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For Sale: 1978 Pontiac Firebird in Morgantown, Pennsylvania

Vehicle Description

1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Stunt driver and conceptual organizer of the movie "Smokey and the Bandit" Hal Needham saw a picture of a Pontiac Trans Am in a magazine and thought up a product placement idea. He asked for 6 Trans Ams, but Pontiac would only agree to send 4. Needham also asked for 4 Bonnevilles for Jackie Gleason's cars, but he only got 2. By the time they shot the final scene, they had wiped out three Trans Ams and the fourth wouldn't start after all of the stunts, so another car was used to push it into the scene.

No pushing needed on this one as with matching numbers power plant, chassis, and transmission in the Pontiac 400ci, 4-speed manual, decaled version. Owned by our consignor for over 16 years and overall exceptionally clean with its respray in the correct Solar Gold. Belly up to the bar and I'll have a Coors', (movie trivia research needed to explain the Coors' beer)!

Due to modifications of the emissions control devices installed by the manufacturer, please check your local, state, and federal laws to determine if this vehicle is applicable for use on public highways in your area.*

Exterior
Anytime a screaming chicken graces our halls here at Classic Auto Mall, we can hear it throughout the facility. This one speaks loudly, bathed in Solar Gold and of course the screaming chicken decal attached to the shaker scooped hood in beautiful yellow and brown with yellow and gold lines surrounding the outside of the bird. The gaps are well minded, and paint is in very nice condition with just a few areas of some faults, mostly reserved to runs in the clear coat and a few very minor chips. All of the graphics and badging are stickers as well and use dark brown as the main color with gold accenting. Dual headlights in their rectangular late 70's design are floating in a field of black that work their way to the central front of this car and form the iconic beak. Up high on the roof are removable glass roof panels to allow for some fun in the sun spirited driving. Some neoprene bumper additions and a low spoiler up front complete the menacing look. On the back some flared guards stand in the front of the rear wheel wells and protect the 15-inch Pontiac Rally II wheels with raised white letters BF Goodrich radials. On back we note the spoiler, and the trio of horizontal bar taillights that conform to the curved rear panels of this car. Overall looking real nice and screaming for attention!

Interior
Camel Tan carpeting floods the floors and creates the base for the Camel Tan pristine buckets upfront and bench in the back. These seats are finished in Camel Tan broadcloth with wide tuck and roll inserts, smooth bolsters and saddle delineation piping, all looking very clean and very well kept. Saddle tan door panels add to the clean look, and a saddle gold center console is between the buckets. Housed here is the automatic shifter, power window toggles, and small storage compartment fronting the original dash with its machined swirl circle aluminum insert. This aluminum creates a nice field for the black faced gauges to play within and relay any pertinent info to the driver. The factory AM/FM radio has been left in place and down below is a modern AM/FM/CD stereo. A drilled 3 spoke rally wheel fronts this dash and allows the driver to do a Rockford Files J turn with ease. A saddle tan perforated headliner all in vinyl is above splitting the glass T-roof panels.

Drivetrain
Under the scooped hood is a 400ci V8 which decodes as original and numbers matching to this car. A single 4-barrel carburetor is atop and a numbers matching TH350 3-speed automatic transmission is on back. The rear axle is a 10-bolt version with 2.41 gearing and a PJ stamping code.

Undercarriage
Underneath is honest presenting with patina along with some black floor pans and solid unibody construction. Some slight surface rust is noted sprinkled throughout the usual suspects, but is otherwise unremarkable. The bottom end of the engine is relatively drip free, however there is anotable leak from the transmission pan. Independent coil springs are on front and leaf springs on the back. Power disc brakes for the front, and power drums for the back. A single exhaust, sans catalyticconverter, sends spent fossils to the rear of the car via a Flowmaster muffler with dual outlet tailpipes.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter and feeling much like a new car inside. It has great take off, good solid brakes, and handles well for a 1978 GM product. We noted some rattles but nothing out of the ordinary for these examples. All was working fine save for the clock, factory radio, and the AC, (the drive belt for the compressor is removed).

You would have to look far and wide to find an example from this year, in this condition, and looking this good. Just a great color combo, comfortable interior, and gotta love that machined dash with its pristine gauges and levers and controls. A screaming chicken which screams very loudly on the quality front...Cock a doodle doo!

2W87Z8N154749

2-Pontiac
W-Trans Am
87-2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
Z-400ci V8 4bbl 220hp
8-1978
N-Norwood, OH Assy Plant
154749-Sequential Unit Number

TRIM TAG

ST 78 2FS87-1978 Firebird 2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
BDY N193763-Norwood Body #
TR 62B A51-Camel Tan Cloth Buckets
PNT 50L 50U-Solar Gold
03C-3rd Week March
A31-Power Windows
WS4-Trans Am
TN1-Tan Secondary Interior Color

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.

Vehicle Details

  • 1978 Pontiac Firebird
  • Listing ID: CC-1699046
  • Price: $29,000
  • Location:Morgantown, Pennsylvania
  • Year:1978
  • Make:Pontiac
  • Model:Firebird
  • Exterior Color:Solar Gold
  • Interior Color:Camel
  • Transmission:Automatic
  • Odometer:123704
  • Stock Number:4991
  • VIN:2W87Z8N154749
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