Is the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Bandit Edition the most ICONIC movie car? 

“What We're Dealing With Here, Is A Complete Lack Of Respect For The Law.”

This was THE CAR to have back in the days where ladies would chase after guys with the "bad boy" image. 😁👌🏽

I recently saw one of these at a car museum, they look even better in person!

It's an Oldsmobile 403, 185 horsepower with an automatic transmission. The hot car in '79 had a Pontiac 400, 220 horsepower with a 4 speed manual. I've owned many Firebirds and Trans Ams.

I rank this car as one of the top 5 cars in automotive history.

I have always loved these cars, I had a 78 trans am when I was 16 and unfortunately wrapped it around a telephone pole 2 days after getting my license writing the car off and by the condition of the car the fact that I wasn't killed still amazes me. After all this time I just turned 49 and finally kind of came back full circle and fulfilled my dream and bought myself a Camaro which is the closest I could come seeing as the trans am is no longer around. Thanks for this video brought back memories and whoever wins that car is a lucky person. Keep up the good work. You are my favorite automotive you tuber!

I owned a 1981 Turbo Trans Am when I was 19 and I still think about that car. Not very powerful or fast with all the smog stuff choking it but it was such a great cruising car. I took the T-Tops every chance I got. Thank you Joe for the review. You took me back to my early driving days 😊

The 77' is from the first one, the 80' is from the second one......now the 79' is from the film Rocky 2......

The Bandit 2 T/A Was a 1980-81. The birds head was facing the other direction and had a wider flame in addition to Turbo Trans Am being the rear decal which was only on the 80-81 T/A

You know Joe. I have to hand it to GM. That is quite an engineering feat! 185hp out of a huge 400CI V8! Like how is that even possible! You don’t even need a turbo these days to get that kind of HP out of a four banger. Just the same, I love Trans Am’s of this era. They are so flamboyant! The dash was made out that prism-like reflective kind of material. How much would that Bird cost to replace if you were restoring one of these? Can you even get them anymore? Talk about the end of an era. You will never see a car like this ever built again. And I agree with you big time Joe. I miss Pontiac. I think if they were around today Pontiac would be building some pretty interesting cars. CARS, do we all remember what those were?

A friend of mine had a’78 gold Trans Am. We had a lot of fun in that car. Thanks for sharing it Joe! Brought back good memories. 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

The TA used in the original movie was a ‘76 model with a 77 front and rear end

Loved it. Being 56, I remember seeing these selling new back in the day.

When I was a kid, this was my first experience in a muscle car. My older brother had one, but he bored out the engine and put a lot of work and upgrades into it and it was a monster!!! I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the Trans Am because of that and even still today watching this video I love the body and the style of this vehicle, thank you for the review. Just a great classic car!

My friend had a brown 79 Trans-Am, they were definitely under rated in horsepower for insurance reasons.

The old cars have such soul....metal parts on the inside...very little plastic. If only the new cars had such soul :) Keep the videos coming !

The Trans ams used in The Smokey and the Bandit movies were a 1977 Trans am, a 1980 Turbo Trans am & a 1983 Trans am. They were never called Bandit Editions. They were the WS6 packages of the T/A's that came with better handling.

Ahh yes. This was my dream car living in Scottsdale AZ in 1985. My first car was a 1976 firebird formula. Cost $1300. Smoked oil like an sob but she looked beautiful in that bright red paint job!

As a young man, I wanted a" Screaming Chicken" Trans Am so bad I'd give up my front seat in hell! Lol Thanks for the trip back in time!👍😎🇺🇸

I took a 79 301 Firebird and a wrecked 78 Trans Am and built a bastard..Took a 78 Formula hood and opened the scoops. Looked badass with the T/A fenders and the Ram air hood. Totally swapped the T/A's performance package to the 79..Kicked the 301 to the curb and sourced a 68 428/TH400 from an wrecked ambulance ..6X #4 91cc Heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM, 800 Quadrajet, Lunati 280 cam and long tube headers..I mis that car...I hope the young man who bought it enjoys it as much as I did

There is no official ' bandit edition ' trans-am ... it's just a nickname for a black trans am similar to the one in the movie...

