1987 Pontiac Trans Am GTA digital dash

[jiberesh111]

i have a 1987 trans am gta and it has something like that

[wengertime89]

Yeah ur right, did more searching must be a bunch of idiots I asked lol

[wengertime89]

U sure this aint a fake gta? Looking on gta source page all about gtas it says digi dash is not for gta models. I've asked many hot rod owners they agree u wanna see a gta see my videos

[TripleTransAm]

@wengertime89 Not sure what page you're looking at, but this one seems pretty clear about digital dashes and GTAs. Look at the modelfeatures.html page of the gtasourcepage. As for the hot rod owners you've asked, well I guess they aren't so knowledgeable after all. My GTA is authenticated by GM Canada and PHS, so there's nothing fake about it, including the digital dash RPO. So that should clear up whatever misinformation you got. Congrats on your GTA!

[ciaranmcguigan35]

where can I buy these dashboards and do you know if they will work for a 1986 firebird?

[V8TransAmGTA]

Nice!

I have digital dash too and I love it!! :)

[hayabusafmw]

best car ever built by americans!

[TripleTransAm]

@hayabusafmw LOL! Your enthusiasm is nice to see, but once you own one of these you realize just how badly screwed together they were! I used to joke that every screw was crossthreaded from factory on this car! And I feel bad for those who had to suffer the "bad paint" (Van Nuys cars?). Nonetheless, still pretty much my favourite car on the planet. :-)

[mslevitz]

@TripleTransAm So sad but true. I had my rebuilt from the ground up. First thing i told those guys was. Find some better screws for the dash lol

[DarkSlayer487]

@TripleTransAm You can say that again. You can't drive down the block in one of these without SOMETHING screwing up. Wether its the engine or the upholstery, something is ALWAYS wrong.

[lemonjellies]

Blame Knight Rider for this.

[1320carlover]

wheres the turbo boost button?

[MrSlevin22]

love the digital dash my fleetwood has it wish the rest of my cars did

[muthatrukka24]

bring back the digital dash!

[alterbridgeGLOBE]

where does it show the miladge because i have a 87 gta and i think im missing one of the computers because it does not shw it anywear dont say im dumb or anything because i feel like it im only 13 dont know much about cars yet

[sd1v8driver]

@alterbridgeGLOBE The milage readout is on a seperate screen to the right of the main dash (above the heated rear screen button). Hope it helps.

[ChronicEye]

i have a black spot on the speedometer how do u fix that

[kirbyyasha]

What an amazing sound, I could listen to that engine accelerate again, and again, and again, and again.

[MrNismoSR20]

Where's the Knight Rider theme music? Awesome dash.

[HoLDoN4Sec]

i hope the digital dashboards will come back in the near future...

seriously, the only new car i know that has a digital dash today is the honda civic... -.-

[TripleTransAm]

@HoLDoN4Sec I think there are a few. I thought the Prius has one? Possibly other electric/hybrids. The new Lambo has a real cool digital setup, with customized gages. As for Civic, I'll be picking up a recent one this afternoon... we'll see how it works out, it seems to have the same LCD setup for the speedo as on my GTA.

[HoLDoN4Sec]

@TripleTransAm

awesome!

i also want to report(lol) that i've seen a parking Mazda 3 (2011) and it seems to have digital dash also :o

but just like in the civic, its in the middle of the dash... :o

[bigpowerfulpeople]

@HoLDoN4Sec they stopped making digital dash because, strangely enough, consumers 'didnt like them'. i find that hard to believe, though. They are pretty damn awesome.

[RicerEater1978]

@hardtobluff i love third gen firebird and early 4th gen camaros over all other models of both. but i will take a 3rd gen any day. i know the 4th gens were quicker and had more potential, but 3rd ya cant beat 3rd gen style :)

[TripleTransAm]

@RicerEater1978 Each gen has it's pluses and minuses. Styling wise, it depends on the owners. Owning two '78s (L78 base and W72/WS6/4sp), the GTA, and a 1998 6-sp Ram Air T/A, I can tell you each car has its own personality. Each one has some quality that makes me go "aaahhh, that's the ticket..."  but regardless, they all have a certain "Pontiac" fingerprint: performance with style and luxury. :-)

[RicerEater1978]

@TripleTransAm yeah i know what you mean. ive always been raised and owned chevy. but when the opportunity to buy an 88 gta revealed itself, i couldnt resist. going to be picking it up thursday actually, how do you like yours?

