Some car enthusiasts like to purchase project cars and restore them. Some car enthusiasts like to buy restored cars and yet some look for low mileage survivors. This 1980 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am is located in Miami, Florida and is reported to have only 67,000 miles since new. As a one owner car, it is said to be in original condition with no history of prior accidents or paint work. It is listed for a Buy It Now Price of $28,000 on eBay with 11 days remaining. A buyer can also make an offer.
With the demise of the large cubic inch V8, Pontiac was the last car manufacture to downsize. Chevrolet stopped offering the 454 cid V8 after 1974 and Dodge started offering smaller displacement engines by that time too. Pontiac opted to try to keep performance at the for front by offering a turbocharged V8 engine in the 1980-1981 Firebird Trans Am and Formula. The turbo 301 cubic inch V8 engine (4.9 liter) was rated at 210 horsepower in 1980 and 200 horsepower in 1981. It was designated as the LU8 and had a Garrett TB305 turbo and a Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor. While the horsepower and torque were comparable to prior years on paper, actual performance was much slower. The Turbo Trans Am could only be built with a a 3.08:1 rear gear ratio and automatic transmission. Off the line the car was sluggish and it took a while for the turbo to spool up and generate peak horsepower.
This car is heavily optioned with T-Tops, power windows, tilt steering and the optional hobnail cloth deluxe interior. As can be seen, the seats are worn but replacements are available through Legendary Interiors. I just ordered a set and it took 9 months to get them. However, wait times are now less. This car is not claimed to be a Y84 Special Edition (SE) car although it does have the pinstripes. The interior shows the standard steering wheel, shifter bezel and dash bezel which would all be gold in the SE. An aftermarket radio, speakers and equalizer have been installed. This Trans Am is equipped with the WS6 handling suspension, which comes with 4-wheel disc brakes.
This car can be seen here on eBay. It looks to be in original and as described condition. There is a few extra decals added to the rear spoiler and bumper stickers added to the front spoiler. Running lights and rear window louvers have also been added. There is one aftermarket company, TTA Performance in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that tunes these cars to make them respectable and much more fun to drive. What do you think a fair price for this survivor would be?
Great write up BJ.
Beautiful Trans Am! I sometimes wonder about the performance. If the power was similar to previous years was the rear axle ratio the problem with the slower performance compared to prior years?