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.
Nice car and I love the color…..
Totally. Had a pal with exactly one of these, for a summer, brown-403-auto, for all I know, this is the one he had. Lotsa grunt, just a great car for a buncha teenagers to commit multiple traffic violations with.
Never seen a brown one. Sorta like the color. Had a ‘79 in college. Of course it was a black SE (aka Special Edition/“Bandit Edition”) with Oldsmobile 403, T-Tops, etc. Great car. Good power and could have had 20+mpg if I had kept the accelerator off the floor. However, as I assume with most, Sheriff Justice kept showing up in my rear view mirror. Traded it in for a 1980 F-150 4WD. Better choice (I think) but sure had about a year’s worth of fun driving!
I have a good friend who has had a brown one sitting under a cover in his garage for over 20 years. It was his daily when he was in the Navy. He insists he’ll restore it one day, but so far no go. It’s identical to this one, and screaming to see daylight. I have threatened to tow it out of there myself.
I don’t know if anybody has an actual color breakdown for the 1979 Trans Am, but a lot of them were this color combination back in the day.
I rarely see them now, which is why a lot of the younger people probably have not seen one at all. But when these were new, it was very common to see them in dark brown. Maybe they just didn’t get saved as much as other colors? I dunno.
BTW, the engine is for sure the 403. You can tell by the oil filler on the front of the engine. It would be on the valve cover for a Pontiac 301 or 400. They didn’t build very many ’79 301 T/As and none of the ’79 400s were automatics.
That’s the first thing i look for under the hood on these is the Forward mounted oil filler neck, definitely let’s you know it’s a Olds Engine, the Pontiac built 400 is the hot engine combo for these late 70,s Trans Ams, was quite a difference in HP numbers between the Olds 403 and Pontiac 400 engines.
This color would be the exception to the expression: ” If it’s brown, flush it down.” Sweet car!
Clean late 1970’s example Pontiac here!! Not a fancy color you see all the time which goes to show that they do not al ways have to be Red, blue, or silver in color.
It’s really nice to see a Trans Am in this condition and color. My sister graduated high school in ’79 and her friend down the street had one like this given to her as a graduation present. ( can you imagine that??) Same color as this, Olds 403. Always admired that car as a kid. Hope this one finds a good new home and continues to get the same care its gotten over the years.
Nice car, and I like the color. BUT, “HIGH RPM PUNCH OF THE PONTIAC”????. I most likely bet money on the Olds engine revving higher than the Ponco engine with out critical damage. I used to keep at least 2 sets of Pontiac 400 connecting rods on the shelf just because of the propensity of broken over revved abuse. I’ve had a couple of large Oldsmobile engines in the past and usually ran out of air/fuel before any damage occurred. I also worked with a guy that had a 442 4 speed abd I know he didn’t shift before 5,500 when working the engine hard. My experience with Olds engines were lack of upper end oil supply at higher rpm.
Had a brand new 79 TA in Dark Blue, felt like lots of power although on later years I realized my Mustang GTs would have ate it for dinner! Lots of fond memories and burnouts though!
great colors. has the best-looking wheels but hate the nose. can’t get past it.