1979 Pontiac 10th Anniversary Trans-Am 400/4speed

Pontiac Trans Am 1979 Description

Up for sale is my 1979 Pontiac Trans Am 10th (silver) Anniversary Special Edition.

This car is in amazing condition. I just recently completed a (3) year- long rotisserie restoration of this very special car. This car is not only one of the Y89 cars, but is one of the 1817 Pontiac 400ci/4speed (Z) engine code cars. This car has the original (PWH) 1979 only engine, original Borg-Warner Super T-10 close ratio 4-speed manual transmission and the original HD limited slip rear differential. All of which have been disassembled, and completely rebuilt.

The transmission and rear differential were disassembled, cleaned and overhauled using new bearings, seals, etc.. to bring them up to like new condition.

Now, the engine – it was completely disassembled, the block was sent out to be hot tanked, bored 30 ove, honed and decked to increase compression. The pistons are Keith Black forged flat top with 4 valve reliefs. The rods are the originals but were shot peened, magnafluxed and new bolts added. The crank was magnafluxed, cut 10 under and balanced. The rings are Total Seal moly rings. The entire rotating assembly was balanced. The cam is an HO #068 based on the 1969 GTO profile with a 440 lift. The heads are the original 6x-4 heads, but were sent out to have all new stainless valves, with a 3 angle valve job, all new crane performance springs, new seals, upgraded 7/16 screw in studs, and full stainless roller rockers. The ports were treated to a mild porting and gasket matched to the intake and exhaust manifolds. The intake is the original and was gasket matched, the carb is the original and was sent out to be completely rebuilt with upgraded needles and jets matched to the increased specs of the engine. The exhaust manifolds are the originals but were gasket matched to the heads.

The exhaust- is a full 2.5” diameter stainless x-over Pypes system terminating to the classic Trans am splitters – which are larger 2.5” stainless that are polished – not chromed, so they will last forever.

The radiator -is the original and was sent out to be cleaned and boiled out, and then any bent fins were straightened before it was detailed to like new condition. The water pump, thermostat and belts and hoses are all new OEM or reproduction.

The air conditioning system- was cleaned out, repaired where necessary, detailed and a new set of OEM reproduction hoses and accumulator installed.

The air filter is a high flow element and is connected to the original shaker scoop which was opened up by a previous owner – the job was done right so I left it for the added airflow, but I also found a clean original 1979 shaker and painted it to match so if you wanted to show the car as original the scoop can easily be swapped. Both shaker scoops go with the car

Literally every nut, bolt, part has been carefully removed, cleaned, detailed and either painted or plated. No expense was spared to do this car correct.

Front suspension and steering – Every component was removed, cleaned, inspected and where it was a wear item – replaced with a modern equivalent – such as all of the rubber bushings, ball joints, steering links. Every item – new or original was detailed and painted to match original. The bushings were replaced with poly graphite for a long lasting quiet movement and to improve deflection. The front stabilizer bar was replaced with a larger diameter performance bar to improve handling. The front coil springs were replaced with new reproduction performance springs – painted to match original. Front shocks were replaced with new modern HD gas shocks, color matched to as close to OEM.

Rear suspension and axle – Every component was removed, cleaned, detailed or replaced. The axle housing was completely disassembled and cleaned, new axle bearings and seals installed, new carrier bearings installed, new clutches in the differential. The reassembled axle was painted and reinstalled with new HD rear springs which were painted to match original, and new HD gas shocks installed.

Brakes – ALL components are new. Front to rear steel lines are new and all flexible lines are new. All 4 calipers are new, all 4 brake pads are ceramic and new, and in the rear, the rear disc caliper emergency brake hardware was detailed with all new emergency brake cables and lines front to rear. The master cylinder is new.

The Driveshaft – was cleaned, detailed, and painted to OEM, with new HD u-joints installed.

The Fuel Tank – is new reproduction and the fuel sending unit is new.

