Topic: 81 turbo value

[turbowise]

what is my 1981 4.9 turbo hard top trans am worth

[NWW-79 T/A]

Pics would help. It's fairly low production (1 of 3,851) but it also has an undesirable engine. Fully restored on the average market I'd think mid to high teens. Love the Turbo cars btw

[turbowise]

thanks here is what it looks like right now

[NWW-79 T/A]

Hey cool it's gold, like my car. Looks like a great project.

[RENOVATIONS]

but it also has an undesirable engine. ...

Not necessarily   To those that prefer stock restorations/cars, the 301T is as good as it gets for your car.

I love the gold turbo T/A's...don't see many of them

[NWW-79 T/A]

but it also has an undesirable engine. ...

Not necessarily   To those that prefer stock restorations/cars, the 301T is as good as it gets for your car.

I love the gold turbo T/A's...don't see many of them

Well ya I know, I think you should never dump the original engine unless its absolutely gone, but some people don't think that way. The 301 isn't very popular with people in the T/A community. At least not from what I've seen on here. I definitely think it should be kept with the 301, just that some might not see it as necessarily a good thing

[RENOVATIONS]

I see your point and I understand.
The guys that think replacing anything that isn't a Pontiac 400 is always the right choice.......well ya' know

[NWW-79 T/A]

Lol I've never really understood the dislike of the 301T. It's only down 10 horsepower than the W72 400. So what's the deal? Lol

[NWW-79 T/A]

Oh and I really like the Turbo T/A's. Very cool looking cars and nice to see cause they're different. The giant bird and Turbo rims with the right color can be very striking. The next T/A I want is a 1980 Turbo in Fiero Bronze. The great color with all the gold looks beautiful

[RENOVATIONS]

It does have a bad rep (sorry for the hijack turbowise) but there's plenty of info out there for maintaining as well as improving on the 301T...just something that GM didn't get around to

I guess my stance on it leans more towards the originality standpoint than the power output...having an original (or at least correct replacement) drivetrain in a collector car will usually garner more appreciation from enthusiasts...as well as help at re-sale time.

[ksirb94]

Well imagine if the 301 made it to a time where it could utilize the turbo the same at a GNX. those are v6s and they GO.

[winks79]

Lol I've never really understood the dislike of the 301T. It's only down 10 horsepower than the W72 400. So what's the deal? Lol

In stock form, it just does not have the torque of the 400 and 403. Horsepower isn't everything. I prefer low end torque over horsepower any day. I'm in agreement with keeping things original though. I don't really care for the 301's personally, but I appreciate them for what they are, and do not knock them just because I prefer something else. It was very ingenious of Pontiac to do that at the time.

[80TAPaceCar]

Lol I've never really understood the dislike of the 301T.  So what's the deal? Lol

It's not a big deal, people dislike it as it's not the infamous 400.  The 400 crowd think Pontiac sold them out by change.

It's only down 10 horsepower than the W72 400.

Correct.  By tweeking the turbo, it will out perform the infamous 400.

Plus the 1980 Turbo Trans Am was chosen to Pace the Indy 500, it wasn't the 400, but the 301T!

The 301T has a following, check out the Garage.

www.301Garage.com
www.301Garage.com/forum

Kev

[hada76]

what is my 1981 4.9 turbo hard top trans am worth

does it run?

Lol I've never really understood the dislike of the 301T. It's only down 10 horsepower than the W72 400. So what's the deal? Lol

many of the turbos failed w/ less than 50K on the clock because owners didnt know about the quirky "cool down" procedure required at engine shut down. i also found this quote

"Though the 301 looked pretty good on paper, performance was not as crisp as the 400 it replaced. The engine ran out of breath above 4,400 rpm, and the mandatory automatic trans and 3.08 rear didn't help matters. Horsepower was rated at 210 in 1980 and 200 in 1981."-Thomas A. DeMauro, as published in the May '04 issue of HPP

[NWW-79 T/A]

I wish my taillights were that nice