1 of 1,817 Four-Speeds: 1979 Pontiac Trans Am 10th Anniversary

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This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is listed on eBay and is currently bid to $21,600. It is listed at a reserve for a good reason by the seller, Restore a Muscle Car in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is a 66k mile Tenth Anniversary Edition Trans Am that was built to celebrate 10 years of production of the Trans Am model. For the 2nd generation Firebird, Pontiac produced four versions – base Firebird, Esprit, Formula, and Trans Am. Only 697 Trans Ams were built in 1969 and 117,108 were produced in 1979. For 1979, Pontiac built 7,500 Tenth Anniversary Edition Trans Am’s, with 1,817 being sold with the W72 Pontiac 400 engine with a 4-speed manual transmission and 5,683 being sold with the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 with an automatic transmission.

The Tenth Anniversary Edition Trans Am represents one of the best 2nd generation Trans Am that includes every option available to a buyer, including T-Tops, WS6 suspension, power antenna, ETR radio, leather interior, W72 400 engine, 4 wheel disc brakes, and 4-speed transmission. For power, the 1979 Trans Am had three options. The base engine was an L80 403 cubic inch V8 that came with an automatic transmission. It was rated at 185 horsepower and was a smooth idling cruiser. The performance option was the W72 Pontiac 400 V8 engine. The W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine was only available with a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed manual transmission and came with 3.23 rear gears, WS6 suspension, and dual turbo mufflers. It was rated at 220 horsepower and would cover the quarter mile in the high 14-second range. For the first time, the 301 cubic inch V8 was available in 1979 for a $50 credit option in the Trans Am, but it could not be ordered on a Tenth Anniversary Trans Am.

Pontiac enthusiasts refer to the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am as a TATA using the acronym.This car was sold new in Connecticut and it has been well kept its entire life. It was the first Trans Am to have an MSRP over $10,000. The car is unique in its color option and hood bird and was selected to be the Pace Car for the Daytona 500 in 1979. Terry Bradshaw won a Tenth Anniversary Trans Am in 1979 as the Super Bowl MVP. The car appears to be in great shape.

The interior of the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am was special and the only 2nd generation Trans Am to come with a leather interior. The seats are covered in silver leather using the same material used on the 1978 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car. The interior carpet was also a unique gray shag carpet in the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am. The dash gauges were backlit red for the first time, which matched the digital red ETR AM/FM 8-track stereo. All Tenth Anniversary Trans Am cars also had power antennas and a space-saver tire in the trunk. This car is listed here on eBay with 5 days remaining in the auction. With prices seemingly down in the last six months, what do you think this Tenth Anniversary Trans Am will sell for?

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Comments

  1. Mark

    Very nice clean Trans am with nice pictures of the under side I like that is is a 4-speed and still has the original radio

    Like 5
  2. AMCFAN

    It was a bad day for Pontiac enthusiasts. Why GM would tarnish the brand using an Olds engine. Made it sound perfectly normal calling it Corporate engine.

    I remember a local guy having one. It had a modified exhaust. You could close your eyes and imagine a Cutlass.

    Like 0
    • Jason V.

      This one has the Pontiac 400 W72. Pontiac stopping making the 400s after 1978, as all 400+ cube were scheduled to go away after 1980’s CAFE restrictions went into full effect. A handful of lucky people got the last ones in ‘79…

      Like 0
  3. JoeNYWF64

    The GM ’70s cat converter was so restrictive, i bet the muffler(s) could have been left off of many GM V8 cars back then, like on the Macho T/A – & still be legal.
    As for the true dual aftmkt exh on this t/a now, do not try to register it in
    California. CARB won’t like what they see – or similar on anything newer than a ’75.
    Not sure why Pontiac made a/c & the hood bird standard on the anniversary version. Was the hood bird standard on SE editions?
    Skinny tall 225/70R15 tires on EIGHT(instead of 7) inch wide wheels make no sense here.
    An 8 track with electronic digital display radio here is odd to say the least.
    Chrome wheels, but the front & rear window chrome window moldings are factory blacked out – also makes no sense.
    Those leather seats must be more durable than the std ’74 vinyl seats, since the lower drivers vinyl seat cushion on my used ’74 bird in ’78 with only 43k miles was cracking & splitting open.

    Like 2
  4. StanMember

    Good write up Bruce.
    If i had the cabbage… my favorite front end w the 4sp 400 pkg. And all the goodies. Didn’t get much better or faster in 1979. Beautiful 4spd Poncho. 🏁

    Like 8
    • Nostromo

      Stan, it took me almost two years to get used to that front end treatment. Now, I can’t recall why I had any reservations about it.

      Like 3
    • Bruce Johnson Bruce JohnsonAuthor

      Stan, Thanks. Here is a pic of my 1979 400 4 speed Formula

      Like 11
      • Jason V.

        A ‘79 with a 400 4 speed is the one to own. TAs that year are rare enough so equipped, but a Formula even more rare! Nice ride!!

        Like 0
  5. ccrvtt

    Having grown up with Oldsmobiles I have no beef with their engines. Pontiac engines are okay, too. But by the end of the ’70s all the great engines of the muscle car era were history. Guys who wore heavy gold chains and Members Only jackets who didn’t know a spark plug from an oil plug were the ones who were buying Corvettes and TransAms. They needed to look flashy and aggressive even if they took an hour and a half to get down the quarter-mile.

    Aesthetics are a matter of personal taste. I have always liked the entirety of the TATA package. It reflects the best of what the General had to offer at the time. This car is on my short list for the fantasy car garage.

    The present car is currently bid to $22K (reserve not met). Probably will go for significantly more, but sadly not from me. The underside shows that this car was driven and enjoyed, but well taken care of.

    Like 1
  6. Mike

    I had a ’79 T/A equipped as such (Pontiac 400/4 speed, 4 wheel discs etc), but not the 10th anniversary edition. All things considered, it was pretty quick. Sold it a few years later. Yep, hindsight is always 20/20.

    Like 2
  7. 433jeff

    Well done, while it’s not SD fast, I think it has an 850 cfm carb.

    The body interior and whole package to me is the peak the best looking TA, big birds , look at that dash, This car is classy, Once again in my opinion much better than the Chevy Camaro.

    The olds 403 was not a bad setup,

    No it wasn’t a Pontiac, no it wasn’t 1970

    Now this car is way way out of reach

    Like 2
    • JoeNYWF64

      The ’79 front end for some reason looks better on the red formula above.
      I still can’t figure out the reasoning behind the design of the 2nd gen camaro dashes – HVAC controls to left of driver, when they could have been put where the ashtray is on the right.
      & “shin knocker” separate looking lower dash area. & vega steering wheel that blocks some of the gages.
      Not crazy about the ’69 dash either, with a blank area or optional distracting clock that’s dead center.

      Like 0
  8. StanMember

    Wow red paint 🎨 w the gray Bruce 👌
    Dandy looking 400 4sp pkg Formula. Which has always been my favorite of the lot.

    Like 1
  9. PRA4SNW PRA4SNWMember

    Over 30K with 2 days left.

    Apparently, it cost some big $$ to get one with all the right stuff.

    Like 0
  10. PRA4SNW PRA4SNWMember

    BTW: This is listed for $53,900 on the seller’s website.
    Yikes!

    Like 0

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