Why The 1979 Pontiac Trans Am Was The Last Golden Era Muscle Car 

This month marks my 42 years of original ownership of a 1979 Trans Am TA 6.6. (L78-W72, non t-top 4 speed) A head turner when new...it really turns head today!

Saving this one for right before I go to sleep. It’s like our guy tells us a nighttime bedtime car story.

I miss Pontiac so much. The trans am is such a good car. A few years back I bought a 1977 in rough shape for my sons first car. Hes only 10 now but the car has been a fun project.

Pontiac deserves more credit for keeping the fires burning for as long as they did.

My ‘79 400/4-Speed/WS6 Trans Am is Atlantis Blue and is truly a stunning vehicle. I get non-stop thumbs up and compliments every time I drive it.

Amazing video! Ever since I was five years old I wanted one after seeing the Bandit for the first time and I promised myself that I would buy one like it. Fast forward to 2019 when I was 21 and an opportunity came along that would be life changing. My Grandparents' neighbor had a 79 Special Edition Bandit Trans Am outside for many years and I would go over to see it many times. Sadly the owner passed away and her son asked me to make him an offer since he knew how much I wanted a Trans Am. It was in need of a frame-off restoration and I offered $3,000 for it since it was a rare Y84 SE Bandit T/A with the Pontiac 400 and 4-speed transmission. He said that if I promised to show him the progress and let him see the car when its done, he would let me have it for $1,000 along with all of the parts for it. I am working hard to restore my dream car and pay tribute to the original owner and the Bandit himself, Burt Reynolds.

I dated a girl that owned a 79 TA. IN the early 80s. I loved that car. Loved it so much both of our children were conceived in it. Was very snug, she was 4 ft 11, I was 6 1

Americans just gave up the ship. I was a kid in Norwood Ohio watching Cameros and Firebirds roll out of the assembly plant on 3 shifts per day until the big strike struck. Excellent channel thanks for all your great work.

My dad and I got 79 a 10th anniversary 6.6 all original, very nice inside and out, back in 1998 I was just 13yrs old, engine needed rebuilt so we had it in the garage on a stand he ended up in jail and the car was hauled off to the junk yard, man I really wished that him and I would still be building hotrods but I haven't seen him since. That is my story.

I had a 1977 W72 Trans Am and those engines responded amazingly well to some very simple hot rodding. On mine I put a true dual exhaust system with turbo mufflers, a set of 1.65 ratio Ram Air IV rocker arms and pushrods, recurved distributor and opened up the hood scoop and tweaked the Quadrajet a bit. In 1978 at Milan Dragway with a 3.23 and auto trans I ran consistent 13.95 ETs at 100 to 102 mph.

My friend bought a new '79 red on red Trans Am. Man, we had some good times in that car. Only one speeding ticket! He couldn't get a 400 4 speed and settled for the 403 auto but it was still a great car in its day.

I have always found the late 70s trans ams gorgeous. There is something so pleasing about that body style. I can literally remember as child wrestling with which Smokey and the Bandit front end I preferred. I loved the 77 Smokey 1 "cats eye" headlight configuration, but then the Smokey 2 spaced out 4 squared headlights with those low ground effects would grow on me.

Those Trans-Ams were always the complete package. They only came with the most powerful engines that Pontiac produced each year, the quickest steering matched to the best handling suspension packages, only ever came equipped with limited slip differentials, complete instrumentation in a beautiful dashboard, the finest steering wheel, the shaker hood scoop, spoilers front and rear, wheel opening spats, splitter exhaust, functional fender vents, and finally in 1979...the 4-wheel disc brakes! The total package! The formula was simple and stayed true to form through all of the second generation with the exception of the big engine in 1980 & 1981. The 10th Anniversary 1979 T-A 6.6 is the pinnacle with the bonus leather interior and special graphics and colors. You really hit the nail on the head in this video. This series really hits home with me. Please continue.

My good friend had one I believe his was a 78 but it was a TA 6.6 with the 4 speed and it was 1 of the fastest cars i was ever in at that point my life it was 1 of GM's best kept secrets what an amazing car it was.... and absolutely bullet proof......

I recall reading many times that the '79 Pontiac 400s were in fact stocked up 1977 and 1978 blocks, Once they were used up, that was it.

