Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale January 19th - 22nd, 2017 at Russo and Steele's 17th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Please contact us for more information.
The iconic 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason also starred a black and gold Special Edition Pontiac Trans Am. The movie was second only in gross receipts to the original Star Wars also released that year, ahead of such classic films Saturday Night Fever and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The car itself became a wildly popular hit, so much so that the Bandit version of the Trans Am was offered by Pontiac for many years thereafter. The second Smokey and the Bandit movie was released in 1980, with the same stars but with a new Bandit car - a 1980 Special Edition Turbo Trans Am.
1980 Special Edition Trans Ams carried a unique option code on the General Motors and Pontiac order sheet - Y84 indicating special black paint, gold decal striping and a large firebird hood decal. The option also includes gold turbine wheels and removable T-Top roof hatches.
The 1980 Turbo Trans Am was offered that year because the larger displacement motors of the past had been obsoleted by General Motors. Thus, the most powerful motor a Trans Am or Firebird could get in 1980 was a turbo powered car. The turbo version of the Pontiac 301ci motor was rated at 210 horsepower with about 8lbs of boost vs. the normally aspirated 4BBL version of the 301's rating of 170.
The car offered at auction is a genuine 1980 Turbo Trans Am, documented with the build sheet that was found attached to the original fuel tank, plus the PHS historical record as obtained from Pontiac itself. By the way, there is no way of proving a car is an actual Special Edition just from the VIN. Sometimes body code plates are stamped with Y84, but those instances are rare. The only other reliable way of proving a car is an original, bona fide SE is to verify it against the PHS documents or the actual build sheet of the car.
This car has a rebuilt, date correct 301 Turbo engine, complete with a rebuilt correct turbo, carburetor and rebuilt TH350 transmission. It also comes with the upgraded WS6 suspension option including 4 wheel disc brakes, larger sway bars front and rear, polyurethane bushings and a fast ratio steering box. It was painted in 2014 with corrrect new decals. The tires and wheels have less than 2000 miles. The interior is correct according to the build sheet with new seating surfaces, headliner and door panels. The odometer shows the original, actual mileage of about 71K miles. The trip meter is not working. All other gauges, hood turbo lights, power antenna, Delco AM/FM cassette radio and the A/C work.
There were about 100,000 Firebirds sold in 1980, 50,896 of which were Trans Ams. Only 3,444 of those were Turbo Trans Am Special Edition Y84, and even fewer with the WS6 option. This is one of the 3,444 making it quite rare.
