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Very original, 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, WS6 / W72 / XX Block / T-10 Four Speed / Hurst Shift / Low miles / Martinique Blue.
Please view the picture slide show (click full screen) and YouTube video above.
Vin # 2W87Z8L179007, Decoded: 2 = Pontiac, W = Trans Am, 87 = Sports Coupe, Z = 400 c.i.d, 4-bbl V8, 8 = 1978, L = Van Nuys California Plant, 179007 = production #.
This is a very original 1978 Pontiac Trans Am with only 85,600 miles. It runs, handles, and sounds great.
This TA was a special order Car that had some service time with CA Law enforcement. It was ordered with the WS6 handling package, the W72 special performance package, and the Super T-10 four speed manual transmission with Hurst shift. Only 4,112 manual Transmission W72 TA’s were produced, fewer with the WS6 package, and even less in Martinique Blue. And Martinique Blue with Camel Tan interior is rare and awesome.
In the pictures you will see the Battery and power cut off switch in the truck along with a few connections used by law enforcement.
You will enjoy the ability to cut off the power in the trunk.
This car has a GM special performance built correct XX-400 engine, it is a 1978 W72 block installed by GM. The block is a SR Code block. SR coded engines were Service Replacement engine blocks installed by GM for Warranty or performance reasons. SR blocks are a thicker, stronger and more desirable block for performance applications.
The heads are correct 6X-4 higher compression heads.
The SR engine swap may have been done for Law enforcement performance reasons? This SR block has no engine code other than the XX-400 and no VIN stamp. The VIN and code could have been stamped by GM when the block was installed but for some reason it was not?
I suppose it could still be stamped today.
This car is and was purchased as per the build sheet with the W72 and WS6 performance packages, and I'm thinking the law enforcement had this unmarked SR engine and true dual exhaust installed and moved the battery to the trunk for even better performance and handling. This is a one of a kind car in amazing original condition.
This Trans Am was assembled at the Van Nays California plant and shipped to Sun Pontiac in Mesa Arizona, then it made its way back to CA, See the pictures for the dated title from CA. This TA spent the last 20 years locked up in a car collection in KY.
I found practically no rust on this car, and the very minor surface rust on the underside I could find was treated and painted. Power steering, Power Brakes, A/C, etc. all work well.
The interior is original and in very good condition for 35 years, with no cuts or rips.
I installed new weather-stripping as needed on the hood, doors, and trunk. I also replaced the front brake pads, U-Joints, Rear performance springs, sway bar bushings, and spark plugs. I cleaned treated and painted most of the underside, including the brake parts, drive-shaft, sway bars, etc.
The body has all original sheet metal in great condition; I see no signs of past repairs. The recent paint job and decals are all good.
The below is from .2gta.com/1978ta.html :
“Horsepower was finally making a comeback in good old America, and assigned to lead the pack was the 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am's W72 optioned engine.
The WS6/W72 combination (this car) quickly established the 1978 Trans Am as the "King of the Hill", long before there was such a thing as a Corvette ZR-1. Magazines loved the car and the spring 1978 issue of Road Test magazine squared off a Z28, a Corvette, and a Trans Am in a street fight. The T/A was clearly chosen as the easiest car to drive fast.
When it comes to handling, no four place car made in America had a prayer in keeping up with a WS6 equipped Trans Am.
What is WS6?
First off, you got the obligatory stiffer rear springs (25-lb/in higher deflection rating) that in Detroit-speak means "tuned". The rear stabilizer bar grew to .75" versus the .62" of the non-WS6 car, the front sway-bar is a massive 1-3/16”, and all stabilizer bars received polyurethane link bushings versus the softer rubber bushing of all other Firebirds. The shocks were valved a little tighter for greater wheel control, and a new steering gearbox with a ratio of 14:1 replaced the 16:1 variable ratio unit of lesser TA's. Finally where the rubber meets the road P225/70R15 steel belted radials was mounted on a set of 15 x 8 inch wide snowflake wheels. The wheels are easily recognized by the deep dish look versus the flush appearance of the standard T/A snowflakes.”
Go to the below for more information on the awesomeness of this engine.
http://www.bandittransamclub.com/The_Last_Trans_Am_Engine.htm 
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