JJ ~ my neighborhood friend's mom bought one EXACTLY THE SAME EDITION - she used to drive us to go roller skating & my friend would ask his mom to crack the stereo, T-TOPS off we'd roll up at age 13 & every chick's jaw dropped, guys were jealous & the babes were like - oh yeah. we walked out of the car in slow motion to the music acting like rock stars. those were the days . great cars make great memories - tony

Wow just watching this brought back a lot of memories. Long story short I'd like to share, I remember my dad bringing home his 1979 Pontiac Firebird Formula in Nocturne Blue. He went to San Francisco one day to see a family member and he was cruising on the highway and low and behold he decides to race against a cop, of course the officer didn't realize what my dad was up to until he floored the pedal and flew by the cop and they never was able to catch up to him as he was long gone lol Don't try this at home folks.

I would love to get my hands on one of these beauties!

Love Firebirds. My first favorite car. My father had two 79's, and a 15th anniversary 84 trans am growing up. Now I own a 2001 Pontiac Firebird with a Supercharged 3800 series III supercharged V6.

I bought my 1979 Trans Am new. It had the same Olds 403 in it. I pulled that out and installed a 1970 D-port 455HO in it. The car is black but was not a Y84 Special Edition, so it has the smaller sail panel birds, no pinstriping, black grilles, red Pontiac nose logo, and silver engine-turned dash. I did pay the extra $95 for the hood bird. No T-tops because I wanted a stiffer platform. It’s got the full Herb Adams VSE suspension, and 12” front rotors to go with the rear disc brakes.

One of my favorite cars! If I was rich, i would get one!

My favorite review so far from you. I could see you just taking in the moment enjoying the drive and living out just about every childhood dream of the modern car fan.

403 should read `6.6 litre` on the scoop......niiiice car though!

Yes loved them. I got a 79 model in 1981 when I was 17. It had 7000 miles on it and was owned and kept in a garage by older man. It wasn’t brand new but it was like new and it was my dream car. Mine was the gold color with no T Tops. I really loved that car

Thanks for bringing me back to being 18 years old again. Great times

Trans Am needs to come back! Love the 2002 trans am ram air with t tops! Beautiful

Its soooo badass. Love the honeycomb wheels. The gold striping. The firebird on the hood. Its gorgeous. In my opinion this is the most iconic car ever. It would be my sunday driver not a daily driver.

No reference of "the screamin chicken" and snowflake wheels? Nice presentation as always. Thanks Joe!

I actually owned a 1980 turbo trans am fully loaded when I was eighteen years old. The reason why the steering feels tight on those cars is because they have a direct power steering. Loved the car and regret ever selling it. I tweaked the horsepower by installing a shift kit in the transmission, took off all the pollution garbage and catylict converter. Went from three drive belts to one. I also put some air shocks at the back just to lift the back end a couple inches. Made it look more aggressive.

Back in 1987 at around 3am my buddy and I are driving the streets of Boston in a 1987 HO Trans Am (total sickness, especially back then) coincidently we run into a friend of ours who's driving his 1979 Trans Am, gold with the black Firebird decals (looked sick). We start racing on the McGrath Highway in the rain. We hit a slick spot and slam into the guardrails in some twisty bits totaling that beautiful, brand new, dealer demo car.. Fortunately the trip to the hospital was a short one:) Awesome review, I absolutely love that car!

I'm suddenly craving a diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper.

Love the older muscle car reviews...this, the Mach 1, etc. 🤘🏻🤘🏻

still the "king of automotive bad-assery",hands down!

I was back in high school when this car was being sold new. Wanted one, but my parents weren't rich. I don't believe that Pontiac ever made a Bandit Edition in 1979, it was simply a black and gold Trans Am. This is a nice car, however, it is missing some key options that would make it much more sought after. It does not have the power seat, power door lock, power window, and CB radio options. Breaker, breaker. Bandit you out there?

i just bought an 81 turbo trans in mint condition, cant wait to get it on the road

There were two 6.6 Liter V-8 engines optioned on the Bandit Edition Firebird Trans Am in 1979. The 401 cubic inch 6.6 Liter V-8 was equipped by Pontiac; the 403 cubic inch 6.6 Liter V-8 was equipped by Oldsmobile

The most iconic would probably be the Steve Mcqueen Bullit Mustang.

