Vehicle Description
1978 Pontiac Macho Trans Am To be featured in a future episode of
Gas Monkey's Fast N Loud this current season Number 104 of 204
examples made in 1978 Stunning Starlight Black (code 19) exterior
and black interior 400 CID V-8 engine (code L78), with an 800cfm
Rochester Quadrajet carburetor Borg-Warner Super T-10 close-ratio
four-speed manual transmission (code M21) and 3.42 rear end (code
GU6) with Positraction (code G80) WS6 Performance Package and F41
suspension Factory air-conditioning Power steering, power brakes,
power windows, power door locks and tilt steering column Eight-inch
cast aluminum "snowflake" wheels (code YJ8) Mecham Design letter of
authenticity, original build sheet Own this Vehicle from $499 per
month-call 636-600-4600 After you see one of our latest
acquisitions at MotoeXotica Classic Cars, a 1978 Macho Trans Am,
you might think of The Village People or wonder why anyone would
write that on a car. "At that time, Macho was the 'in' word in the
Southwest, said Dennis Mecham. "It may not be the best name but how
can you forget it?" If you've never heard of the Macho Trans Am,
don't feel out of touch. Only a couple hundred of these modified
Firebirds were hatched by brothers Dennis and Kyle Mecham. Their
dad, Evan, was a Phoenix-area Pontiac dealer, and beginning in
1977, the brothers would take delivery of new Trans Ams, make some
modifications, and sell them back as used cars to Mecham Pontiac,
where they would then be sold to the public. Why the hoop jumping?
The federal government prohibited modifying new cars and selling
them as new cars thanks to an avalanche of new restrictions, but if
a car was titled as "used," problem solved. This car was built in
GM's Van Nuys, California assembly plant on June 29, 1978 and was
delivered to Mecham Pontiac in Glendale, Arizona. It came with the
following major options - power door locks, tinted glass, power
windows, power trunk lid, rear window defroster, power four-wheel
disc brakes, Formula steering wheel on tilt steering column,
heavy-duty battery, heavy-duty cooling and rally gauges. Dressed in
Starlight Black paint (code 19) with red accents, this car's paint
and trim are in very good condition. The glass panels are clear and
intact, including the rear window with its electric defroster. The
car's lights are clear and haze-free and still look as great as
they did in 1978. This car has the WS6 Performance Package and the
vaunted F41 suspension bits. This 'Bird rides on BFGoodrich Radial
T/As, size P235/60R15 at all four corners. Each tire surrounds a
snowflake wheel (code YJ8). The wheels and tires are in excellent
condition. The car's bodywork is solid and straight. The trunk is
in very good order, the engine bay is very tidy and the bumpers fit
well to the body. Underneath that shaker scoop is a 400 CID V-8
engine (code L78), with an 800cfm Rochester Quadrajet carburetor
and breathing through dual exhausts. Backing that motor is a
Borg-Warner Super T-10 close-ratio four-speed manual transmission
(code M21) and a 3.42 rear end (code GU6) and Positraction (code
G80). Driver convenience features include air-conditioning, power
steering, power brakes, power windows, power door locks, remote
driver's side mirror control and tilt steering column. Inside, the
driver's seat show some wear and tear and there's a hole in the
front passenger seat but overall, the car's black front buckets and
rear bench seats are in good order while the matching carpet is in
very good condition. The black headliner, matching instrument panel
with its silver inlay and Formula three-spoke steering wheel are
all in similar very good order. One of the instrument panel vent
bezels is not secure. The inner door panels, mirror glass, center
console and shift lever are all in good order. Forty years ago, two
brothers, Dennis and Kyle Mecham, decided to do something about the
state of American factory performance cars, at least for the Trans
Ams delivered to their father's Pontiac dealership near Phoenix,
Arizona. The dealership became the base for DKM/Macho Firebirds.
They built 26 Trans Ams with several performance "enhancements."
These modified cars became a local and regional hit with customers
so the Mechams expanded to include other Pontiac dealers in 1978.
The Macho T/A equation was simple - the Mechams bought new Trans
Ams, made the mods then resold them as used vehicles to other
Pontiac dealers. The Mechams set the stock Rochester Quadrajet
carburetor to run richer and changed the distributor to alter the
spark advance. The brothers also opened the sealed shaker hood
scoop, increasing airflow to the stock air box and screened the
opening. A set of Hooker headers were added with a 2.5-inch dual
exhaust, crossover pipe and dual catalytic converters, taking the
place of the stock exhaust. Other changes included dropping the
front end by 1.5 inches, put Koni adjustable shocks at all four
corners, re-tempered front springs and added 60-series tires on
factory rims, plus 24 available interior/exterior colors and Macho
Trans Am graphics. For extra money, buyers could request their own
exterior color and for even more money, the Macho graphics would be
applied using DuPont's Imron. As a trial, the Mechams put their
mods on a '77 Trans Am in stock and put it on the showroom floor;
it sold in three days. Laboring part-time, they sold 26 more Machos
in 1977. After 178 more Machos, the experiment ended in 1980, when
Pontiac downsized to the 301 CID V-8 from the 400s and 455s. "If
you got any real horsepower (out of the 301), you were rebuilding a
hand grenade," said Mecham. Documentation includes Mecham Design
letter of authenticity, original factory build sheet and DKM
Production Sheet and will be featured in a future episode of Gas
Monkey's Fast N Loud this current season. Competition to this
Pontiac in 1978 included Chevrolet's Camaro, Datsun's 280ZX 2+2,
Ford's Mustang, Mazda's RX-7 and Toyota's Celica Supra. This car is
currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current
mileage on the odometer shows 34,811 miles. It is sold as is, where
is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND
DRIVE!!! Click here for our Macho TA video! OR Please Copy & Paste
the Link Below: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSIOcdGOhVc VIN:
2W87Z8L157441 Note: Please see full terms and conditions listed
below that pertain to the purchase of any said vehicle, thank you.
