Here is a marketing tip. If you are selling an expensive car, take pictures outside or hire a professional photographer. This 1975 Pontiac Trans Am is for sale here on Craigslist. It has been online for 5 days with an asking price of $42,000. We appreciate Mitchell G. bringing this one to our attention. The seller states that the owner passed away and spent over $100,000 restoring this car. The Trans Am is located in Morristown, New Jersey and is said to be in show condition
The burgundy interior looks brand new. The car is not heavily optioned and has the base interior, manual windows and no air conditioning. However, the car does has a 4 speed transmission. The seller states that the car has 247 miles since it was restored which might barely be enough to break it in. The car was rotisserie restored starting in 2019 and just finished in 2024. The seller states that a whopping $100,000 was spent on the car with $27,000 spent on the engine.
In 1975, Pontiac Trans Am buyers had two engine options. The base engine was the L78 400 cubic inch V8, rated at 185 horsepower. The optional engine was the L75 455 cubic inch V8, with only 857 produced featuring a 4-speed and 3.23 rear end. The 455 engine was also in Pontiac sedans and station wagons but designated as the 455HO in the Trans Am for attention. The earlier 1971-1972 models had a 335 horsepower 455HO engine; this base version was rated at 200 horsepower. It is not clear by the ad if this Trans Am was a L78 car that has had a built 455 cubic inch V8 added or if it is one of the 857 455HO cars.
This Trans Am is riding on factory 15×7 silver honeycomb wheels which look almost perfect. The aftermarket tires are BF Goodrich Radial TAs. The seller states that the undercarriage is fully detailed and every nut and bolt has been attended to. So, if a 1975 Trans Am is your cup of tea, this might be the best one on the market.
If I got a bill for $100 K to restore my vehicle, I would probably have a heart attack and die as well…
Possibly proves that love can be blind?
Bumpers are ’76.
Damn. Spent $100k and they put the wrong bumper on it!
David, yes they’re 76 front & rear bumpers. In fact, I don’t see anything 1975-ish on this car. Everything I see is 1976 on the interior and exterior down to the splitter exhaust. Maybe he simply got the year wrong on the listing? Surely the title says 1976.
If I looked at this car, I’d want to see every piece of paper to back those grandiose claims.
Apparently the binder with the restoration photos and engine build papers were lost.
let my $60K mistake be your mistake! Please buy my loosely documented vaguely descripted Trans Am….
A sad story, for sure. And with the classic car dealers asking $75-80k for T/A’s in worse shape? Maybe not a bad deal.
This is what happens when you have to pay everyone else to restore your car for you.
I’ll never forget a real estate class I took in college. The professor simply stated “Cost doesn’t equal value”. It may have cost $100K but it’s not worth $100K unless someone pays you $100K.
Kind of like people who owe a pile on their trade, therefore that must be what it’s worth. Always a hard pill to swallow.
Nice looking ‘Bird. Are the emblems mounted a little higher on the sail panel than they should be? And what’s with the stuff added to the dash where air outlets would be?
Nelson C, this car was not equipped with air conditioning so there would be no air outlets in that location, just the bird emblem. There is a small round button or item that should not be there (to the right of the Firebird emblem), perhaps a hidden car alarm doo-dad the owner installed or some modern bluetooth hook-up.
If you were going to put money into restoring a TransAm, I would pick a heavily optioned 1970 with a 4 speed.
Absolutely….1970 (IMO) is the nicest TA ever! Even if it is an AT!
Edward correct- except for cases of blind love for a 1st car, etc.-
A “passion” project.. doesn’t make it worth the pa$$ion invested.
If you are in love with a beautiful woman-money spent on her is irrelevant. If you truly have a passion for your car, you will spend what is necessary to keep it in the best condition possible.
Not everyone is a mechanic or has the know how to properly service a car, but car owners who care about their investment, will do the best they can to preserve it-just like preserving the love of a significant other.
I’ve proud to own a 1972 Porsche T. She has been with me for 53 years and I don’t regret one dollar that I’ve spent on her. Never had a major engine problem, the body is straight and the interior is well preserved. Crazy love? You betcha!
Power steering or power brakes?
Craigslist says ‘ I MIGHT CONSIDER TRADES FOR THE GRAN KIDS’ I like my grandkids too much.
I’ll give mine away, might even pay to get rid of ‘em….
Isn’t this car worth every penny? We have seen unrestored survivors going in this ballpark and this looks to be spotless. While to my eye there are a couple of questionable decisions, if this can be sussed out in person I would think it should bring every dollar of the asking. I always felt this class of car was unappreciated for what it accomplished in sports car racing, as a well sorted pony can run with anything. I was schooled many weekends by a mysterious driver who would show up for Rose City track days and equal my time in a Formula Mazda that had a 1000# advantage. I cannot imagine why an expensive restoration is done without including every option on the sheet. Especially a tilt wheel. Saginaw made the best device and it didn’t include electricity. I’m going to watch this sale.
I am not an ‘American car’ guy however I am familiar with most. Is a 75 Trans Am a good candidate for $100K? I know the late 60’s cars had value. The owner had the cash and wanted to do it… Is it a $42K car in todays market? I’m not being cynical, I would really like to know from someone who likes and knows these years………
A $100,000 restoration on this car is guaranteed a money loser. If it’s done for sentimental reasons, that’s possibly a different story since the “value” is determined by the owner. Is this car worth $42,500, possibly, that’s a more straightforward calculation based on the present condition and trends of “market”.
Steve R
Thanks Steve for your insight. One thing I do know from my end; I would never put $27K into a motor, regardless of what was done to it. My entire car projects (driver projects) would never exceed even half of that number! This a truly a labor of love!!
No, value is not solely determined by the owner; it’s a reflection of what buyers are willing to pay, influenced by factors like market conditions, comparable sales, and property characteristics, not just the owner’s perception.
Joe Mac, sometimes dollar amounts stated by sellers, or owners trying to flex about the cars can be deceptive. If the seller had a shop do the work, including R&R (removal and reinstallation), teardown, machine work, procurement of parts, assembly, tuning and painting and detailing of the engine you can get an incredibly inflated looking bill. I knew guys in the mid-2000’s that had spent roughly that much on having their engines where they dropped the car off and picked it up when all of the work was completed.
Steve R
I hope they like this car. Unless they embrace reality, they’ll be stuck with it.
I have a small resto shop here in S Jersey and I can attest to a lot of the high costs with the work of the work these cars anymore these days. I’m mostly busy with repairs.On a lot of “restored” cars! Ive had a lot of bad cars pass through here.Its getting worse!
It may just be me, but I don’t think that is the correct Pontiac Blue on the motor.
It’s a trans am & don’t call me Shirley!
Imagine spending $100k on a resto only to drive it 250 miles. That equals out to $400 for every mile it was driven.
This is a 1976 Trans Am, not a ’75. It is unfortunate he spent $27,000 on the engine and it was painted the wrong color. The ’76 455 is a much darker blue. Also the engine compartment details leave a lot to be desired. The brake booster should not be painted black, (gold zinc plating) the power steering brackets were never engine color, the fan on the alternator should not be black etc. etc. How one spends that amount of money on a smogger mid-70s 455 cid motor, I do not know. Unless it is hiding a high-level of custom modification and is pushing 500 horsepower or something. Needs PHS (Pontiac Historical Services) document to verify L75 455-4bbl. Performance Package as original. However if it is straight and well painted, runs well, is numbers matching, and the underneath is properly painted the correct shade of red oxide primer with new parts then $42,000 is a very good price.