Year of pontiac trans am in smokey and the bandit

#Year of pontiac trans am in smokey and the bandit manual

Making 210 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque, the turbo 4.9-liter could only be had with an automatic transmission. But a few of the desirable Pontiac 6.6-liters-the last of the big motors-were also available, and the WS6 option now included four-wheel disc brakes.ДЇor 1980, the big news was a turbocharged version of the 301 that replaced the 6.6-liter as the top performance engine.

Most were equipped with Olds 403-ci V8s or a 301-ci Pontiac V8. The Gold Bird was discontinued after only a year, and the SE returned in 1979 as a Bandit only. A 1978 TA could muster a 15.2-second quarter-mile, and sprint to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. The W72 engine was bumped to 220 hp for '78, and the WS6 suspension package was introduced, combining a quicker steering ratio, wider wheels, stiffer shocks, thicker swaybars, and polyurethane suspension bushings. Pontiac sold 8,666 of these 'Gold Birds,' as well as 3,643 of the original Bandit SE models. This compared to total sales of just 21,625 cars for the entire first five years of the second-generation, 1970-1974 TA.ДЇor 1978 there was a new SE color combination: Solar Gold paint with dark brown accents. Hollywood certainly had its effect: Pontiac sold over 68,000 Trans Ams in 1977, with 15,567 of them being SEs.

#Year of pontiac trans am in smokey and the bandit manual

The 455 was no longer available in '77, but ordering the W72 option gave you a 400-ci V8 that GM called the 'T/A 6.6.' Its higher compression gave it 200 hp, and it was available with either a four-speed manual or the ubiquitous automatic. A new split-nose grille with square headlights graced the prow of all '77 TAs, and for that true 'Bandit' look, a factory-installed CB radio was a $195 option. The cost was $556 without the T-tops, or a whopping $1,141 with. In 1977 the LE package returned, but was now called the 'Special Edition' (SE), with gold snowflake wheels in place of the honeycomb pattern. The 400 could be had with either GM's Turbo HydraMatic automatic or a four-speed manual, while the 455 HO came only with the four-speed. The notorious decal package included a black and gold 'screaming chicken' on the hood, special Trans Am logos in gothic lettering, and saw the debut of that disco-era automotive fashion statement, the T-top.Д®ngine choices for the LE included a 400-ci V8 making 185 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque, and Pontiac's 455-ci 'HO.' Not to be confused with the fire-breathing Super Duty 455 of years past (though undoubtedly GM wouldn't have minded if you did), this corporate motor was also used in station wagons and Grandvilles, producing 200 horsepower and 330 lbs-ft of torque in the TA. The film's real star wasn't Reynolds, but a black and gold '77 TA, an option package that actually went on sale the year before, when no one had ever heard of 'Bo Darville.' The 1976 Trans Am 'Limited Edition' (LE) was introduced at the February Chicago Auto Show, featuring black paint, gold pinstripes, gold interior accents, gold honeycomb wheels and a fender decal featuring Pontiac's Indian mascot with a 50th Anniversary logo. But the film success of Burt Reynolds' Smokey and the Bandit lifted the Trans Am from just another muscle-car wannabe to the status of a cultural icon. The second-generation Pontiac Trans Am was in production for twelve years, from 1970 to 1981, and effectively captured a generation of car enthusiasts in an era when Motor City muscle was in decline.ДЄdmittedly, the Trans Am of the mid-1970s was a pale imitation of earlier models, an underpowered, portly beast that nearly fell victim to the same tightening government regulations that had killed the GTO and 'Cuda, and reduced the Ford Mustang to a gussied-up Pinto.