Lot Ended
Description
Genuine 6.6 Trans Am with rare manual gearbox; imported from America
in 1979 and just two owners since; various performance upgrades; only 42k miles
indicated; runs and drives; in need of recommissioning following 40 years in
storage
When Ford
released the wildly successful Mustang in 1964, General Motors jumped on the
‘pony car’ bandwagon by launching its own high-performance hot shots, the
Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird which shared the same platform. In
1969 a range-topping Trans Am version of the Firebird was introduced with a
special Ram Air engine and performance handling package.
The second generation Firebird came out in 1970, Pontiac shoehorning
the massive 455 cubic-inch big block into the Trans Am resulting in one of the
most sought-after performance cars of the era. In 1973 the Trans Am became
available with the iconic Firebird ‘Screaming Chicken’ graphic on the bonnet,
now forever associated with the black-and-gold Trans Am famously driven by Burt
Reynolds in ‘Smokey and the Bandit’.
Dating from 1977, this Trans Am has the ‘big block’ 400ci (6.6-litre)
V8 allied to 4-speed manual transmission, a relatively rare option fitted to
only around 20% of the 6.6-litre cars. The 6.6 was rated at 200bhp but
contemporary tests by the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) suggested that it
actually produced around 260bhp with plenty more available with some judicious
tuning.
While many Trans Ams had a Targa roof,
this car is a tin top as favoured by the racing community and has the correct
Trans Am shaker bonnet and milled aluminium dash with additional gauges. It also
has the Radial Tuned Suspension package for a more comfortable ride and better
handling.
The original bookpack and American
Certificate of Title show that this car was supplied new by McDonald Pontiac of
New Jersey to a Mr Bruce Stoneley of Stockholm, NJ in April 1977. Shipping
documents show that it was brought to the UK when it was just two years old
(with all duties paid), being registered here in October 1979 as GGW
291V.
The first UK owner was a Mr Vickery of
Orpington who kept it until April 1981 when it was acquired by HM Sayers &
Son of Croydon. Magazine articles and other literature in the file suggest that
they were fans of drag racing and the hot rod scene and there are numerous
invoices and brochures for special tuning parts, some supplied by Steve Thompson
Autos of Surrey and others sourced from H-O Racing Specialities of America.
There include a Hurst shifter; MOCAL oil cooler;
electronic ignition; high compression H-O Racing head; H-O Racing camshaft and
intake manifold; Hays competition clutch; performance brake and suspension
parts; 15" American Racing Torq Thrust alloys etc, although how many of
these items were actually bought and fitted is difficult to work out from the
documents so you will need to make your own minds up on that
score.
There are also several period books on
tuning and maintenance which are now probably collector’s items in their own
right, some of them shown in the photos.
An old
MOT shows that the car had covered 22,788 miles by April 1983 and the odometer
now shows 42,214 miles which seems likely to be correct – who knows? There are
also two old tax discs from 1983/84 and we are told that the car has been kept
in dry storage ever since.
Got running again
shortly before the auction, this Trans Am has been starting easily and running
well as we have moved it around on site, with a wonderfully thunderous exhaust
note, although the brakes are barely working so it will require a degree of
recommissioning before hitting the roads or the drag strip once more.
Burt Reynolds loved his Bandit Trans Am
so much that he bought one for himself, finally selling it at auction in 2014
when it made a whopping $450k. Given that this car is basically the same with
the bonus of manual transmission, it looks hugely tempting at the modest guide
price suggested.
Consigned by James Dennison
– 07970 309907 – [email protected]