1992 Firebird Firehawk and the 2002 WS6 are the best. I miss that more aero look these cars had for so long before Transformers

I'm planning on getting one of these beauties in the near future. I've wanted one since I was a kid.💪

Beautiful car. My uncle had one. He passed but, left it to his kids . Needs some restoration but, seeing how Beautiful it could look again is great.

Joe. You grand slammed with this one. Best Hot wheels car too.

The Ford Mustang in Bullitt has got to take the most iconic movie car for me, but this Firebird is pretty epic.

What you said at 15:15 is one of the most accurate things I have heard, what a wholesome man really, you deserve more subscribers and more exposure my man

Burt Reynolds Sally Fields Jerry Reed & Jackie Gleason as "Buford T. Justice! I'm about to find this movie!

Absolutely love this car. These are the cars my uncle's used to drive when I was a kid.

Used to lock the 4 way disc brakes up on mine at 60MPH going one way putting X marks in the road about 6 lines long and end up facing the other way manually shift to low gear slam the pedal to the floor a second before the end of the power slide and watch the smoke from the tires roll over the front of the car and even somehow come into the car through the speakers ..I dont care about what you heard about power !!! This thing was a go kart when you want to do however many donuts or figure8's you wanted !! The handling and performance is off the rails of the 79 TA ...Best 3000 pound GoKart ever made that can never be bested

Had this 1979 Trans-Am black/gold with T-top back in High School. The same 185 HP 403 Oldsmobile engine which is for CA ONLY. Rest of the country had the 220 HP(?) 400 Pontiac engine. Installed two Recaro seats with the Spectrum upholstery and “fish net” head rest. Added a 40 Channels CB radio with a huge removable antenna on the trunk. Did not get the WS-6 handing package which is also missing on this car. One can tell by looking at the rims, they are missing the extra one inch lip with the wider wheels. Car was stolen 4 years later in New Jersey, never recovered 😭

My family had that car when I was a teen but it was all gold, had a metallic flaky look to the paint, so it was always glistening. I really miss that car. Driving it to high school was fun in the 90's

Good Lord!! My dream car as a kid. Excellent, excellent video.

This one your showing was a 79 model, which was the one featured in the Smokey and the Bandit sequel, The original was the 77 model, which I special ordered later that same yr while the movie rage was fresh from its months earlier release . The one I ordered was exactly as the Bandit, except I went for the white leather buckets, 4 speed manual w/ every option available, 6800 bucks. Being in the Navy and living aboard the USSDaniel Boone, half the yr, or the barracks when not at sea, car notes were easy sneaky. Those were the days!!, Today, I’m 61, Drive a Charger R/T, and still ride a big Harley, ...While growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional, Don’t let the old man in.

My bother back in 1987 had a 1977 Firebird ( blue ) with the 350 OLDS with 350 Trans. Only option i remember was power windows. That car was super dependable and we had loads of fun in it. I've forever been a super fan of the Firebirds.

I bought a 1979 T/A back in 1988 for $3000 it was black t-tops , no bird on the hood or pin stripe beige valore interior and louvers on the back window man I loved that car and the reason I bought it was the movie Smokey and the Bandit it was a great car until I spun out on a wet road and hit a tree and blew the motor driving it home overheated , I wish I had another especially one that looks like this one

This car is a thing of beauty. Don't mind me, I'm gonna take this thing into a time machine to the past and pick up all the ladies!

Had a 1980 T/A with 301 cubic inch turbo, black with T tops! The perfect ft Lauderdale strip A1A cruiser!

Damn Mr Raiti!! Never knew you did the T/A!! I've only had 3 cars in my 60 years of life! Gold 79 T/A - 86 Black&Gold T/A- I'm currently still trying to hold unto my 2000 10th Anniversary Firehawk! I really miss my 79 badly!!! I wish I had another one😭😭🤕🤕😥😢

Smokey and the Bandit came out in 1977. I was in high school my neighbor had a Trans Am just like the Bandit

Damn, I'm Old! I was only 23 in '79, engaged, but still single, and what an Icon, of the late 70's era!

This car does remind people of the disco 🕺 era. Joe would’ve been an excellent Tony Manero. I’m afraid if I show up anywhere with this car people would think’ “now that is an excellent fit”. Sorry to hear about good ole Burt. Some of his movies were very entertaining. Sally Field must’ve been heartbroken. Back in ‘79 I was stationed at Howard AFB. This car would’ve fit in perfect down in Panama. Cool review Joe!!!

