Tony Primo found this low mileage Trans Am for sale in Falls Church, Virginia near Washington DC. It is supposedly painted in Code 77 Carmine Red which was interestingly not available for the Trans Am in 1979 according to authoritative texts. It looks a little more maroon in the pictures than other Firebirds that I could identify that came in this color. Plus the extra stripes and hood scoop decal that have been added might mean it was repainted a dark maroon at some point. The car is listed here on Craigslist for $23,000 and the car has only been posted for a day.
The base engine for 1979 which was the L80 403 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at 185 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. It was only available with an automatic transmission and was usually mated with highway gears in the rear end. For a $50 credit, a buyer could opt for the L37 Pontiac 301 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at only 155 horsepower. The L37 engine was available with either an automatic or 4-speed manual transmission. This car is said to be built with the L37 Pontiac 301 cubic inch V8 engine. As reflected the T/A 4.9 hood scoop decal has been replaced with a T/A 6.6 decal that would have been for the top-performing engine option in 1979 – the W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine. This engine was rated at 220 horsepower and was only available with a 4-speed manual transmission.
The interior looks clean and the car left the factory with very few options. The car has the base vinyl interior, no power windows or power locks. The car has an aftermarket stereo and no tilt stereo. It does have T-Tops, working air conditioning and an automatic transmission. The seller states that the car has a new headliner. The Trans Am is riding on a set of 15×7 honeycombs which were available as an option if the buyer did not choose the WS6 suspension. The WS6 suspension came with 15×8 snowflake wheels.
The exhaust are hanging down in the back but overall the car looks to be in excellent shape and the seller has provided a multitude of pictures. The ad states that the car has no rust and their are undercarriage pictures for the buyer to review. The car is said to run and drive great. It would make a good little cruiser.
The tilt stereo was a $60 option.
😂😂😂
One could probably add tilt for the sterring wheel otherwise I love this. It is a perfect example of class over fast.
Save $50.00 and get smoked at every stoplight!
Yeah, the 301 isn’t very inspiring but the car itself looks nice. Just what is going on with the boot on the trans slector? The illusion of a stick shift?
Doesn’t I have to be blazing fast but I can’t see any where near 20 Grand for 150hp.
There’s no shift boot here. If you’re looking at the 3rd photo in this writeup, that’s the bottom spoke of the steering wheel wrapped in red leather, not a shift boot.
I see it now. Thank you.
The non-performance package(the 301 option)All show and absolutely no go….The engine would make a great boat anchor or worth it’s weight in scrap
Spend a little more and buy one that would be FUN to drive!
OK there wasn’t a decal on the shaker if you got the 301 in 1979. Also why does everyone seem to think that running fast from a stop light is the only way to have fun with one of these cars, they were meant to be driven. I have a 1979 WS6, 301 that I bought new, I still have it, I autocrossed it for many years and was always competitive, even beat the national class champion on occasion,he ran a 1970 Z-28. Getting these cars out on a twisty road is what they really are good at. In 1979 Road and Track said that the 301, WS6 Trans-Am was the best handling car in America. Maybe not now but still a blast to turn loose on a fun road.
Running fast from a stoplight isn’t the ONLY way to have fun but it should be a option when you’re spending 20 Grand.
It’s great that you appreciate the excellent handling of your WS6 Trans Am and have made the most of it, but I’d sure be kicking myself if I had the opportunity to buy a W72 Trans Am new and didn’t.
I had a super nice red-orange 1978 Firebird Esprit with white vinyl interior back when i was a teenager in the 1980’s. The thing it was best for was cruising and picking up girls. They could give two sh*ts about what was under the hood.
They didn’t own the car either.
Putting that decal on the shaker is equivalent to stuffing a bra.
Lots of flags on the field for this one….