Some of our readers may only know of Burt Reynolds through Norm Macdonald’s portrayal of him in the hilarious SNL “Celebrity Jeopardy” skits in the mid-1990’s. But those of us old enough to remember the ’70’s remember Burt Reynolds as a number-one box office draw, a macho sex symbol, and a wildly-popular ’70’s culture icon. He played the “lovable rogue” character to perfection with his portrayal of Bo “Bandit” Darville in the 1977 summer blockbuster car-chase comedy hit, “Smokey and the Bandit.” Even though the movie starred Oscar-winner Sally Field and comedy legend Jackie Gleason, let’s face it, Burt’s black and gold Trans Am was the true co-star of the movie. Just ask anyone who was around Pontiac Motor Division back in the late ’70’s. Thanks to the movie’s impact, Trans Am sales soared from 68,745 units in 1977 to 93,351 in 1978, and soared even higher in 1979 with 117,108 Trans Ams sold! Not a bad product placement return on their investment for Pontiac (who supplied six cars: four Trans Ams plus the two sedans that Sheriff Buford T. Justice destroyed). Here’s a numbers-matching Special Edition Trans Am from 1979 with its original invoice and only 36,000 miles on the clock. It’s located in Thousand Oaks, California and is for sale here on craigslist with an asking price of $58,000. Another “thank you, kindly, good buddy” to Rocco B. (is the B short for Bandit?) for sending this tip our way.
There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of pampered, squirreled-away Trans Ams out there, but this is the nicest, most original one that we’ve featured here on Barn Finds. It’s been a California car all of its life with paper work showing it was delivered from the Van Nuys factory to Ruehman Pontiac in North Hollywood on June 26, 1979 with 16 miles on the odometer. The seller says it’s never left the San Fernando Valley in 45 years and it has documented history with the original purchase invoice, warranty, and dealer pack. Simply put, the photos tell the story of this Starlight Black Trans Am’s amazing time capsule condition. The seller claims this Trans Am is still wearing its original factory paint, is 100% accident free, rust free, has had zero repairs, and has been garaged since new.
The time capsule condition of the Trans Am’s exterior is also repeated in its remarkable interior. The purchase invoice details what was included in the $1,329 Special Edition package: a removable hatch roof (T-Top), gold cast aluminum snowflake-styled wheels, special gold interior appointments, special stripes and emblems, and a gold hood decal. The long list of creature comfort and convenience options ordered on this black beauty include: custom Starlight Black velour bucket seats and rear seat, A/C (a pricy option at $529), cruise control, remote control deck lid release, rear window defroster, soft ray tinted glass, additional acoustical insulation, lamp group, power windows, power front and rear disc brakes, power door locks, power antenna, tilt steering wheel, and a special handling package.
And since it was the 70’s, the second most expensive option at $345 back in 1979 was the Delco-GM AM/FM Stereo Radio and Stereo 8-Track Tape Player. Plus, as a bonus, there are 8-Track Tapes visible from The Doobie Brothers and Kenny Rogers to blast off those T-Tops.
Under that Starlight Black hood adorned with the iconic gold “Screaming Chicken” decal is the Trans Am’s power plant described on the invoice as “6.6 Litre 4-bbl V8.” From what I’ve read, Pontiac was exiting the V8 engine game and although some leftover 400-cubic inch Pontiac engines from 1978 found their way onto some ’79 Trans Ams, this Poncho has the more commonly found 403-cubic inch, 185-horsepower Oldsmobile V8 engine. It has 36,000 original miles, is paired with a 3-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, and the seller claims this Trans Am “drives like new.” The seller also throws around terms like “True Investment/ Collector grade” and describes this low-mileage survivor as “Unbelievable 100% bone stock condition, completely unmolested, no modifications.” From a pricing standpoint, Hagerty’s estimates a 1979 Trans Am Special Edition in #1 Concourse Condition at $61,900 and a #2 Excellent Condition at $45,500. So, what do you think of this Time Capsule Trans Am Special Edition? Is it the most original one you’ve seen?
I don’t really follow these Trans Ams, but I wanted to simply comment on how stock and clean and unmolested this car appears to be. It is no small task to keep a car looking this nice after 45 years. Its pampered life equates to about 15 miles per week.
Speaking of 45 years, the optional air conditioning would be over $2200 in today’s dollars. And the sound system would be almost $1500. We take nice sound systems for granted today, but back then they were pricey.
Good write-up Ron.
Thanks, Bob. I was also impressed with the near showroom-new condition of this 45-year-old Trans Am. Some folks put a lot of effort and TLC into keeping it in this kind of condition. And, you’re right about how expensive factory air and upgraded sound systems were back then. Interesting seeing what those 1979 prices would be today…
Reminds me how I paid $666 for a 26 inch RCA television back in 1985. Today you can buy a 70 inch flat screen for less.
Never been a fan of the 403 Oldsmobile engine. However this car is exceptionally nice and could well be worth the price of admission. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the 403, I have always liked Pontiacs and this car is no exception. All that aside, having experienced the soon to come 4.9 turbo, I believe the 403 Oldsmobile powered car was a superior product.
Gees, wouldn’t you want to have the engine compartment as clean as the rest of the car? I have a friend who waxes the frame on his truck. That’s commitment!
Such a beautiful Trans Am. The text says it never left the Valley. Heck, it barely left the garage. So nice to see this car as well preserved. I never noticed that the radio face is tinted gold like the I/P. IIRC California cars only got the 403 in 6.6 liter cars. In Michigan one could usually tell automatic from the manual T/As as the shaker stood higher on the Pontiac 400.