[TripleTransAm]

@RicerEater1978 Well, I've been obsessed with mine for nearly 18 years (when I got it with 16000 miles on it) so maybe I'm not the best person to ask for an unbiased opinion. ;-)

[RicerEater1978]

@TripleTransAm same here man, ive always loved the late 80s firebirds. i was actually looking at an 87 formula 350 that sadly did not work out. so when i found this 88 gta with 60k on the motor for just $3k, i nearly shit myself.

[RicerEater1978]

@TripleTransAm well, i just got my bird. an 89 firebird formula ws6. 305 swapped for a 350 tbi. i fucking love it so far. besides my rough idle problem. thinking its the iac.

[TripleTransAm]

@RicerEater1978 I hope you mean a 350 TPI and not TBI? Rough idle could mean anything. Check fuel pressure, fuel injectors, change fuel filter, check ignition wires, clean IAC, check for vacuum leaks around all the parts (runners, throttle body, hoses, etc.), vapor canister... but most importantly, look up online how to test your ECM. Basically, it involves carefully tapping the ECM while it's running to see if it misses a beat. This is how I fixed an '89 IROC. Good luck.

[RicerEater1978]

@TripleTransAm nope, 350 tbi. originally had a 305, the guy swapped it out with a new 85 camaro 350 gopher motor and kept the intake and tb on. basically whats its doing: either dies on startup or drops to 300 and picks back up, fluctuates around 600 rpm, surges under light throttle, and the exhaust wreaks of gas. i put on a new iac, switched the tps, and ive got a new o2 sensor ready to be put on. if none of that works ive got an extra tbi unit laying around ill just put it on n see what i get

[TripleTransAm]

@RicerEater1978 Yes, ok I remember, the base motor for Formula in '89 was the 305 TBI not TPI. Sorry. Anyway, O2 won't help since the engine is open loop at startup anyway. My money is on the ECM gone bad. Same symptoms as that IROC I fixed a dozen years back.

[RicerEater1978]

@TripleTransAm hmmm...well i was also told a fuel pressure regulator. ill switch the tbi and see if that helps at all. worst case scenario, ill find a junker and take the ecm and tpi out of it since that was the only thing holding me back from swapping

[bigredsled67]

This was the car in the '80s I was 18 when this car came out and wow the girls liked it!

[BurnMichaelWeston]

the inside look like kit from night rider

[Novantii]

@hardtobluff

4th gens are cool in every way except the fact that they look like import family sedans with walmart hood scoops... no thanks ill keep my 3rd gen 80s spaceship

[ThrilloVanHouten]

Whoa, you can peel out that long in the TPI 305s? Didn't realize there was THAT much difference in performance between my '89 Firebird's TBI 305 and the TPI models. Or is it mostly because of the rear? I have the lame 2.73 gears that most TBI 'birds have.

[TripleTransAm]

@ThrilloVanHouten Don't know what to say. At least this one can (or could... it's been a while!). The stock sized GS-Cs were about 3 or 4 years old at the time, not much mileage on them. For sure 3.23s are nice. I think the key to stock TPI wheelspin is overcoming the tires' initial grip... a grippier tire would probably not have let me do this. I used to show off by holding the brakes and just making the tires quietly spin at 40 rpm, people wouldn't notice until they smelled the rubber. LOL!

[TripleTransAm]

@hardtobluff 4th gens > 3rd gens from a performance point of view. Stock for stock, the 3rd gens feel like they outhandle the 4th gens. How do I know? I'm the original owner of a stock 1998 WS6 6 speed. The two cars have different feels. Same reason I also own 2 1978 Trans Ams (one a base L78 automatic, the other a loaded W72 WS6 4 speed). Each one has a different character, and different strengths.

