This 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is 47 years old. It is hard to believe for those of us that grew up around these cars. This example has been restored to the owner’s taste with some non stock paint work, aftermarket tires and an upgraded engine. The car is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $25,500 and is located in Jourdan, Texas south of San Antonio. The Trans Am has been listed for two weeks and looks like it has a new paint job and the interior is in good shape despite some cracks in the dash.
The year was 1979 and it was the high-water mark for the second generation, selling over 117,000 units and marking the final year you could order a true high-performance Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine. When deciding on a 1979 Trans Am, the “numbers game” gets serious. In 1979, the Trans Am had two 6.6-liter options. If you see “T/A 6.6” on the shaker and a Z in the VIN, you’re looking at the W72-coded Pontiac 400 cubic inch engine (220 hp). In 1979, Pontiac changed the W72 RPO code to L78 so don’t let the build sheet fool you. This was the high-output version, and for ’79, it was exclusively paired with a four-speed manual transmission. It was the last true Pontiac-built performance V8, and finding one with its original Rochester Quadrajet intact is a major win. If the car is an automatic, it’s likely running the L80-coded Oldsmobile 403 (labeled as “6.6 Litre” on the scoop and K in the VIN). While the Olds (185 hp) didn’t have the same high-RPM scream as the W72, its strong torque and smooth performance made it a fantastic cruiser. The Olds 403 was only produced with an automatic transmission. The original engine for this car has been replaced with a Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine painted in the correct blue engine paint, a color that would unfortunately disappear in the following years.
Stepping inside this ’79 is a trip back to the peak of disco-era automotive fashion. The seats are wrapped in the famous “Hobnail” cloth (RPO CC1), which was the high-end choice for the deluxe interior. It’s a texture you don’t forget once you’ve seen it in person. The dash is the classic Trans Am engine-turned aluminum, housing a full set of Rally Gauges. In 1979, the cockpit was all about the driver, and everything from the Formula steering wheel to the floor-mounted shifter for the four-speed manual or the Turbo-Hydramatic automatic feels like it was designed for a canyon run. Even though the seller has liberally coated all the vinyl with Armor All, it still looks pretty good. Only the dash repair in the center of the dash really stands out.
The 1979 model year introduced a radical new front-end design, moving the quad headlights into their own individual bezels and dropping the “beaked” look of the ’77–’78 cars. The paint on this car is listed as orange, a color that was not available on the 1979 Trans Am but highlights the aggressive new nose and the “shaker” scoop peeking through the hood. The stance on this car tells the real story—it’s sitting on aftermarket 17×9 “Snowflake” aluminum wheels. Overall, the car looks to be a nice driver and the seller states that it has some needs including restoring the air conditioning.
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