Most Trans Ams sell for more when painted black. This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is a roller and the black paint is pretty faded. Located in San Antonio, Texas, it is clearly a project and is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for only $3,500. The seller states that the car has over 100,000 miles and it will need everything from a drivetrain to body/paint and a new interior. A buyer could find lots wrong with it but the asking price is not one of them. With Pontiac Trans Ams selling for north of $30,000, this might be a good deal for someone interested in a project car.
The data tag on the cowl states that the Firebird is a WS4 equipped car. The WS4 on the data tag is what Pontiac enthusiasts look for to verify that the car was optioned as a Trans Am from the factory. It is odd that the data tag is painted when the surrounding area is not the same color. The data tag also shows 19U and 19L which means it left the factory in Code 19 Starlight Black. I don’t know why but Pontiac listed an upper and lower code. Only Formulas were two tone in 1979. The base engine in the Trans Am in 1979 was the L80 403 cubic inch V8 that came only with an automatic transmission. The 301 cubic inch V8 was a $50 credit option on the Trans Ams and was available with an automatic or manual transmission. The high performance engine option that year was the L78 W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine. The 400 cubic inch V8 was only available with a Borg Warner T-10 4 speed manual transmission and came with 3.23 rear gears, WS6 suspension and dual turbo mufflers.
The interior is sparse with only one good picture. I don’t know why people change out the steering wheels on Trans Ams. I think the factory three spoke Formula wheels were one of the best looking wheels installed on a muscle car. The dash is damaged but the Trans Am has its seats installed but is missing door panels. The dash bezel indicates the car once had air conditioning. Some of the pictures show some rust damage. The seller states that the floors and quarter panels are in good shape as well as the trunk.
This Trans Am is equipped with 15×7 snowflake aluminum snowflake wheels. If these were the wheels that came with the car from the factory, the car was not equipped with the WS6 or WS7 suspension which came with bigger sway bars, tuned shocks, quicker steering ratio and 15×8 snowflake wheels. This might be a good start for a restoration and might even be considered a blank slate to start with for the new buyer.
Was this once relegated to ‘parts car’ status until the prices turned it into ‘project car’ status? I can appreciate a Pontiac 400 going in…would an LS make more sense to the budget?
Driver’s side door sill looks kind of crunchy. Too bad. I like this year of Firebird. I mean it’s into the structure so how do you fix that?
Put it on a frame table, and PULL! You may have to replace the rockers and floor pan, if they were bent in the hit, along with the rear quarter panel, despite the lack of rust. Again, almost anything can be repaired that doesn’t violate the laws of physics, as long as you have the time and money to spend, the only question you should ask is: Do you want to spend that much time and money on this car? I would probably look for a straighter example, but as straight examples get rarer and harder to find at reasonable prices, lesser examples become more desirable and more expensive as well.
I thought so too at first. I think what we are seeing is the ragged edge of the carpeting sticking up with the sill plate missing. The sills and rockers might just have some surface rust.
Wonder if it has rear disc brakes?An often overlooked engine swap that i have seen a few of these is a 454 Chevy big block,will fit in the engine bay and there are plenty out there,a real torque monster as well…..
I’d vote for a 455 Super Duty mill instead. Granted, 1974 was the last year for the SD, with its four-bolt main bearing caps, forged crank and oval port heads, but it would keep things in the Pontiac family. Undo the anti-smog mods and she should be good for well over 300 hp, especially if you ditch the carburetor for some form of fuel injection, to improve drivability and gas mileage. This was at the height of the “Malaise Era” when both smog controls and drivability were at their nadir. The good news is all Pontiac V8 engines shared the same block, so any competent machine shop should be able to do the machine work required to install the Super Duty upgrades to the block, and aftermarket cylinder heads, combined with a new intake manifold and exhaust system will really allow that 400 to breathe as a 455!
Wow, 3.50 maybe, but it’s a goner. Far too much damage. You’ll spend more making it presentable than if you just took your money and bought one that’s already a good driver.
I’d rather the motor that should be in it 403 olds and with some 455 olds parts (w30 heads and intake) that will be right up there in the 500 pound- feet of torque and that car will fly and if you want to get crazy turbo or super charger would really put you in the seat!!!!