Here's Why the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo was Only Made for 2 Years
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo car review. Here's why the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo was only made for 2 years, car review and car tour with Scotty Kilmer. Car show off contest winner Mitch and his 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo. What happened to the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo? This 37 year old car has a 4.9 liter V8 Turbocharged engine and is still running strong. DIY car repair with Scotty Kilmer, an auto mechanic for the last 50 years.
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THANK YOU SO MUCH Scotty, you are the best..
The 1980-81 models years definitely did not live up performance wise but that didn't much matter at the time. The 1980-81 model years was all about show and bragging rights more then anything else made popular from the highly successful Smokey and the Bandit movies!
Scotty Kilmer he would love my grandfathers 67 GTO
_Told you Mitch!_ Hahaha!
A friend of mine has an '81 turbo T/A just like yours in non-running (read: in pieces) condition - it was his mother's car - so he got a real kick out of your video. :) Hell, he even had two turbos for it within arms reach when I showed him!
it weird to me Buick Grand Nation dealt with emissions vs power so much better in the 80's than any other manufacturer.
EVEN THOUGH THEY LACKED POWER ; THE BEAUTIFUL BODY AND BODY LINES ARE JUST AWESOME.
Packed power? You can make good power out of the 5 and 5.7 and even the v6 with bolt ons.
Wish GM didn't kill Pontiac. They had better style than the Chevys in my opinion.
Mike Brandenburg true the g6 loos better than the Malibu
SPicy rEns let’s face it every car looks better than a Malibu lol
You can still buy them. Just have to go to Australia and buy a Holden. That’s where GM sent Pontiac for the most part.
Thomas Strickland They killed Holden also.
Didn't Holden cease to exist a year or two ago?
Sweet, unmolested, beautifully honest ride. Brings back memories. Thanks for posting.
thx
@James DeLap
Your boyfriend.
I drooled over this car as a kid growing up in the 80s. Such a classic design and profile. Amazing car for sure.
thanks
I owned a 77 S/E T/A. Never referred to my cars as she or her, as my cars tended to be trustworthy and reliable...
Lol
🤣
Classic statement
BAM ! Great line brother ! Please don’t be offended if I use it often !
sound like you and females dont quite get together well lol
This was my first vehicle, I bought one in the summer of 1991 as a present to myself after graduating high school. I only had it for a year as i could not afford the upkeep. It was awesome and it broke my heart to sell it. I swore I would own one again, hopefully i will fulfill that promise to myself and own one again.. AWESOME video, thank you for helping me relive the summer of 91!!!!!!!!
Thanks for that.
Ugly?!!! She's beautiful! Maybe new paint and some sprucing up. The 77 through 81 black Bandit Edition Trans Am is my money's No Object dream car! Drive it with pride brother!
thx
No my friend. The car earned its battle scars. You don't want to repaint an original.
The front end of a 79-82 is just ugly but everything else is perfect
For me its the the black 1981 as that car makes me think of driving around in the 80's listening to Sammy Hagar's heavy metal song with a Hillary duff looking chick in the passenger seat plus that dang trans am got me through tough doughs as well
It's not a dream car, it's cheap af.
It’s not ugly. I would repaint it at some point but think about it, you won’t drive it as much because you will be so stressed out thinking about gravel chips and door dings. It’s a driver. Keep it up mechanically and enjoy it.
My first car was an 1980 ws6 turbo Trans Am. I loved that car, and should have never sold it. Thanks for showing off your turbo T/A.
thx
My mother's boyfriend bought a brand new white '81 Firebird when they first came out. I think it had dark red or burgundy interior. I was 9 yrs old at the time so I didn't know the value of this car nor anything else except that this guy was SUPER COOL!!!
Thanks Chale and this is my car.
It's not ugly, it just needs a paint job, but it's a great car. I wish I had one like it.
This is one my favorite classic car of all time love it no matter in what shape it is
thank you
That was AWESOME! The late 70's Firebirds & Trans Ams always have had a special place in my heart. I didn't even know they made a turbo version in the early 80's! And what a great idea to showcase other people's cars.
thx bud
I had a 76 and a 79 4 speed ws6, loved that car, it only had 220 hp but tons of torque
Nice car. We just found a running 68 firebird 4 spreed for 10K and drove it 200 miles home. First thing I did was order every parts catalog I could get. You can replace almost every part for that car if your interested including decals.
