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Cheap 1975 Pontiac Trans Am

This 1975 Pontiac Trans Am has a number of attributes in its favor as a project car, but probably the greatest of these is that it is cheap. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that it needs plenty of work, but at an asking price of $1,600, it could be an affordable entry-level project. The Pontiac is located in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, and has been listed for sale here on Craigslist.

Time has not been kind to the Trans Am that started life painted Sterling Silver. There is virtually no evidence of that paint to be seen anywhere on the car today, except around the door jambs and trunk close. The owner says that the car has a solid frame, but there is still some rust present, and this will need to be addressed sooner rather than later. The front floors have plenty, while the rust that is visible in the rockers, the lower doors and the lower quarter panel on the passenger side all appear to be pretty minor. The other quarter panel looks quite solid, and while the trunk pan has a heavy coating of corrosion, I don’t believe that it has actually penetrated the steel.

Given the condition of the Pontiac’s exterior, it really isn’t surprising to see that the interior is in a similar state. Apart from the door trims and carpet, it does appear as though it is complete. I could go into specifics here, but it is just clearer to say that it is showing the sort of deterioration that you would expect from predominantly plastic trim from the 1970s. That isn’t to say that it is beyond help, because the gauges and a lot of components could certainly be either used as-is or would respond well to some general cleaning and light restoration. Even so, I didn’t have to search terribly hard to find a kit that included new door trims, covers for the front and rear seats, a headliner, and a full carpet set for around the $1,100 mark for the lot. Combine those components with the aforementioned cleaning, and suddenly the interior would present very nicely.

This is a numbers-matching Trans Am, which is outfitted with a 400ci V8 engine, 3-speed Hydramatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and a Posi rear end. The car doesn’t currently run, and it isn’t clear whether the motor even turns freely. One encouraging aspect is that even though the carburetor and associated items have been removed and are in the trunk, somebody has had the good sense to seal-up the intake with tape. That should mean that foreign objects haven’t found their way into the 400, and it also shows that someone has put a bit of thought and care into decommissioning the car. It’s attention to details like these that inspire a level of confidence for potential buyers.

I’m not going to kid you that restoring this ’75 Trans Am is going to be easy, because it probably isn’t. What I will say is that even though it will probably require new floors, the rest of the rust issues look like they could be addressed with patches rather than complete panel replacement. Parts are also plentiful and affordable, and when you add all of that together, then that might make this a pretty decent sort of project car.

Comments

  1. Avatar Brian K.

    That’s a tough looking bird. R.I.P.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Steve P

    Another classic left to rot, what a shame

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Vin_in_NJ

    Wonder why the trunk lid and rear quarters don’t have holes where the rear spoiler would have mounted.
    Right rear tire looks like somebody was doing burnouts until the tire blew

    Like 3
    • Avatar Al

      I was thinking the same thing. No holes for the rear quarters. I see the 2 holes on the deck lid. But none on the quarters.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Steve P

        Was the spoiler in 3 pieces, 1 on each quarter and one on the trunk?

        Like 1
  4. Avatar Al

    The one I had was 3 pieces like that.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Stevieg

    They were all 3 piece spoilers back then.
    This ol’ girl is rough. What a shame someone allowed this to happen to what was once a beauty.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Steve P

    I agree!

    Like 0
  7. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    Not sure about the ’77-81’s birds or ’74-81 camaros, but the ’74-76 birds have factory headlite buckets built into the fiberglass! – as illustrated here –>
    http://images.craigslist.org/00b0b_kxjIvkKlvbh_1200x900.jpg
    Oh if only the ’70-73 firebird aftermarket fiberglass noses had that – instead they come with just 2 big holes for headlites – you need to be a fabricator.
    Looking at that rusty bumper, it looks to me like GM did not even bother to prime even more steel body parts than i thought in the 70s. lol

    Like 0

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