here is the list of TSB's and recalls on the 96 GTS.
Pay the money for a car that has had the following work:
Time chain gasket replaced
Intake manifold gasket replaced
Alarm system, door glass and seals and door uprights replaced with 97 units
Side sill replaced with 97 units
Find a car that has not had the two recalls for the chassis (rear) and steering box bracket done - they butchered those cars and the work was necessary only if the car was tracked. I put a lot of track miles on my car, did not have these recalls done and my car passed a detailed inspection at the beginning of every track season.
How to tell if this work was done:
If a 96 GTS has more than 10K miles it will have had the timing chain gasket and Intake manifold gasket replaced - OR the originals are fine and should not give a problem if they have lasted that long.
Alarm system - 97 unit flashes the lights instead of tooting the horn when you turn it off
Door seals - look at the top of the uprights - if the seals are in one pcs you have the 97 fix - if theseals have come apart - that work was not done.
Side sills - replacement units have bolts instead of rivits forward of the door
Recall on steering box bracket - fix was to bolt in supports
Rear Chassis - pull up the carpet in the trunk - particularly the vertical surface forward of the spare tire - If that work was done they cut a great big hole in that surface.
Some of that stuff is WAY inaccurate.
With regard to the 998 recall. It IS important. It has been done correctly HUNDREDS of times and does improve the structural rigidity of your car. There is NO reason not to do it and should be done by a competent tech. And it is essential on a tracked car. The rear diff part of that only consists of adding a support brace to prevent twisting of the diff under hard acceleration. There is NO BUTCHERING is cracks are not found and you shouldn't have to pull up the acrpeting to see the brace.
Intake gaskets were more of an issue with 1997 cars.
There were no changes to side sills - they are all hydroformed aluminum - don't know where the "replacement" statement comes from.
There was a TSB for the alarm system, but it involved moving the hood sensor, I think. No reason to replace with a 1997 unit.
Door glass and gaskets can be a concern - thnk they were changed in 1998 - as ViperMad had the same issue with the moulding on his 1997, IIRC.
We put thousands of very trouble free miles on our 1996s and many track miles. it never left us stranded or was truly broken. The issues mentioned above are relatively minor and the recalls can be done and done well - IMO - it's better to have them done before the parts are not available and you CAN'T find anyone that knows how to do it.
