Rare Column Shift: 1973 Pontiac Trans Am

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Occasionally, a car will appear on our desks here at Barn Finds that will have me scratching my head and trawling the internet in search of answers. That is the case with this 1973 Pontiac Trans Am. Taken at face value, it is a tidy survivor that is ready to be enjoyed by its lucky new owner. However, it is also one of a mere handful of Trans Ams from this era that I have ever seen that has come from the factory equipped with a column shift automatic transmission. It is now set to head to a new home, so the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. The Pontiac is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and spirited bidding has pushed the price to $33,225 in a No Reserve auction.

The owner admits that the Trans Am received a repaint in the 1990s in its original shade of Buccaneer Red, and this has survived the intervening decades remarkably well. It still holds an impressive shine, with no glaring flaws or faults. During the repaint process, a previous owner replaced the lower rear quarter panels to address the only rust issues this car has ever suffered. The owner supplies some trunk photos, and the quality of this work appears to be first-rate. Similarly, the underside photos reveal that the floors and frame are structurally sound, and there are no issues with the rust-prone rear valance region. The graphics and decals, including the iconic Screaming Chicken, look sharp and crisp, while the chrome and glass are equally impressive. The overall impression is that the buyer won’t need to spend a dime on the panels or paint of this classic.

It’s when we turn our attention to this Pontiac’s interior that we expose what makes this car unusual. The original owner ordered the car with a column shift for its automatic transmission and chose to delete the console. In all of my years of involvement in the classic scene, this is one of a mere handful of Trans Ams from this era that I have seen with this configuration. I performed an internet search to verify production totals, but I’ve had no success pinning down any definitive figures. I hope that one of our knowledgeable readers might be able to shed some light on this because I am keen to know the answer. Looking beyond that quirk, the rest of the interior presents nicely. The Black deluxe upholstery has no significant flaws beyond some light wear spots, and the headliner is new. The dash pad has a single small crack, but the buyer could potentially repair this without resorting to sourcing a replacement. The only non-functioning item that the owner identifies is the clock, while the rest of the gauge cluster and its machine-turned fascia presents in close to as-new condition.

Lifting this Pontiac’s hood reveals a 455ci V8, a 3-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes. That 455 should be capable of producing 250hp, which is sufficient to push the Trans Am through the ¼ mile in 15.4 seconds. It appears that the owner has spent a few dollars on this car in recent times, meaning that the buyer should not need to spend a dime. He has replaced the tires, the brake lines, the fuel lines, and the fuel tank. It also appears that the master cylinder and booster could be relatively new. He has bolted on a new exhaust so that 455 should sound pretty sweet. He says that the Trans Am runs and drives perfectly and that the Hydramatic shifts crisply and cleanly. The open road is beckoning for this classic and its buyer as soon as they’ve handed the owner his cash.

At first glance, this 1973 Trans Am appears to be a tidy classic with no immediate needs. It is begging for a new owner to hit the road for an enjoyable motoring experience, and I will envy that person. The column shift marks it as something slightly unusual, and there’s little doubt that it would garner its share of attention at a Cars & Coffee. I hope one of our readers can shed some light on how many of these column shift cars Pontiac built because it is a gap in my knowledge that I am eager to fill. Have you ever seen a car like this, or is this a first for you?

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Comments

  1. Big_FunMember

    Here are some scenarios that come to mind when seeing the column shift. What do you think?

    A. Ordered wrong.
    B. Rural Mail Carrier
    C. Special Ordered – C.B or ham radio was involved.
    D. Special Ordered – a female was involved.
    a girl was involved.

    Like 26
    • Tony Primo

      E. Buyer was a cheapskate and wanted the credit for the floor console.

      Like 36
      • gbvette62

        The writer is wrong about when he states that the original owner “chose to delete the console”. The console was optional on the Trans Am, just like on every other Firebird model, and you can not delete equipment that is not standard. When an automatic was ordered, but not a console, the car came with a column mounted shifter. I’ve seen lots of Camaro’s and Firebirds (including a few Formula’s) with column shifters, but I must say I’ve never seen a Trans Am with one before.

        I bought a new Trans Am in 74, that a local dealer had in stock. It didn’t have a console, but because it was a 4 speed, the shifter and boot were on the carpeted tunnel.