I own a ‘79 Solar Gold Trans-Am...I have owned a few ‘birds in my day,but my ‘79 T/A is by FAR the BEST and most FUN Firebird I have owned. I’ve even won a few trophies with it. 😎

I bought a brand new Trans Am in 1978. It had a 403 Oldsmobile V8 engine and a automatic transmission. What a beautiful car and was very fast. How i wished that i would have kept that car. It was a dream come true type of a car.

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' A-we gonna do what they say can't be done We've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run

My car. I've seen one in Rome, when i was child at 13...25 years after i bought as "the car of life" project. Today i've a resto-mod with 400pontiac/gtoheads, 350hp, 4speed, 4links, 17"snowflakes, rack &pinion, subframe connectors and more. I'm fully happy and never back to a modern car.

Yeah 1980 Trans am Similar looks however the guts still good just not near the same. 79' Trans am is a legendary machine. Good video thanks!

See, Pontiac gave you the perfect platform throughout most of the 70s. The cool thing about these cars is that after you put the first 100k miles on the 400, if rebuilt properly, you could squeeze out a lot more horsepower. I bought a 78 TA five years ago and believe the engine had been rebuilt at least once by previous owners. Now, after a fresh rebuild last winter, this TA is kicking out about 400+ horsepower. Not huge numbers by today's standards, but it certainly makes you grin when you punch the pedal.

I had a Trans Am exactly like this in high school (1983) it was simply the most awesome car I've ever owned. I someday hope to afford another one

My father and I started working on my 76 trans am when I was 13 in his body shop she was done for when I turned 16 back to the original color and wheels. I'm now 38 and still have it .funny thing is I'm a ford guy have a mustang but that car will stay forever

I'd love one in Black&Gold....there's just something about that fire breathing Thunderchicken on that Giant hood, and the gold pin stripping that just looks awesome. 👍🏻

Pontiac worked miracles with low compression big V8s. i.e.73-74 SD455. AWESOME MASTERPIECE. & on no/low lead fuel. I would love to have seen those engines with Today's technology.

My 1981 trans am somehow had a olds 403 that was so smooth and quiet that you would end up going eighty miles an hour at the top of the on ramp and had to hit the brakes approaching traffic ahead of you on the highway !

Takes me back.... My first ride was the 79 Trans Am! A hardtop with the 403 Olds. Bright orange paint, super glossy. And no decals. Miss that car....

Honestly, are any of us surprised that Pontiac, at least with the Trans Am, always seemed to deliver and care about style and performance? Great video!

I was in 6th grade in 1979. My dad had searched the entire country for a 10th Anniversary T/A with the 400/4 speed. The 403/automatic cars were easy to get. But those who weren't in the know were dying to get either of the "big" mills. My 6th grade teacher had a 79 403 Trans Am and those cars were literally all over town. Even my teacher who knew less about cars than me and my friend at the time knew this was the last of the big engines. As far as the public knew performance cars would become a thing of the past. Boy were we wrong, happily!!!

I wanted one of these so bad back in the day. Had to settle for GTOs, 442s and the like because those were 5,6,7 year old used cars at the time. $1000 and under. Yeah, nowadays it's different, I know LOL 😂

I miss the Van Nuys Factory, from 1968 till closing, all they made was cameos and firebirds

You're right on the money. I have a 10th Anniversary 400/4 speed and an '80 Turbo that my parents bought brand new. Neither is going anywhere, but the 400 is lighting fast compared to the 301. In fairness, you can't compare the two because Pontiac would have kept the 400 if the EPA had not changed the standards and forced them to drop the 400 after the 1979 model year. When the brightness got shut out by the EPA, Pontiac "kept the lights on".

Burt Reynolds would love this video! 👋🏁👍

I had both the 77 and the 79 Trans Am. Great cars for the time.

I had this car with a 403 but spun a bearing at track and dropped in a 455 olds built motor with a 120 shot of NOS. Car was a beast. Torqued so hard it cracked the windshield and buckled the roof between t-top. Was stolen just a few weeks later. Miss that girl.

I ordered my Cameo White, saddle tan interior, no bird ' '79 WS6 Trans Am in the fall of 1978 taking about six weeks to be delivered. After about six months I installed a set of 1974 Trans Am exhaust pipes which were a perfect fit into the twin resonators. I had to change the '74 style two bolt flanges to three bolt flanges as Pontiac went to three bolt on 1975. Being a machinist/metal fabricator I designed a functional vacuum operated air door for the shaker and machined a stainless steel spool valve to operate the air door. I mounted the spool valve under the dash routing the three vacuum hoses through the firewall grommet. I also jetted the Quadra-Jet one size larger in primary jet size and actually retarded the 18 degree timing back to 15 degrees which helped with hot starts. The Trans Am really woke up with acceleration yet was not much louder that stock. Another car I should have kept.

