Vehicle Description
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
TV and movie cars occasionally impact sales of particular models.
This was no more true than the Pontiac Trans Am, which appeared in
Smokey and the Bandit in 1977 and spurred sales of more than 25,000
units over the previous year. Some would consider the Ford Mustang
Bullitt and Back to the Future's DeLorean more iconic as cinema
rides, but none produced the sales more than the star of Smokey and
the Bandit, a black and gold Trans Am.
For consignment, a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, a two owner car
with a title verified 48,207 actual miles. This car was bought off
the showroom floor in nearby Reading, PA in 1977 by the original
owner after, yep, watching Smokey and the Bandit on the big screen.
It is numbers matching and has always been garage kept. It had a
professional repaint in 2012. The car is a multi-show winner
including class wins at the Ames Pontiac Nationals as well as the
Carlisle All GM Nationals, appeared in Muscle Car Review magazine
in April 2013, and will come with PHS documents and the build
sheet.
Exterior
This is the first year for the dual headlights which live in the
split honeycomb grille that forms the famous Pontiac pointed nose
in front with the arrowhead logo attached. Just beyond that nose is
the famous gold screaming chicken logo which would enjoy another
year in this design before evolving into something even more
elaborate. The shaker hood scoop rises above the hood with special
block letter design hinting at what's under the hood. This is a
solid roof car, unlike Burt's, and the flat roof slopes down with
the rear window and air is sent skyward with the use of the rear
spoiler, which presents more billboard opportunity to advertise
with decals, and Trans Am is spelled out on back, adding to the
list of iconic design features of the 70's Trans Ams. 15-inch
Pontiac Snowflake wheels are in place, notably not the gold ones.
Other Trans Am features such as the fender vents and wheel opening
flares, and downfacing twin exhaust tips on each side, look great.
The paint itself is immaculate and we could not find any glaring
imperfections.
Interior
A nice contrast to the black is found in the Buckskin colored
interior that begins with the stitch patterned vinyl door panels
and tan molded plastic armrest and bin and both doors are in fine
condition. The sport bucket seats are well cushioned under the
Buckskin vinyl and the driver's seat shows a touch of compression
but is otherwise in great shape. Rear 2+2 seating, as is so often
the case, looks brand new and the injection molded plastic walls
are unmarred. A black T/A steering wheel heads up the column which
leads to the characteristic machine turned applique on the dash,
along with a series of uniformly round gauges and the A/C controls
embedded in the dash. An AM/FM radio is in the perfect plastic
formed dash and the CB radio dates back to 1977 when the original
owner added it soon after buying the car. He also added the dual
gate Hurst shifter which sits in the center console. Both the
carpet and the headliner, having recently been replaced, look as
fresh as they are. The small trunk is covered by a gray cloth mat,
showing some usage, and houses a space saver spare tire.
Drivetrain
Under the hood, is the factory fresh looking, numbers matching
400ci L78 V8 rated at 180 horsepower and provided fuel through a
4-barrel carburetor and mechanical fuel pump. Behind it, the
numbers matching TH350 3-speed automatic transmission that sends
power to the rear 10 bolt with 2.41 gears and Safe-T-Track. Power
brakes are supplied in the form of disc in front and drum in the
back.
Undercarriage
Clean and a step above driver quality, only minor incidences of
surface rust and no leaks were observed. The single exhaust comes
from the engine, enters the catalytic converter, then a stock style
muffler and finally exists in true muscle car fashion by splitting
the pipe into two tailpipes and quad tips. Coil springs in front
and leaf springs in the back were enough to provide excellent
handling in Trans Ams, with their low center of gravity. Our
consignor notes that new shocks were recently added.
Drive-Ability
Familiar territory for this writer and a comfortable, clean cabin
is like stepping back to 1977. We put the pedal to the metal good
buddy, and head eastbound and down. The car runs well and was
considered quick for the time, although they really excel at
turning and this one does not disappoint. Tracking is dead straight
and braking is very good. The radio does not work. The CB is not
working, rats! And the clock inside the tachometer is not
functioning. All other items of operation work as intended. While
Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at
the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions
will be working at the time of your purchase.
The highly desirable black and gold Trans Am with low mileage, few
owners, a paper trail, and a paint job that's better than it left
the assembly plant with. You don't need a cowboy hat and red button
down shirt to drive this thing to a show, but it wouldn't hurt.
Don't forget the mustache. Got your ears on? This is a fine and
well sorted, numbers matching example of a 1977 Trans Am. Put the
hammer down, watch out for bear traps and keep the shiny side up on
your way to Classic Auto Mall.
2W87Z7N197963
2-Pontiac
W-Trans Am
87-2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
Z-400ci L78 4bbl 180hp V8
7-1977
N-Norwood, OH Assy Plant
197936-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
ST 77 2FS87-1977 Firebird 2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
BDY N201520-Norwood Body #
TR 64R-Buckskin Vinyl
A51-Bucket Seats
PNT 19L 19U-Starlite Black
04D-4th Week April
WS4-Trans AM
SKN-Buckskin Secondary Interior Color
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in
person.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host
Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends
in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and
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