Shawn, you are so correct, and do you have vids of your car? This car is mine and tons more vids of it and others on my channel. Would love to see yours. My brother also has a 69 Firebird, it is on my channel too
please start NOW posting vids, if you do not, you will be veyr upset you did not show your progress..@@woodywang2911
Love it! My ‘84 H.O. Trans Am was just about the best of the year as well. Those cars are finally getting appreciation also.
thx, i am the owner
I built a HUGE 1/8 scale model of this car when I was in my teens. I swore I’d have a Trans Am one day; my friends and family said I’d never have one. I’ve had 6, 3 1979’s (a Special Edition-Bandit, 10th Anniversary, and a Base white one), 2 1986’s, and a 1987 WS6 with the extremely rare digital dash. Never had a Turbo T/A though, but I love em nonetheless.
The interior looks great.
thx
Hi TraviS! Cool to see you here.
Say hi to Imma and Kade, Kuya!
@@auxmike718
He’s not going to
Wow, I think the same car of, a moive smokie and the bandit:):):,
the paint looks terrible. all faded and flat.
They were built in my hometown of Norwood Ohio (Cincinnati). My first car was a 79 Trans Am. With a 301. ( no turbo). It was beat to death by the time I got it. But The girls loved it
Yes, and unfortunately, they closed that plant in 1987 because it was considered obsolete and labor was cheaper at the Van Nuys, CA plant (which also produced 1st and 2nd gen cars too). The VN facility would produce the F body through the 1992 model year and then it moved to St. Therese, Quebec Canada for the 4th gen cars which ran from 1993 to 2002. The current generation Camaro is built back in the US again (as of this writing in 2019).
@@googleusergpI Just Learned That This Year, 2024 Will Be The LAST FINAL YEAR Of The Camaro!
@@richardkaltenbach3961 Yup, typical backwards GM thinking.
I like original too. Most people don't know what they are doing when they start modifying and messing with things. I always wanted one so I could pull up to a gas station and have the attendant say, "Trans AM!!!" like in "Smokey And The Bandit." : )
thanks autocrow for that, you get it too Go to my page and see more vids on this car and others.
My brother bought a 1981 Turbo Trans AM in Red brand new when he was 19 years old in 1981. I was 8 Years old at the time. I still love those cars to this day. It had the T tops too. Now I understand why I never see them anymore. Not too many made. He only had it for about 3 years. All the speeding tickets jacked up his car insurance. lol. He bought some fog lights that he never ended up putting on the car and the funny this is that I was cleaning out our Dad's toolbox recently and found them. Still new in the box. I would love to own one these cars someday.
love that story.. thx
Thanks Mitch.
Cool story man! I have an 81 in red as well, but it's a hardtop.
paisteboy awesome story. I passed on buying a clean low mile one back in the late 80s, I ended up buying a 78 bird with a 305.
Thanks man. Sounds like you bought a pretty nice car.
Thanks for showing us your car and sticking up for it. Having driven through the 70's and 80's, I can attest that cars got really slow between '73 and the late '80's. 11 second 0-60 used to be considered quite quick.
thx
It's amazing all that documentation survived through the multiple owners. I noticed on the original window sticker it was delivered brand new to a dealer in Three Rivers, Michigan yet has another dealer tag on the back bumper from North Carolina. So this car was resold at least 2 different times before the present owner took it in to his collection. It's nice to see an owner appreciate his vehicle in completely stock form and stand up against the bashers that only care about horsepower and torque. Most people buy their cars based on style and appearance so it's not always about the numbers. Great vehicle.
Thanks Ken, the story about that dealer tag is the original owner had a dealer try to sell her years ago and the owner took it back and sold it himself..
Kenneth White i dont have the window sticker for my 2016 that says it all, and for this guy to have all those documents is really amazing
I just bought my very first brand new car. It is a 2017 ford mustang ecoboost premium. So its the 2.3l turbocharged engine. Everyone says shoulda bought a v8. Well im 23 and insurance isnt exactly cheap for the 2.3 i cant imagine what a 5.0 would cost. Moral of the story. Its a great accomplishment so i took the window sticker and had it framed and it sits on my wall.
