Car and driver is rather weird in that they always average the speed of two directions not the right way to do it in my opinion so you. On the seventh of february, 1973, our test firebird trans am sd455 swept through the quartermile at orange county international raceway in irvine, california in an elapsed time of. Once a thriving species during the golden performance car era, it was. And the super duty 455 still managed a respectable 290 net hp despite them. In base configuration, the 79 trans am came with an oldsmobilesourced. This example is a highly optioned car with a lot of things going for it. In 1979 pontiac sold 116,535 trans ams, the highest sold in a year. Hot lapping a 1969 camaro z28 trans am series race car. The vehicle was prominently featured in such movies as smokey and the bandit and rocky ii, and it was used as the main vehicle in television series like knight rider and the rockford files. Your 1979 1980 1981 trans am or firebirds tail lights are easy to get right. In addition fbodywarehouse offers a complete restoration service for your tail lights.
Moreover, our z28 produced a top speed of 105 mph limited by the redline and the 3. When you are looking for a collectible car, you should consider many things, final value, cost to restore, rarity, color, etc. This car may have been a warmed over ringer as the ta 6. The fiveliter v8 available for the mustang is a torquey beast with considerablefor 1979horsepower. The 1979 y89 10th anniversary trans am commemorating the 10th production year of the trans am. There would only be a handful of the 220 hp motors to go around and all were.
The 1979 pontiac 10th anniversary trans am was another commemorative firebird, this one marking the first decade of pontiacs stillsuccessful pony car. Further camshaft timing and exhaust revisions gave the ta 6. Pontiac only made 1,107 special edition trans ams with the combo. Join millions of people using oodle to find unique used cars for sale, certified preowned car listings, and new car classifieds. Civilized during street driving, yet progressively tuned. Rare w72 1979 pontiac trans am is the perfect drivers car. Join millions of people using oodle to find unique car parts, used trucks, used atvs, and other commercial vehicles for sale. There would only be a handful of the 220 hp motors. As pontiac motor division phased out the iconic 455 for use in the trans am, a new icon was created. Every time ferrante gets behind the wheel and drives his trans am he feel.
That, in fact, is outrageously fast even within a fiveyearold. Check out widowmakerta 1979 pontiac trans am in greensboro,pa for ride specification, modification info and photos and follow widowmakertas 1979 pontiac trans am for updates at cardomain. Instead of a screaming chicken, the 1979 firebird trans am should have a pterodactyl on the hood. This 1979 pontiac firebird trans am has all the best stuff you want a 400 v8 with fourbarrel carburator, fourspeed stickshift, ttops, plenty of docs, and the soughtafter ws6 suspension package. Is the 1979 pontiac firebird formula w72 the last muscle car.
The front end was restyled for 1979, which also marked the 10th anniversary of the. The pontiac firebird trans am is a rear wheel drive motor vehicle, with its engine placed in the front, and a 2. This transdapt product is just the option for you in. When determining a value for a daily driver, it is recommended that the subscriber use the low retail value. Once a thriving species during the golden performance car era, it. Last year brought the 25thanniversary celebration, complete with indypacecar replica, and 1980 will see the first serious efforts toward lighter corvettes, but 1979 is a nonyear on chevrolets. The rest went into 10th anniversary trans ams a new package for 1979. The engine was destined for gms new full size cars from oldsmobile and buick, where its. It develops 115 bhp 117 ps86 kw of power at 3800 rpm, and maximum torque of 250 n. The pontiac firebird trans am is a popular vehicle that has made its way through the pop culture ranks. The graphics also were redesigned to distinguish the 1979 models from those of 1977 and 78. Among sporty cars, only the amc javelin and the firebird offer engines over 351.
During period dyno testing, the national hot rod association rated the limitedavailability ta 6. In 1971 appearing first as the 455ho, the 455 motor was introduced. The temptation to drive hard, drive fast and test out ones highspeed performance skills led to many of these cars getting sideways and teaching the driver a quick lesson in physics. In preliminary testing it clocked zerotosixty times of 8.
In february of 1979, hot rodmagazine tested a pontiac engineering prepared press car. In 1979, pontiac released the 10th anniversary pontiac trans am to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the first trans am that rolled off the line in 1969. The direction of this acceleration is toward the center of the earth, and its magnitude is 32. Great car, but needs a lot of repair due to age, but runs and drives great well the car is a project so i dont know about how everything is but its reliable, starts every time and pretty easily too, not to big on speed but has good torque, car is built pretty well, has common rust for these cars and paint is faded but the car is 31 years old and drives better than my 97 chrysler concorde. Driving a car around a circle is the equivalent of 360 degrees of yaw motion. The last pontiac 400s were built up in 1978 and the tooling disbanded.