The Body - Starting with a relatively rust free car is always a plus. This car was a solid car when I purchased it. The worst part was a small half dollar size rust spot on the driver’s side front floor by where your left foot rests. The entire car was stripped to a bare body and was stripped to bare metal, mounted on a rotisserie and was gone through end to end. Inside – even though the rust was not that bad, I wanted it repaired correctly so the driver’s side floor pan was removed at the welds and replaced with a new pan. The welds were ground smooth on both sides and where noticeable, were made to mimic the original factory spot welds. Any seams were smoothed and worked to be invisible. The Quarter panels were clean with no rust inside or outside. Minor dings and dents were professionally repaired and the body smoothed. The rockers were perfect. The doors, fenders, hood were all rust free and any dings, dents, imperfections were repaired, smoothed and the entire body was sealed with Epoxy sealer. The removable panels (fenders, doors, hood, bumpers, and trunk lid) were jam painted and backsides painted off the car, then mounted and aligned to get the lines perfect prior to the exterior painting. The car was flipped on its side on the rotisserie and the entire undercarriage and the interior was painted with 3 coats of PPG DBU basecoat and 3 coats of clear. The outside of the car was painted with the same PPG DBU basecoat metallic silver, then masked for the two tone darker grey metallic, painted, then cleared with 4 coats of high solids clear so that hours of color sanding the clear was possible to get the paint as flat as possible, leaving three heavy coats of clear left for years of protection.

All rubber seals on the doors, T-tops, windows, etc. were replaced. The door latches both inside the door and the strikers on the body are new to ensure a nice smooth and secure closing of the doors. The door hinges were disassembled and new pins and bushings installed. Both power door lock actuators were replaced. The driver’s side power window regulator was replaced.

The Interior – Like the outer body, the interior was complete and in decent condition when I bought the car but needed to be redone. So, all of the special and expensive 10th anniversary upholstery – front and rear and the door panels were replaced with new Legendary interior components. I took the seats completely apart, cleaned, painted and detailed the seat components then sent them to a professional upholstery installer and had the new upholstery properly done to ensure there were no lumps or wrinkles.

Rims and Tires – the rims are the original 1 year only 8.5” wide deep-dish polished aluminum wheels. I took each wheel and cleaned and polished to a mirror shine. The tires are brand new, 245/60/15 rear, 235/60/15 front.

This car is stunning and correct in every way. The only liberties taken to deviate from factory original were inside the engine – all of which are hidden, and suspension all of which are hidden. Oh and the exhaust which technically is not correct but was the right way to go and will last forever –and it sounds great too.

Visually this car is factory correct, yet improved mechanically and the paint is designed to last for years.

I built this car for me – to drive, to show and to enjoy for many, many years. The underside is as nice as the top side and interior. Unfortunately family issues forces me to sell my baby. It’s the old my loss is your gain. That said – I am not giving it away. I am not desperate and I am not a fool – I know what this car is worth, but I am reasonable.

·Side note – in case you are concerned about how or who did the work on this car. I am a mechanical engineer by trade and am an ASE certified master mechanic, and a certified master body technician. I have worked on cars for over 30 years both professionally and privately. Any work I could not do myself, was sent out to professionals that I trusted. The work on this car was done right – and was done for me, which is why visually original parts were used but where possible, better than original materials were used.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I am not a business – just a regular guy selling his personal vehicle. So, I highly recommend you call me or email me with any questions or concerns prior to placing a bid. Bidding is an intent to purchase. Winning bidder will send a non-refundable $500.00 deposit within 24 hours of auction end.

Bidders with less than a (10) positive feedback rating must please contact me to confirm your intent and ability complete the transaction, or I reserve the right to cancel your bid – again my apology but I have been taken advantage of more than once.

My name is Chris and I can be contacted via E-bay messages or at 631-317-9403

Shipping - Shipping is the sole responsibility of the BUYER. The purchase price does NOT include any shipping costs. I encourage the winning bidder to come in person to view and pick up the car. I will help your shipper load the car on my end if you choose to find and pay someone to come get the car for you.

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Unfortunately I must state the following:

While this vehicle is like new, it is a used vehicle with no warranty.

This vehicle is being sold as is, with no warranty, expressed written or implied. The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage. Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and to have satisfied himself or herself as to the condition and value and to bid based upon that judgement solely. The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyer's request prior to the close of sale. Seller assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle.

Good luck and happy bidding

Some facts about the 10th Anniversary Trans –Am;

The 1979 Y89 10th Anniversary Trans Am

Commemorating the 10th production year of the Trans Am

In 1979, Pontiac released the 10th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the first Trans Am that rolled off the line in 1969.