214mjn i feel you, i bought a v6 mustang back when i was 17 insurance was almost 300 cause it was a "sport car" and my age, problem with turbo engines nowadays is theyre so maxed out boost wise they dont last long, im a john deere mechanic i see this everyday back in the day you would have a 12.5 liter turbo engine on a 744k all you would do is head gaskets at close to 40,000 hours, now a 744k has a twin turbo 9 liter engine ive had to rebuild engines on 12 of our 744 all before 26,000 hours, so somethings wrong.
Michael Guevara true. I think mine pushes 25 lbs of boost. Which seems a bit extreme. But ford dealership says the engine can handle it. And the insurance company doesnt classify it as a sports car. They classify it as a high performance car. Which costs even more money
Nice ride. Beautiful car too! Thank you for posting Mr.
Had one it was the pace car edition... I so miss it.whatever you do..dont ever sell it. Thumbs up!
thx buddy, go to my page and see more vids of this car and the others.
She's not pretty? Well no, she's absolutely gorgeous. "Pretty" would be an insult to this amazing machine. I think it looks spectacular, and I'd say you're one lucky dude.
thanks for that, the real story is my friends will not be seen in this car. At all gas stations, everyone ask me the same question. Are you going to paint it?
Mitch Grooms
They don't sound like friends to me. What do they drive, Corollas?
Well actually, they drive Honda/Toyota and Hybrids, go figure right?
Mitch Grooms
They might hurt themselves climbing into a real car like yours (I have two Hondas and a BMW by the way). If the poor fools can't appreciate a classic, I'd say that's their problem. Sounds quite sad to me, really. A story like this kinda makes me glad I don't have any friends!
A friend of mine had one of these in the late '80s. I was in love with it. What a classic car it is now.
thx bud
I have an all black 81 turbo T/A
that had a naturally aspirated 301 when I bought it...I yanked that turd of an engine out and dropped in a performance built 500 cid Cadillac and th-400 trans to handle the 550 ft pounds of torque it puts out...now it's a sideways driving tire shredding beast.
It is awsome you did that Now your car is how you want it to be! I have a 1976 corvette took out the low power 350 L48 then bought a brand new chevy 454 crate motor put that in and now it goes quite well very happy with it now.
Let me guess, you disconnected the AC, have Yosemite Sam mud flaps, a welded chain steering wheel, and flamed rubber floormats as well. I bet I am close.
had same car in high school, it was glorious and it paid for college when i sold it. amazing
Those weren't the only years for the Turbo Trans Am. They had another in 1989, dubbed the TTA. It was a limited 20th Anniversary edition, which "borrowed" the 3.8L turbo V-6 from the Buick Grand National. And just like the Grand National, it too suffered from overheating issues.
who can look at a 1981 firebird and hate the look of it
The best ones to find from that era were I think the 73 and 74 T/A’s withe SD 455
agree,
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
On the other hand The 70 RA4 was a beast as well as the 71-72 455ho cars
@IT'SME of Pop
Had a 1973 SD455 Trans Am.....brewster green....regret ever selling it.
I had an '81 Turbo Trans Am, and it was a 4.9L regardless of people claiming it was a 5.0L. I bought it used in 1987 with a blown turbo. I replaced the turbo, did some engine work, cleaned her up inside and out fixing this and that and drove that car until 1996 basically everyday. I miss that car...
that is great Preston, the 5.0 was the Chevy engine they offered which is SO FREAKING rare now.. Those are the cars to find.. yes, I am the owner of this Ugly Trans Am.
Mitch Grooms Wow. I regret selling my '81 Black Special Edition with the 305 Chevy even more now after reading that. Bought it in '94 with 67,000 original miles for about 8k. It was just gorgeous - was garage kept it's whole life, original everything except the radio.
I doubted it was original since it was so nice, so I wrote to Pontiac and asked if they could possibly confirm. Weeks later, I received a thick 8 1/2 x 11 manila envelope from Pontiac Historical Services filled with the car's original paperwork, including the factory build sheet.
Not only was it 100% original, but it was super rare, possibly one-of-a-kind.