The car in 1979, probably the coolest 4place car one could own would be the transam. It was the same engine you got in the corvette, making 325 horsepower and 365 poundfeet of. Classic industries offers a wide selection of 1979 pontiac firebird parts, including 1979 pontiac firebird interior parts and soft trim, 1979 pontiac firebird exterior sheet metal, 1979 pontiac firebird moldings, 1979 pontiac firebird emblems, 1979 pontiac firebird weatherstrip and unique accessories, to nearly every nut and bolt needed for installation. The remainder w72s went into formulas and regular trans ams. This unit features overhead valve valve gear, a 90 degree v 6 cylinder layout, and 2 valves per cylinder. Shop millions of cars from over 21,000 dealers and find the perfect car. The basic transam motor is rated at 180 hp, and the extra halfayard produces a slightly tweaked version.
The big 455cid v8 disappeared after 1976 and 1979 saw the final pontiac 400 v8s. I ordered and owned a 1979 ws6w72 trans am and as noted above it was quicker and faster than a 1979 corvette with 220 hp and over 300 ft lbs of torqueran about a 6. V8 rpo l80, which had already seen use in californiabound trans ams and some formulas since the 1977 model year. To increase the trans ams performance prowess even more, pontiac released the ws6. I bought the car from car restoring friend that lives near. Pontiac firebird trans am 455 super duty laptimes, specs. Although less powerful and much more common than earlier highperformance firebirds, late 70s trans ams are. Car and driver magazine named the trans am with the ws6 performance package the best handling car of 1979. Pontiac originally built the trans am as a pony car. Instead of a screaming chicken, the 1979 firebird trans am should have a. Here it is again folks, the new corvette, back for the eleventh encore of its 1968 act.
For 19781979, w72 engines came with larger air cleaner duct adaptors, baffled oil. Yawrotation of a cars body about a vertical axis in response to steering inputs. There was just something a bit meaner about the 1979 pontiac firebird trans am. Pontiac trans am classics for sale classics on autotrader. Many consider the 1979 trans am and formulas that were equipped with the w72 pontiac 400 engine to be the last of the muscle cars. The power is produced by a naturally aspirated engine of 3. It is almost a car of bigger than contemporary life dimensions.
Vehicles with similar dimensions 1981 pontiac firebird. Call us 6366004600 visit our showroom 2340 cassens dr. The wellknown routine is still playing to sellout crowds, lined up around the block waiting for the curtain. Back in november of 1978 i ordered a 1979 heritage brown with tan hobnail cloth interior, trans am. For the 400403 comparison just to show this was the hot ticket for 79. This is truly a living dinosaur, the very last direct descendant of the the original big blockhipo pony car.
Muscle car specifications performance model 1979 pontiac. Simply the best car ive ever owned and im so glad to still have it 35 years later. This muscle car also has power steering, 4 wheel power disc brakes, factory airconditioning, adjustable drivers mirror and even factory undercoating. We offer a wide variety of used gm and new replacement parts. The sd455, a unique version of the 455 was offered i n 1973 and lasted one year. Find 1979 pontiac trans am classic cars for sale on oodle classifieds. Back in 2001, if you chose the ws6 version of the firebird, your car came with the gms lt1 engine. See more ideas about 1979 pontiac trans am, firebird trans am and trans am. Hitmans pontiac trans am site 1979 y89 10th anniversary. This is a monotube shock absorbers produced under license by fox. Car and driver magazine named the trans am with the ws6. The last highperformance muscle motor from the original muscle car generation was the firebird trans am with the 455 motor.
Thats when the ferrantes purchased the 1979 trans am from the original owner. If you love classic tas, its time to pay attention. This is a 4speed car but because of the anniversary edition stock pileing, the the 400 wasnt available and i had to go with the 4. The pontiac firebird trans am utilized the new for 1977 oldsmobile 403 v8 as an nocharge optional powerplant for all california and highaltitude residences. In search of the besthandling american car car and driver. Our original test of the pontiac firebird trans am sd455. So you tend to take note when you find a oneowner car that has. Find 1979 pontiac trans ams for sale on oodle classifieds. For sale in our dallas showroom is a beautiful 1979 pontiac firebird trans am. A special 10th anniversary edition of the trans am was introduced. Car and driver magazine named the ws6 trans am the.