1977 Pontiac Trans Am

2 Dr Coupe

400 L-78

Automatic - THM 350

2W87Z7N107941

Clear

Gasoline - Regular

This 1977 Trans Am is a mostly-original one-family owned car. Purchased new by the current owner’s mother in September of 1976. The current owner inherited the car in 1989. At the time she already had 3 other vehicles, so it did not get driven very much. The owner has relocated to California and has no room for this car. As much as she would like to keep it, she knows it needs to be sold. The current owner is a friend of mine, and she asked me to sell the car for her. To get this car ready for sale, I have replaced tuneup parts (cap, rotor, plugs), changed oil and filer, lubed the chassis, changed air filter and oil breather filter, changed antifreeze and hoses, rebuilt the original Quadrajet, replaced the alternator with a rebuilt Delco-Remy unit, and gave the car a general cleanup (inside, outside, and under the hood). Where possible I corrected many small things and cleaned things up as I went along. Unless otherwise specified, everything now works (except the clock), and the car is nicely equipped with the following options: L78 400 4bbl EngineM38 TurboHydromatic 350 transmissionG80 Positraction Axle (2.41:1 ratio)WW8 Gauge package with TachometerD55 Front ConsoleWX3 Shaker Hood ScoopD80 Rear SpoilerB97 Wheel SpoilersJL2 Power Front Disc Brakes C60 Air Conditioning K30 Cruise ControlN33 Tilt WheelNK3 Formula Steering Wheel (Foam Grip)N65 Space Saver SpareN98 15” Rally WheelsU58 AM/FM Stereo RadioY90 Custom Trim (Deluxe Interior)Y92 Lamp Group (courtesy lamp, luggage compartment, glove box)B37 Front and Rear Floor Mats The following information about the car’s history is from the owner: The car slid into a Cadillac during the winter of 1981. There was minor damage to the hood and the front bumper that was repaired. In 1990 some minor rust was repaired and the entire car was repainted the original Cameo WhiteIn 1994 the AC was serviced. The auto shop improperly hooked up the AC causing it to get very hot (smoking, just short of a fire) and melted the hood emblem. The hood was repainted but the correct hood decal was not available, so it was left plain white. (Note: Reproductions are readily available now should the new owner decide to replace this decal). In 1995 had the headliner was replaced. Other than routine maintenance (oil changes, air filters, etc...) there have been no mechanical issues with the car. Engine has never been apart.The car has been garaged for most of its life. Overall ImpressionThis car is a great example of a very well optioned, original, unmolested 1977 Trans Am with factory documentation. It is a solid driver as is, or can be restored in stages while you continue to enjoy driving it. It is not a show car and as it is 35 years old, no warranty is implied as to its roadability. It is in good running condition currently as the video shows and I would not hesitate to drive it a reasonable distance home. It’s had a lot of recent preventive maintenance done to it to make it ready for the new owner to just put (regular) gas in it and go. And GO it does! Cold Startup Warm Restart Highway Merge #1 Highway Merge #2 (I wasn't even trying to lay rubber) **** Below I detail each area of the car - the good and the bad. This is a 35-year-old car that I first saw only a month or two ago and have driven only a handful of times, so I’m not going to be able to catch and point out every little defect. There will be plenty of things I miss or don’t even know to look for, so if you have questions, please ask and I will get you the information. I have included many detailed photos and videos showing the condition of the car. Please enjoy them as you read about the car: Paint and Body The older repaint shows acceptable shine all over, but there are numerous dings scrapes, nicks showing normal for the age of the car. Some of the nicks are down to the metal and minor surface rust is starting. There are also stress cracks in the paint on the flexible bumper covers. For an Ohio car, there is very little evidence of problem rust in all the normal trouble spots. It may have something to do with this car being rust proofed when new, driven sparingly, and always garaged. Considering most of the car was last painted 22 years ago, the minimal amount of deterioration since then speaks to its care over the years. The specific condition of each section of the car is described in the following sections moving from the front to the back of the car. HOOD – The hood hinges work smoothly with perfectly flat hood with no evidence of hood kinking. There is a slight color mismatch between the hood repaint in 1994 and the total repaint in 1990. As mentioned earlier, the hood decal was not replaced after the repaint. FRONT FENDERS AND INNER WHEELHOUSES – No evidence of rust repair found at all not even down low behind the front wheel, just a few rust bubbles under the paint. Inner fenders are in great shape with no rust. ROCKER PANELS - The rockers are solid with clean pinch welds. DOORS – Passenger door hinges like new. Driver’s side door has a slight hinge sag typical of the 2nd generation F-body cars. It should be able to be adjusted out. The lower door lips have some light to moderate surface rust that should be repairable without reskinning. Window sweeps will need replacing but roof rail and door weatherstrips are in great shape. REAR QUARTERS AHEAD OF REAR WHEELS - Very clean as shown in photos taken through door jamb vents inside the rear quarter cavity. The inner wheelhouse-to-quarter-panel seams are beautiful, with not even surface rust showing. Some paint bubbling is evident on the outer wheel well lip, but photos taken from inside of wheel wells show reasonably solid lips still. REAR QUARTERS BEHIND WHEEL AND TRUNK AREA - The only real evidence of former rust repair are low on the rear quarters behind the rear wheels. Rear valance has some surface rust, but is not rotted. The inner panel of the rear quarters visible from underneath the car are also solid so the repairs seem to be limited