According to their records, only 951 Black SE's were produced in 1981 with the 305 cu. in. (5.0L) engine. Of those, only 15 were built without T-tops like mine. On top of that, it came with the 4 Speed manual Hurst factory shifter, no power windows or locks, and the optional WS6 heavy duty suspension and posi rear. I figured someone ordered it special like this, possibly for racing knowing those luxury options just add weight and the T-tops, although cool as hell, have always caused chassis/body flex issues. Maybe I'm wrong about it being a special order, but I couldn't figure out why they made so few like that. Every Black SE I've ever seen has been fully loaded. the only luxury option this car had was factory A/C.
Why did I sell? Unfortunately, I was foolishly racing a buddy of mine who had a black and gold '87 Z-28 around a tight corner and drifted it right into a tall curb, which bent my rear axle badly, cracked the sub-frame slightly where the lower control arm mounts, and destroyed the otherwise perfect "turbo" wheels (like yours, but gold) on the driver's side.
Thought I would eventually get it back on the road, even found a replacement axle and fixed it, but it sat in my dad's driveway for a few years until he insisted that I get it out of there. Had nowhere else to keep it at the time, so I sold it to some dude who kept asking about it. Breaks my heart to this day... 😢
I absolutely loved that car! Was always a dream car, still is. Doubt I'll ever find another one that nice for a reasonable price. All I have left now are the dozens of photos I took, some great memories, and one of the wheel center caps which is on display on a shelf in my house lol.
Anyway, good luck with yours, thanks for sharing, and sorry if my story was a bit long-winded! 😎
actually, Pontiac '301' same bore and stroke as Chevy '301'(1/8" overbored 283)/302" V8 and Ford 302"/4.9L/5.0L V8s...
@@BuzzLOLOL Are you saying it WASN'T 305???
I owned this car in 81 and had a 1978 Gold Special Edition - wow I was blessed - Thanks Dad !
She's not ugly! She's beautiful! Keep her preserved, anyone can do a restoration, but all original cars are quite rare.
I love the old Pontiac T/A styling.
As for "slow" American cars going turbo before that came into vogue as it is with modern cars, a buddy of mine used to have a '84(?) Buick Regal with a turbo V-6(not the GNX version however) his was blue & gray 2 tone....was very comfortable to ride in, and not slow at all.
Very cool Nicholas, Go to my channel and see more on this car and other ones.
Pretty impressive numbers for horsepower and torque for the early 80's. Always liked the style of the second generation firebird. Unfortunately it was new technology at the time that had lots of issues same with the buick v6 turbo. However these early engines and computer controls and turbocharging paved the way for the buick grand nationals and regal t types, and 89 pace car trans am. without these early makes who knows where turbocharging would have become on passenger vehicles in the states. Would have been interesting to see what this motor would have been had they kept it arounaround for another 5 years with fuel injection and intercooling.
Not impressive at all. More like a massive dissapointment.
@@chuckp1832 "for the early 80s"
I love those trans ams. They had great lines, nice interiors, good suspensions, 15x8 rims, and the screaming chicken. The Motors were revolutionary yet poorly executed. The downdraft turbo was horrible, they could've done so much better with that. But the seed of performance was planted. Great car. It should've come stock with a mustache, cowboy hat, and leather coat.
James Hall where's the bandit?
We could all blame epa for their bs..land of the free bs we. Have to follow rules and regulations...
thx
Is was top of the line in it's day.
James Hall actually 15x7 wheels, but some 15x8s look great
This week's winner video was so good I am watching it again - and I have already subscribed to Mitch Grooms channel. You really do a cool thing, Scotty, by promoting other people the way you do. It shows your big heart in a remarkable way.
wow, thanks for the nice words, so appreciated..
Our neighbor had this exact car when I was a kid. He died of cancer last year.
Could you imagine being this guys neighbor ? Your washing dishes and look up out the window and see this guy across the street yellin out of his cars trunk ! Lol
LOL, love it,, my neighbors love me and this car..
This was my favourite match box car as a kid back in the 80s, still looks great today.
thx for that
You're welcome. Thanks for the video.
Driver cars are true "survivor" cars. I laugh when I hear someone say their garage queens are "survivors"
LOL, I like your name, do you have some? more vids of my car on my channel and much more
Nice to see SOME company can admit their V-8 is a 4.9L ;)
I have a 81 turbo maybe I'll get around to restoring it eventually. Great vid scotty I'm very grateful that you're keeping youtube interesting by showcasing viewers cars.
thx Brett, yes Scotty is King for sure. Look for our Facebook page called "Trans Am Lovers" we have 31,000 members..
