There were not many Special Edition (SE) Trans Ams made in 1978. This was the year after Smokey and the Bandit hit the theaters and the Pontiac Trans Am was skyrocketing in popularity. Today, the 1977-1978 Trans Am are skyrocketing in price, especially SE cars. This 1978 Pontiac Trans Am is a factory 4 speed car with the optional W72 400 engine that was originally ordered in black but it did not come with the SE package. So, at some point, the SE stripes were added and the result is a great performing driver.
In 1978, the base engine in the Trans Am was the Pontiac L78 400 cubic inch V8 engine that produced 180 horsepower in stock form. Due to emissions regulations in California, the Trans Am could only ordered with the Oldsmobile L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine rated slightly higher at 185 horsepower. The performance option in 49 states was the W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine. Power increased compared to the prior year (1977) with this engine due to new dual exhausts. The W72 engine was rated at 220 horsepower in 1978 and 320 lb ft of torque. The W72 engine could be paired with either an automatic transmission or a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed manual transmission. Whereas the other two engines were only available with an automatic transmission.
The interior, like the exterior, looks very nice on this car. The car has the correct gold dash bezel and steering wheel spokes that would have come on an SE car. The seats have been recovered in camel hobnail cloth which became available in 1979. I think it looks a lot better than the cloth seat covers that are correct for 1978 and I have ordered the same hobnail interior for my 1978 Trans Am. This Trans Am is not equipped with air conditioning and it appears to have power locks and a functioning factory AM/FM 8 track stereo.
The car is listed here on eBay with 2 days remaining in the auction with no reserve. The bids have reached $40,400 after 94 bids. The Trans Am is located in Haskell, New Jersey and rides on 15×7 snowflake wheels. The seller does a nice job of posting lots of pics and describing how well the car runs. This car would just be simply fun to own!
y’know, if it weren’t for the stupid mortgage, the kid, the wife, the bills, I’d snap this puppy up, feather back my hair and tell Dawn S. from high school that she’s going out with me…
Coulda bought a new one in 78 for $7,000, but I was a starving college kid. Darn.
Would be a blast to drive. Sad thing is you’d get your doors blown off by even a Honda Accord
Only if every light is a challenge.
Maybe, but that Honda will never get the attention and retain the value of this car.
If I wanted a car just for speed I’d get an EV. …not a Honda :-). The point of most cars here is not just how fast they go! Love to own this bird!
I think it is great!. Not not-picking at all, I just like the 8 inch/offset snowflake rims much better. I would put those on if it were mine. GLWTS.
If speed were the only reason to get a car, I’d get an EV that plays the “vroom” noise through the interior speakers. Good thing there are plenty of other reasons! This T/A is fantastic and checks all the right boxes!
Yeah, at this point in our and this car’s lives, it’s more about fred’s comment than Frank’s.
To get more hp you need to swap the heads with the 72cc chambers and a more aggressive cam,good set of long tube headers,800 or 850 cfm carb and a MSD box.You’ll be able to smoke a Honda,especially from takeoff at a light.When i owned my 76 Trans Am,i wasn’t getting beat by any rice burners….
Cool cars. The 4spd makes em even better. 😎
Cool T/A > It was the Best you could get in 1978 – a Stock 1978 W72 400 4 spd. T/A was running 14.7’s at our local track – in one magazine 1/4 mile test a Stock same engine 79 W72 400 4 spd T/A ran a 14.6 @ 96 mph – stock 78 302 mustangs ran 16’s at best ran a 17 in one magazine 1/4 mile test and even stock production 78 Lil Express trucks were running high 15’s and in one magazine 1/4 mile test one ran a 15.7 @ 88 mph – Back then Stock 1978 – 79 W72 400 4 spd Trans Ams were King :)
I dated a girl with one of these, 4speed and all. It didn’t work out, lol