        Like 29
    • bone

      Nearly all of Adam’s’write ups state the “original owners ordered …” , when in reality it more than likely was purchased new right off the dealers lot, as most cars are. It was likely delivered this way to make it a little cheaper than other Trans Ams that were parked right next to it . Unlike today, cars of various options and colors were put on the lot to give a person a real choice and to get the most of what they could afford. Dealers want you to buy off the lot , that way your money is in their hands quicker and it makes room for other cars to get delivered .

      Like 0
  2. Shawn

    Boy that is odd. I never even knew anything beyond the 1st Gen Camaro/Firebird even offered a column shift. The car looks great in general though. I wonder if it’ll be a quirky enough of a feature the next owner will leave it or do a conversion?

    Like 9
  3. JoeNYWF64

    Not sure why front end is sitting so high up – maybe wrong a/c coil springs were fitted. This is the 1st 2nd gen t/a i seen with column shift & DELUX interior – could be the only 1 so ordered!, since a std interior & console may have been less money!! Crazy.
    Or i guess orig owner really wanted the door assist pull straps – avail only with delux interior – perhaps a female orig owner.
    Wrong center caps, but they look better. Trim rings were optional i guess in ’73.
    Big bucks on the bids despite the nothing special but very durable & docile 87 octane! station wagon 455.
    The clock on these 2nd gens like to work only when they want to. This 1 may not be completely dead. lol

    Like 5
    • Bob=O

      I think that the front-end height is an illusion in that the tires up front appear (to me) to be smaller than the tires in the back.

      Like 0
  4. Classic Steel

    Hard to pull a rockford on a icolumn shift

    Like 7
  5. Will Fox

    Having never seen a column shift in any T/A before, I guess it never occurred to me you could even order such a package. If the original owner was trying to save money, IMHO he went about it the wrong way. Still, what an oddity!

    Like 4
    • JoeNYWF64

      A 2nd gen t/a could not be ordered with col shift. Col shift was STD on automatic f-bodies! – IF you did not order the OPTIONAL console.
      Pontiac (& Chevy) could have built EVERY 2nd gen with automatic like this – up to maybe ’78, i think – if no one wanted the console.

      Like 5
      • 370zpp 370zpp

        My mother’s 77 Camaro was special ordered with column shift automatic and no console.

        Like 0
  6. RoughDiamond

    Like others have said, I too have never seen that year model T/A with a column shift. Unfortunately, rarity does not always equal desirable or valuable.

    Like 16
    • Steve

      Like I read somewhere “it is rare that I defecate in my pants. It is never desirable.”

      Like 16
      • Bill McCoskey Bill McCoskeyMember

        Steve,

        It is rare that I find a great one-liner here on Barn Finds. However in this case, that one is desirable! Thank you.

        Like 2
  7. CCFisher

    A quick search turned up a similar, white car for sale in Florida.

    I have a possible explanation. Guys who bought these to impress the ladies didn’t want anything on the floor to block their access to the passenger seat. My brother had a ’70 Sport Satellite with no console, and his girlfriend sat on the driveshaft hump so she could be close to him.

    Like 6
    • Jack M.

      You have to be careful where you say that. Someone could take it the wrong way!

      Like 12
  8. Joe Sewell

    Someone ordered a ‘budget buster’ Trans Am for sure…. Still an interesting conversation piece that has survived well.

    Like 2
    • Cam Woolley

      Back in the day, before most options were in “packages”, each individual option had to be selected. Dealers would typically order cars with the most popular options and colours to stock their lots. They would also order a few with as few options as possible. These “strippers” were not just for budget buyers, but were often used as “bait and switch” for advertising. The dealership would advertise a super low price on a T/A, and salesmen were under orders to try Not to sell it! As long as they had one in stock, the ad was legal.

      Like 2
      • BONE

        exactly !!!

        Like 0
  9. Jesse

    I owned a 77 Camaro with column shift, it had a 305.

    Like 1
  10. Larry Wood

    I ordered a 1978 Camaro without the console, the column shift was actually easier to use if you had to shift manually, you only had to move your hand a couple of inches instead of all the way to the floor. People couldn’t believe you could get a Camaro that way.

    Like 3
  11. Gary Rhodes

    My first car was almost a 68 SS/RS Camaro, black with black bucket seats, console and column shift. The console had a factory block off plate where the shifter would have been that matched the rest. Odd car, I have never seen another. Bought a 68 Charger R/T instead, best decision I ever made.

