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400 V8/4-Speed: 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

Do you like black and gold or gold and black? In 1978, buyers had a choice on whether they wanted to buy a black Special Edition Trans Am with gold stripes or a gold Special Edition Trans Am with black stripes. The seller states that this is a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am “Gold Edition” which usually refers to a Y88 Gold Special Edition Trans Am. However, a closer examination indicates that this might not be a Y88 gold Special Edition car but it is still a nice car. The car is listed for sale here on eBay with 2 days remaining in the auction. It is currently bid to $9,100 and the reserve has not been met. The seller has set a Buy It Now Price at $15,000. The Trans Am is located in Central, South Carolina.

The interior of the car is a list rough and is missing the carpet and door sill covers. The car is equipped with standard black vinyl interior. The Trans Am has very few options but is equipped with a Borg Warner T10 four speed transmission. One detail that indicates that this is not a Y88 Gold Special Edition car is that the steering wheel spokes and the dash bezel should be gold not silver. The door panels have aftermarket speakers installed and the console cover is split.

The seller states the car is a hood bird delete car. A full copy of the build sheet would be helpful to determine a number of things about this car. The VIN indicates that this car is equipped with a Z Code W72 400 cubic inch Pontiac V8 engine. This engine was rated at 220 horsepower W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine which was up from 200 horsepower from the prior year. Hot Rod Magazine tested the W72 400 4 speed equipped Trans Am in 1978 and published a 14.7 second quarter mile time. The W72 engine was built with a 800 cfm 4 barrel Rochester carburetor, high capacity 60 psi oil pump, special cam, baffled oil pan, special piston rings, 8:1compression heads and dual turbo mufflers.

One picture of the car indicates that the hood is bent probably from the hinge catching and tweaking the hood. The decals that are on the car appear to be from a 1979 Trans Am so it has probably been repainted. The car rides on 15×8 inch aluminum snowflake wheels and some really old tires. All in all this is a great car and would be a lot of fun to drive. It is a 4 speed car with a WS6 performance suspension. It should sell close to the Buy It Now Price than where it is currently bid today.

Comments

  1. Avatar PRA4SNW

    These cars have a completely different personality without the screaming chicken decal.

    Like 5
    • Avatar JACKinNWPA Member

      Yep it’s called boring. Looks like it also has a quickie enamel paint job.

      Like 7
  2. Avatar Stevieg

    My uncle had one of these, same color body, tan standard interior. His had the hood decal. Otherwise, same equipment as this one. I remember it being pretty fast for the time. I sure was impressed by it, but I was pretty young.
    Always wanted one like it, now even more so than ever. This uncle is my last one left.
    My Dad totaled the car. He was going way too fast down a local thoroughfare (my uncle was riding my Dad’s motorcycle at the time because my Dad was too drunk to ride 2 wheels) & he decided to make a sudden turn onto a side street. Going well over 80 mph, it did not end well for the car. Many years later he died in an even more spectacular crash…sober!

    Like 0
    • Avatar Tman

      I imagine Fathers Day must have been interesting that year. Sorry for the crash but at least he survived

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Raymond

    Not a Y88…prob been wrecked…seller seems shady….buyer beware…

    Like 2
  4. Avatar Arby

    Why did the chicken leave the hood?

    Like 5
    • Avatar Tman

      Ok Arby. You asked an innocent question. It left the Hood? It lost its I.D. entering the Trans Am? It tried to cross the road? To escape the Colonel? It layed an egg? It retired to a Rust Home? The Bird got Fired? The engine overheated and entered a cook off? It flipped off right in front of the driver?…………….

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Llouis200

    It’s not longer on EBay.

    Like 1
  6. Avatar Dave

    In 1978, ANYTHING painted black and gold sold like mad here in western Pennsylvania! They also rusted out like crazy.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar mike

    Decals definitely not from a 1979

    Like 1
  8. Avatar RL

    This isn’t a Y88 by any stretch every Ycar had
    Gold T-Tops
    Tan steering wheel and tan column
    Gold arrow head on front nose
    Gold snow flakes
    Gold bird that lookd to the left for the 1st time
    Black pin stripes

    Like 3

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