to the outer skin. COWL - Some typical cowl rust is present at the base of the driver’s side A-pillar but not on the passenger side. FLOOR AND TRUNK PANS - These are exceptionally solid for an Ohio car, however, there is a 12” by 12” section of passenger side front foot well that is rusted through and will need to be patched. The driver’s side foot well is solid and under the rear seats are like new with factory body color on them under the carpet insulation. Interior The car is equipped with its original black custom interior. The perforated headliner and visors are in great shape with no punctures or tears. The console cover has a minor cut or two and some small cigarette burns. The original carpeting is showing its age, but is serviceable. All 4 original rubber floor mats are present and accounted for. Known Issues: The driver’s bucket is split at the outboard side bolster and up near the shoulder belt guide attachment point and will need a new seat cover. The passenger seat is serviceable as is, but is starting to show some minor cracks in the vinyl. The rear seats are in great shape, but not perfect. Upper door panels are in great shape, lower molded panels both have broken corners near the end of the door, but word on the street is these will be reproduced soon. Dash The dash is BEAUTIFUL! It’s in perfect shape with no cracks. The original engine-turned applique is nice and shiny and all gauges and lights work (except the clock). Formula steering wheel is in nice shape with a normal deterioration of the vinyl skin on the top side and a very slight gouge in the foam around the 11 o’clock position. Passenger grab handle is also like new. Lighter jack works well to power your GPS, cell phone, or iPod chargers. Glove box is full of original owners manual and other warranty documents from when the car was purchased – including the cruise control hang tag for the turn signal/cruise lever! Known issues: The radio plays, but only out of the rear speaker and the sound is pretty bassy even with the tone control all the way up. The front speaker measures 12 ohms (10 ohm nominal), so I’m guessing the radio may need some service rather than the front speaker needing to be replaced. Engine The numbers matching engine is painted with the metallic blue paint (instead of the GM “corporate blue”) which is kind of rare for 1977. They stopped using this color engine paint early in the model year. I was going to touch up some places on it, but then thought I should leave the original paint intact in case someone wanted to match it. So the engine bay was cleaned up as best I could but left original. The original, uncut shaker scoop is date stamped 9-13-76 and has a new seal and drain tube. The original carburetor was rebuilt. Rebuilt alternator is a Delco-Remy unit similar in appearance to the original. Factory Air Conditioning is still running R12 and blows very cold. When new cap and rotor were installed, advance springs and weights were removed, cleaned and oiled, and reassembled. Pivot pins in distributor showed no wear whatsoever. Known Issues: There is an exhaust leak near the manifold on the driver side that I did not attempt to diagnose or correct. You can hear it in some of the videos. The battery hold down (topper and j hook) is missing Undercarriage and Suspension Floors were undercoated when the car was new. Other than front passenger foot well, the floors are solid. New rear leaf springs and forward anchor plates were installed in the recent past. Car runs straight and true with steering wheel perfectly centered. Brakes stop the car straight and true with no pull to one side. Chassis was lubed at the recent oil change. Known Issues: Rear parking brake cable is broken and needs to be replacedCatalytic converter has been replaced with a “test pipe” Tires and Trunk Contents Good tread left on all four 225/70/15 General XP2000 II tires. Original folding space saver spare with original inflator and cardboard cover. Jack hold down hardware is present, but the jack itself is missing. The car comes with a blue nylon car cover. Lighting All interior and exterior lighting work as they should. Headlight switch was recently replaced with new GM switch. Gauge cluster was recently removed to repair temp gauge circuit trace and all gauge lenses were polished with plastic polish and all cluster bulb contacts cleaned and residue removed from outside the bulbs for nice bright gauges. Ashtray fiber optic works fine as do courtesy, console shift indicator, trunk, and glove box lights. One rear license plate lens is missing from its housing. Summary I’ve spent the past several weeks getting this car ready to sell. It’s the first F-body I’ve worked on and I’ve really grown attached to this car. It just begs to be driven fast and responds to the lightest touch of the accelerator pedal. Even with the 2.41:1 rear end, the car is quick off the line yet lopes along at only 2000 rpm at 70 mph. If you are within a 6-hour drive of Columbus, Ohio and want a clean, original TransAm with the 400 engine that you should be able to drive home and enjoy right away, this is the car for you. I encourage any serious bidders in the region to contact me to arrange a test drive or a mechanical inspection. Please do not be shy about asking questions. I have many more photos of the car that I didn't bother to upload but am willing to share with anyone for the asking. Auction Payment Terms Car is sold "As Is Where Is" with no warranty granted or implied. $500 or 10% down payment (whichever is greater) is due within 72 hours of auction close with the balance due on pickup in cash or cleared funds within 2 weeks. Ohio titles must be notarized so pickup should be on a weekday during business hours unless other arrangements are made. Down payment can be made using Paypal or by other means that is mutually agreeable. Down payment is non-refundable unless I have seriously misrepresented something on the car, so bid to win. I want this car sold and in the hands of the lucky new owner before the snow flies. I can assist with shipping logistics.