1978 Pontiac Trans Am

WHAT IS IT?

The second generation Pontiac Firebird (1970-1981) is an icon of the 1970’s. By the late years of the decade, the car had lost much of its high-performance cred thanks to emissions and fuel economy regulations, but sales actually increased. The late 70’s Trans Am’s sales might have attributed some of its sales success to a certain Burt Reynolds film but perhaps the tacky body cladding and decal treatments (like the famous “screaming chicken” on the hood) just captured the zeitgeist of the moment? Regardless, the V8 engines can made a glorious noise and personal sport coupes were the “lifestyle” vehicles of the era.

WHY THIS CAR HAS BEST ONE ON THE PLANET CHOPS

The survival rate of TAs seems to be fairly strong and as mentioned before, a LOT were produced, with 187,294 Firebirds build in 1978 and 93,341 in Trans Am trim. However, this example on eBay Motors claims to have just over 25,000 original miles and to have been owned by the same person since new. The selling dealer has an in-depth video showing the minor scars of the past 48 years in great detail but also the original Zeibart rust protection and interior details. Only the stereo head unit appears to be non-original. The period-perfect gold color is a striking alternative to the movie-boosted and more common black examples. The undercarriage shows some surface corrosion on what appears to be an original exhaust and catalytic converter and that protective undercoating is seemingly everywhere.