Don't look now, but this is the biggest bargain in the showroom today. '70s F-Bodies are red hot, and this 1979 Pontiac Trans Am packs its numbers-matching engine, a freshened interior, and great-looking Atlantis Blue paint. You wanted one when you were a kid, and at this price there's no excuse not to own it today.Is this car perfect? No, but it's a heck of a lot nicer than the price tag would suggest. The paint is an older repaint, but it's holding up well and has a shine that's still superior to whatever GM was spraying on cars in 1979. It's also nicely assembled, with urethane bumpers that fit well and show exactly zero cracks or crumbling, big doors that close without needing a violent slam, and proper Trans Am graphics everywhere you look. Never designed to be a subtle machine, the Atlantis Blue paint is the antidote to the more familiar '70s colors and lets you relive the era without having to do it with brown and gold and orange. The chin spoiler doesn't show any evidence of run-ins with steep driveways or parking curbs, making this a car that can hold its head high at car shows and still turn heads on the street. Honestly, driving one of these today is even more of an event than it was in 1979.The black cloth interior is reportedly mostly original, including seat covers, door panels, and dash pad. All the other stuff like the center console and headliner are likewise original, with only the carpets being replaced, so you can see that this car's always been well-maintained. The gauges are original with bright markings and clear lenses, and the original AM/FM/8-track stereo head unit still works, and even comes with an irreplaceable 8-track tape just to prove it. Engine-turned dashboards have represented high-performance since the earliest days of motoring, and Pontiac used it to great effect in the Trans Am throughout the first two generations. In a lot of cars it tends to peel and turn yellow, but in this cool blue coupe, it remains bright, shiny, and firmly affixed to the dash. Options include cold A/C, power windows and locks, cruise control, and the famous Trans Am T-tops that are great for some open-air motoring. The trunk is finished with a gray cloth mat but doesn't have any of the telltale signs that this car has been wrecked or rusty, so feel free to have a look underneath.When you checked the automatic transmission box on the order form for your new Trans Am, you not only got a heavy-duty TH400 3-speed automatic, but also a 403 cubic inch Oldsmobile V8 rated at 185 horsepower. And yes, this is the original, numbers-matching block, nicely detailed and topped with a freshly rebuilt Quadrajet carburetor living under the hood scoop, which was more decoration than function, but who cares when it looks this cool? We have every reason to believe that the 67,394 miles indicated are actual, so the engine has never needed to be opened up, and as a result it runs as only a solid original car can. A stock-style exhaust system features a catalytic converter and OEM mufflers, so it sounds mellow and never gets annoying, and ends with the cool dual tips under each quarter panel. And seriously, there aren't many factory wheels better-looking than the Pontiac Rallye II, which have been painted to match the bodywork and wrapped in 225/70/15 BFGoodrich T/A radials.If you've been looking for a solid Trans Am that's ripe for appreciation, this one fits the bill. Call today!
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