60K on the clock.

So fast forward to 1994. I start looking for a Y88 car like my buddy had. At that time Auto Trader magazine was the only way you were going to find one. I located a Y88 about 6 hours South of me & I hit the road. I bought the car (still have it today) but was surprised to learn it didn't have the high output engine. Back then I thought it was part of the special edition package. That's when I started to learn about the Y88, WS6, W72, & all the options that were never part of the S/E package. My buddies car had every option, so I just thought it was standard equipment.

From that day forward I continued to look for W72 automatic Y88's I had zero luck finding one after several years of hunting. As luck would have it, I eventually found one. As it turned out it was a vin match to my buddies lost Y88 from 1986. The car is priceless to me.....

Over the last decade I have for sure seen more 4 speed cars than Automatic W72's while I don't think the w72 auto's are crazy rare, I don't think there are a lot of them. Not sure how there really could be. A car that came out in April of 78, has the option stripped away the same month. How many got through? Who knows. But I feel its very conservitivly less then 2,000. If somebody found the numbers & I had to guess I would say 400-600 maybe.....
The 6000 listed on various sites is ludicrous.

As these cars are gaining popularity, its a crying shame the numbers are so garbled.

[johnta1]

Do you agree with the 21,384 W72 automatic Birds were made in 1978?
(both TA and Formula)

[2manyT/A'S]

Originally Posted by johnta1

Do you agree with the 21,384 W72 automatic Birds were made in 1978?
(both TA and Formula)

If they made that many.....somedoy either bought most of them and still has them ........or they were all shipped to Siberia.......

I've been looking at 78 T/A's for over 35 years and haven't seen alot of them......personally.....

That # has to be wrong.........

[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

If they made that many.....somedoy either bought most of them and still has them ........or they were all shipped to Siberia.......

I've been looking at 78 T/A's for over 35 years and haven't seen alot of them......personally.....

That # has to be wrong.........

I remember the thread that was started on this subject a few years ago. If I remember, John Witzke confirmed the total number of W72 automatics to be what you are saying above. I believe that number is probably accurate however, like you, I too have never seen a lot of W-72 automatics on the market. I personally have owned two 1978 W-72 automatics with the second one being my current Y88. The W-72 automatic was available right at the start of 1978 production but was stopped before the end of the 1978 run. Since the Y88 was a mid year option, the early end of W-72/auto production meant few W-72 Y88's were built with automatics. I think you are probably correct that more 4-speed W-72 Y88's were built than automatic W-72 Y88's.

[68ragtop]

Originally Posted by 3tas4me

I remember the thread that was started on this subject a few years ago. If I remember, John Witzke confirmed the total number of W72 automatics to be what you are saying above. I believe that number is probably accurate however, like you, I too have never seen a lot of W-72 automatics on the market. I personally have owned two 1978 W-72 automatics with the second one being my current Y88. The W-72 automatic was available right at the start of 1978 production but was stopped before the end of the 1978 run. Since the Y88 was a mid year option, the early end of W-72/auto production meant few W-72 Y88's were built with automatics. I think you are probably correct that more 4-speed W-72 Y88's were built than automatic W-72 Y88's.

What is the build date of your car? I always thought it would interesting to have a registry of the Y88 W72 Automatics & see how far apart the dates get. Always guessed they had to be several weeks apart, not several months. I was under the assumption the automatics could no longer be ordered after some point in april of 78, or was it later than that?

My car was built in the first week of April. (04A on the cowl tag)