This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is claimed to have its original paint and only covered 36,820 miles over the past 45 years. It represents the pinnacle of the development of the 2nd generation Trans Am including 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. This example is located in Ringwood, New Jersey and there are 2 days left in the listing. The seller is asking $42,000.
For 1979, 7,500 TATA’s were built with 1,817 being built with the W72 Pontiac 400 engine with a 4 speed manual transmission and 5,683 being built with the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 with an automatic transmission. Pontiac enthusiasts refer to this car as the TATA for Tenth Anniversary Trans Am. The Tenth Anniversary Trans Am was available with either the L80 403 cubic inch V8 that came with an automatic transmission or the W72 Pontiac 400 V8 engine. While the 301 cubic inch V8 was a $50 credit option on other Trans Ams, it could not be ordered on a Tenth Anniversary Trans Am. The L78 W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine was backed by 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 while the Olds 403 V8 engine was rated at 185 horsepower.
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. As stated, every Tenth Anniversary Trans Am were loaded with options including T-Tops, air conditioning, power windows, cruise control, tilt steering and WS6 performance suspension. The interior carpet on the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am was also a special gray shag carpet. The dash gauges were backlit with red bulbs which matched the digital red AM/FM 8 track stereo. The cars also had power antennas and the original space saver tire in the trunk. The seller states that the dash has no cracks and everything works except the tachometer.
This Tenth Anniversary Trans Am is said to run and drive well. There are some flaws in the original paint and the bird is faded on one side of the hood. The seller states that there is no paperwork to document the low mileage but the condition of the car speaks for itself. The car does have its original shag carpet which is a plus. The car will need brake work and other small things because it has sat for so long. This car is listed here on eBay with a reasonable asking price but there is an option for the buyer to make an offer.
Nice. I remember buying 8-track tapes back then.
I bought this identical car new in summer 1979. Badly wanted a L78/WS6 Formula but the 400 Pontiac engines were all gone. Hallet Pontiac in South Miami had this sitting on their showroom floor with 5k in additional dealer mark up and wouldn’t budge. When summer rolled around and they still had it, I offered sticker and they accepted. Stupidly, I ran the wheels off it every day drag raced it, auto crossed it and generally treated it like any other Firebird. I sold it 3 years later with 62k miles on it and bought a 280ZX. I loved the Pontiac’s performance but its build quality was generic GM and I got tired of fixing broken door straps, seat brackets, leaky trunks and fading paint. Also spun a rod bearing on the 400 but that was on me. Still want that WS6 Formula, there’s a black one in the Ken Lingerfelt collection that is exactly my spec.
@wjtinfwb Well said. Your tale of woe is echoed many times over by countless original owners of these (era) cars. I also bought a new one back in 77 (at the age of 19), and proceeded to spend two years dogging the heck out of it. I kept it only two years, but had already worn out two sets of tires in just 30k miles. The transmission was slipping, and all sorts of other problems mostly my own fault. Yet we still wax nostalgic (mostly) about those days.
This over the IROC featured an hour later change my mind
Bruce, 42K is a reasonable asking price? Granted, it is one of the most desirable T/A models, but what do these normally go for, more than 50K?
I just can’t see that.
There will be more of these T/A’s coming up like all those T Types stored away…..
It’s a really good looking Trans Am, no doubt about it and the 4 speed and top spec options list definitely adds to its appeal. The issue I have with all the malaise era sports and muscle cars is that for the price people are asking for what is in reality a slow car with poor build quality, I can buy a C5/6 Corvette or a late model Trans Am or Z/28 with the LS1 and a 6 speed for less money and have a car that to me is just as good looking and will absolutely run circles around anything from the mid 70’s to mid 80’s and be a lot more reliable and cheaper to maintain. I get that the seller is banking on nostalgia and style, but to me this is a $15k-$20k car that won’t even be very fun to drive.