I have been asked many times whether I believe that the day will come when classic finds in sheds and barns will ever end. My answer is that I doubt it. There is no doubt that there are some models where the build totals were so low that the numbers will eventually slow to a trickle and then will dry up entirely. However, there are others where you can be sure that there will be fabulous finds for decades to come. Buried under all of these boxes and assorted junk is a car that proves this point. What you are looking at is a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am, and less hardy souls would look at the work involved in extracting it from hiding and would throw it in the too-hard basket. That would be their loss because this is a car that will spring a few surprises. It has been dragged out after decades of hibernation and has been listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Henderson, Maryland, and has a BIN of $29,500. If that’s a bit rich for you, there is the option to make an offer.

The owner has pulled the Pontiac into the light of day and done little beyond giving it a quick wash and a thorough inspection. This reveals original Starlight Black paint that wears some scratches and chips but still presents well for a survivor-grade car. It would be interesting to see how it responded to some concerted work with a high-quality polish. The panels are straighter than you might expect after all of these years, but the big news revolves around rust. These Trans Ams could be prone to problems, but this has dodged a bullet on that front. The floors are said to be clean, and the susceptible areas like the rear frame rails, rear valance, and trunk floor all look good. The trunk is so nice that it still wears its original red oxide paint from the factory. There are no issues visible around the back window, and the lower extremities all seem to be clean. The body molding is missing off the driver’s door, but everything else is present. The glass shows no evidence of problems, while the Trans Am rolls on its original honeycomb wheels.

We now reach the point in proceedings where the buyer will probably have to spend some time and money. What we find under the hood is the 400ci V8 that would have been packing 220hp when new. The buyer will also receive a 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes. The Trans Am would have been a lively performer in a 1978 context and would have stormed the ¼ mile in 16 seconds. That might not sound that great, but for those of us who lived through this era, that was about as good as it got. See, the good old days weren’t necessarily as good as many people would care to remember. The Pontiac is a numbers-matching classic and is wearing only its second set of tires since new. That 400 hasn’t fired a shot since the Pontiac was parked in 1978, and the owner has not attempted to coax it back to life. That means that the buyer will be facing the “fun” of undertaking flushing the fuel system, replacing hoses and belts, and all of the other little tasks that would see the car returned to a roadworthy state. Still, it should be worth the effort because this classic has only accumulated 79,000 original miles on the clock. If it has been parked for as long as claimed, that sounds about right. Included in the sale is all of the original paperwork that came with the car from new, including the dealership’s documentation and receipts.

The Trans Am’s interior is upholstered in Carmine vinyl, and while it generally looks tidy, there are a few issues to be tackled. The headliner has been removed due to sagging, so a replacement will need to be sourced. That should chew up around $150, but it will help the presentation significantly. The cover on the driver’s seat has some tears, and I think these are beyond patching. It is possible to buy a pair of covers for the buckets, but the buyer might choose to replace all of the covers to maintain a uniform appearance. That will lighten the wallet by $550, but that looks like all they will need to spend. The rest of the interior is spotless, including the dash and pad. There is an aftermarket radio/cassette player fitted into the dash. Still, once the buyer has worked their way through the dealer documentation, they can choose to source the correct system specified on the Order Form to bring the interior back to stock appearance. There aren’t many luxury appointments inside the Pontiac, but it was ordered with air conditioning. The system remains complete, but it will undoubtedly need some work before it blows cold once again.

This 1978 Pontiac Trans Am probably won’t be the last one that will be unearthed in a shed or barn, but finding one that is this well-preserved and rust-free is a rare treat. I have always been open about my leaning towards anything that wears a blue-oval badge, but there has always been that indefinable something about the Trans Am that makes me like them. It seems that I’m not alone in this because values have been increasing slowly but steadily in recent years. Locating barn finds like this classic is a bit like catching a bus or a train. If you miss out on this one, there will be another one that will come along eventually. It will just be a matter of how long you are willing to wait for that particular “bus.” Will you wait, or will you grab this one while you can?