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.
