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TTA as DD, few ?'s

S

Seppeku

Hello everyone. Thinking about picking one of these up and have a few questions. Does anyone DD there's? What kind of MPG's do you get? How reliable are they if kept up with maintenance? Any over-heating issues or anything prone to failure on these models? I've read all the posts on this site and others and am continuing to learn and do research, but if I bought one of these, it would be my DD and am wondering how they fare as such? I live in Phoenix, so the only issue I have to worry about it the heat and I know some turbo cars get hot and can't cool down in stop in go traffic when it's 120 outside... How's the cooling system in this car?

Also, does anyone on this board live in Phoenix that would be willing to go look at one of these with me that's local and I'm thinking about picking up?

Thanks for all the opinions!
Steve
 
i can tell you gas mileage sucks , injectors, chip, 160 term, maybe fuel pump are normally needed on stock cars that havent had it done
 
There are a couple guys who DD them on the board already, and I am goign to DD mine when summer comes. I know its not great on gas mileage but it has to be better then my jeep. I want to DD mine cause I love driving TTA's and just can't get enough.

I think as long as your gaskets are sealed tight you wont have a problem with heat as long as you rad is clean and you don't have a front mount intercooler. BUUUUUUUUT, I live in Canada so it never gets that hot here.

Jarred
 
We drove/raced our new TTA for maybe 5/6 years. Rain sleet an snow !! IF you were in a snowy part of the country I would run 4 snow tires. (ya I see your in Az.) I never thought gas mileage was bad. Hell we would get 25+ driving down to E Town or Atco, NJ to go racing from Boston. BUT now they are 20+ years old. I'd still use it as a DD BUT I have a lot of "extra" parts ;-)
 
I've gotten 22 mpg in my car going out to Woodward and such. I thought it was pretty good! GN's are generally good daily drivers. Are the items mentioned really issues or just things that have worn out?
KID
 
GN's and TTA's were great daily drivers when they were newer.

Shoot, my dad daily drove 5 different turbo cars from his first new one in 1986 to his current GN. He put over 100k on his first one before it was stolen, 25k on his WE4, 30k on his limited, 50k on his Rosewood T and around 15k on his current GN before he retired it.

I remember him being stranded a few times. One time for powermaster failure, two times for alternator issues, one time for fuel pump, one time for a crank sensor, one time for a faulty starter solenoid, and another time for a failed MAF.

Sure he put a lot of miles and had a lot of fun with them, but that was also years ago. The sensors are older, wires more brittle, and QUALITY replacement parts are harder to find.

And I don't care who you are, the MPG is awful around town. Highway? sure.

Just like grumpy says, you can do it, but be ready to fix stuff. He has actually talked about getting another TR and daily driving it once again, but I really talk him out of it. I would worry about it starting and leaving him stranded.

My $0.02. I would love to hear other opinions.
 
I think that replacing the nylon cam gear is a must!! Should that wear out while the motor is on you could bend valves, bend push rods, and damage pistons.....
 
robert lee said:
Old age mainly ,like SOME of us on here
Click to expand...

Like all of you except Jarred, Jared, and I. :crazy: :chat::chat::chat:

:cheekiss:


Also guys, another reason to replace valvesprings...worn out valvesprings reduce the compression ratio of your engine which lowers efficiency which lowers power and MPG.

I guess I could sit down and list out the things every 23 year old TTA would need to be decently reliable again, but no one would believe me unless you have been in the trenches before....
 
While the 3.8L V6 is a strong motor in general, as others have mentioned things like wiring, sensors, etc. go bad over time. And now as the cars get older it's sometimes hard to find ANY replacement parts, new or used.

With that being said my last 3 daily drivers have all had a GM 3.8L...although in the 3800 variety: (1) 3800 Series I, (1) 3800 Series I SC, & currently my 3800 Series II SC in my SSEi. All great cars with very minimal problems over the years. Each one has had well over 100k miles on it and my current DD has over 200k. And I'm still able to find replacement parts both new & used. Just my $.02.
 
Seriously though I am going to DD my TTA 733 this summer cause I really truly miss driving it and want to drive it as much as I can. I think I will get some reliablility out of it, alot has been replaced or looked over. Plus I just put new tires on and I need to get my money out of them. If $hit does break down for what ever reason, I have another car I can drive. I don't think I would leave myself with a TTA as my ONE and ONLY option.

Can't wait.
 
jarredsoon said:
Seriously though I am going to DD my TTA 733 this summer cause I really truly miss driving it and want to drive it as much as I can. I think I will get some reliablility out of it, alot has been replaced or looked over. Plus I just put new tires on and I need to get my money out of them. If $hit does break down for what ever reason, I have another car I can drive. I don't think I would leave myself with a TTA as my ONE and ONLY option.
Can't wait.
Click to expand...

There is the difference....
 
robert lee said:
Old age mainly ,like SOME of us on here
Click to expand...


Thats okay. Us half century old + crowd have had a lot more car playing time than you young uns. Being older is all what you make of it. If you want to crawl in a hole and die go ahead. Or live it up.

Seriously, my DD is a 94 Cutlass Supreme. Have had the car 14+ yrs. Has 108k on it and still going strong. Car has had regular maintenance and the only time it ever let me down is when the alternator went, at about 98k. I dont think I would want a TTA as a DD. It would probably be tempermental like an OLD person. LOL
 
This is what TTA 733 is gonna take over for, my DD since '07. Fun car but I just want more tta time.

d9697042.jpg
 
Quiky One said:
Just like grumpy says, you can do it, but be ready to fix stuff. He has actually talked about getting another TR and daily driving it once again, but I really talk him out of it. I would worry about it starting and leaving him stranded.
Click to expand...

I have NO Buicks now. Just Buick powered cars. I do hallucinate getting another. BUT now I am getting the new Mustang/Shelby bug. Run easy 10s an have some fun with stroker motor Buicks that run 13s. ;-)
 
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