Hotter Than Stock: 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

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Mitchell G. found this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am with a Doug Nash 5 speed transmission here on Craigslist. The Trans Am is located in Brooklyn, New York and has several other upgrades. The seller is asking $36,000 and the car was just listed this week. There are 10 pictures in the listing. I don’t know about you but I don’t find it helpful to have pictures taken at night when listing a car. It would also be nice to have pictures of the engine compartment and undercarriage. I guess due to a lot of the scammers out there most people are going to see the cars in person and not buying them without setting eyes on the car. Have you been burned by buying a car long distance?

From this picture, the car appears to be stored in a parking garage in New York. The seller states that this car is equipped with a Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine. There were three different engine options installed in the Trans Am in 1978 depending on where you lived . The base engine was the L78 400 cubic inch V8 engine which was available only with an automatic transmission (GM Turbo Hydramatic 350 transmission). It was rated at 180 horsepower and 310 lb ft of torque. If you lived in California, your only option was the L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine also only with the Turbo 350 automatic transmission. It was rated at 185 horsepower. The performance option was the W72 400 cubic inch V8 engine that received new dual exhausts which increased its horsepower rating from 200 horsepower in 1977 to 220 horsepower in 1978. For this Trans Am, the seller states that the engine has a hotter cam, Holley carb, Edelbrock intake, and improved ignition components.

The interior looks nice. This car was most likely a L78 400 cubic inch V8 car and the automatic transmission was swapped for Doug Nash 5 speed transmission. The seller lists the gearing of the transmission which is a vast improvement over stock for straight line accelerations. The black interior is the base interior and not the upgraded seats and door panels. The car originally had air conditioning and looks like it has rear defrost. The seller opted for no center console which gives an old school look.

Production of the Trans Am increased significantly in the late 1970’s. Pontiac built 93,341 Trans Ams in 1978 compared to 68,744 in 1977. This Trans Am rides on factory 15×7 aluminum snow flake wheels and aftermarket tires. The ad mentions Cragar mags but they are no where to be seen in the pictures. The suspension has been rebuilt with new coils, bigger sway bars, etc. The paint is less than 5 years old and some nicks are noted along with the later model decals on the B pillar and the factory exhaust tips are missing.

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Comments

  1. Stan StanMember

    Looks like a fun driver BJ. Healthy price too.

    Like 2
  2. Joshua

    Hey Goodlookin
    You know you got to be from Brooklyn.

    Like 1
  3. Michael Freeman Michael Freeman

    May be the lighting but there is something strange about the rt. front fender flare, looks too big at the rear of the wheel opening and the decals are a) wrong and b) 1/4 birds are in the wrong place. The thing that gets me every time about T/A pricing is I bought a new 77 W72 for $7200 and it had everything but T-tops. I want another but these prices, yikes.

    Like 1
    • JoeNYWF64

      A ’73 TA started at only $4300 with std 455 – no hood bird, no console, no radio. But no xtra charge for optional turbo 400 automatic! Imagine that.

      Like 1

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