Drove one many years ago. Awesome ride
thx bud..
When I was in high school this car came out and I so wanted one but it was a ton of $$$$ and a high school student it was like impossible to own!
I was 7 yrs old in 81. This was my favorite car at the time.
LOL, damn I am OLD
I was born in 81 maybe that's why I'm partial to them.
I was 13. Good times then 😎🇺🇸.
301 turbo was is and always will be a very interesting failure.
they tried and worked with what they had.
Yes L, that was the point and you understand this. They were in the new territory for sure. The did the best they could. I wish all my Pontiac lovers knew this..
+D C: I don't believe it was considered a failure. The T/A engine for 82 was a boat anchor compared to Turbo 301. They ran a 165hp 240lb/torque Chevy 305.
D C its 5.0 not 4.9
So does it actually have a turbo charger on the motor ?
Thanks for saving this Trans-Am,and not letting it rot! I own a (darn near MINT) 1979 Solar Gold T/A with a 301 in it. It may not be the FASTEST car on the road,but I LOVE IT! I think your Turbo T/A is AWESOME! If you ever want to sell it....look me up! This car would be AMAZING completely restored. 😎
Hey Tony, this is my T/A on this post. You have an Gold 79 with a 301? WOW, I knew they had the 301 in 79 but very few were purchased. I will look on your page and I hope you got vids posted.. Look on my page buddy
Yep! It's a '79 301...not the quickest car on the road,but I just threw on a couple coats of "Liquid Glass" on her,and she looks like she was built just a few years ago. I went to a car show that I saw just off the highway when I first bought it...so I drove in...the car wasn't washed or waxed...and I took 3rd Place in my divison! (-:
I had an 81 Turbo TA that I loved very much. It broke down quite a bit. Once a burned up the turbo and it was dumping oil right into the motor and blue smoke for a couple of miles. Ended up selling it for $800 to pay for my last year of college. Biggest regret! It cornered like it was on rails and while not exactly fast it could be driven at speed like few cars in its day.
My turbo needs rebuilding now,, thx for the nice words, Go to my page for more vids of this car and other T/A's
i love Pontiac so much from my first car to my daily driver to my weekend fun its always pontiac
phillip castillo that's me as well. ;) My daily is a 1998 Sunfire.
my daily is a g3 but my fun is my 98 grand prix gt
phillip castillo Sweet! I really wanted a Grand Prix GT, GTP, or GTX, but I ended up with a Sunfire SE. I can't complain about the fuel economy, though.
I had a 05 Grand Am and a 02 Sunfire now I'm looking for a Grand Prix GTP to replace my money pit Honda Accord but they're so rare where I live.
chaseman94 how did you like your Grand Am? I've heard mixed reviews on them. They look cool, but I've heard they can be money pits.
That’s a great car.
It’s NOT UGLY. Did you try using a duel orbital buffer and some Maguires 105 compound will take the haze off and a lot of the old useless scratches then get a nice soft polishing pad and requires 205 and it would look great wish I was there I would do it for you for free.
Richard Vacanti The clear coat is peeling off. The only way to fix that is to re-paint the car. Now if the paint was just oxidized, yes it could be polished.
Thanks Richard but the paint has totally had it, the side and bottom is perfect but the rain and the sun took the rest away..
true, it is gone..
I am sorry for the neglect but she is still perty sexy.
Just take her down to Earl Scheib! $99.95, and she will be looking sweet!
Would be really cool to see see someone “build” one of these to what it could’ve actually been had the EPA not strangled it! I bet you could tweak that motor for 300HP easily with a bigger turbo, less restrictive exhaust, and some other bolt-on parts! You should do it!
yes, thx Ray
The 1989 Turbo Trans Am was the fastest Trans Am ever produced. 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.4 and top speed of 153 mph. It was the fastest accelerating production car sold in the U.S at the time.
yep
Whatever year Trans Am holds true to your heart, it's muscle you appreciate.
I've heard of these once before, so cool I love cars like this. Limited runs, unique set upt for their time. And heck yeah he dailies it, you can't truly enjoy it if it's just sitting around, they were built to be driven.
thx for that. I get tons of hate because I drive it and because it is ugly, haters will be haters..
