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A: OK, this is a long answer that runs to the end of the page, so get comfortable. First of all make sure that the Recaro-specific parts are there and in good shape. For example check for gold turbo-cast aluminum wheels. If they are silver, they are not original. They should be painted gold and the gold paint should be laid on pretty thick, almost to the point of being sloppy. Second, check the hubcaps, which are always a trouble spot. Most of the time they are not even there at all! Check for all 4 hubcaps to have a gold sticker in the middle. Only Recaro Trans Am's got gold emblems on the hubcaps; all other cars got red emblems. if you see red emblems, they are not original caps but were taken from a regular car, and even though they still command top dollar, consider that they made close to 100,000 sets of the red type, but only 2,000 sets of the gold type. Check to see if the hubcaps have a matte-type finish plastic film over the metal cap. If they do, it's a sign of originality. If they don't, they may have been sanded down and repainted to hide rust, cutting their value. Check for a smooth reflection with no uneven bulges or dents because bulges and dents are signs of the caps being banged back into shape after years of grueling wear & tear. If possible check the hubcap backing plastic to make sure nothing is broken off because they are notorious for cracking and losing structural integrity, thus getting loose and flying off only to land in some ditch. Third, check for the door handle inserts. The door handles should read "RECARO T/A". If they are not there, your door handles (or whole doors even) were taken from a regular Trans Am. if this is so, at least make sure they are charcoal grey on the interior. Fourth and final, as you move to the interior, examine the Recaro seats to make sure they are there and complete. Each seat should have a raised-letter Recaro emblem in the middle of the back support. On both front seats, there should be oversized lumbar side support foam sections on the left and right of where an occupant's body would be. These lumbar supports are on the back support as well as the thigh support. They should be of about equal size on the left and right, on the inside and outside of the seat. If the outside one is smaller, more round, or easier to compress, this is a sign of heavy seat usage and it means the inner foam is starting to collapse, and once that happens, the outer cloth could get loose and likely tear shortly after. Be sure to check for the charcoal colored seat belt guides on the outer side of both headrests. They are often missing or broken. Look at the seats from outside the car, directly in front of the front bumper. Make sure the seats don't bend outward and that the headrest assemblies are more or less straight and level, otherwise there could be structural damage to the seats' frames. Sorry to be so detailed about the seats, but if ya think about it, they are really what makes this car special. Recaro is not a mechanical package, in other words it doesn't have some special engine or drivetrain; it's just a seat package and a cosmetic package.

Now you've examined the Recaro-specific parts. We move on to trouble spots which are either 1982 only, 1982 - 1983 or 1982 - 1984. These are parts which are extremely hard to find, so they better be in good condition to begin with, on a car you're thinkin of buying:

Front wheel flares, 1982 - 1984. These are the downward curved body moulding pieces in front of the front wheel. They are so fragile because they're hollow, not solid. They crack very easily if abused or after years out in the harsh elements. Nobody makes aftermarket replacements. If they are unbroken, they are like a Holy Grail of sorts.

Rear wheel flares, 1982 - 1984. Same thing, same comments. This is a smaller piece, in front of rear wheel well.

Automatic shifter with top-style button, 1982-early'83 feature. This is not available anywhere so better make sure the original is in good functional shape. Oftentimes the upside-down cone-shaped piece around the top button will break and fall down like half an inch, making it look like the button is sticking way out. Not sure how to repair that. I can't speak for other cars, but my button easily pops out when shifting into "Park" and locking the shifter in place, if I don't have my thumb on it. The button does not look like it would attach in any way to the rest of the shifter assembly, so I presume all cars have separate-piece buttons like this. It has a rod under it which is about 5 inches long and extends into the shifter assembly, and has some original grease towards the bottom. Strange? Maybe. Super-duper rare? Definitely. All 1982 automatic Trans Am's and Firebirds (and some early 1983's) have it as standard equipment but other than that, nobody sells them, period.

Center console with square-type lid, 1982 - 1984. The square lids had to be made out of some really cheap dog-sh*t because they fall apart really easily. Over time and regular use / abuse / wear & tear, the lid will curl up and inside out, falling apart in the process, and ceasing to lock down on the console anymore, or even more amusing, the lock-down button part will come apart from the lid and still lock onto the console while the outer curled-up part dangles in mid air.. I'm beginning to think there were at least 2 different types made (this is only a theory), because I've seen low-mile cars with totally obliterated console lids and then I've seen 200,000-mile cars with good lids. Since nobody sells them at all right now, just make sure your prospect car has one and that it's at least complete.

