#'s Match, FRAME OFF RESTORED, 400ci, W72, WS6, IMMACULATE CONDITION

Price: US $34,900.00 Item location: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Description:

1979 Pontiac Trans Am 4-Speed Manual Transmission

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Please call Matt directly at 513-708-1468 with any questions about this car.

Seven Hills Motorcars is extremely proud to offer this absolutely stunning 1979 Trans Am with the highly desirable 400ci W72 high performance engine, close ratio 4-Speed manual transmission, and the WS6 special performance handling package. This Trans Am has been completely, literally nut and bolt, frame off restored. The quality of the paint and overall restoration was absolutely superb. Please pay close attention to all of the underside photos in this ad, the bottom of the car is as clean as the top. This is one of the nicest, best optioned, and most desirable 1979 Trans Am's on the market right now. There is no way a similar Trans Am could be duplicated or restored with this level of quality for anything near our asking price.

This Trans Am looks fantastic, runs great, and is an excellent driver. The Platinum Silver (15) over Black cloth (19B) interior is a beautiful color combination that looks great on the car. It is also the correct and original color scheme as verified by the codes on the trim tag, which is pictured in this ad. This is an excellent opportunity to own a classic Trans Am in immaculate condition that is ready to be used and enjoyed at an unbeatable value. One could easily buy this car now and sell it for more than the purchase price in years to come as the market on the second generation F-bodies (Firebird and Camaro) is strong right now and on the rise, especially for very low mileage examples like this car. The very low original mileage at 58,415 is verified as original by the clear Ohio title showing the mileage as "Actual." Please peruse all of the photos, the extensive list of option codes, video, and information to get a true sense of how nice, clean, and original this Trans Am really is.

This Trans Am rolled off the assembly line during the 4th week of November (11D) in 1978. It was sold new at Marsh Pontiac here in Cincinnati. All of the highly desirable options such as the L78 engine, W72, WS6, close ratio 4-Speed, WS4, air conditioning, the great color combination, and everything else is verified as correct and original to the car by the factory build sheet that was found in the rear seat and pictured in this ad. The original owners manual, 1979 GM maintenance schedule booklet, and Pontiac Maintenance booklet are also still with the car.

Besides the correct paint and trim codes this Trans Am is "Numbers Matching" meaning the engine and transmission are the correct original units that were installed in the car new in the factory in Norwood, OH. The last six digits of the VIN are stamped on the engine block, which is pictured in this ad, and the engine is original to the car. The transmission is also original with the last six digits of the VIN stamped on the main case and pictured.

As a side note, this Pontiac Trans Am is not a dealer auction vehicle. We hand pick each car after careful inspection. Our classics come from owners who expect their car to go to someone that will give the vehicle the same care and attention as they did. We invite and encourage you to examine the car in person or have the car inspected. Please take the time to scrutinize each picture. We photograph each vehicle to the greatest extent so you can feel confident about your purchase. If you have a question about the Trans Am, just give us a call.

Model Description

WS6 Four Wheel Brakes & performance handling Suspension:

Now that the Firebird reached significant production levels it could now be offered with four wheel discs brakes. The four wheel discs became part of the WS6 Performance Package for 1979 and was very popular. When you order the W72 400 Engine you were required to get the WS6 package so all 400/4 speeds for 1979 were equipped with four wheel disc brakes. The 4 wheel disc brakes for Firebird were unique to the line and were not derived from the Corvette 4 wheel disc brakes.

W72 High Performance Pontiac 400 engine:

The last of the true Pontiac big blocks would be installed in the 1979 Trans Am and Formula. The 400 production plant had actually been converted to 301 and 4 cylinder production in 1978 but the plan was to hold 10,000 400 engines over for the 1979 model. As it turned out demand for the engine in 1978 was higher than expected and only 8,672 were retained for 1979. Of these only 346 were installed into Formulas, 1817 in Tenth Anniversary Trans Ams, 1107 in Black and Gold Special Editions, 2917 in other T-Top equipped Trans Ams, and 2485 in Hardtop Trans Ams. The Pontiac big block received an appropriate send off in the 1979 Firebirds and marked the end of an era. It Will Not Pass This Way Again was the title of the article in Car And Driver for January 1979.

A new styling treatment to the front end was the most striking change for the 1979 Trans Am, laying back the nose at a 22-degree angle from the "Batmobile's" 16-degree angle for better aerodynamics. The Trans Am became a "bottom breather", picking up some fresh air for cooling at the bumper grilles, the remaining amount from underneath the front bumper. The traditional grille between the headlamps was gone, replaced by a pair mounted in the bumper pad extensions. The grilles were in a matte black and contained the turn signal/park lamp lenses in the upper outer corners. The now common four rectangular headlamps were each set in deep recesses, surrounded by low gloss bezels. The Pontiac crest continued to reside in the center of the front fascia.

In addition to the styling change, a bright spot to the front end restyle was a deeper front spoiler, now made of a flexible material rather than the hard plastic of the '77-78's. The change in material made it a bit more friendly to curb stones and parking lot dips. The spoiler actually was responsible for a major portion of the cooling air which was channeled to the radiator. Larger wheel air deflectors (or spats) were fitted, blending with the new spoiler.

