Part of the success of the late 1970s Pontiac Trans Am goes to the 1977 box office blockbuster, Smokey and The Bandit starring heartthrob Burt Reynolds. From less than 47,000 units sold in 1976, demand ballooned to 117,000 copies in 1979. That included a limited production Y88 Gold Special Edition in 1978 that saw only 1,267 cars. The seller’s example is one of them, but it’s been languishing in a barn for years. Surrounded by debris in Custer, Wisconsin, this serious project is available here on eBay with no reserve and a $5,000 starting bid (yet to be cast).
Despite all the hoopla over black Trans Ams after the movie’s release. Pontiac still had time to come up with the Gold Y88 cars. They were only offered in 1978, and the performance machines came with a 400 cubic inch W72 V8 engine, a 4-speed manual transmission (automatic optional?), and a W56 handling package. We don’t know the story of the seller’s rare car, but we assume it stopped running, was tucked away in a barn, and then forgotten about for who knows how long.
No recent attempts have been made to see if this Pontiac will run. The engine is not original, so if you require numbers matching, this Trans Am is not for you. From what we can see, the body and paint are rough, and the interior has possibly been invaded by mold. It was once a well-equipped vehicle, with factory air conditioning and power accessories, but will any of them work with a fresh battery installed?
With other projects to keep him or her busy, the seller has no time to revive this Pontiac. For an extra $3,500, he/she will sell you a separate rust-free body. No photos of that are included, but you could assume it will be needed to restore this Pontiac or why mention it at all? While 1 of 1,267 is rare after 47 years, does that equate to being underwater after making this car look like this sample glamour shot again?
It took me 14 years to find all the compressor brackets for my 77 it would be nice if they were in the trunk
Even with a $5,000 opening bid, no one felt it was worth the money when the seller ran eBay a few weeks ago.
Steve R
And I doubt that anyone will this time as well.
Wow!!!!! That last picture of this Trans Am really shows how great it cleaned up……..
Oh….. whoops…… Nevermind……. My mistake. Thats what it looked like in 1978.
Its going to take some elbow grease to make this look like that last picture. But maybe someone will take it on. The 4 speed is a plus.
Ummm…. Nope.
An extra $3500 for a shell?! It’s not worth the $5k ask with that extra body INCLUDED.
I’d be willing to bet that car was submerged.
Just sold my Y88 last fall. Car was a great driver as it stood and looked nothing like this. This is a total basket case. 1267 production is for 4 speed cars which is the only redeeming thing on this one. Automatics totaled 6519 where there is debate on how many were W72 engines vs L78’s. Mine was a W72 WS6 auto PHS verified. 4 speed cars are worth it but not this one at 5K. Looks to be missing T Tops, wrong steering wheel, interior is trashed, engine who knows.
Another Barrett Jackson dreamer. Too far gone. Give me a 73 SD 455 over this pile.
Ya think????
Too bad that a high-demand car like this got so deteriorated that it isn’t even worth 5K.
I don’t know but this car does look like a flood car. The type of rust formations in the engine compartment and weird stains in the interior make it pretty questionable. Either way, since this car is not numbers matching and just about everything needs to be replaced and if you don’t care, you may as well buy a nice one in some other color and paint it this color if that’s what you want. We’re about to start restoration on our Y88, it’s all original and nowhere near this bad of condition. Normally I’m for going the extra mile to save cars but this one’s not worth it. It’s a big problem if the T-tops are missing, the ones on these gold SE’s are gold tinted glass.
What a pile! Another BJ induced dreamer. Hard pass!
Start that bid at $500. That car doesn’t even have a right side quarter panel. It’s been cut off. I would take a project like this but not at that price. There are much better vehicles to start with in that price range. Maybe show pictures of that donor body and list that on eBay and say the gold rusty hunk of junk comes with it if you so desire for no extra charge.