This 1976 Pontiac Trans Am is located in Dickinson, Texas, and is listed here on eBay in a no-reserve auction. The Trans Am is currently bid to $7,000 with one day remaining in the auction. The car is in rough shape but is said to be running. The 1976 Trans Am had a unique front end from every other year of the 2nd generation Trans Am. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Pontiac offered a Limited Edition (LE) commemorative Trans Am which was designated at RPO Y82. The LE was painted in black with gold striping and decals, gold honeycomb wheels, and gold accents on the dash bezel, steering wheel and shifter bezel.
There were two engine options for A Trans Am buyer in 1976 – a 400 cubic inch V8 engine or a 455 cubic inch V8 engine. The base engine for the Trans Am in 1976 was the L78 400 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at 180 horsepower. The optional L75 455 cubic inch V8 engine was rated at only 20 horsepower more (200 horsepower) with 330 lb-ft of torque. This engine was only available with a 4-speed transmission in 1976 and came with a performance 3:23 rear gear ratio. This Trans Am has the base engine backed by an automatic transmission.
The interior of this offering has seen its better days. It was equipped with a deluxe black vinyl interior and optioned with power windows and air conditioning. Just about every soft surface is going to need to be replaced. The seats are ripped and the dash is cracked. Rust has worked its way into just about every area of the car. The seller states that the frame rails are still good but the rear trunk pan, quarter panels and possibly the roof are going to need replacement or repair.
The car is painted Code 19 black and the seller states that it has its original honeycomb wheels. The car is also equipped with Hurst T-Tops. The original Hurst T-Tops, sometimes referred to as Gen 1, leaked badly and were discontinued early in the year. This car appears to be a later production Trans Am with Gen 2 Hurst T-tops. These T-tops would continue until 1978 when Pontiac introduced their own GM production T-tops. This car is going to need a lot of work but I think the 1976 Trans Am is one of the best looking 2nd generation Trans Ams produced.
Bruce, what is the difference between a 76 nose and a 74-75 nose? I always thought they were the same all 3 years. Cool car. Always nice in black.
”74/’75 nose had a black strip in the bumper.
’76 was solid body color with no insert.
Nick,
Good question. The 1974-1975 front end had a black rubber like strip that separated the grill from the air induction and blinkers (see above). Other differences included the 1970-74 TA had a small back window and 1975-81 had the wrap around window. The engine options were about the same (L78 400 cid and L75 455 cid) but in 1974 the SD 455 LS2 was an option, if you could get it.
A Dennis Collins Special?
Never was a big fan of the Hurst T Tops….
this ta looks like it had 1 year of an east coast of living and then was sent to the desert and put on 500 degrees for 15 years . and then was found and garaged till now. i have a 73 with the same kind of paint and it needs a TOTAL restoration also. its going to cost some big bucks to restore this one. i think it should be on a car show circuit just the way it is . it would still get the same amount of ooh’s and aah’s….
that would make this TA a true trailer queen…
SOLD for 7K.