There were 7,500 Tenth Anniversary Trans Ams built by Pontiac in 1979 to commemorate the introduction of the first Trans Am in 1969. This special edition Trans Am was silver and charcoal with red dash lighting and a unique silver leather interior. Many of these examples survived and are beautiful cars. This might be one of the roughest ugly ducklings we have seen. It is located in San Francisco, California and has sat in a garage since 1999. It is listed here on eBay for $10,000 or best offer. There are 16 days remaining in the listing. The car is listed with a clean California title and the odometer is said to read 90K miles.
Based on the oil spout on the front of the engine, this car is equipped with the base engine for the Trans Am in 1979 which was the Oldsmobile L80 403 cubic inch V8. It was rated at 185 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque and was the only engine available for the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am in California. While this mill was no powerhouse in stock form, it was a smooth running, reliable engine with healthy torque. Most of Trans Ams with the L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine were fitted with highway gears which make them slow off the line but nice highway cruisers. I have a red 1979 Trans Am that has been well maintained and it is one of my favorite cars to cruise around in. Of the total Tenth Anniversary production, 5,683 Tenth Anniversary Trans Ams were produced with the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 and automatic transmission. The remaining 1,817 Tenth Anniversary Trans Ams were equipped with the W72 Pontiac 400 engine and 4-speed manual transmission. The W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 was backed by a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed manual transmission and featured 3.23 rear gears. It was rated at 220 horsepower and 320 lb ft of torque. The 301 V8 was also an option for the 1979 Trans Am, but not for the Tenth Anniversary Edition Trans Am.
The interior is in poor condition but the dash does not appear cracked. Moisture and mildews seems to have gotten the best of the soft surfaces. The factory interior for the 10th Anniversary Edition featured silver leather upholstery similar to the silver leather interior used in the 1978 Corvette Pace car. A replacement interior is available but is expensive. Every Tenth Anniversary Trans Am came with T-Tops, WS6 suspension, power antenna, tilt steering, ETR radio, and various power accessories. The MSRP for these cars in 1979 exceeded $10,000 which was a lot of money in the day.
As can be seen, the exterior paint is worn through and show surface rust. The seller said the car was running 26 years ago when it was stored. The Tenth Anniversary Trans Am featured red backlit dash gauges, a digital red ETR AM/FM 8-track stereo, power antennas, a space-saver trunk tire, and a unique oversized hood bird and decals. The seller wants $10,000 but what would be your best offer?
The seller said the car was running 26 years ago.
Heck, 26 years ago I was running, too.
Stored 26 years ago… More like pushed into the garage last week…
There was an offer accepted for this car in June that fell through. This is rough, with the amount of mildew and deterioration what other damage has been done? Is the car in the sellers name?
Late-70’s Trans Ams never really caught on in California, they came out right when traditional muscle cars were at the bottom of the depreciation curve, they were everywhere and were inexpensive. When cars like this 79 were a few years old, the state instituted emissions testing with a visual component where the removal or swap of any OE parts related to emissions such as carb, distributor, ported vacuum switch, catalytic converter, smog pump, anything, the car could not get its registration renewed. By the late-80’s there were rows of rubber bumper Firebirds and Camaros filling every self service wrecking yard. All the while traditional muscle cars were still relatively inexpensive. It’s much more uncommon today to see a late-70’s Trans Am on the street than a 1st generation Camaro. If this gets sold, it will likely head east and not stay in California.
Steve R
Yeah rough as you mention is a good word for this car. The closer you look, the worse the car gets. From the bite taken out of the back seat to the loose console bezel, missing power window switches and damaged rear window trim, it’s gets worse and worse…just a ratty looking car. Realistically the car should be started at an auction at $5,000 and sees who wants to start a bidding war.
These anniversary models come in two conditions, pristine or rough. My only issue would be the pristine versions are still way overpriced.