The Bandit edition was a 77-78 model with a totally different front and rear end.

Agreed. One of the most unique and desirable cars ever made regardless of make and model. Kudos to you for not calling the Firebird decal "screaming chicken"

When drive- ins ruled on Saturday nights

OK, something is not right with this particular car, I had a 1979 Trans Am I ordered from the factory so I know it very well. My car had the T/A 6.6 engine in it, which is the 400 cubic inch Pontiac motor, the other option was the 403 cubic inch Oldsmobile motor which, although slightly larger, (Ok, just 3 cubic inches larger), it had considerably less horsepower. The T/A 6.6 was rated at 220 hp, the Olds motor only had about 180 or 185. You could tell which engine the car had just by looking at it, the Pontiac motor had T/A 6.6 on the shaker, the Olds motor just had 6.6 Litre on it. Now here's the problem, this car has T/A 6.6 on it's shaker, it also has an automatic transmission, but in 1979 the Pontiac motor, the T/A 6.6, was only available with a manual. All automatics had the 403 Oldsmobile motor and all had 6.6 Litre on the shaker. So that's why it looks like someone did some decal switching or swapped a manual for an auto on the car in the video, which is highly unlikely. Fyi, there were only 10,000 T/A 6.6 engines available in 1979, 7,500 were reserved for the silver edition anniversary cars, so there were only 2,500 available for anyone who wanted that motor and not a silver anniversary car. I order ordered mine in white with a black interior, all the options except I didn't get the screaming chicken decal, plus I peeled off the rest of the stickers, it looked very clean. I also had the WS6 handling package which had the same wheels as the car in the video but 1 inch wider tires, so the wheels were set in 1 inch, which I thought looked much better. Thinking back, my car, a T/A 6.6, manual, (of course), non-anniversary, no decal, loaded car including T-tops was actually quite rare. I did have a lot of fun with it. The only mods I did was to cut out the blocked section of the shaker, it was blocked from the factory, got rid of the catalytic converter and put in dual exhaust with an H-pipe and some minor carb work. I still remember the time I ran at the local drag strip, 14.77 at 96 mph, I went through the traps in 3rd gear at 5,000 rpm. That was a pretty fast car for the era, I would easily outrun the same era Corvettes, even the L82s, Camaros and Mustangs and could surprise some of the older cars. I even beat a 308 Ferrari, they were very pretty but not that fast. One car that blew me away was 911 turbo, I knew he would, but I just wanted to see him run. As they say, those were the days...

My first car was a gold 1979 Firebird Esprit "Rockford Edition". I always preferred the '78 front clip though.

Right up there with the Aston Martin DB5 from a number of James Bond movies. I had a black 2002 Pontiac Firehawk which I personally felt was an expression of that Bandit personality. I had as many youngsters identify it as the Batmobile (it had that vibe) and a few that said Smokey and the Bandit as soon as I'd parked the thing. Their enthusiasm, for either identification, was gratifying. One little fellow, his mother pushing him in a shopping cart, even had on his Batman pajamas. I told him that _those_ were cool.

Yes they are absolutely beautiful!!!

I have to say, you just did a great walk around video! Really good info and delivery and a beautiful example of a iconic car.

"Here we go, on throttle!".... and I'm still waiting to see the car move lol

Next iconic car you need to review Joe is the General Lee!

Had a 81 for years 301 4 bl non turbo red on red black silver birds was a good car not a fast car but a eye catcher and cruise to beach was wonderful Will be getting another one soon as I can lol

The hidden fuel door on this car was terrific. You would NOT tell someone where it was when the went to fill the tank and it was funny! But of course, this hidden fuel door has to come in 2ND place to the iconic 57 Chevy where the fuel door was on the left fin. Great Burt Reynold's car! I loved that guy!!! RIP Burt...

