Imagine the scene: you peer into the garage and see this beautiful Poncho for the first time, sitting in the climate-controlled spot it has lived in since 1976. That moment could be yours if you follow up on this beautiful 1972 Trans Am being auctioned off here on eBay. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Patrick S. for noticing this cool find that I’d love to have in my garage! Its current location is Socorro, New Mexico and you’ll need to be willing to spend $55,000 to place that bid at the moment!
The story of this car is that the seller’s uncle purchased the car off the showroom floor in 1972. There’s a list of both repairs and improvements that the uncle made over the years, but thankfully any replaced parts were kept and can be reinstalled if the new owner prefers (and there aren’t that many of them anyway). The mostly original paint looks pretty good and apparently there is no visible rust. There is a dent or two as well as some chips and the seller thoughtfully includes pictures of both.
Pontiac stated in 1972 that “Everything that Pontiac knows about enthusiast driving is standard on our Trans Am.” While that was true, and they included aero changes, a shaker hood, and suspension packages, not every TA included the 455 HO (High Output) V8. Or a 4-speed transmission. Or air conditioning. This car has all three, along with the original build sheet to prove it!
The underside is clean as well, although I’m not sure about the black overspray?
Inside, we see blue, and lots of it. While the dash top is cracked and there’s a bad spot on the driver’s seat, you won’t see many 1972 interiors that look this good. Or this blue!
It’s amazing how little horizontal support these bucket seats provide compared to the cornering capabilities of the car. Which, by the way, the seller recently experienced, as we’re told the car runs and drives well.
While the original Rochester Quadrajet carburetor was taken off in the early 1970s by the seller’s uncle, it was stored carefully and is included with the sale, along with the original plain valve covers. What do you think about this 1970s performance machine? Is the price too high? What about the car itself? As this is my first post in a while, I eagerly await reading your comments below!
Personally, every time I see a nice performance or luxury car with a trailer hitch, it makes me wonder “Why?”. Otherwise, this is an extremely sharp Trans Am, and that blue interior is to die for! GLWTA! :-)
Moparman, I noticed the trailer hitch too. But I guess that is what you did back in the day. Fewer people had pickups as “regular” vehicles….
Aside: recently I saw vintage pics of downtown Chattanooga from about this time. What struck me was that there were dozens of two and four door sedans and hardtops on the streets…. and just one pickup, plus a couple vans and delivery trucks.
Nice car, I also think blue interiors are cool.
That little hitch was a common addition to cars which were used in some types of competition, like autocross. Tires and tools could be hauled in a small trailer, and be kept out of the car.
Other possibilities include a jet-ski trailer, or a small trailer for hauling camping equipment, which again could be kept out of the Trans Am.
Car is a nice one, great to read the seller’s interest in doing the best for his uncle. This is how families are supposed to work!
Back in 1979 I had a silver-with-red-guts ’79 Corvette with a trailer hitch to pull my ’79 silver-and-red 18′ Checkmate speedboat. I was hot stuff that summer! Too bad I couldn’t keep up with the payments and had sell both by ’82. Oh well. Fun while it lasted.
Back when performance was being gutted the last refuge of it was often found in a towing option package. This would get you a stronger suspension, better tires, a stronger rear axle with a numerically higher ratio, for example, a 3.73 versus a 3.23. But you had to know what you wanted and patience to guide the salesperson through the order sheet.
Back in the day there was a burnt to a crisp Firebird and boat trailer at the local wrecker/junkyard. Story was the trailer came loose then swung up under the Bird on the safety chains puncturing the gas tank. Boom!
Good reason to not have such a long safety chain. Thanks . I like these Trans Am,s but hard to work on. Have a couple. Gotta take the fender off just to replace a heater motor. Enough to drive a person away from them. First ride I took in one was 1976. A friend bought a new one with the 400-4 speed. Just as we hit I-79. He thought he would see how fast it would go before red lineing it. 110 in 3 gear and it still didn,t . I told him we could run all the way to Philippi and it still wouldn,t.They ran good and road good. Only two things I would do if it was mine. Drop the trailer hitch and put the quadrajet back on.After some MINER ADJUSTMENTS–THEN SEE WHAT IT WOULD DO.-HAHAHA
Ed VT,
Guess that was one real “fire”-bird.
Kudos to the nephew for such a great detailed description of where, why and how this car came to be. He does a nice job of letting you know the story, as well as truth around the replacement parts, etc. Good luck. I think this vehicle is going to get swapped up, but at top dollar for a Pontiac guy, who will take the time to take it to the next level(hopefully).
Possibly one of the quickest cars from 1972? I thought the 455 HO was the only choice for ’71 and ’72,, wrong again probably. High thirteens were possible with this ride.
