Barn Finder Rocco B has been scouting around and has located this Trans Am for us to consider. This 1978 Trans Am is something just a little bit different, and you will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, it is being offered with a clean title. This Trans Am can be parked in your driveway for a price of $27,500 OBO.
What makes this Trans Am unusual is that it was modified when new by a company called DKM Design, Performance located near Phoenix, Arizona. New Trans Ams underwent an upgrade to both appearance and performance and were then sold by various Pontiac dealerships as used cars to avoid the prevailing emission laws. This particular Trans Am appears to be in good condition. All of the graphics which were specific to the Macho package seem to be present and in good condition. In 1978 there were 203 Machos built, each receiving a numbered plaque on the center console. This build number was also included in the graphics on both front fenders.
The interior of the Macho was little modified from the original Trans Am. The steering wheel received a DKM logo in the center, there was a numbered plaque on the center console and a Hurst shifter was standard fare. The interior of this particular Trans Am appears to be in really good condition. It’s a bit hard to tell but it appears that this car may be fitted with the optional 4-point roll bar. The provided photos are a bit limited, but everything appears to be in really good condition and is well preserved although the mat on the dash makes it hard to ascertain the condition of the pad. One negative is that the car has been fitted with an after-market stereo.
This was where the business end of proceedings really lived with the Macho package. The Mecham brothers from DKM made changes to the jetting of the standard Quadrajet carburetor, changed the advance curve on the distributor, opened the airflow on the shaker and fitted Hooker Headers and fitted a twin 2.5″ exhaust to unleash some extra horsepower. Exact figures have never been verified, but the car was capable of covering the standing quarter mile in 14.29 seconds which was very respectable at the time. The suspension also came in for some treatment with the car’s ride height lowered and the fitment of adjustable Koni shocks. Certainly, everything under the hood on this car looks to once again be immaculate. I’ve given this engine bay a long, hard look and can’t really find anything to fault. The engine is backed by a Super T10 transmission.
When the Macho was new it wasn’t a cheap proposition. Depending on the chosen options, the package added anywhere from 25-50% to the price of a new Trans Am and current prices certainly seem to reflect this rarity and corresponding price. I have managed to locate two of these for sale at present, and the cheapest one is listed at $59,950. I’ve spent a long time going over the photos provided by the seller and apart from the few things noted earlier in this article, I am really battling to find anything negative on this example. If this Trans Am Macho is as good and as original, as the photos suggest, then at $27,500 it may represent one of the buys of the year.
Boy, Trans Am’s are falling from the sky lately.
Is it just me or are 77-78 firebirds some of the meanest looking cars? I love them!!
what a find
“East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’, we gonna do what they say can’t be done…we got a long way to go and a short time to get there, I’m east bound, just watch ol’ Bandit run…”
Sally should be driving that abomination. Of maybe Little Enos.
I’ve had a crush on Sally Field my whole life. The older she gets, the better she looks. Nice car.
Macho? With a sky-blue chicken on the hood? Magic Eight Ball says “Highly Unlikely”
I’d LOVE to own this one!……..if I had an extra $28k lying around! Can’t believe how pricey these have gotten! I remember the Macho T/A’s, I lived in the Phoenix area for over 30 years!
Well if you run beer from Texarkana to Bama you can get money to pay this car off . This was what Bandit one got when lil Enus was told lil faster car …as he bit his lip peeling off Benjamin’s.
DKM – Dennis K. Mecham. Son of our infamous governor, Evan Mecham, who also happened to be a Pontiac dealer for many years.
ummm, not exactly … Dennis and Kyle Mecham … brothers, sons of Evan Mecham, owner of Mecham Pontiac in Glendale, AZ
I have #56-78 that came from Arizona. At the time Ca. wouldn’t allow it because of emissions & being a four speed. Ca. still sucks !
The entire nose of this car was way better than 79-81. The blue outlined bird was on many of the white T-As back then it could do without those rocker decals though. And a aluminum Hurst t-handle looked good in any stick shift car.
I don’t like the squarish wheel flares of the ’79 either. That ’79 nose makes the car front area even longer than the ’78 & makes the car look out of proportion. I bet pontiac would have sold just as many in ’79 if they kept the ’78 styling.
Wonder if any Macho’s came without factory air & w/o p/w.
I would have requested “Macho” lettering be left off, but keep the rest of the decals. Tho to me, its a tossup to get the big hood bird or not – might depend on the color of the car – most did not have the big bird on the hood. Wonder if any of these came with rally 2 wheels. (I have seen a regular black special edition with gold rally 2s!)
I would think this could be a 13 sec car, if the highly restrictive ’70 converters were removed. Most complain about the performance of ’70 cars, but if you put those type of converters on 60’s or even new cars, you can lose up to 60 or more horsepower!
I’ve had a crush on Sally Field my whole life. The older she gets, the better she looks.
Gross
It was actually 2 of the sons, Dennis and Kyle Mecham.
I stand corrected!
I like the car, just not the name.
Whats up with the aftermarket AC kit?
They probably6 just replaced the compressor with a newer one. They are more efficient and much lighter.
“Macho”seems so dorky now. I can’t believe someone thought that was cool in the 70’s, but then we had leisure suits, too.
Leisure suits might be tacky, but better than the Metrosexual Capri pants the feminized millennial males wear these days.
Amen! Metrosexual capri pants represent to much time to for such things!
Such perversions weren’t prevalent when early rise to milk the cows before skool was the norm.
I have to admit, this is a very pretty car and considering the prices of the black ones lately, it seems a good deal.
Sally gave me a one time.
The car looks like it would be tons of fun to drive, and the price seems fair. But I don’t think that I could ever get the song out of my head while I was driving it!
https://youtu.be/bk-BPRXYk9g
I made the mistake of clicking on your link!
Hit it, Apu !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M22sBmz0tL4
Village people all of them where BUTT RAMMING HOMO’S
They are waiting for you at the YMCA. Hurry up! You don’t want to be left behind.
I “thumbs, upped” your comment but, really, what’s fun, is your
screen name; ‘wish I’d thought, of that!
Macho T/A – LMAO!
Reminds me of the movie Detroit Rock City where the silk shirted disco guys were driving a T/A with a license plate that said MACHO, They were chasing down the black T shirted stoners.
Hilarious scene in an otherwise lame movie.
Why does this car have 79-81 style wheels instead of the 78 style wheels that should be on this car? Did this car not have the WS-6 package?
Nice car , I certainly hope its high and dry.
Car is number 154, not 158