The most drastic and best looking change to the rear had to be the tail lamp assemblies. The lamps now stretched corner to corner, with a hinged fuel filler door in the center. While this may seem enough of a change, the big news was that the tail lamps had a "blacked out" look; at least until the lights were activated, then the red was proudly broadcast.

Exterior

The Platinum Silver Metallic exterior is in outstanding condition. The previous owner told us that the car has been driven less than 300 miles since the restoration was completed. The paint and quality of the paintjob that is currently on the car is better than it was new from the factory. As one can see in the photos the finish has a dazzling gloss, very deep shine, and smooth glass-like finish. Both doors open and shut nicely. Often Trans Am's will have particularly chipped up front ends; this car does not. The low front spoiler, which is very fragile and prone to damage, is in excellent condition as one can see in the photos. Both bumpers are in excellent shape with no flaking paint or spider web cracks. The N90 snowflake aluminum wheels and center caps are in beautiful condition with a brilliant finish and no curb rash. The Hoosier white letter tires have about 95% tread left. There are no major imperfections that have been intentionally excluded from the photos. As one can see in the many photos and the video of the underside of the car there are absolutely no rust issues; it is very clean underneath and pretty much looks as good from the bottom as it does from the top. The frame is totally solid with no rust around the rear spring mount. We have included specific photos of the rear spring mounts, rockers, lower quarter panels, and the areas most prone to rust to show how nice this car looks. The previous owner, who completed the restoration, told us that all the body panels and sheet metal are original and that there was no rust prior to the restoration.

This Trans Am has a stamping on the radiator core support, which is pictured below. The core support shows a "10 24 78" stamp, or October 24, 1978. This stamping would be correct and original as it predates the car's build date of the fourth week of November, 1978 (11D). As one can imagine, if this Trans Am had ever sustained even a minor front end collision this part would have been repaired or replaced. The original stamping is great to see in tact. On this Trans Am even both front fenders are original and dated from 1979.

The car looks just as good in person as it does in the photos.

Interior

The Black Cloth interior of the Trans Am looks utterly splendid and almost like new. The original seats have no seam splits, rips, or excessive wear. These are the original Lombardy cloth hobnail seat covers with the correct grain pattern, not some cheap aftermarket covers or replacements. The carpet is also in "like new" condition with no stains, rips, or holes. The dash and console look amazing with no cracks or sun fading. The bezel, column, glove box, and gauge cluster look spectacular. The gauge faces are crisp and clean and the lenses are crystal clear. The original door panels look excellent with no cracks or splits, and both door pulls are solid and in tact. The headliner is in great shape with no holes or stains and no sagging. The package tray looks great with no warping, fading, or sun damage. This car has not been smoked in; there are no burn marks and no aroma of cigarettes what so ever.

These Trans Am interiors are not known to wear well and the magnificent condition of this original interior is a testament to the meticulous care and attention this car has received throughout its life.

The interior looks just as good in person as it does in the photos.

Mechanical

This Trans Am seems to be in excellent mechanical condition. The car starts right away every time, runs well, and idles well. It drives great and feels nice on the road and at highway speeds. In the video in this ad one can observe the car accelerating on the highway up to about 70mph, shifting through all the gears, braking to stoplight, and going through some curves. Please note that there are no vibrations or strange noises and the car performs quite well overall. The brakes do not pull to one side or the other. The shifter feels tight, the close ratio transmission does not pop out of gear, and the clutch feels good. There is no blue smoke when starting or driving the car. The car runs cool and does not overheat. This Trans Am has plenty of power and is quite fast with the 400ci W72. Also, the engine compartment is beautifully clean and detailed as one can see in the photos.

The horn works as do all the exterior lights, interior lights, dash lights, and wipers. All of the gauges work. The blower for the heater and a/c works on all speeds. The a/c also works and blows cold. One can observe the a/c compressor clicking on and engaging properly in the video. All of the gauges work and even the clock runs sporadically. As one can hear in the video this Trans Am has a very healthy exhaust note with no catalytic converter. Not enough can be said as to how much of a pleasure it is to drive this car, especially with the extra power from the 400ci engine, the WS6 handling package, and the 4-speed manual transmission.

The car runs and drives as well as it looks.

Overall Condition

Overall, this 1979 Trans Am is in absolutely magnificent condition and is truly an investment grade classic. The spectacular restoration quality, the highly desirable option package with the W72 400ci engine, WS6 suspension, and close ratio 4-speed manual transmission, the beautiful color combination, and low original mileage make this particular Trans Am particularly sought after and almost impossible to duplicate. Numbers matching is very important for classic cars and even more so for cars of this caliber and this Trans Am has the correct numbers matching engine and transmission. The VIN stamps for the engine and transmission are pictured in this ad.

This Trans Am always gets a ton of attention driving down the road. As stated above, there is no way this car could be duplicated for anything close to our asking price. The prices of second generation GM "F-Body" cars has increased considerably over the past several years. They are secure and wise investments for a collector. Cars like this are the Barrett Jackson stars of the future. One could easily enjoy this vehicle for several years and sell it for more than the purchase price with minimal effort.

Thank you for looking and please do not hesitate to email or call with any questions.

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