I always liked the trans am’s 69-79 even though the later had no hp they were just nice looking cars!!
Black, gold , trans am, does it get any better?
Yes it does when they take the form of a 69 through early-70’s with Ram Air III, Ram Air IV, 455 HO or 455 SD, preferably white with a blue stripe, blue with a white stripe is a close second.
Steve R
You bet! I’ve owned 5 TA’s, including a 79 with the Poncho 400 (massaged and very much awakened) and the 4 speed. That’s the preferred combo for certain. But this is indeed a beauty.
The shaker should say “6.6 LITRE” since it has the 403 Olds; only the 400 Pontiac-powered Trans Am had “T/A 6.6” on the shaker.
There’s another clue to the engines in these cars that was on the 77 and I would imagine other years. The standard 400 engine the 77 had blue valve covers like this one. The T/A 6.6 had a set of plain chrome valve covers as factory equipment. It was on my window sticker if I remember correctly. The engine in 77 was a $50 bump.
Keith, you are correct… which potentially negates the all-original claim. That scoop decal did not come with this engine package. It’s possible that someone added “only” the (wrong) scoop decal, but more likely that all of the decals have been replaced… also leading to questions of the paint originality. Yes, a beautiful car, but there are lots of TAs out there that have been refurbed with incorrect year parts. Careful inspection would be advised.
Dear Enthusiasts,
I owned a 79 TA like this one with the Pontiac motor. As you can see from the engine photo, the Olds motor had painted valve covers: the Pontiac motor had chrome factory valve covers. I bought it new, & only kept it for 1 year: only put a 1,000 miles on it, but could it go. I followed 2 other TAs through the Fort Pitt tunnel & up Greentree hill in Pittsburgh at 125 MPH. I made a mistake when I got rid of this black 4 speed beauty. I sold it to a teacher in McKeesport, Pa. I wish I could find it again: Happy Motoring.
Pretty sure it was just the W72 400 that had the chrome valve covers.
This is an incredible example! I was in until I saw the transmission.
I remember when Burt Reynolds played on several episodes of the early Gunsmoke, the black and white years.
Thought I would never see the phrase Time Capsule and 36k for miles in the same ad. Nice car but parts are needing replaced with that kind of miles..
Pretty car. 74-76 and 77-78 were my favs from the 70’s, in that order. The nose from 79-81’s weren’t as attractive to me. Still gorgeous. Don’t believe it’s all original based on the engine and a few other details, but still a beautiful ride.
I’m not a T/A guy by any means, but doesn’t 185 horses seem kinda limp for this? Is this an entry level Trans Am, if there is such a thing? I know they were lowering the advertised hp numbers for insurance, is this a case of that?
That was the only engine available in California for several years, they were also paired with 2.56 or 2.41 rear end gears. That’s one of the reasons you rarely see a late-70’s TA or Z28 in California today. The other reason is, 60’s and early-70’s muscle cars were inexpensive and readily available. Throughout the 80’s nearly every page of an Auto Trader had several muscle cars, Camaro, Firebird, Mustang E-body or 2 door midsize hardtop. When you factored in the state’s emissions testing protocols they were expendable.
In the late-80’s and early-90’s the Pick N Pull wrecking yards would have rows of only Camaros and Firebirds, mostly rubber bumper cars, you’d look for 1 1/4 front sway bars then check to see it was a 4spd, those were out of state cars and rare, but it told you to check the rear end to see if it was a 3.23 or 3.42 posi if it was you took that too. Other than that you’d keep going and start pulling parts from mid sized cars, mainly focusing cars that had OE bucket seats, consoles, disk brakes, factory gauges or performance parts though by then those parts were starting to get thin on the ground.
Steve R
If I’m not mistaken, the Olds 403 went into automatics, while the Poncho 400 went into 4 speeds.
That is correct. I had a real ’79, WS6, Pontiac 400, 4 speed, 4 wheel disc brakes.
Never thought the Bert Reynolds Trans Am would bring this kinda coin someday. The 76 Trans Am with the 400 Pontiac engine is the last Trans Am of interest to me. The 2002 LS1 WS6 is the next Trans Am I’d like to own for my money. Nice Trans Am though.
Beautiful, but most likely not original. The front air intake panels should be gold trimmed, it is missing the dual pinstripes running from the center of the roof to the trunk, and the gold finish on the turned metal dash and steering wheel is much brighter than it would have come from the factory. Also the before mentioned wrong sticker on the shaker hood scoop. Be cautious!
There should actually be additional gold pin striping all over on a real and original 1979 SE Trans Am. Across the nose between headlights and lower air intakes, bottom of front spoiler and up and over front flares and wheel openings, rear flares and wheel openings, front windshield pillars, around rear spoiler, around rear window, tops of doors and more. Also looks like the bird decal on sail panel is too small.
Non Pontiac motor…incorrect badging on shaker….shaker modified..leading me to believe that..that it was a repaint as well..way overpriced..10k at best..
Very nice looking T/A, but I have to wonder why does it appear on a craigslist ad? This to me would be an ebay or hemmings sale. The comments above are very applicable, there are some notable issues with this car. I have always loved this evolution of the T/A since I was a kid, but the practicality of a 55 year old man driving one of these around is the very thing younger me would have made fun of.
Owner states “Genuine Y84 SE, factory Starlight Black on Black with build sheet and matching#”.
1. The Dealer Copy document shown is not a build sheet.
2. No window sticker shown.
3. Also very important would be documentation from PHS that you would think the owner of a real Y84 SE Trans Am would have to support that claim.
My opinion, a very nice black TA but not the much more desirable Y84 SE.