How long will a 1970’s era car last exposed to the elements? Does a layer of dirt covering the car help protect it? These are questions we don’t want to find out here at Barn Finds. We would rather see a car tucked away in a barn or garage. This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is under a shed in Lawton, Oklahoma. The owner has decided to part with the car and has listed it here on Facebook Marketplace. The asking price is $7,000 which is lower than the original price of $9,000. The seller is open to a reasonable offer.
The Solar Gold 1979 Trans Am is said to run and drive. It is equipped with the base engine for the Trans Am in 1979 which was the L80 403 cubic inch V8 (K code in the VIN) that came only with an automatic transmission. The L80 was rated at 185 horsepower. The optional 301 cubic inch V8 (W code in the VIN) rated at 150 horsepower and was available with an automatic or manual transmission. The high performance engine option in 1979 was the L78 W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine and was designated as a “Z” code in the VIN and only came with a 4 speed manual transmission. It was rated at 220 horsepower.
The seller states that the car needs a few things including floorboards which are apparently rusted out. The car needs a new interior also. It looks like it was originally equipped with a camel hobnail deluxe interior based on the driver seat. The console indicates that the car had power windows but just about every interior part will need restoration or replacement. Interiors on these cars can be expensive one you order the seat covers and new foam. Recovering the dash is over $1,000 and a new console is $350+.
The dirt is so thick you can’t see the bird on the hood unless you really focus. The seller states the body is straight and the tires were replaced in the past few years. The Trans Am will also need a new exhaust system. This Trans Am is equipped with 15×8 snowflake aluminum snowflake wheels which indicates that the car was equipped with the WS6 or WS7 suspension which came with bigger sway bars, tuned shocks, quicker steering ratio and wider tires. Solar Gold is a popular color. I hope this car gets restored and put back on the road.
Why oh why? If the car was running why not keep it clean at least if you had plans to sell it? With all the interior work a hard pass.
The engine choices were poor. None of them were desirable. No T tops car with an automatic. Miles unknown. Generally in rough condition. Best offer will not be real high. The owner might wash the car to present it better. Good luck for whoever.
Amazingly some people prefer the lack of a T-top!
I LOVE a T-top but the inconsistent design and application of tops from both the factory and aftermarket providers created a lot of leaky interiors. There’s also something to be said for the extra sunlight coming in if you have a dark interior.
That all said, T-tops are a unique relic of a particular time and place in automotive history — they felt weird on a Hurst Olds or a Pontiac Grand Prix, but I think omitting them is the wrong call for most F-bodies.
I’m one of those people. I’ve never owned a TA or Buick GN with T tops, and never will. Ruins the structure integrity of the car and they’re known to rattle and leak. Nothing but trouble waiting to happen. No thanks!
Yes! That’s the best thing about this car, no t-tops!
I’m one of the guys who doesn’t want T-tops in this generation F-body. When you cut the side rails above the doors you take out the structural strength of the roof. Several of the roof hatch manufacturers “solution” was to put wedge blocks high on the back of the doors and on the front of the 1/4 panel in the door opening as the doors pushing against the quarters was supposed to keep them from flexing. No thanks. No tops here is this car’s, to me, only selling feature.
Very true about the structural strength. We had an ‘80 and ‘81 Trans Am (Both with T-tops) in the 80s and we lived at a house with a steep driveway, such that we had to go in at an angle or else the tailpipes would scrape the ground. One of the things I noticed on the ‘81 Trans Am was that the strip of metal on the roof between the T-tops (like above where the dome light would be) started tearing! It was weird to see a tear in the metal!
In addition to those 2 Trans Ams, we also had an ‘85 Cutlass with T-tops. None of them leaked.
Just hate the switch they made on the front grill. Love the 77/78 nose.
& even worse, unlike the cool ’70-’73 noses that crack all over even sitting in a garage, these ’79-’81s don’t.
These go wee and spin 8 times if you live long enough
And the road goes on forever. It seems as if virtually anyone that has a seventies or eighties Trans Am feels as though they possess a real money maker, regardless of condition. Unfortunately, in the real world that is not the case, and this car makes that point. An entry level Trans Am in this condition may be worth $2,000, if I’m being generous. I suppose there could be some poor soul out there that feels as if he or she absolutely has to have this car, but somehow, I doubt it.
yuck ! … no way !
How the hell do you have a 400+cubic inch motor, that only makes 185 hp?
I thought these were supposed to be performance cars.
It took some doin’, but somehow American auto manufacturer’s during the seventies and eighties managed to pull it off. Amazing given that a little R&D lead to the giant killers that they put out today.
Thank the tightening emission control regulations for this. The auto manufacturers were forced to play catch up with what they had in order to make them compliant.
It took them about 20 years, but look at what they have come up with in the past 15.
My point exactly.
Philbo427, I had a new ’77 Monte Carlo that I had T tops Installed in by the dealership, and after they couldn’t figure out where it was leaking from I took it to a shop that specializes in T tops.After they managed to stop it, they told me that it would definitely start leaking again. They explained that the structural integrity of any car that has had a T top cut into It is so compromised that water leaks are inevitable. I sold it to a guy that liked the looks so much that small leak didn’t bother him.