Few cars capture the late 1970s quite like a Pontiac Trans Am with T-tops and a big bird on the hood. This 1979 Trans Am is finished in Solar Gold over a tan Hobnail cloth interior and shows 56,968 miles. It is located in Tea, South Dakota, just outside Sioux Falls, and is offered by Pederson’s Classics for $47,995. The car is listed here on the dealer’s website, which includes more than 135 photos and a YouTube video, although the dealer does not say how long it has been for sale. We appreciate Jack M. for sending this listing to us.
This car looks extremely clean. Trans Am buyers had three V8 choices in 1979. The Oldsmobile 403 with a 4 barrel was standard, rated at 185 horsepower, and came only with an automatic. Buyers who wanted the Pontiac 400, known as the T/A 6.6, got 220 horsepower but had to take a four speed manual, and 1979 was the last year Pontiac offered it. There was also a 301 4 barrel rated at 150 horsepower. This car has the 403 and automatic with the T-top roof, even though the hood scoop says T/A 6.6. 1979 was the high water mark for the second generation Trans Am. Pontiac built 117,108 of them, a record that was never broken, and the Firebird line as a whole reached 211,453 units.
Exterior colors for 1979 included Solar Gold, Heritage Brown, Atlantis Blue, Nocturne Blue, Carmine Red and Sundance Yellow, along with black on the Special Edition and silver on the anniversary cars. Pontiac added blue, orange and silver hood birds to go with the gold, and buyers could order almost any combination of paint and decal colors. Inside, the new Hobnail cloth custom interior replaced the velour used in 1978. The car got a new look for 1979 with quad rectangular headlights in separate bezels, the grille moved below them, and blacked out taillight panels in the rear. Pontiac also celebrated the Trans Am’s tenth birthday with the silver Tenth Anniversary edition, limited to 7,500 cars, and the Black and Gold Special Edition returned as well.
The seller says this Trans Am spent its life as a dry Florida car and has been well kept rather than recently restored. The paint shines, although there are some minor scratches and a few bubbles, and the decals look nearly new. The Hobnail seats have been updated, and the interior and underside both show very well. It has power windows, tilt steering, a power trunk release, an AM/FM cassette and cruise control, although the cruise does not work. The gauges work and the T-top storage bags are still in the trunk. It also has a new exhaust, and the wheels and tires were replaced about a year ago. The 56,968 miles are believed to be original, but they are not documented because of the five digit odometer.
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