In 1978 I had a 1978 gold limited edition same engine and transmission. I bought it for about $6,600. I like the shape of the 76,77,78 the best. It had the gold velour interior or suede or whatever you call it. Oh and the famous radial tuned suspension..lol

I ALMOST bought a gorgeous 1979 10th Anniversary Trans Am in Silver while in college in NYC. #ScreaminChicken #Pontiac400CI. #ShakerHood #T_Tops My first vinyl album ever spun... The Smokey and the Bandit Soundtrack. Don't forget The Great One Jackie Gleason!!!! How Sweat It Is!!

they were literally Chick Magnets, trust me! i had a Z28, and then a IROC back in the day, no Trans Am until the 89 turbo came out, and that was for my Ex. then i had a 91 GTA for a bit. but ya, back in the day, NP getting a date on Fri/Sat night with these cars, and the early ones lacked the HP, but a blast to drive! ☮

Woooo still one of my favorite movie's of all time 1977 Rip Burt

If this has had all the options it would have power windows, and also the “T/A 6.6” decal on the shaker scoop should signify the 400 4spd Pontiac motor not the 403 olds with automatic which should have the “6.6 Liter” decal so this car uses not completely stock and the motor has been repainted and in store rebuilt but I’ll still definitely take it lol! I had a 1979 Silver 10th anniversary T/A and was most fully loaded T/A ever made with the largest Firebird hood decal ever made also, I loved that car and should have never sold it, it was so much fun and I would love another one!👍🏁

I love that this car still has the factory radio. So many of these have a hacked up dash for a CD player. I hate that this car has the T/A 6.6 sticker on the shaker. It’s in the wrong place too.

Fantastic review. Ban ONE is one of my all time favorite movies. I had a 78 Firebird in the late 80's with an engine I bought from a junkyard in Virginia. It wasn't a TA but I loved it. I eventually bought a brand new '96 TA. This video makes me proud to be an American. May Mr. Reynolds RIP. 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

YES! you shared with us my first favorite muscle car

One of my favorite Timeless classics.Had a Royal blue 87 Firebird.Real nice ride.

I used to own a new 77, 78, and a used 79. I referred to mine as a thunder chicken.

My buddy had that same vehicle. Minus the Bandit signature .. I was the cruzing passenger. Until he wrecked it!,, they were something . When GM wanted to make a nice car they could. Only the CORVETTE today is one special car by GM.

the most character of a car ever.

Man this brings back some memories!

My first car when I hit driving age (which cost 800 bucks) was a Gold 1979 Firebird. At that price it was not in the best condition but I don't think it ever left me stranded. Wish I still had it today.

I personally never liked the redesign of the 79T/A when I first saw it in late 78, in fact I was shocked ! I alway thought to this day the nose would have looked better with the headlight NOT separated . Also the rear taillight and rear spoiler tips looked cheap. I guess I was wrong they sold over a 117,000.

Pretty darn sure the TA 6.6 was the Pontiac 400. The Olds 403 was specified as 6.6 litre on the shaker hood scoop. I've got 4 Firebirds. An original 1976 455 four speed TA, 1978 Formula 350, 1981 Turbo TA, and a 1981 four speed Esprit.

Hi Joe. Great looking car! I remember this car when I was in grade school. And I remember Smokey and the Bandit, with Burt Reynolds, from Jupiter, Florida ( I was a fan ). At that time, Burt was with Actress Sally Fields; She took him from Diana Shore,. Then Burt left Sally Fields for Loni Anderson.( I didn't have to Google that ), whom he married and had 1 son with. Oh, Joe, please do a show on Datsun 280z. I'm a big fan of Nissan's 370z, so I'd like to see more of the grassroots of Nissan. All the best Shaun of 🗽🗽

Every time he said, "ON THROTTLE" I was like, um, is something wrong? I don't see anything happening... lolololol. Still a sweet ride!

Got out of my bed!i remember theres a car like this in my neighbor owning this one when i was 4 yrs old...😅😅☝️☝️ i’ll gonna ask may aunt about this. That design in the hood👍🏼👍🏼

Yoooooooooow this is definitely one for the books Joe!!! On throttle!!! 🤯🤯🤯👍🏼🚗💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨

Signed by Burt BEFORE he passed away? I would how much it would be worth if it was signed AFTER he passed away??? 🤔

I always wanted one & still my dream car!!!

I almost bought one in 1978 but got turned off with the workmanship however I still thought about buying one every once in a while. It was the best handling American made car at the time. By the way there were two engines offered in the 1979; TA400 a true Pontiac 400 ci with 220 hp and the TA6.6 an Oldsmobile 403.

I would rather have a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T or a 1958 Plymouth Fury...but the Trans AM is a great car too.