It’s a righteous machine, I don’t understand the lack of sales with these early TA’s,,,maybe the street racing crowd wasnt into hunkered down road racers at the time.
To answer the other question about dollar value they’re all too high priced for average working stiffs like myself. You know,,, the folks who drove these things at one time. Great post.
Kind of ironic that out of the 1970 class of Trans Am cars (Boss 302, Z28, Challenger and Barracuda 340-6 T/A, and the Trans Am in two short years only the GM cars would remain. I need some help from the AMC camp because I can’t recall if they had a Trans Am car, although the 304 would have been perfect.
Top contender in ’71, I believe, was AMC and their Javelin. Ford and Chevy were already out of it which sure helped. Special Edition Javelin, who was that, Mark Donahoe? I can’t think of how to spell his name so no laughing.
I’ve seen one, maybe two in all my young 53 years.
Engine rules changed in ’70 for the street versions, no longer had to be limited to 305 cubes although Ford went ahead with the Boss 302 for ’70 anyway. I can’t recall the bore and stroke AMC used on the race cars, sorry to say. E body mopars didn’t impress on the track, nor did the second gen Camaro so I was told. So yes, AMC did have one. 😎
@TroyS,
The story of the Mopar Ebody in TransAm is a bit more complex. Mopar entered late in the factory racing game for the 1970 year only then pulled the plug on both teams 3/4 of the way through the season. It’s true that the E bodies didn’t win a single race, but that was due to reliability issues, not speed. The Mopars won some poles, but couldn’t sustain
As a footnote. AMC only became formidable after Penske sorted out their reliability issues.
The Trans Am rules limited cars to 5 liters (305 cu in). Engines could be bored 30 over, but could not be destroked to reach 5 liters.
66 & 67 Darts & Barracudas raced with 273’s. 66-68 Mustangs & Cougars raced 289’s. 68-69 Javelins used 290’s. Chevrolet was first to build a model with an engine designed specifically for the series, the 67-69 302 Z/28. Bogus Pontiac paperwork that claimed the Chevy 302 was available in 68 Canadian Firebirds, allowing Firebirds to race the 302.
The rules changed for 70, allowing destroked engines, to meet the 5 liter limit. So Chevrolet used 350’s, Ford 351’s, Chrysler 340’s, Pontiac 400’s, and AMC 390’s.
Mark Donohue designed a new rear spoiler for the Javelin in 70, when Penske switched to AMC. To use it, AMC had to build 2500 spoilered Javelins, so they introduced the “Mark Donohue” edition Javelin. The Donohue addition included the spoiler, a Mark Donohue logo on the spoiler, dual exhaust, the AMX ram air hood, white letter tires and Magnum 500 wheels. It was available with the 360 or 390, and either the automatic or 4 speed.
Sales of 70s t/a took off in the mid 70’s after the z28, big motor mustang, & chally & cuda were gone. The gas crisis did not help sales in ’73. These also were very rough riding cars – take it down a bad road & you can skip rough rides at the amusement park. lol
There was a strlke in ’72 & many cars were destroyed half finished on the assembly line.
Every ’71 & ’72 DID come with & ONLY came with the 455 HO.
The author may have been thinking of the ’73 where the station wagon 455 was std & 455 sd optional.
Here we go again! Another non a/c t/a with wrong engine turned dash panel from a car with a/c cars with the 2 vents above cigar lighter.
Custom window handles.
Red front sway bar?
Not sure what those knobs are for to right of cigar lighter – vintage air controls?
Why are the heater hoses hugging the firewall?
Those seats hold you in place a better than the flat ones in the 1969 & 1970 models! lol Besides, just put the seat belt on.
That ductape residue on the seat should come off with wd40.
I would leave the car alone for the patina look & heck – then u cant drive it anywhere & often as u want.
New trans? Looks clean enuf 2 eat off of.
Wonder what that box is for on the firewall with 1 wire attached.
That’s a lot of questions, Joe. I really like this car as you can probably tell,…..We only see one wire coming out of that black box but there appears to be a larger connection at the bottom partially blocked from view, the heater hoses look better tucked against the firewall which may have been done for reinstalling the engine if it was out or working on the top end which all looks aftermarket,
No one cared about originality for the first fifteen or so years of this rides existence sooo, the instrument panel does look cool whether original or not, those two knobs(?) look like little flashlights where the ashtray once was or still is.
But Joe,
Check the 4 speed shifter, breathed on 455, and that classic TA stance….only thing better on this car for me would be lucerne blue with a white scoop. And I always say that! Happy 4th!
