Heritage Brown: 1979 Pontiac Trans Am

Brown was a popular color in the 1970’s and Pontiac offered it on the Trans Am in different hues from 1977 to 1979. This example is a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am located in Collinsville, Texas. It is listed here on Facebook for $31,900. The Bandit phenomenon often overshadows the other side of Pontiac’s 1979 palette—the earth tones. This 53,000-mile survivor wears its factory Heritage Brown (Code 69) like a badge of honor. It’s not trying to be a movie star; it’s just a clean, honest example of late-70s muscle.

While the ad is brief on interior specifics (“very well taken care of”), a Heritage Brown exterior usually mandated a Camel Tan interior. This car sports the original vinyl deluxe seats. The 53,000-mile odometer reading suggests the dash bezel—that iconic engine-turned aluminum—should still be bright and free of the swirl marks that plague higher-mileage examples. The steering wheel appears to have been replaced. It should be brown and the car looks to have an aftermarket radio. Other than that the car is equipped with power windows, cruise control and an automatic transmission. 1979 was the highest production year for the Trans Am (over 117,000 units), so they aren’t rare, but finding one with 53k miles, the WS6 package, and shiny paint is becoming increasingly difficult. It’s not a 4-speed, and it’s not black, but that’s exactly why we like it.

The seller describes the powerplant as the “classic 6.6 Liter engine.” For the uninitiated, 1979 is a tricky year for Pontiac genealogy. If the shaker scoop decal reads “6.6 LITRE,” from the factory, you are likely looking at the L80 403-cubic-inch Oldsmobile V8. But a lot of times, owners changed the decals to “T/A 6.6” because that was the hot Pontiac engine. While the diehards chase the W72 Pontiac 400 V8, the Olds 403 V8 was the workhorse of ’79. Rated at 185 horsepower and a stump-pulling 320 lb-ft of torque, it was mated exclusively to the TH350 automatic transmission. It might lack the high-rpm punch of the Pontiac mill, but the 403 is a fantastic cruiser with torque for days and great highway cruising.

We see hundreds of “tribute” Bandits every year, but finding a clean Heritage Brown car is a different story. This hue was pure 1979—rich, metallic, and paired perfectly with the tri-color hood bird. Based on the listing, this car retains that factory look, and the body lines should be razor-straight. Crucially, this bird is equipped with the WS6 Special Performance Package. In 1979, checking the WS6 box didn’t just get you a sway bar; it upgraded you to the 15×8-inch Snowflake wheels, specially tuned shocks, improved steering ratios and, for the first time on the Firebird, J65 rear disc brakes. Seeing those wider Snowflakes tucked under the brown wheel wells gives this car a stance that the base suspension cars just can’t match.