From 1969-1972, one of the the two colors the Trans Am was offered in was white. Early on it was Polar White and later Cameo White. It is less common to see late 2nd generation Trans Ams in white. However, this timeless body style still looked good in white. This is example was found by TJ and is located for sale in La Habra, California near Anaheim. The Trans Am is listed here on Craigslist for $22,999. What is interesting is that this car is said to be in original condition but is said to have a 6.6 liter engine. The two 6.6 liter engines were very different powerplants. One was offered only with an automatic and one was offered only with a 4 speed. Could this actually be a L37 301 cubic inch V8 engine and someone switched the hood scoop decal?
In 1979, the only engine option for the Trans Am in California (due to emissions) was the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 engine which was rated at 185 horsepower and 315 lb ft of torque. It was only available with the Turbo 350 automatic transmission and was considered the base or standard equipment for the 1979 Trans Am. In the other 49 states, there were two other engines that could be ordered including the L37 Pontiac 301 cubic inch V8 engine and the W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine. The L37 301 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at 150 horsepower in 1979 and equipped with a 4 barrel carburetor. It was available with either an automatic or 4 speed manual transmission. The rarest engine in a 1979 Trans Am was the W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine which was rated at 220 horsepower. The W72 engine came only with a 4-speed transmission. It is obvious from the pictures that this is not the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 engine which has an oil spout on the front of the engine. So what engine is this?
The black standard interior looks nice. The car was originally optioned with air conditioning but that is no longer on the car. The car also has cruise control which could only be ordered on automatic cars. This Trans Am looks to have an aftermarket radio and the odometer is said to read approximately 93,000 miles. The dash, seats and vinyl look to be in excellent shape and the seller says that the car pulls fast and is only driven on special days. Many things can occur to a car over 45 years so who knows. My guess is that the engine was replaced with a Pontiac 400 engine at some point and the air conditioning was never reinstalled.
The exterior looks correct but the decal on the sail panel looks high and the hood scoop decals are centered instead of placed toward the rear of the scoop. These are indications that maybe the car was repainted or, at the least, rebadged. The car is riding on 15×8 factory aluminum snowflake wheels and aftermarket no name tires. Regardless of the mystery engine, this would be a fun car to restore and enjoy.
As stated, the 403 Oldsmobile engine was the only choice in California in 1979. Even if this car came from out of state it still needs to have all of its original emissions equipment installed and operational in order to be registered in California and must be run through an inspection and tailpipe test every other year to be renewed. Engine swaps are even more complicated. If this car won’t pass smog it’s useless to potential buyers that live in the state. There is a reason why you rarely see performance or high mileage cars from this era, in a state where there is rust is generally not an issue. I’d be very wary of this one unless I was planning on bringing it out of state.
Steve R
This is a Pontiac 301. The distance between the water pump housing and the top of the block deck are showing a short deck 301. The decal was switched.
The shaker sticker is for a W72 car with Pontiac 400. When equipped with the Olds 403 it should read “6.6 LITRE” I believe. I vaguely recall the repro “T/A 6.6” stickers becoming available first and the “6.6 LITRE” decals only getting reproduced much later, so maybe this is not a case of an owner pretending their T/A has the more desirable Pontiac 400.
So many of the 403 T/As are now sporting the T/A 6.6 sticker.
This is based on observations of what we see here on BF. I figured that is either because the 6.6 LITRE stickers aren’t as readily available, or owners are trying to brag about something they don’t have.
Any sticker imaginable is readily available. Go to any large flea market and you will generally find someone printing them on site. Home sticker/decal printers can be found for well under $100, but quality if the finished product varies. I think it’s just that the 6.6 T/A looks better, most random people probably wouldn’t know the difference it what it meant, either style has multiple listing on eBay for less than $10ea including shipping.
Steve R
If he’ll knock ten grand off? I’ll buy it and move it to the free state of Ohio. Where we don’t worry about goofy crap like engine swaps.
The oil dipstick was on the left (drivers side) on the 301. The 350, 400, 455 it was on the right, which is where this one is.
You are correct. I have a 1970 Pontiac le mans with a 350 and the dip stick right side!