[roadhockeymaster]

how fast



[TripleTransAm]

@roadhockeymaster LOL! Not very, if you look at it from a 1/4 mile perspective. I only ran it two times down the 1/4, second time got a 15.6 @ 88, with a bit of wheelspin. 0-60 is probably in the 7 second range. Slow by today's standards, but if you go back to 1987 it was probably just "not bad", especially if you consider the competition. Regular driving is where you enjoy the induction system, the 305 + 3.23 feels bigger than it is. Suspension is unbelievable as well.

[RichKilla86ers]

futuristic in the 80s

[KarlooMaimane]

Hi i am in Canada and i have the same T/A GTA and i have the digital dash and i dont know how to configure it in Kmh, Can you help me? thanks.

[TripleTransAm]

@KarlooMaimane There is a button on the center mounted Driver's Information Center labeled E/M if I remember (English/Metric). It toggles the displays. Unfortunately, the temperature and pressure indicators are fixed so if it's a Canadian car these are permanently marked in ink in Metric. However, the speedometer and odometer can be toggled with this button.

[sheemobile]

Kitt, get ready to make the jump

I cannot do that Michael

[JpJrHtownTX]

Dude where could i get one of these dashes do you know?

[TripleTransAm]

@JpJrHtownTX probably eBay or a junkyard, unfortunately.

[FSXPilot246]

@JpJrHtownTX Just so you know if you want to put a digital dash like this into a GTA or TA that originally had analog you will have to change out the entire harness from a digital dash car, as they are completely different. I do have a digital dash just like that in my GTA and I love it!

[Rlnthndr]

that has to be KPH.

[TripleTransAm]

@Rlnthndr Absolutely, it's a Canadian spec car although you can toggle the display for KPH or MPH. However, being a Canadian spec car, the markings on the rest of the dash (temperature, oil pressure) are metric.

[yamahonkawazuki]

@TripleTransAm aye. if i recall correctly, all digi display cars have theEM button. i got pulled over once, ( here in the US) driving a canadian friends car, cop says any idea how fast you were going? i truthfully told cop, oh about 110 or thereabouts. cop was like :O which is just shy of 70. ( limit on interstate here)

[FiredUpZ28]

I love digital dashes, too bad the tachs are usually way the fuck off

[TripleTransAm]

@FiredUpZ28 It doesn't rev anywhere fast enough to be a problem. LOL!

[DarkSoul346]

Only 4k rpm? Like that you can't take the most out of the engine

[TripleTransAm]

@DarkSoul346 There isn't much left after 4k. It's not as bad as the 350s when it comes to gasping above 4k, but there's still really not much point to keeping it revving that high on a stock 5.0 TPI.

[crzygutrsnobrdr]

that was like 90% throttle..cool dash

[Mr0ro]

TAs always had beautiful interiors

[xxxsssxxxsss]

I just got a boner.

[aaadddrrriiiaaannncc]

arent the 350 5.7 all automatic

[TripleTransAm]

You are entirely correct, they never sold a factory manual 350 TPI F-body (other than the tuner Firehawks of the early 90s, but then they weren't really TPIs to begin with). 350 TPI was automatic only on all F-cars when they were available. On GTAs there was a credit option 305 TPI + 5 speed. And then there are the bunch of 305 TPI/automatic GTAs that no one has ever been 100% clear on.

[Ratmouth66]

True story lol, im looking for an Iroc Camaro myself but havent quite decided whether a 5-speed 305 or auto 350 would be better, strictly performance wise anyways, comfort and mileage arent my issue although i know the 305s get great mileage for V8s (currently have a 91' RS Camaro, 305 auto) id preffer a 5-speed, they're usually faster in older cars and fun to drive, but the 350s had around 330-340 torque, which even beats the LS1 cars, haha, that i like, any suggestions? *scratches head*

[TripleTransAm]

The great thing about TPI is that it makes even an automatic fun to drive. It's really down to your preference. For sure the bigger motor has more potential for power once you start modifying. But there's more to driving pleasure than just power. About the LS1, my LS1 dyno'ed not far from the number you mentioned... don't believe the published rating. Below 2000 RPM, the TPI has a bit more grunt, but the curve is what counts: TPIs have a limited power band. LS1 > TPI any day.

[jfool289]

@TripleTransAm your right, i owned a 87 iroc 350 and it was fun messin with the kick down cable, you cant do that with cars today without spending the $.