I had a blue 1980 trans am. The 301 V8 was definitely no powerhouse, but there has never been a nicer, sleeker, and sportier bodystyle than the 79 and 80 trans am, especially with t-tops. I would love to have my trans am back today.

I think they equipped around 220 of the 79 TAs with the TA 6.6 Pontiac block. And those were left over engine assemblies from the 78 production run. All the other 79 TAs were powered by the 403 Oldsmobile motor.

My best friend had a 10th anniversary TA back in the day. It was a fun car.

My mother has one of this next to our house, it’s been sitting for 16 years! Sadly it’s an automatic but it does have the light blue flake exterior color and a white interior.

I was 16 years old in 1979 and missed being able to purchase one of these new. The closest I came was when my brother gave me his 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix which had the 400 CI four barrel carb and an auto transmission. It also had well over 200k miles and was just a shell of its former glory but could still do 100 mph. I sure miss that era and time.

PLEASE do a video on the Chrysler Cordoba/Dodge Mirada twins from the 1980 to 1983 models years, very under rated cars!!!

79-81 trans am, the prettiest F body from 1967-2002 PERIOD!!!

I bought a new 79 TA. 403 olds. Good motor plenty of power.

2nd gen Firebirds & Trans Ams were among the best looking cars ever built. A '79 might not have a Ram Air or H.O. engine but they handled better & had much more comfortable interior.

I had a '76 Firebird Formula that had a 1969 400 ci engine block from 1969, from the factory. Had trouble getting a parts and that's when we found the stamping indicated 1969. It had the factory Hurst shifter with the HP rated at 220. Like this video, I was sure it was putting out more than that.

I loved Pontiac since a kid. Loved Mercurys too.

Always loved these cars and wanted to own one

Practically all the other performance cars were gone by then, or mere shadows of their former selves. Pontiac really did something great by carrying over the W72 400s for some of the 1979 cars. The 400cid was a great engine. Though I like the look of the 1978 Trans Am better, the 1979 is still an awesome car! Gone now is the Firebird and Pontiac. :(

The guys that called them fire chickens were just mad jealous of you if you had one!

That something special was a huge V8 without all the high performance gadgets and electronics modern cars have.

Fantastic! One of my all time favorite Pontiac models. And…1st!

Always been one of my favorite cars.

While the 400 motor deserves the recognition, I do have to say that a 79-81 Z28 with a 350 4 bbl engine was more reliable and had more potential for building than an olds 403 TA.

How the heck did I miss this one? Great vid. Gorgeous cars and so cool.

Always wanted one . .never had one. That year car came out in my junior year in high school. One kid had one for his graduation present. I was so envious. Back then $7000 was allot of cash for a hot car for a young kid.

I had a 79 formula with 455 swapped from a 71 laurentian .... bit of suspension work and it was a blast to drive with decent handling...... miss that thing

One of the great American icons of the post modern era.

As an owner of a 79TA WS6, this video does the car justice, thank you. It is fun to drive and as good looking as any muscle car. With the 4 wheel discs and upgraded interiors it also had some improvement earlier muscle cars lacked. They are easy to resto-mod and pick up lots of performance making them better then the originals when it came to performance.

I got a '79 T/A and built it right. I loved the car from the day I first test drove it all those years ago. During the '80's, I had such a yearning for a 5.0 liter Mustang until I drove one. You could feel the body flex any time you gave it some throttle. I remember asking one salesman, you want how much to go slower? The Mustangs. Camaros, Firebirds, etc of the '80's where really just over priced junk. Even the fabled Buick Grand National, which once heat soak set it, wasn't that impressive.

Oh the 79' model firebird. coolest car to ever exist in my opinion.

Interesting video and the 79 TA was a nice looking and nice driving car but even with the top w-72 version of the 400 were still dogs by 60’s standards. No TA built after 74 could remotely be said to have a true high performance engine. You are correct that the late 70’s TA’s were the best of the era, but that era was not the golden era but the malaise era.