I used to have a 1978 trans am and i used to love it
How much HP? Was it Olds or Pontiac 400?
I had one just like that. It's still my most favorite car that I ever owned.
Thx PS, this is my car, Go to my channel for tons of vids on it and others, I agree with you
340 ft/lbs is nothing to scoff at. It's nice to hear that it hasn't given you too much trouble. My cousin's mom had one back in the day. It was such a pain she sold it before she paid it off. She's been leasing cars for years now. I can see why. I wouldn't mind paying a little more in the long run to drive a car for a few years and a few thousand of miles under warranty before I commit to buying the whole thing, living with it out of warranty, and possibly put money into upgrades.
thx John.
I had the 81 Nascar Pacecar. I still dream about that car. Not a fast car like you said but what a beauty!
incredible for sure, thx
I had a 80 Firebrid with the 301 and it was a great highway cruiser, with a decent ride.
thx Josh
Beautiful TransAm, Pontiac was always a great marquee, so glad to see one original and unrestored. Excellent.
thx Charles
Hey Scotty, just discovered your great channel and subscribed. Loving your talks - you say what I want to know unlike some mechanic channels I know of that are overly technical. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the video.
At the age of 16 in 1981 I bought a near new 1980 Turbo Trans-Am, red with red velour interior, having all options but T-Tops and Turbo Lights.
Mine was fast, got decent gas mileage, was rock-solid dependable and never needed anything but the oil changed.
It was an absolute blast to drive and the girls loved it.
With decent tires and the posi-traction rear-end, snowy roads were no problem.
If they made this exact same car again today with a modern LS engine, they would sell like hot cakes.
In my opinion the best looking muscle car of the entire era.
I’m literally sitting in Pontiac, Michigan at my desk at the last surviving plant which was the old Pontiac Motors. It’s a stamping facility for GM now, and I feel warm and fuzzy after watching this video. Rich in history and memories, my mother still has the old jar my siblings and I were saving all our pennies in to buy my dad the Trans Am. I was about 5 at the time this American icon was rolling off the line. I have since purchased a 550 horse c6, but would rather have the TTA with 200 horse sitting in the garage. Thanks for the video!
THX FOR THAT, GREAT STORY,, This is my car..
I never knew about those turbo indicator lights on the outside of the vehicle. Very cool.
80 did not have the boost light outside, only the 81.
Matt landro I own one as well, same year. It does.
need to look up my Facebook page called "Trans Am Lovers" we have 37,000 members
some 80's, including all the Indy Pace Cars had the turbo lights.
KITT, I am your father.
im glad he won that is a classic car congratulations ..
thx Mike.
Still looks very modern to me (slav here)
"Glad he won" What do you mean? was the car auctioned off? did he bid on it on eBay? I thought he bought it from the 2nd owner
Not sure what you mean sir..
Erock he won a chance to show his car on Scotty's channel
Good wet sand, cut and polish I bet that paint would come back pretty good.
the paint is gone actually, only the sides are in good shape, thx for the advise.
Yea, and the decals are fried too.
Nothing a Maaco paint job and some new vinyl decals cant fix
TheFoodnipple did you say maaco...
Never give car advice again...
TheFoodnipple Maaco... I could paint a car better with a bucket of paint and a brush in a thunderstorm🤣
Damn brother. I know of that dealership. Not here in three rivers anymore. Boland tire is where Roy's used to be
WOW, SMALL WORLD. i LOOKED IP UP AND IT WAS GONE,,
The oe look is what sold them so they are good looking or they wouldn’t have sold. 👍🏻👍🏻 I like it
thx Jeff
I had a 1979 TA. It was silver, with a blue bird. I really miss that car!
yes, true but I am not going to do it,, That would make this wortless
Pontiac drivers matter!
I'm glad Pontiac kept the tear-drop style hood into the 1982-1984 years.
How does it resemble a tear drop?
@@jamesmonroe6291 the cowl. Marketing name
I owned a 74 TA back in 78. the original owner had 12 to 1 pistons installed and I hated that car. Although it was ungodly fast (11.92 1/4 mile times on street tires.) It was imposable to live with. Not only did you need new spark plugs every week but they would loosen up and need to be retorqued almost daily. But worst was the interior. From the fish scale dash to the over stuffed red leather buckets it was just gaudy. And keeping it in a straight line in the rain took an act of God.