[jfool289]

@TripleTransAm your right, i owned a 87 iroc 350 and it was fun messin with the kick down cable, you cant do that with cars today without spending the $.

[PR3LUDESI]

@Ratmouth66 350 with a 5 spd transmission transfer

[KLM817]

Kinda reminds me of the "knight rider" dash...your's is still cool looking, though.

[Dogfart7]

305? Arn't GTAs 350s ? I got an 87 digital dash GTA and it's a 350....

[TripleTransAm]

305s were always available on GTAs as a credit option, but most (all?) publicity indicated they came with a manual transmission. There are a number of 305 TPI/automatic GTAs out there and it's not yet clear why these were offered.

[corvettels9]

I have a book on firebirds, and it says GTA stood for GT-Automatic....?

[TripleTransAm]

There's a lot of misinformation (even in print) about Firebirds (well, any car, really). One of my books (nice photos, though) claims the GTA came with a twin-turbo 350 in a caption for a photo of a stock Tuned Port Injection V8. LOL! We might be referring to the same book here, I think. Anyway, GTA is (I think) Gran Turismo Americano. The author of the book you are referring to must have mixed it up with the 1967 Mustang GT-A, where the A did in fact stand for "automatic".

[mercedesbenz81]

my 87 is a 305 wit the digital dash the 350 is the 5.7 without the digital dash

[gittyupalice96]

shitty camera, shitty speedo, shitty 305 v8.

[dogsgone]

@gittyupalice96 Everything is shitty to you huh ? Your jealous because you don't have nothing but shit HAHAHA how ya like that. Sorry about your luck.

[theemceemurdah]

shitty comment.

[LLCoolPass]

like the car, your camera technology is poor. I can't read the dash.

[Jamesh1991]

The video quality may not be the best, but the sound certainly is :)

[MrHairmetal86]

My 1986 Trans Am came Digital Dash and it still works like new, no problems. To answer a question i saw a little down the page...a low battery may make the dash much more dim, even with the dimmer switch all the way up on bright, when my battery was on its way out my dash got really dim, but it didn't cause mte trouble switching modes.

[cameron91101]

DIGITAL DASHES Nothing but headaches all the technical glitches thats why it didnt catch on but they were cool looking at 1st glance, and thats why u dont see them hardly in any cars but the GTA what a sweet ride miss mine 2 DEATH!

[kaloyan50]

I DONT SEE ANYTHING

[TripleTransAm]

Is your monitor on? :-)

[kaloyan50]

HAHA so funny , but realy look at the quality of your video ...

is to bad i can't say anythings even mph ...

not to mention other

[TripleTransAm]

Well, of course you can't read MPH... I had the display set to KPH! :-) Seriously, though, this was uploaded back when I did not have the ability to encode the video myself in order to control the quality. Blame Youtube for this one. But yes, it really needs to be replaced with a cleaner version. I'll try to hunt down the original in the coming months and re-upload. Thanks for the reminder.

[firehawk1138]

I have an 88 trans am with the digital dash and the center read out has gone out and I cant switch from kmh to mph any more. Recently happened and the car has set for a while. Could a low battery contribute to this or is it more serious? Used to the regular 87 dash. not much experience with this dash. Any info would be helpful.

[Jobregon14]

I don't get my license until 2012, but when I do I want an '87 trans am. F*** haters.

[TripleTransAm]

LOL! Well, not everyone likes every sort of car! I finally got around to getting some new tires on the car and fixing some suspension/steering issues, and the car is finally on the road again for 2009... in September!!!!! Better than nothing, I guess. Even then, just a few minutes behind the wheel and I was transported back in time. It's not a car for everyone, but for me it's always a thrill to drive even in its totally factory stock form. Good luck with your search!

[Duke1822]

I havea 1987 Formula Five Speed 305 4bbl with WS6 and rear Drums and the 85mph spedo disk rear brakes and 140mph speedo are included with WS6 accroding to GM but who knows

[TripleTransAm]

Typical GM in the 80s... LOL!

[jamesm00769]

nice ride

[Manning713]

what a sled, my 83' Hurst /Olds with a 307 could have beaten that car in the 1/4 .

[TripleTransAm]

ummm... congratulations? LOL!