"Smoked" dark plastic lens taillights with gold eagle insert and gold Pontiac letters, 1982 - 1984. All Trans Am's have the smoked taillights by default, but not all have the gold eagle and the gold letters. I'm still not sure of the application rules, but I think maybe only black & gold Trans Am's got those, while the rest got silver eagles and silver (or white?) Pontiac letters. Either way, the gold eagle / gold letters middle taillight piece is extremely rare, and cars are often seen with it removed alltogether from having been stolen, so make sure one is there.

Exhaust system, 1982 - 1983 (I think). The exhaust system was unique to the Cross-fire engine and the LG4, and each one is a little different than the other. I have Parts diagrams which I'll be posting at some point to assist you in determining originality or lack thereof. The most distinctive piece to look for to make sure it's original is to look under the rear bumper and towards the front of the car, and look for the dual resonator tubs. These, I believe, were 1982 - 1984 only. If they are there, your exhaust system is probably original and a good example to go off of if you ever need a muffler shop to re-create it. Warning though, my friend Kevin went to Midas with muffler concerns and they were totally clueless about his exhaust system. He decided to leave and work on it himself with friends and Pontiac literature.. so make sure there's a reputable muffler shop around, otherwise you'll end up going aftermarket eventually. You may also want to check the catalytic converter, oxygen sensor, etc.

Original tires, Goodyear Eagle GT, a.k.a. "gatorbacks". These will probably be missing and replaced, but just in case, check for tires that say simply "GOOD/YEAR" and "EAGLE GT" across from it, and they should be raised letters painted white on the letter outlines, tire RPO code QYZ. If they are true factory originals, they should also say "TPC SPEC 1042" somewhere, in raised rubber letters. They may also be blackwalls. Mine are whitewalls and I know them to be original; that's all I can say for certain. Treadware should be "190", traction should be "A" and temperature "B". I've seen a Recaro Trans Am with blackwalls of the same type with same stats except the lettering was NOT painted white but was rubber black and also raised outlines, but I don't know if this was a true production option on Recaro's because they called for QYZ which are the whitewalls. No replicas of either of these tires are known right now, but they might pop up in the future, you never know.

Original dash pad, 1982 - 1984. These are not available at the moment and I wouldn't be surprised if they are gone for good, so a prospect car should have a good one with no cracks or warps. These are very fragile when it comes to long exposure to the sun's UV rays and temperature extremes. A car that's never been garaged since new and always parked outside is almost guaranteed to have a totally destroyed dash pad with numerous little cracks all over, where you can see the inner foam, so hopefully there are no cracks, but even if there are, I wouldn't personally consider it a disqualifier. Check for 2 parallel grooves running the entire length of the dashpad's inside edge. If it's not there, you have a 1985 - 1992 replacement and the car's value, in my humble opinion, is lowered by about $350 because even replicas of the 1982 - 1984 will cost you around $350 currently and as I said, originals are not available unless you perchance to find one on eBay, where they occasionally pop up.

Steering wheel, 1982 - 1983 design. The steering wheel should have a small silver eagle design in the middle of the horn button and should be covered with a clear, glossy see-through material. This is the sign of a 1982 - 1983 steering wheel. Also if there is a white trim ring around the outer circumference of the horn button, I believe it came from a Firebird S/E, so make sure that is not there, but again, not a disqualifier. If it's an 1984-and-up replacement, the eagle will be much larger, covering almost the whole horn button, and will be of a carved out design.

LU5 engine (A.K.A. "Cross-Fire") and all components, 1982 - 1983. Most Recaro Trans Am's came with the Cross-Fire engine. This engine is easily identifiable from its unique air cleaner assembly which looks like an old style Hollywood reel camera. The air cleaner looks like 2 film reels. There should be a diamond-shaped opening on top of the air cleaner and two air cleaner filters should be visible inside. There should be a port that goes off to the driver's side and terminates where the Cross-Fire can get extra air in case the hood induction is blocked off or non-functional. The transmission will be a 3-speed automatic in all cases. The 8th digit of the VIN will be a "7" if the car has this engine. Also if the hood insulation is missing or ripped off, you'll have a chance to see if the cowl induction is working, although you'll have to rev it up to activate this to test it, as it's ECM-driven.

LG4 engine and all components, 1982 - 1986. Not really sure how to identify this engine block, as it looks a lot more "typical" than the Cross-Fire. One thing to look for is a blocking plate in the power bulge of the hood. It should be completely sealed off, as the LG4 did not use cowl induction in 1982. It did in 1983 and up though. The 8th digit in the VIN will be an "H" if the car was equipped with this engine. The transmission would be a 4-speed manual, with an 8-ball type shifter, and you'd disregard everything I said about an automatic shifter above.

For all other pre-sale inspection, use common sense and inspect the car as you would any other.