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High mileage TTA

T

Tronus1

Member
What is the highest mileage TTA out there? How much would this effect the value even if it was a complete car that presents well?
 
Tough call, if you consider that TTA’s are 33 years old, even a car that was driven only 3k miles a year puts it at 100k miles today.

Imho, if your planning on driving the car, you’re better off with a car that’s been driven versus one that’s been parked he majority of its life.
 
Always a tough call with any classic car purchase. Pay $$$ for low miles, then feel guilty about driving it. Or buy a well used but cared for example, and know you will be spending some money on rebuilds.

This is an interesting point that I don't know about these (turbo) cars. What is the life expectancy of a well cared for (but thoroughly enjoyed) 3.8L turbo? And what are the challenges in the rebuild?

I would consider the rest of the car to be fairly straight forward, similar to any other used car it's age/miles. The 200-4R trans has lots of support int he market place, and known good rebuilders. And 95% of the rest of the car is 3rd gen. F-body. So I don't see a lot of extra challenges with the TTA aside form the engine.

Thoughts from long term owners?
 
DynoDave said:
Always a tough call with any classic car purchase. Pay $$$ for low miles, then feel guilty about driving it. Or buy a well used but cared for example, and know you will be spending some money on rebuilds.

This is an interesting point that I don't know about these (turbo) cars. What is the life expectancy of a well cared for (but thoroughly enjoyed) 3.8L turbo? And what are the challenges in the rebuild?

I would consider the rest of the car to be fairly straight forward, similar to any other used car it's age/miles. The 200-4R trans has lots of support int he market place, and known good rebuilders. And 95% of the rest of the car is 3rd gen. F-body. So I don't see a lot of extra challenges with the TTA aside form the engine.

Thoughts from long term owners?
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In my experience with 3.8 Turbo Buick motors, when properly maintained, they are very dependable and long lasting. They can easily handle being raced with extra boost and the correct fuel without any adverse issues.

The biggest thing to check for imo is timing chain/button wear. But even if there is a timing chain failure, these are non interference engines so they don’t get ruined.
 
I rebuilt my engine a couple of years ago after 80k hard miles (and undetected detonation). I used a recommended local engine builder, who charged me $3500 including parts (forged pistons, roller cam 206/206, valve springs, seals, locks and seats, pushrods, bearings, timing set, lifters, oil pump, water pump). The engine runs stronger and smoother than ever. I now use a Scanmaster to prevent detonation. I will probably rebuild the transmission this spring, since I am getting a little slippage between gears at low throttle.

One challenge to rebuilding the engine is to find a builder who is experienced with this engine. I think parts in general will become more available as time goes by as F-bodies become more and more collectable.
 
I've seen a few drivable TTA's over the years right around the 100,000 mile mark, but I can't recall any higher. Back in the day I had a friend that daily drove and raced his GN. Ran high 12's and he had 120,000 miles with no issues. So I'd say the driveline is pretty sturdy. I think the eighties interior would be in need of attention when you hit near 100K.
KID
 
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