You're the man Mr. Kilmer....
thx, go to my channel and see more vids on this car, and others
@@MitchGrooms I'll definitely do that. I should have commented directly to you as well for such a beautiful, original piece of American history. I'm glad Scotty gives other people some exposure on his channel for cars like this one. Very nice Mitch!
I had a 1980 black gold turbo T/A and in 1981 got a Silver with blue T/A
That was 1 of my favorite cars
wassup scotty again with a cool video!
hello and thanks!
thx
I worked at a Pontiac dealership in '79 as a lot person washing cars and changing batteries. Sometimes new Pontiac's were delivered from Tarrytown NY with broken windows. Kids would throw rocks at the trucks delivering them. Part of my job was taking new cars including Formula's and T/A's to the body shop 5 miles away to get repaired. Best job a senior in high school could have; "Here's the keys to a brand new T/A with 2.5 miles on it, 6.6 and 4 speed. Like that guy said it was "slow" compared to earlier models. If I remember correctly the '79's had 180 or 220 HP with the big motor. Those cars were choked with smog controls. Starting in '74 GM installed air pumps where their only function was to grab clean air out of the engine bay and pipe it into the exhaust so cleaner air came out. My buddy had a 1981 Turbo T/A with low miles around 1984 or '85? That car was always in the repair shop with turbo problems. Like that guy said maybe part of the problem was owners ran them hard. One thing I did like about the 1977-81 Firebirds is some like his had "radial tuned suspension". The steering was very tight and responsive. In 1995 I was working for a small used car dealership and someone traded in a beat, rusted '78 T/A. The boss gave him $200 for it towards his new car. It had so much rust the doors were hanging off and couldn't be used. Since it was going to the junkyard we all took turns laying rubber and beating the hell out of it on the back lot. Amazingly, even with 170K plus miles on it the radial tuned suspension was still tight and responsive. The styling was Awesome! It was always a good looking car. The next generation Firebird like the KITT car wasn't nearly as popular and many of them had lots of electrical problems with electric windows and blown tail lights. Personally I had a 1987 IROC Camaro "Me Too" with a 305, 4 speed in 1992. I got it cheap because of electrical problems. 55K hard miles by the previous owner. I would get everything working and go out cruising and a few towns away I'd get pulled over because only the headlights worked. That car was a nightmare. Even funnier, from the factory the lower side spoiler behind the front tires said Z28 and 5.7 although it only had a 305. I wasn't the only guy in town who had a car advertising a bigger motor but had a smaller one. I'm not that good looking of a guy but talk about a chick magnet! Girls in the 80's with big hair enjoyed cruising with the T-tops off and the windows up. Thanks for the video Scotty!
Garth, I am the owner of this ugly Trans Am and I am in love with your post, that is incredible. I really appreciate you taking the time to write this. Can I share your post in out Tran Am page on Facebook? Are you a member of Facebook? look me up under my name and let me know if I can share your post. We have 32,000 member in our group.. thx bud,
Sure Mitch, why not? I'm into old Mopars now but I love all cars. I'm on FB under the same name. If you want to see "Ugly" just look at my project car. It's a funny looking 6 cylinder 4 door, but although the back doors are still there they have been welded shut and the roof was cut and sectioned.
The '79 400 engines were all W72 220hp versions, which were 1978 "leftovers" if you will stockpiled for the '79 model year. Generally, preference was given to SE and LE cars for the 400, but of course, regular Trans Ams and even 346 Formulas in 1979 got the 400 Pontiac engine. In 1977 and 1978, you could get two version of the 400, the base version which had 180 hp and the W72 which had 200hp in 1977 and 220 in 1978. The base 400 cars in 1977 or 1978 would have 6.6 LITRE on the scoop, and also the 403 Olds cars had 6.6 LITRE on the scoop. T/A 6.6 on the scoop was reserved for the W72 cars. If you worked at a Pontiac dealer in 1979 and it was in Tarrytown, it might have been Rushneck Pontiac at 480 South Broadway. The '79 Trans Ams came from the Norwood, OH factory or the Van Nuys, CA factory depending on their destination. The Tarrytown, NY plant in 1979 would have been producing the Chevy Nova and Pontiac Phoenix, which of course were RWD. In 1980, that plant started producing the "X" body front wheel drive cars.
