When I was in Las Vegas last month, I went to a car museum, and there was a '96 Trans Am with 300 miles on it. Plaque said it was 100% original yet it has a 2002 Collector's Edition emblem on each side and 3 extra pontiac emblems stuck on it. I don't know Firebirds that well, so I am curious whether or not the yellow pinstripes were factory original on the hood or not.

 

Factory did not offer the yellow pin stripes, or the hokie arrowhead or commemorative emblems.

 

The decals are definitely not stock, and the pinstripes don't look stock either.

 

Okay. I didn't think they were stock, but they looked so good, I couldn't say for sure. Who buys a car, never drives it, yet has it pinstriped?

Here's the best pic without facebook's compression ruining the pic.

They appeared painted on.

 

According to the "Pontiac Red Book", the red interior was only available in 95, not 96 or 97. The Red Book is not real reliable, though.

 

pin stripes are often given to vehicles that have been in an accident to give the eye a point of reference so they dont notice a deformation or out of round panel...

 

There's also a strange bump underneath the door lock.... that area should be smooth.

 

I find mistakes in the Camaro White Book constantly too. Coincidentally, for 1997 Camaros, it says red leather was available. I can tell you and be 100% positive... that it was not. A vaguely red and gray cloth was available though.

 

This source indicates the red leather was new in 96:

http://www.pontiac.cz/history.php

Note however, that although it is labeled as a Firebird history, it covers the Camaro as well, and does a poor job of clarifyibg whether what they are talking about is the Firebird or the Camaro.

 

Red leather was available on 96 'Birds. I almost ordered it on my Formula but couldn't justify the huge price.

Larry

 

Unfortunately red leather was never offered in 4th gen Camaros. I really wish it was.

 

This car looked flawless from what I could tell, so I don't believe it had been involved in any accidents.

I believe that's a reflection of some of the other cars in there. I'm not looking at the high res pics at the moment.

If you guys want me to, I can upload the high res versions of every pic I took. It's not a problem. I just don't want to waste my time unless somebody actually wants to see them.

 

I'm just telling you from experience working at a car dealership... That is often why cars are given pin stripes... Not saying this car was in an accident

there was at least 2 pictures in which about 4 inches in front of the door handle there is a smudge, dont know if thats what he's talking about... could have been someone touched the car and left some oil... maybe its a dimple?

 

No... not the smudge in front of the door handle. There appears to be a rectangular bump, right below the black circular door lock/keyhole, and right BEHIND the depression for the door handle. Almost looks like one of the stick-on plastic gadgets that supposedly protect the door from the key, and typically have some sort of emblem, logo or label under the keyhole piece. Given the fact the owner glued on the three arrowhead badges and the two commemorative badges, and added the contrasting letters to the "Trans Am" logo on the bottom of the doors, it wouldn't be unusual to see a few more glued on pieces being used.

 

Here's some relatively high res pics of the doors. It's just a reflection as far as I can tell, but facebook ruined those first pics with its lossy compression, so Injuneer still has a good eye for detail.




I like the pinstripes on the car a lot, but I don't like the other changes. The silver TRANS AM on the sides is a change as well isn't it? They should have done yellow like the red Firehawks had and they'd match the pinstripes.