[yamahonkawazuki]

idk seems to me movin pretty good. i guess you could see the speed carefully. my guess is the driver, was BEING careful

[TripleTransAm]

22 year old car now, and it looks pretty much like it left the showroom. You bet your bottom dollar I'm not about to start beating the snot out of it. Nonetheless, it's a real old video and digital video technology's come a long way... I'm due for a new version. :-)

[catburner]

ok so i have an 88 trans am with front disc brakes and rear drum brakes is it a ws6? because arent ws6's supposed to have front and rear disc brakes ???

[TripleTransAm]

Yes, but as stated below, there appears to have been some number of GTAs without rear discs, seems to be the 305/automatic ones. All GTAs are supposed to have WS6 (you can check your RPO codes to see if your T/A has it, look in your console box). WS6 was intended to be a suspension upgrade primarily, I think the rear discs got thrown in over the years. In 1996 WS6 was reintroduced but as the overall Ram Air package (including suspension and exhaust upgrades).

[Kingshti1]

I thought the gta only came with the tuned port 350?

[TripleTransAm]

For starters, the 350 TPI was automatic-only and was supposedly standard. A 305 TPI w/ 5 speed was available for credit. I've yet to determine when/why/how they stuck in the 305 TPI/automatic combo. Initially I thought my car was a fake but both PHS and GM have authenticated it and all the options. Over the years I've come across other 305 TPI/auto GTAs (also with WS6 and rear drums). I'm hoping to find the answers one day.

[Kingshti1]

Well I do know the reason for ws6 with rear drums . It was because at that time there was a shortage of the axel with disc brakes .Supposedly all of the Formulas got the rear discs while only a few T/As were given them the T/As with rear drums were called WS7s .I read it a while ago somewhere .But it sounds like you got a pretty rare T/A cause I've never seen 1 .I have an 84 with 4 wheel discs and a 5 speed the 305 is long gone though we put in a gm crate 350 . It rips

[TripleTransAm]

I was aware of the WS7, but there is no sign of this RPO on my list. Only WS6 (as with all GTAs as far as I know). The WS7 was an early 80s thing (or possibly late 70s as well?) wasn't it? Anyway, I thought it was rare but I've seen references to a few over the years, mostly Canadian cars come to think of it.

[TripleTransAm]

Clarification: I thought the 305/auto GTA was rare, but I've seen a few over the years, maybe it's a Canadian thing?

[gajda1984]

sounds great!

[edstar83]

KITT?

[jload1]

Cool car man

[TripleTransAm]

Thanks, looking forward to pulling the car out of winter storage in a few days. Now that video compression technology has gotten better, I think I'll get around to taking some better video of the car... this video must be from 2000 or 2001, when I first went to digital video.

[CobArchEnemy406]

Those gauges remind of the 85 Vette. lol. Either way its a nice car. i got an 87 T/A. i like the buick comment. made me laugh. got to ask the kid if he has Nos. cuz the only buicks to burn my T/A were a grand national and an old skylark. All good fun though my buddy has a century. awesome cars. especially for the demo derby. long live muscle cars.

[Talo1056]

my grandma's 2005 buick century is faster then this,

[TripleTransAm]

Likely. But it's still a Century. :-)

[Nater36]

you sound like your trying to quote tokyo drift... "my grandmas buick could smoke that peice of shit, trailor trash"

"wut about ur daddys viper?"

[TripleTransAm]

Someone asked where to buy this dash... best guess is a junkyard or online. It was an option on the Firebird from 1986 to 1988 or something like that.

[firechicken76]

wow that does 0-60 in like 2 sec...somethings not right

[TripleTransAm]

Hard to tell, but the display is set to Metric. So the 60 you see is 60 mph, about 38 mph. If I remember correctly, this car could manage 0-60 mph in the low to mid 7 second range.

[kubzik22]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa gooooooooooooooooodd

[revolutionday1]

Makes me miss my old IROC-Z.... :'-(

[boss12]

Look how futuristic that shit is lol

[TripleTransAm]

Considering it's from 21 years ago... LOL!

[LJAR28]

man i wish i have the digital dash for my Trans Am there so unique and rare

[6V92TA]

dayum! i never knew a stock 305 TPI could lay rubber like that!

