There were over 117,000 Pontiac Trans Ams produced in 1979. This was by far Pontiacs highest production year. This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is located in Winter Garden, Florida. It is for sale here on eBay with 4 days remaining in the auction and it is currently bid to $22,500. The reserve has not been met. The odometer reading on this car is 34,492 which the dealer believes is accurate.
The interior is stock with the exception of a phoenix decal on the console and aftermarket floor mats. Overall, the interior looks to be in fair to good condition. The carpet looks to be aftermarket and the pictures appear to have been colorized or enhanced. The gold bezels and steering wheel spokes show up too golden and almost a glowing yellow. In person, they are more modest in appearance. The dash has a large crack and is warped. This is not surprising for a Southern car. The Trans Am is equipped with the deluxe interior, remote mirror, T-tops, air conditioning, WS6 suspension and AM/FM radio.
There were three engines available in 1979 on the Pontiac Trans Am. The L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine (K code) was the base engine and it was also the only engine available in California. If you took a $50 credit, a buyer could order a 301 cubic inch V8 engine which was only rated at 155 horsepower. If you were fortunate, you could upgrade to Pontiac’s W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine which was rated at 220 horsepower. The W72 400 cubic inch V8 was only available with a Borg Warner T-10 4 speed manual transmission, 3.23 rear gears, WS6 suspension and dual turbo mufflers. The L80 engine was factory rated at 185 horsepower and had over 300 lb ft of torque. Unfortunately, this engine only came with an automatic transmission and was usually mated with a 2.56 or 2.73 rear end so off the line performance was disappointing. However, it is a smooth running engine and great on the highway.
While there is no claim that this car is a Special Edition (Y84), it does have the gold bezels on the interior as well as the gold spoke steering wheel. The car appears to have been repainted and the engine designation decal on the scoop has been replaced with the “T/A 6.6” decal. From the factory, this decal was “6.6 Litre” which signified the Oldsmobile L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine. A 1981 phoenix badge has been added to the rear fuel door which was not a feature until 1981. The second generation Trans Am was a beautifully styled car and this one is getting a lot of attention on eBay.
Very nice, just not enough pedals
JMC, I raced and restore JMC’s.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the body tag attached with two different style hex head screws looks a little suspect on a “34K mile survivor.”
Yes it looks like the plate has been tampered with also a wire just hanging in the trunk. Also some rust on the motor . I would be hesitant on this if it is a true survivor . Nice car but I think some details are missing
Great catch on the fuel door phoenix. Most folks don’t realize(or probably care) that the 1979 was plain.
Firebird emblem, YES. Phoenix emblem, NO.
Many red flags here…ppi required…sonethin stinks…
Another red flag that I see is this car is completely devoid of all pin striping. Having owned one of these back in the day, I can tell you it took forever to get the wax out from them. That wouldn’t be a problem here but, it should have it.
Not saying it was repainted for any reason other than changing the color and making a S.E. copy of it back in the 80’s. We did that a lot to low mile cars but something looks amiss..
my buddy has a 79 bird, 400, 4-speed he changed to a 5-speed (he has the original 4-speed), in what he says is a rare color of root beer… he has repainted in a green-blue kinda ford color… it runs and shifts, but he is letting it sit at my place and rot, he is expecting large dollars for it cause it is becoming a collectable car, and of course it is under the proverbial blue tarp…
LOL! The blue tarp is doing nothing but keeping all of the moisture inside so the car will rot even faster. He’ll be long dead before that car is worth more than a couple of grand.
don e… tell him that… :/ im thinking he may get maybe 5-ish the way it sits… all original , i think what they call honeycomb’ wheels are on it… it has some rust and leaks…
This Trans Am is not a T/A 6.6. Those all came with the Pontiac 400 and a 4-speed. This car is the 403-Oldsmobile-equipped version. Its hood scoop should say 6.6 Liter. It also has the letter “K” in the VIN which denotes the 403 engine.
All of the 403s were automatics and all of the Pontiac 400s were 4-speeds.
Yup I had a 1979 Trans Am with the Olds 403, that oil filler tube is NOT the Pontiac 400.
An Oldsmobile powered Trans Am, is about as exciting as spending the night in church, with Hillary Duff, it’s good looking, but nothing is gonna happen, it’s got manual windows, and the base Vinyl interior, I’d get laughed out of the car show with that Cutlass powered T/A
Bid up to $32,100.
Reserve NOT met.