It’s not ugly at all! I love it.
“If it didn’t have the window sticker I wouldn’t have bought it”
Wtf dude... ps where is the engine?!
I am with you on that comment the car seems to be in in real good shape i would've cared if had the window sticker or not.
Love that car.. Smokey and the Bandit
thx
1962 Santiago Noooo, sir! Two completely different T/A's
Tyger Cat Exactly right. In 77’ they used the 6.6 litre (403ci). In Smokey & The Bandit II they did use a Turbo TA (301ci). The 403 would simply walk away from the turbo. However, Pontiac’s greatest engine was only in 1296 firebirds and TA’s from 73 1/2 through 74. That would be the SD 455. Better than Oldsmobile’s HO (high output) 455
tyger cat is on it! lol 1977 was the original T/A used in the 1st movie the 2nd i do believe was a 1980 turbo.
@@bildboi71 those 6.6 s were dogs too had no power
I had a gold 301 turbo no probs Then traded for the nxt f-bird with retractable head lights CUZ it was cool !! it was JUNK problems / rust yukk never get retract head lights EVER! 🤮 best car I,ve had in 50yrs a 1997 honda accord coupe 😊😊...60 yr old now got 06 pilot :love it
Heartbroken that I parted with my 1981 Turbo Formula in 1986. One of only a few regrets I have in life.
Technically they did a turbo trans am again in 89, but it had the 3.8 turboed v6 from the regal gnx I believe
correct Fredick, we were only speaking about the 2nd Gens.
Oh I gathered as much. I just wasn’t sure if a lot of people knew about the 89 Turbo Trans Am.
The later cross-fire fuel injection was the real disaster.
Yes... I had one in an '83 Z28... The pinnacle of induction failure... Nightmarish for mechanics to work on, lol...
That system was total trash
Always wanted a red one with the golden eagle on the hood!
Well we have one that needs some work! It has been in my Mom’s garage for about 23 years. ?
Love the famous thunder chicken. 🤘🤘
thx for that
Thunder chicken ?....its not a ford!
Called a phenix
What I can’t believe is the $12k sticker for a turbo V8 desirable F-body in the same year that I saw a (granted loaded) K-car Reliant wagon for $13k.
I have driven exactly ONE of these turbos in my 28 years as an auto mechanic. I don’t know about other ones, but this was EASILY one of the fastest cars I’ve ever driven. Ridiculous.
I always preferred this body style. Call me crazy.
thx
i worked on one of these in 1990 at the stealership i was working at. though it was upgraded to a 1989 305 and a bigger turbo. It was NO FUN to work on thats for sure! lol
Sweet ride! Not ugly at all! :)
thx
Nathan Jones it's pretty!
My memories of this car come from high school years around 1990 when I would borrow my father's '79 403 6.6 Liter for the weekend. I found a fellow classmate had his father's Turbo out one night and asked if he wanted to run them. His response "Hell no! You blow this thing away." :)
The patina looks incredible. To have the car proudly display its' history cosmetically, while being mechanically 100%..............absolutely 10/10, what a beast!!
Honestly GM could have had the 301 go the 231 V6 route and with that GM could dominated the turbo market and by the mid to late 80's been been kicking mercdes and BMW's asses with improved computer intetcooled V6's and V8's especially in a 81 Trans Am. Also with the improved tech aftermarket would taken off plus many owners would have just upgraded the the 80-81 Turbo Trans Am to really make power and unleash their full potential
i daily my 1970 bird here in Denmark :D
that is great, do you have vids?
Mitch Grooms yeah on my Channel Hansen Racing 😁 drifting and burnouts
wow, that is great, I help run a T/A page on FB, actually the largest one called Trans Am Lovers. look me up and the page pleas..
Mitch Grooms sure ill check it out
Hoping to get my 80 or 81 Turbo before they become the next Big sought after car and Prices Skyrocket like the early 70s Ram Air & SD 455 T/As became a few years ago.
totally agree with you on this,,
Those early 70's Trans AMs are going for a fortune, I've seen several in the 6 digit range.
Yeah, that car awesome, not bad. No bashing.