Vehicle Description
1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Special Edition
The sporty Firebird was Pontiac's answer to the Ford Mustang and
Chevrolet Camaro. The car combined an available big V-8 with
aggressive, attention-grabbing styling and delivered it in a
relatively practical four-passenger package. Like it's pony-car
competitors, the rear-wheel-drive Firebird offered tire-smoking
power and impressive acceleration. The F-body platform on which it
and the Camaro were based, however, was arguably well past its
prime by the early 2000s. 2002 was the final year of production for
Pontiac's iconic but dated speed machine. The Trans Am was the
pumped-up, V8 powered model.
For consignment, not as 'loud' as the Gold Special Edition Trans
Am, and not quite as menacing as the Bandit Edition Trans Am, not
as bedecked as the Silver 10th Anniversary car, this 51,712 title
verified mile Special Edition black beauty combines a typical
Pontiac attitude with a refined look that was way ahead of its
time. Brought to our Hallowed Halls by the 2nd owner, who purchased
it from the original owner after the car was parked in a garage in
1988. As the story goes, the original owner had quite the trophy
wife and she was made to feel uncomfortable, always being hit on
while behind the wheel. Complete with the "screaming chicken" on
the hood, not as huge as the 10th Anniversary bird, and all nicely
preserved, we give you an interesting power plant, original
interior, rust free version of the 1979 Trans Am, and the last gasp
of muscle car freedom for the 1970's.
Exterior
Finished in the factory correct code 19, Starlite Black bathes the
exterior of this 51,712 original mile car. It will stand out in a
crowd, and with the brown, gold, beige, and gray screaming chicken
decal, gold and brown decal badging and gold snowflake wheels we
have a first-place winner. All fender flaring and neoprene bumpers
are matching the body black and a rear spoiler looks fab. With only
a few dings, bubbles, scuffs and runs as well as numerous chips,
and a small spot of surface rust are noted throughout the body. Up
top we see the black smoked Hurst style T-top roof. All trimmings
for the windows are in black and present nicely. A shaker opening
with the scoop looking out through the hole in the hood, badged 6.6
Litre, a clue to what lurks beneath the long lean hood. And
bottoming it off are the gold snowflake style wheels which are
wrapped in 225/70SR15 radials all around. A survivor original car
except for possibly the paint, presenting just fab thanks to the
dealer installed rustproofing!
Interior
Buckskin is the color motif for the interior chosen because not
only does it match the decaling,but also provides the perfect
contrast to the black. Swinging the long doors and getting past the
Buckskin colored vinyl door panels showing power lock and a side
view mirror toggle, we are greeted with high back buckets in front
and a 2 plus 2 bench for the back. These seats are all in
worncondition and show in Hobnail cloth with slightly darker tan
inserts with a dark brown small square pattern, which seamlessly
melt into light tan bolsters in velour with some butterscotch
colored piping as a highlighter. The rear tubs for the buckets are
showing this same motif as well. Racing toward the dash is a
buckskin plastic console with a small glovebox, power window
toggles, and the automatic shifter. This meets up to the dash with
a small storage cubby and the factory AM/FM/Cassette stereo.
Upfront a gold circle machined aluminum dash houses black faced
original gauges. This car comes with the removable Hurst hatch roof
panels, air conditioning, tilt steering wheel, and rear defogger.
Buckskin colored deep pile carpeting floods the floors and shows
with some soiling as well as color fade. Within the black felt
lined trunk is a full size spare, the jack and black GM t-top
bags.
Drivetrain
A lift of the long bird dressed hood reveals a pleasant but
puzzling surprise. A correct and original appearing 403ci
Oldsmobile V8 rests between the fenders. This blue painted mill is
topped with a 4bbl carburetor and requisite Shaker assembly atop
the fender ducted air cleaner. Bolted to the back of this mill is a
correct TH350 3-speed automatic which sends power back to a 10-bolt
rear axle with 3.23 gears. Now here's the puzzling part...the unit
number in this car's VIN is 130164. Both the engine and
transmission are wearing partial stampings from car number 130163.
After consulting with my crack decoder we cannot call this car
numbers matching, but it does make for an interesting story as none
of us were on the assembly line the day this car was built. Was
130163's body damaged and pulled from the line, or possibly the
employee who stamped the drivetrain forgot to change the stamp
number? Maybe there was a paperwork SNAFU....the world may never
know.
Undercarriage
Up in the air the underside looks very nice with slight surface
rust on the usual suspension subjects and drivetrain, but the floor
pans and seat tub looks like new. We do note some rust bubbling
behind the rear bumper in the rear steel panel but all else remains
solid. Power disc brakes are on the front and in the rear we see
standard power drum brakes. An independent coil spring suspension
works with a leaf sprung rear arrangement to keep this wild bird on
the road. A stock dual exhaust remains and presents with rusted out
mufflers.
Drive-Ability
Slipping into this car was a time capsule ride harkening back to
the Smokey and the Bandit days of the late 70's. She fired right up
and performed swimmingly on our test track. All functions save were
wonderfully working including the power windows performing
flawlessly. Of special note, very few creaks or rattles were heard
on our drive, a rarity for a 2nd generation F-body car.
2 owners, low miles, an original interior, and retaining all of its
late 1970's charm, this screaming chicken bedecked black beauty
will have you longing for the days of yore. It still looks great,
drives smoothly and is a great car to take to a show, or just go
for a Sunday drive (remember those?).
2W87K9N130164
2-Pontiac
W-Firebird Trans Am
87-2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
K-403ci Oldsmobile V8 4bbl
9-1979
N-Norwood, OH Assy Plant
130164-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
12B-2nd Week December
ST 79 2FS87-1979 Firebird 2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
BDY N093031-Norwood Body #
TR 62B-Buckskin Deluxe Cloth
PNT 19L 19U-Starlite Black
A51-Astro Buckets
CC1-T-Tops
A31-Power Windows
Y84-Trans Am Special Edition, T-Roof
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.