I hope Dave is getting all this information….ask and there is always someone out there who Knows. Probably the least if ever mentioned trans am racer would go to Ford and their ’68 tunnel port 302 racer. Early beginnings of the Boss 302. Great stuff.
Yes, yes and yes
All day long
I see the wheels have the flares in front of and in back of each wheel and tire. My ’76 T/S had them only in back of the wheel and tire.
This is a non-AC car and all Trans Ams in 72 came with the 455HO
Hmmmm…. story says the included build sheet indicates A/C but that is definitely not factory A/C in this car. Looks like a clean Vintage Air type of install. No evaporator on the passenger side firewall is first clue and the factory ventilation controls are fir a non-A/C car. Pretty certain a PHS record would confirm that car left the plant without Air Cond. too bad that Build Sheet is not displayed.
There is a picture of the spec sheet on the eBay ad and the seller states: “Air conditioner is not listed on the spec sheet from factory, so it must have been done after purchase.”
Very nice car and it may support the asking price very well.
Bolt on fender flares behind the wheels were not done at factory. It does look good may as well leave them on.
Those were a popular aftermarket thing back then. Still remember the ads in all the magazines.
Very nice aftermarket AC install. Even put two round vents where the factory ones would go. Plus the switches in the otherwise blank panel below (if you didn’t have a defroster). Slick.
Still remember the first time I saw one of these in person at age 12-13; probably a 1970 or 1971 in these colors. It was stopped at the light on Van Aken as I crossed the street to board the rapid. A few years later my good friend Dave owned one. I rode in it a few times and it was pretty fast.
These were the Best looking T/A . A friend in New Zealand had one in the mid 70’s which came with the trailer hitch etc so the low ratio rear end ,heavier springs etc could be fitted. But he also had a plan when he bought it, to tow his Horse float to the trotting races. One Saturday four of us were going to the races in it, complete with Horse in his float at the back, as we travelled along the highway an opening in the traffic appeared and the driver changed down and gunned it to overtake the slow traffic. The rear tires went up in smoke……..
I wish I had this car in my garage. The 67 through 73 was the best looking trans am’s and firebirds. It would be fun to drive with the 455(ho) engine and 4 speed manual transmission. The 455 hd engine with the 4 speed manual transmission would be fun also. The dents and paint chips can be fixed. I would get rid of the trailer hitch.
This car is my unicorn. In the early 1980’s I was looking for a rare Pontiac to buy and I found a 1972 Trans Am just like this except it was an automatic. It needed a paint job and probably everything else. I was young and I didn’t want the challenge. I was still in college. I was not ready so I found and bought a 1977 Can Am. On September 18, 2020 I will have owned it for 40 years. I never forgot this car along with a 1969 Pace Car Camaro convertible 350 4-speed that I past over because I had a friend that owned one. Young and dumb. I went through everything that scared me with the 1972 Trans Am to my Can Am. So this car brings a flood of emotion. A strong tugging like a girl that you broke up with and you have this nagging that it was a mistake. Its not a regret if I can still buy one, but it close. This is why I love this site.
Also I read above that someone has the idea that Pontiac built a 1973 Lemans Station Wagon with a 455-SD. No they did not. It was in the advertising at the time but the EPA thought that Pontiac was cheating with the tuning of the 455-SD. So only car to get it was the Firebird. Pontiac, in 1973, was building a GTO that got renamed as the Grand Am. You could get a 455 Grand Am station wagon with a455 and a 4-speed, but not the SD. There was a civil war at Pontiac over the GTO nameplate. The die hard, hard core performance engineers did not want a pimped out bloated GTO that could not cut the muster. The writing was on the wall. The GTO nameplate was sacred to some. They should have let it rest in 1972, but there was a low buck performance project, at the time, at Pontiac that was call Formula-X. This project was to create performance cars only. It was focused on the A,F,and X-body cars. They all received shaker hoods, some bodies received front and rear spoilers, striped tail lights a-la GTO, upgraded suspensions and big engines all for a low price. All painted with red, white and blue paint jobs. The project was canceled. So the internal struggle created a compromise that let the GTO fade out. The sensational designs for the new GTO became the Grand Am and the Formula-X ideas bled into the 1973-74 Super Duty Formula Firebird that got a shaker hood, the 1974 GTO Ventura that got a shaker hood and the 1977 Can Am that ta-da..gota shaker hood and rear spoiler. In 1975 Pontiac displayed a Grand Am concept car named the All American. There is a reason why the Can Am advertising stated “Remember the Goat.” Pontiac did a lot for GM performance. The GTO. The Trans Am and the Formula Firebird that Jim Rockford drove. Yes I know it looked like an Esprit, but James Garner only bought Formulas and dressed them down. Look it up.