[TripleTransAm]

I don't beat on it often, so when it does count I know the car can perform. I'm pretty religious with maintenance too. The 3.23 rear probably helps, lots of 5.0 TPI automatics were 2.73 geared. If you think these launches are impressive, you should have seen what the car could do with the old style crappy stock Gatorbacks (VR50)!! Since 1994 I've been on nothing but GS-Cs (Z rated) and will never consider going back, screw originality! LOL!

[6V92TA]

323s....no wonder you're layin rubber. Those rear ends are huge! Still though, that impressive for an old skooler. Z radials eh? Hell i wouldnt got back to the originals either. I bet those new Z radios give you twice the handling as the originals did. Anyways, nice car man...keep dem vids come'in. BTW, im come'in to steal your dashboard and put it in my Concorde! lol

[uxb2008]

I had one until recently, same digital dash, the works. Right hand drive though for Australia

[ivanruiz89]

holy shit man was that set for kmph or mph? thats extremely fast either way! sweet dude

[TripleTransAm]

It's set up for kph. A button on the center of the dash flips between kph and mph. Unfortunately no engineer thought to make the oil pressure and temp gages also switch between metric and imperial! LOL! It's a fairly torquey car, but 5.0s will eat it. Now, my 1998 Ram Air T/A on the other hand... heh heh heh! :-)

[XxXFPSDougXxX]

Should've gotten the 5 speed, mine eats 5.0s and 350s for breakfast :). Also the 5 speeds were rated at 230-240 horsepower instead of the automatics which were rated at 205 i believe. Mine is a 1991 trans am with 305 TPI also :)

[TripleTransAm]

I don't know if many (or any?) 350 GTAs came with the 2.77 rear but I have managed to keep up with some of them with my *little* 305. I think it depends on the distance: the stock runners work better on 305s than the 350s which get strangulated pretty quickly. As for the 5 speed, I didn't have much of a choice as I bought this car used (18000 miles on it, but used nonetheless). I like it as is: I feel like I'm 22 again everytime I drive it. One of my friends has a 5 speed '88 GTA, pretty zippy!

[Ikeepitreelz]

THe crown vic is more of a family based performance sedan, they are ok when u need to go out with friends but a gta will eat it up even the police cruiser types, my neighbor has one with a borla exhaust and it sounds mean but lol i take him so easy, i finally finished my car its on the road but iam leaking fuel thru the charcoal canister .sucks.

[Ikeepitreelz]

Yeah mines has the digital dash..i've had the car about 10 years or so and no type of problems, the only thing is trying to find a replacement bulb for it. They are not regular bulbs they are number 882. From what i could count your car does about 0-60mph in about 7 seconds right? is the car stock? very nice

[TripleTransAm]

Thankfully I have yet to require replacing any bulbs but if they are hard to find, I will try to stock up on a few, thanks for the hint! 7-ish seconds for 0-60 sounds about right for this combo, the car has pulled mid 15s in the 1/4. Still 100% stock and going to stay that way. Was expecting this heavy car to be slower but I've been relatively moderate when pushing the car so I think that has something to do with it. It's been able to hang with some 350s that had seen a harder life than my 305.

[LadyHazmat17]

i also own the same kind of trans am and i've been looking for the whale electrical gauge for some reasone it won't work can you tell me where to get a new one?

[RegalMommy]

wow thats awesome, mine has the factory digital gauges too. Everyone always tells me its so rare, I don't know how rare it is lol I have a 1986 ws6 trans am.

[TripleTransAm]

If I recall correctly, optional on Firebirds from 1986 to 1988. I've seen photos of a slightly different variant of the Firebird digital dash, never saw one in person though.

[xXboredWS6Xx]

O_O can i get that for mine??

[dodge69874]

man that digital dash is pretty cool. i prefer the ones in the '92 crown vic though. i wish i had one in my 2000 crown vic police interceptor.

[yamahonkawazuki]

heh i wish i had one in my 95 too lol they make em, imight have to get one. i love those geeky type things.

[TripleTransAm]

In my opinion, what made these things work was the fact they were backlit (front lit?) LCD and not LED. In other words, the more sunlight would shine on them, the easier it was to see them. As opposed to LED units from other makes that would be unreadable in bright sunlight.