Back in the day, I owned several 79 trans am, and although I will always be a fan of the Pontiac V8, the Olds 403 was actually a much better engine. The Olds 403 actually made more power, although GM rated the Olds @ 185 Hp, it was rated that way on purpose using less timing, and higher numerical gear ratios. The Olds 403 was usually mated to 2:41 ratios, while the Pontiac 400 was mated with the 3:23’s. When you played with the timing and added 3:23’s, the Olds 403 rewarded you, with great performance. Also, you could twist the 403 higher in the rpms without worrying about spinning a rod bearing, which the Pontiac’s were notorious for doing.

For Gods sake General Motors please bring back Pontiac and Oldsmobile.

Had a 79 Black Trans Am with the 400 4 speed WS6 package. The only car that beat me was a 396 El Camino on the top end. I had him beat until I hit 4th gear. What a car. If you couldn’t pick up a girl while driving this car, you had problems.

So, Pontiac both started and ended the golden age of muscle cars.

Pontiac has always been my favorite make! My first Pontiac was and I still have it, a 1972 Catalina 2 door hardtop. I currently also have a 1972 Grand Prix and several more Pontiacs. They have a permanent home!!! I live the 400 and 455 engines, smooth and powerful

I’d say, these days we’ve surpassed anything offered in muscle car history. Between the power and handling improvements, well surpassed. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing like the sound of closing the door on a ‘70 Olds 442, or Ralley 350, turning that key and hearing and feeling the past come to life. It’s funny, what we thought were H.O. Back then. My. 2020 Silverado 5.3 has 355hp, and that’s nothing.

I owned two of these cars in the early 80s, still riding on Burt Reynolds shirt tail I guess, at the time would do all the tricks to make it go faster like advancing the timing put true dual exhaust on it and removed the catalytic converter and I still might’ve only made 195 hp it was like I was ashamed to tell anybody that but anyway chicks really dug the cars!

I love those style firebirds and trans ams

Honestly I always thought the '70s was the last good decade for muscle cars, at least until 2005 when the fifth gen Mustang came out, followed by the Challenger in 2008 and the Camaro in 2010. The '80s did have a few nice looking muscle cars like the third gen Camaro and Buick GNX. The '90s on the other hand, not a fan of muscle cars from that decade.

I love the fact that '70s era cars had normal sized wheels and real tires with real sidewalls. I never like the front end of the 1979-1981 Firebird, and have often wondered if the 1977-1978 front fascia could be swapped onto one. Still, the 1979-1981 Camaro/Firebird was light years ahead of the UGLY folded up cardboard box look of the Foxbody Mustang. And the third generation Camaro/Firebird, while very different, also completely blew the hideous looking Mustang out of the water. Even the fourth generation Camaro/Firebird blew the dowdy Mustang away until 2005. I don't know how Ford managed to sell a single Foxbody Mustang, just because of how ugly they were, and against beautiful competition from the Camaro/Firebird. Modern muscle cars like the Camaro, Challenger, and still somewhat unattractive Mustang are faster than 1960s/1970s cars, but they are fake. Nothing under the hood but computers. Super complicated engine designs that are impossible to work on. And HUGE diameter wheels with no tires. They set so low they can't even be driven on a normal road with speed bumps, potholes, curbs, and driveways. 1970s muscle cars could be driven anywhere any car could go. Of course it's pretty much impossible to even find a mini van with tires on it these days. If you want tires on your vehicle you will have to get a truck, and it is virtually impossible to find a 2 door truck. The cars that I grew up with are gone. Fortunately I have a couple in my collection.

Pontiac did a great move in saving the 78 400s for the 1979 ta the Ws6 package is a holy grail trans am now its very sought after

Pretty impressive numbers on the 1979 Trans Am considering that the second generation cars weighed around 400 pounds heavier than the third gen cars and had poorer aerodynamics than the third gen cars.

The quad exhuast tips , the flares at the front of the fenders , shaker hood and rear deck spoiler always did it for me 😍

Thank you for sharing this content, although I feel these later model second generation Firebirds and Formulas don’t get the respect they deserve they are starting to as of late and are coming up in value. I was lucky to come across a 1980 Pontiac formula with a 1974 Pontiac 400 in it for a great price that I couldn’t pass up and I love this car. I was eight years old when smoky in the bandit came out and I wanted one of these cars so bad and when I came across her I wasn’t even trying, it’s funny how things work out!

