NM 400ci V8/NM T10 Manual/10 Bolt 3.42 Axle/Long Term Owner/Window Sticker

1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Offered for your consignment and your viewing pleasure, there will be no pushing needed on this one with a matching numbers power plant, chassis, and transmission all in 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Pontiac 400ci, 4-speed manual, and decaled format. Owned by our consignor for over 20 years and overall exceptionally clean with its respray in the correct Platinum Poly and making up 1 of the 19% of Trans Ams built with the 4-speed manual. Belly up to the bar and I'll have a Coors'!

NOTE: 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 Platinum Poly and of course the screaming chicken decal attached to the shaker scooped hood in beautiful black and gray with red and silver lines surrounding the outside of the bird. The gaps are well minded, and paint is in nice condition with a few areas of some faults, mostly reserved to scuffs, chip offs, cracks in the neoprene along with evidence of body work with notable bubbling and some invasive rust. All of the graphics and badging are stickers and use black as the main color with charcoal, silver, gray and red 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 is pure steel, meaning no T-tops to take away from structural rigidity. 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 aluminum snowflake 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
Carmine carpeting floods the floors and creates the base for the Carmine vinyl buckets upfront and bench in the back. These seats are finished in the original vinyl with wide tuck and roll inserts, smooth bolsters and show nicely with the exception of a tear in the driver's outer bolster. Carmine door panels add to the clean look, and a Carmine center console is between the buckets. Housed here is the T-handled Hurst shifter 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 upgraded to more modern Pioneer AM/FM/Cassette unit. A drilled 3 spoke Formula wheel fronts this dash and allows the driver to do a Rockford Files J turn with ease. A Carmine perforated headliner all in vinyl is above and looking nearly factory fresh.

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 an Edelbrock intake manifold and our consignor states that a performance camshaft was installed to up the pony count a bit. Bolted to the back is a numbers matching Borg Warner T10 4-speed manual transmission. The rear axle is a 10-bolt version with 3.42 gearing, Positraction and a PY 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 save for the patch installed in the left rear unibody rail. The bottom end of the engine is relatively drip free, however there is a notable leak from the transmission. Independent coil springs are on front and leaf springs on the back provide the mounting point for ower disc brakes for the front, and power drums for the back. An upgrade to long tube headers, sans catalytic converter, sends spent fossils to the rear of the car via a Flowmaster muffler equipped exhaust system with dual outlet tailpipes.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter and I was ready to head Eastbound and down....well actually just out to the test track. It had great take off, good solid brakes, and handled well for a 1978 GM product. We noted some rattles but nothing out of the ordinary for these examples and all was working fine save for the clock, fuel gauge, reverse lights, heater blower, the temperature slides being stuck and the AC having nearly all components 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!

2W87Z8N127479

2-Pontiac
W-Trans Am
87-2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
Z-400ci 4bbl V8
8-1978
N-Norwood, OH Assy Plant
127479-Sequential Unit Number

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.