TAC Tech > Number Crunching

1978 T/A Barn Find. Help?

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Chris W:
It happened by accident but I found one. 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. It has been indoors the entire time and is now under boxes and other junk. I am a car guy and last owned a 1967 Le Mans so I know most of what to look for but wanted to talk to someone who knows the T/A from that era. Paint and body are in great shape. With a good bath and elbow grease it will turn heads. Its not listed for sale and wont be so please don't ask where you can find it.

Here is what I know from looking it over for a few minutes.
VIN Code 2W87Z8L171XXX
Blue on Blue, A/C, All original right down to the wheels
Automatic Transmission
Pontiac 400 (Not Olds 403) Shaker decal says T/A 6.6
2 D Coupe, not a T-top
Odometer reads 31,644 I'm guessing it is correct but could have been rolled. Wont know until I talk to the owner but I do know him.

By research I know a LOT of these cars were made in 1978. It was parked where it sits sometime in 1999 or 2000 (Registration is in the car) It was running just fine when it was parked and from what I gathered, the owner got in a motorcycle accident and never drove it again. I noticed the car when I bought the motorcycle but didn't think much about it. I was not able to pop the hood with all the junk in the way to look at the ID plate on the firewall so details about the engine are UNK. I know these cars are gaining value and I am looking to get something to fix up but not sure if this is what I want.

Number one question is: what is a respectable price to pay for this car? I have seen them listed from $10,000 to $50,000. Some in fair shape and some restored. Heck one listing was the car without a motor or trans for $9800? This car will need a complete go through before I can drop a battery in it and turn the key. Radiator, ALL the fluids, electrical may be eaten up by mice, belts, carb rebuild, plugs, wires, suspension, tires, brakes, engine rebuild, tranny rebuild, I could go on and on... Ya'll know what I'm talking about. It is going to take a good chunk of money to get this car back on the road. It is GOING TO STAY ALL ORIGINAL. I am not about to modify this vehicle. That would be a shame. Depending on what you all have to say I really think it is worth the effort. I want to make a FAIR offer and obviously get it as cheap as possible so....

Hit me with the comments and suggestions. What is a fair price for something like this after sitting up for 23 years?

5th T/A:
Congratulations if you get this car. I can tell you it will always cost more money and take more time than you think. It’s would help if you posted pictures, but even someone who knows what they are talking about would want to see the car in person before giving a ball park estimate. Lots of rust could be hiding under the paint. If it’s a real TA 6.6 with original engine it will be worth more. Hopefully others here can give you a rough idea of what this car is worth.

Good luck and welcome to TAC.

aussieta:
check for chrome valve covers and 4x cylinder heads
may have the w72 engine if the shaker decal is correct

Chris W:
Thanks for the comments.  Body is solid.  Its a southern car so it has never seen winter weather. Trying to load you some pics but the camera in my phone takes great photos and the file size is too big to upload. Wish I had some from under the hood.  I'll see if I can get some later.

Gene-73:

--- Quote from: Chris W on January 29, 2022, 10:37:34 PM ---Trying to load you some pics but the camera in my phone takes great photos and the file size is too big to upload.

--- End quote ---

There are free image resizer apps available for phones. Need to get the file size down to less than 1MB per photo to upload here, or smaller if uploading multiples.

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