Interestingly enough, that 301 V8 offered as a credit option on the '79 Trans Am was the first engine offered as a factory option on the Trans Am that actually met the 5.0L (305 ci) displacement limit of the SCCA Trans-Am series. But back in the glory days of Trans-Am, Pontiac did offer a 303 ci V8 that could be purchased over the parts counter. It found its way into a few Firebirds that competed in Trans-Am, and even a Tempest - I've seen the latter at numerous vintage racing events here in northern California. It's owned and driven by John Hildebrand, whose son JR has made numerous starts in the Indy 500.

I just finished restoration on 79 se with w72 engine it's a blast to drive , got a red 78 ta both are a/c cars ,same w72, ws6 without t-tops I've had for a few years , can't drive either without cameras and thumps up from every age group, these really are amazing looking and driving cars , very good video

Also, 1979 was the highest production year for Trans Am in history, with 116,535 Trans Ams produced. The next closest production year was 1978 with 93,341 Trans Ams built.

i have 400 in my.78.bonneville brougham nice sweet

I feel privileged to have driven in one of these cars when I was younger. It was super fast off the start. Laid rubber like crazy too.

Wow, a 1979 Formula 400 would be a rare "Bird" to meet today.

I was just an innocent kid in 77 only 11 two favorite movies Smokey n the Bandit and Star Wars. Worked hard on a paper route and with a little luck Bought my 79 10th aniv 400/4 speed in 84 @18 yrs old, I still have to this day.. now I think of Sammy Hagar singing (I Can't Drive 55, released in 1984) and now I'm 55 🙄 Good Lord what a full circle number matching correlation.✌

One of my favorite channels. Great info-packed content. And the more Pontiac content, the better. You really know your stuff &/or research well. (Please tweak your audio where the beginning 1-2 seconds of each sentence aren’t clipped.)

I test drove and almost bought a brand new 79 TA, Gold on Tan.... But it was a 403 auto, it was fairly quick, they wanted my 71 Camaro RS in trade. I couldn't do it. I had just turned 18, they were ready to finance me on the spot, kind of scary.

Your videos are nostalgic and sad at the same time. Government regulations ruin all the fun! Thanks!

My favorite body style for Trans Am s and Camaros, 1970 to 1981. Owned a 1981 Camaro Z28 with a 4speed years ago loved the car.

I have a 1979 silver trans am started its life with a olds 403 it now has a 1971 Pontiac 400 and a turbo 400 love this car

I still have mine and I love it 😃👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Nothing like a beautiful black and gold Trans Am! Ended up getting an ‘83 Trans Am, never experienced that big block, for that, I am sad

I have a 1979 firebird and I absolutely love it 🤘

Contrary to what a lot of people believe it wasn't gas prices that killed the Muscle Car but insurance rates that did them in. In some areas the monthly insurance premiums were equal to or greater than the monthly car payment. That said though at least Pontiac kept it going. This was the last awesome Trans Am until the GTA with the 350 in 1987/88.

I had a gold ‘79 TA with the 403/auto and t-tops, bought it around 1981 or ‘82. Loved that car! Had a body/paint shop cut the plastic grill out of the back of the shaker scoop and it really let that Quadrajet sing when it was on the floor! Took the catalytic converter off and put a B&M shift improver kit in the tranny and it sounded much better and would bark the tires going into second gear. What a fun car to drive, I sure miss it now.

Had one and loved it regret getting rid of it

Another great video my friend!

While the MSRP was around $6K you couldn't buy one for less than $9K which is why I bought a Z28 instead. My Z28 did 15sec flat 1/4 miles consistently at the drag strip on the original tires, too.

Awesome, thanks! I have many fond memories of that car! Heck, Sammy Hagar referenced it in his song "Baby's on Fire" from his Standing Hampton LP! Love the content and, again, thanks! :)

Wonder how fast that late 60's TA would have gone with the same stickier rubber that the '79 had.

My dad had a 1995 ponticy grand am gt...it wasn't a V8 but man that engine was built and designed right..the cars frame and suspension went but the engine I never died and would be today I believe

I am sad that those days are gone. I never owned a Trans Am but I owned several muscle cars of the "Golden Era" ranging from 289 1967 Mustang to a Buick with a 455 cubic inch engine. All had carbourators. I loved all of them. I hate the cars today.