    Like 9
  12. Ray

    I was kinda hoping to see a three on the tree when I saw the headline. That would’ve been rare in a T/A.

    Like 8
    • Steve R

      Rare indeeed. The three speed manual was not available in the second generation Trans Am.

      Steve R

      Like 3
      • Paul

        my aunt had a 3 speed manual (on floor) and it was a strip O model only option was a AM radio

        Like 1
    • Jay

      That was my initial thought too.

      Like 0
  13. Sal P

    Restore a muscle car sold a white on tan 73 TA last year that was also a column shift. Brought significantly less than a floor shift model.

    Like 4
  14. Terrry

    Along the same lines, I had a ’65 Grand Prix with a bench seat, no console of course and column shift.

    Like 1
  15. Winfield Wilson

    I’ve seen Camaros, first and second generation, with column shifters. Never a Trans Am, though. I learn something new every day!

    Like 2
  16. RCinphill

    Having an inexperienced salesman could get you a column shifted Trans Am. Not checking the console box got you a column shifted car.

    Like 2
  17. m

    a Las Vegas Transam… with NO AIR… my GOD

    Like 0
  18. Bruce

    Easy to get, just don’t order a console!

    Like 0
    • JoeNYWF64

      Or power windows, whose switches are in the console.
      Or 8 track player – in the console too.

      Like 1
  19. MarkMember

    I continue to learn something every day. I had no idea you could even get a 3 on the tree on a Firebird. Wow.

    Like 0
    • Don Eladio

      It’s not, it’s an automatic.

      Like 0
  20. Douglas ThrelfallMember

    It’s not a “console delete”, or an “air conditioning delete”. It’s an option that was not purchased, period. If you didn’t pay for the optional console in 1973 & ordered a automatic transmission, you got a column shift.
    If you didn’t order the big bird decal, you didn’t get it, period. It’s NOT a delete, it’s optional equipment you didn’t (or the stupid dealer ordering the car for stock) pay for.

    Like 2
  21. Bill McCoskey Bill McCoskeyMember

    The other possibility is a Pontiac dealer in a large urban area battling other Pontiac dealers [and other makes] who advertised various cars at low prices, for example, a Trans Am for $3995. I remember seeing a 1966 GTO, with 3-speed manual on the column, advertised in this manner. It was meant to get buyers to come to that dealer first.

    Like 5
  22. KLB1971

    Again, along these same lines I had the last year production’67 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 w/ 428 4 barrel, 3 spd auto w/ column shift .. all white interior , bucket seats and no console… very roomy between the bucket seats… funny thing was when I traded it in on a ‘71 Cutlass S the dealer gave me $500 more for the 2+2 because he was amazed that it had the column shifter… but that said it was a great car that I racked up 140k mostly trouble free miles

    Like 0
  23. Don

    I’ve owned and been around a whole lot of second gen. Firebirds and Camaros.. never heard or seen one with column shift. Has to be rare and undesirable.

    Like 0
  24. JS

    Its an automatic. Who cares how it is shifted?

    Like 6
  25. S

    I never knew it was possible to have a column shift on a Trans Am. The car otherwise looks fantastic! Unfortunately this “option” detracts from the car.

    Like 0
  26. Steve EMember

    The PHS is so cheap for these cars. Would have thought the seller could have provided it in this sale.

    Like 0
    • Bill McCoskey Bill McCoskeyMember

      Steve E,

      Years ago, as an ebay advisor, I suggested that ebay add a section where the seller could check off that they have a PHS, Govier, or Marti report [or similar reports for other makes].

      This section could have been checked off and the report shown. ebay tried to ignore the suggestion, and was one of the many reasons I stepped down from the ebay advisory position.

      With ebay offering this service, including the reports, it would encourage sellers to find out what these reports were and order one, then post the listing.

      Like 1
  27. Leslie Martin

    https://youtu.be/Zip4QyJyD5g

    I couldn’t help myself.

    Like 0
  28. DonL

    I am sure it is probably just my eyes playing tricks on me. But I swear the picture of the passenger side of the car….the passenger side door looks to be a different color than the rest of the car. It just doesn’t look like it matches.

    Like 0

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