Pontiac produced the most Trans Ams in its history in 1979. Over 117,000 Trans Ams were built and sold including this example that was sent to us by Tony Primo. This Trans Am is located in Royal Palm Beach, Florida and is listed here on Craigslist for $26,900. The ad has been up for about a week and the car is said to have 24k miles on the odometer but this likely reflects being rolled over since the engine was recently rebuilt. The car is optioned with T-tops and painted in the flashy Mayan Red.
The carmine red interior shows where on the driver seat but otherwise looks pretty nice. The Trans Am has an upgraded stereo system and it appears to have either a cell phone or LCD screen on the console. This Trans Am has many options including tilt steering, T-tops, air conditioning, rear defog and the deluxe cloth interior. The deluxe interior came with upgraded seats and door panels. The car does not have power locks or power windows. The material for the cloth seats is available through PUI and Legendary Interiors.
In 1979, the base engine in the Trans Am was the L80 Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch V8 engine and it was the only engine available for California Trans Ams due to emissions regulations. This engine delivered 185 horsepower and 315 lb ft of torque and was paired solely with the Turbo 350 automatic transmission. In the other 49 states, two additional engines were available: the L37 Pontiac 301 cubic inch V8 engine and the W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine. The L37 engine produced 150 horsepower and was equipped with a 4 barrel carburetor, available with either an automatic or 4 speed manual transmission. The rarest engine option for the 1979 Trans Am was the W72 Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8 engine, which generated 220 horsepower and came exclusively with a 4-speed transmission. This car has the Olds 403 engine as indicated below in the build sheet and the picture above showing the oil fill tube on the front of the engine.
The exterior looks correct, but the hood scoop decals have been replaced with T/A 6.6 which indicated the 400 cubic inch Pontiac engine (W72) in 1979. The correct scoop decal should spell out “6.6 Litre.” I own a similar car to this but it has the silver bird instead of the yellow and red decals. The car is riding on 15×7 factory aluminum snowflake wheels and aftermarket Cooper Cobra tires.
BJ does yours have the same powertrain and posi 2.41 gears ? How does it drive
Stan, I am not sure what rear end mine has. It should be 2.41 like you say but I did some research a while back and John Witzke published information on all the different rear ends that came with 403 engines. It said due to demand and emissions issues, several rear end ratios were used with the 403.
My 1979 Trans Am is a California car that I bought from the original owner. It runs great. Smooth, idles nice and great cruiser. It is not fast but enjoyable to drive and a true time capsule. Thanks for asking.
Good looking T/A. Nicely equipped and well preserved. Good driver for anyone seeking a classic Firebird to enjoy daily. Glad to hear you have one like this, Bruce. Lots of others I’m sure would get the same pleasure from this one.
Totally agree Nelson. I’ve driven malaise era 350 GMs and they cruise effortlessly w alot less hp and tq than the 403 Olds supplied. Shorten the final drive ⚙️ to a still very hwy friendly 3.08 or even 3.23 and have some decent jump off the line too. 👍
Why would a 403 have to be rebuilt at 124k miles? Or even 224k? My ’74 pont 400 has 250k miles on it & run fine with just 1 new aftmkt timing chain.