This was a limited production run of only 7500 Trans Ams. Really, the only options that were available on the 10th Anniversary Trans Am was the powertrain options. You had your choice of either the Pontiac 400 with the 4-Speed transmission, or the Olds 403 with the automatic transmission. Out of the 7500 production cars, 1,817 were equipped with the 400/4-speed combo, and 5,683 were equipped with the 403/auto combo. Standard on the 10th Anniversary was the two-tone silver and charcoal paint. All of the 10th Anniversary cars were fully equipped with the WS6 handling package, custom silver interior with "shag" carpet and the Firebird emblem embroidered in the door panels and also in the rear seat back. Also standard on all 10th Anniversary Trans Ams were power windows, power locks, Air Conditioning, power trunk release.... in short, pretty much every option available at the time. The interior was also trimmed with a special "Engine-turned" gear shift bezel that went nicely with the dash, which for this model was illuminated red instead of the normal white gauges.

Two-Tone paint and decals

Standard on the 10th Anniversary was the two-tone silver and charcoal paint. This paint scheme was accented by a special 5 color hood-bird which wings extended over the hood and onto the side fenders. This was the largest hood bird ever put onto a Trans Am from the factory.

The body of the car was also outlined in a special black and red stripe package much like the "Special Edition" striping of the earlier Special Edition Trans Ams. The red and black lines also separated the two-tone color scheme on the upper part of the car. There were also special badges (decals) that were placed on the car signifying the 10th Anniversary Edition.

Interior Options

All of the 10th Anniversary cars were fully equipped with a custom silver leather interior with "shag" carpet and the Firebird emblem embroidered in the door panels and also in the rear seat back.

The center console came with a special "Engine-turned" gear shift bezel that went nicely with the dash, which for this model was illuminated by red lights instead of the normal white gauges. The leather wrapped steering wheel completed the appointments to the interior.

All 10th Anniversary cars came fully equipped with power windows, power door locks, power trunk release, A/C, rear defogger, Delco digital ETR radio and deluxe dome lights. Basically every option that was available on the Trans Am came standard on the 10th Anniversary.

10th Anniversary Extras

The 10th Anniversary Trans Am was the first time you saw the "Turbo" wheels seen on later Special Edition Turbo, Pace Car, and other Turbo Trans Ams. These were the 15x8 inch Turbo rims that came equipped with the WS6 handing package which was standard on the 10th Anniversary.

Much like the mirrored "gold" T-tops on the Y88 Gold Special Edition, the 10th Anniversary T-tops were now a special "silver" mirrored finish instead of the regular "smoked" finish of T-tops seen previously.

On Apr-10-17 at 13:18:30 PDT, seller added the following information:

On Apr-12-17 at 20:49:51 PDT, seller added the following information:

* With so much work completed on this car I knew I was going to forget some things.
First - the clutch is a Hayes Performance clutch that is a big improvement in holding power over stock
Second - because I built this car to drive and enjoy, in order to satisfy my concern of any flexing with the added power, I added a set of bolt in frame connectors. They are hardly noticeable visually and can easily come right out if you don't like the idea. Nothing has been modified to accommodate them, and they added some rigidity to the car.
Lastly - I forgot to mention that I took the belt off the a/c compressor because one of the aluminum hard lines to the condenser was leaking ( the only one I did not replace), so I removed it and ordered a replacement which has not come in yet. Hopefully it is in before auction end, if not I will reduce the price accordingly.

On Apr-13-17 at 06:04:28 PDT, seller added the following information:

4/13/17 Update:
two more items I wanted to add that just came to mind
First - I have the Pontiac Historical Society PHS paperwork on this car which will go with it.
Second - When I bought the car it had the Daytona 500 Pace Car decals on it, and on top of the plastic rear seat panels inside of each edge of the rear window are these little red flashy lights. There also was an odd harness in the headliner when I took it down. What does this mean - who knows since there is no way to research which of these cars were real pace cars, or commemorative copies, or just someone went down to the dealer at some point and added them. Since I have no way of proving anything, I did not list it as a real or replica Pace Car. I did leave the little red lights there but they are not hooked up to anything. I did not put the pace car decals back on because quite frankly, I don't like the way they looked and I planned on driving the car often.
I am sure more will come to mind as the days go on.