Pontiac produced four different models of the second generation Trans Am from 1970 to 1981. These included the base Firebird, Esprit, Formula and Trans Am. This 1980 Trans Am is located in Herriman, Utah and is listed for sale for a price of $16,500. The auction has 7 bids and has reached $14,000 to date. The car is said to be originally painted Code 19 black. Due to the popularity of black Trans Ams, many Trans Ams have been repainted but this one is believed to be in its original color. You can always check the data tag on the cowl for the original paint code.
This Trans Am has a few nice options including the deluxe hobnail interior. I have several Trans Ams and, for a stock seat, I think the cloth deluxe hobnail seats give good support and are almost as good as the earlier horsecollar seats. As far as options, this car appears to have tilt steering, air conditioning and T-Tops. The dash is not cracked which is a huge plus because that usually is one of the most expensive parts of the interior to remove and send off for repair.
The largest Pontiac engine available in the Trans Am in 1980 was the 301 cubic inch V8. In California, due to emissions, the Chevrolet 305 cubic inch V8 was standard. The 301 V8 or sometimes known as the 4.9 liter, was designated as the W72 in 1980 and the VIN of this car would have a “W” in the 5th digit. This engine in no way should be confused with the 1977-1979 W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine. The 301 V8 with a 4 barrel carburetor was rated at 155 horsepower and 240 lb ft of torque. Pontiac also offered a turbocharged 301 cubic inch V8 known as the LU8 which was rated at 210 horsepower.
There are two days remaining in this auction. This Trans Am is listed here on eBay. This car rides on 15×7 aluminum wheels known as snowflake wheels by enthusiasts. If these wheels were 15×8, they would indicate the car was equipped with the WS6 handling package which came with larger sway bars, quicker steering ratio and tuned shocks. This car appears to be a driver that needs some paint work but probably cruises nicely.
I know everything is an LS swap but these cars are so cool they deserve more than 155hp!
Nice T/A – Myself I would drop in a 400 – 455 Pontiac V8 – Good for 400 – 500 + pump gas hp lots of Torque too – Add Overdrive auto etc. :)
Lots of the cool stuff is missing. A friend of mine ordered on for 1980. He made sure he got all the cool still, to remember the 4 wheel discs and drip rail delete. He wanted it to look great and it did, it looked fast!!! But even with the best engine the car would still be a slow boat, thus his reasoning. Looks were what mattered, spread was never a factor. He never gave anybody the satisfaction of beating him in a race because he knew that car couldn’t do it even if it was ordered differently.
Nice, and looks to be un-messed with. Paint is original, you can tell when you see it in the close-up photo.
I haven’t seen too many T/As with the body side moldings. Yes, they protected the car, but took away from the looks.