Seven Hills Motorcars is
Cincinnati's premier Corvette specialist anda licensed and
registered auto dealer by the State of Ohio. With many years of
focused experience we specialize in 1957 to 1982 Corvettes and other GM
classics. There is no other dealership that can better meet your needs
if you would like to buy, sell, or just find out more information about
your Corvette, Cadillac, Camaro, or Trans Am. Founded in 2005, this is
a very focused operation. We do it because we enjoy it. We are a
collectors and enthusiasts; therefore we look for cars that excite us.
I do not purchase at dealer auctions; each car is hand picked because it
is special or rare and because we like it.
Contact a representative directly:
Dan: 513.256.5543
vehicle description
Seven Hills Motorcars is extremely proud to offer this very rare
1979 Trans Am in excellent condition and priced to sell with low
miles of only 50,990 actual miles on the clock. This Trans Am is
one of only 2917 Factory 4-speed cars with the L78(W72) high
performance engine and t-tops built in 1979. This Trans Am was
built for performance and also comes from the factory with the WS6
special performance handing package and is a factory non ac car.
That alone makes this Trans Am very rare, now factor in that only a
few factory non performance options were ordered makes it ever
rarer(see provided PHS documents pictured below). It looks great,
runs awesome, and is fun to drive, especially with the t-tops off
rowing the gears. This is an excellent opportunity to own a classic
Trans Am that is ready to be used and enjoyed at an unbeatable
value. One could easily buy this car now and sell it for more than
the purchase price in years to come. The car is finished in the
beautiful and desirable color combinations of Solar Gold over Camel
Tan deluxe interior. This is the factory color scheme as verified
on the trim tag pictured below as well as the PHS documents that are
also included and pictured below. The low original mileage is
verified not only by the condition of the car, but also the clear
Ohio title showing the mileage as "Actual." Please peruse all of the
photos below to get a true sense of how clean and correct this Trans
Am really is.
The owner of the
dealership personally drove this Trans Am everyday for a few
weeks last month putting a couple hundred miles on the car.
That included a couple multiple hour long road trips.
During that time the car was an absolute delight to drive,
preformed flawlessly, and had zero issues. I wouldn't
hesitate to hop in today and take a road trip.
As a side note, this Trans Am is not a dealer auction vehicle.
We hand pick each car after careful inspection. Our
classics come from owners who expect their cars to go to someone
that will give the vehicle the same care and attention as they did.
We invite and encourage you to examine the car in person or have the
car inspected. Please take the time to scrutinize each
picture. We photograph each vehicle to the greatest extent so
you can feel confident about your purchase. If you have a
question about the Pontiac, just give us a call.
model description
Horsepower was finally making a comeback in good old
America, and assigned to lead the pack was the 1978 Pontiac
Firebird Trans Am's W72 optioned engine- ( coded WC when
bolted to the 4-speed and X7 if you needed an automatic )
the 220hp T/A 6.6. Good old cubic inches were finally saved
from the Government's noose and an engine worthy of the
Trans Am moniker was available.
In 1978, you
couldn't "chip" an engine to make more horsepower and
"cat-back" exhaust systems were unheard of. If you wanted an
EPA legal power boost, you had but one choice- visit your
Pontiac dealer. Some pretty neat features went into making
of a T/A 6.6. First there was the carburetion, fattened up
slightly for little more oomph. Next was a bit more spark
advance, giving the GM high energy ignition more opportunity
to burn that fuel bonus. As any hot rodder knows, the
camshaft is the lifeblood of performance and the T/A 6.6 had
one with an additional 20 degrees of duration. To help
finish the cycle, a new low restriction dual resonator
exhaust system was added, replacing the single muffler used
on all other Trans Am's. ( The dual splitter tail pipes were
also fitted.) Keeping the oil pressure from dropping to zero
on when turning quickly to the right or left, a windage tray
was added. To allow more air into the engine, a air
cleaners with a larger snorkel was added. These items were
in addition to 1977's compression ratio increase of 8.1:1
(versus 7.6:!) by bolting the 350's cylinder heads on the
400 engine. Just to make sure everyone knew you had a T/A
6.6, the callouts were affixed to the shaker and chrome
valve covers completed the look.
On automatic cars you got the obligatory stiffer rear
springs (25-lb/in higher deflection rating) that in
Detroit-speak means "tuned". The rear stabilizer bar grew to
.75" versus the .62" of the non-WS6 car and all stabilizer
bars received polyurethane link bushings versus the softer
rubber bushing of all other Firebirds. The shocks were
valved a little tighter for greater wheel control, and a new
steering gearbox with a ratio of 14:1 replaced the 16:1
variable ratio unit of lesser TA's (is there such a thing?).
Finally where the rubber meets the road (literally) a
P225/70R15 steel belted radial of Goodyear or Uniroyal
origin was mounted on a set of 15 x 8 inch wide snowflake
wheels. The wheels are easily recognized by the deep dish
look versus the flush appearance of the standard T/A
snowflakes.
The WS6/W72 combination quickly
established the 1978 Trans Am as the "King of the Hill",
long before there was such a thing a Corvette ZR-1.
Magazines loved the car and the Spring 1978 issue of Road
Test magazine squared off a Z28, a Corvette, and a Trans Am
in a street fight. The T/A was clearly chosen as the easiest
car to drive fast
condition
Exterior
The Solar
Gold exterior is in excellent driver condition. As one can see
in the photos, the paint has a nice gloss, good shine, and
smooth finish. Often many Trans Am's will have particularly
chipped up front ends, this car does not, both bumpers are in
excellent shape with no spider webbing or flaking paint. There
are no major imperfections that have been intentionally excluded
from the photos. There may be some small blemishes and dings
that were too faint to show up in photos, but nothing that is
really noticeable from about five or ten feet away. The decals
appear to be mostly original and in good condition. There is
some wear and a spot on the hood decal, which is visible in the
photos. Tires are like new sized 225/70/15 and the
snowflake wheels are OEM completely and beautifully refinished
originals. In person, it is also evident that some panels have
weathered differently and may be a shade off.
The trunk is
nicely detailed with spare tire, inflator canister, and trunk
mat, which looks like new.
This Trans
Am has some stamping on the radiator core support and
both front inner fenders, which are pictured below.
The core support shows a "9 14 78" stamp, or September
14, 1978. Both fenders appear to show stampings
that indicated October 1978. Each of these
stampings would be correct and original as they precede
the car's build date of the fourth week of October, 1978
(10D). As one can imagine, if this Trans Am had
ever sustained even a minor front end collision these
parts would have been repaired or replaced. These
original stamping are great to see in tact.
The Trans
Am looks just as good in person as it does in the
photos.
Window Date Codes
Please note that ALL of
the glass on this car, windshield, door glass, rear
glass, and even both T-tops are date coded and original
as each piece predates the car's body build date of the
fourth week of October, 1978 (10D). Original glass is a
good indication that this car has had no major accident
history and never sustained significant damage.
Windshield:
AJ - "A" denotes September and "J" denotes 1978 meaning
the windshield was made in September of 1978.
Driver: YJ - "Y" denotes
October and "J" denotes
1978
meaning the driver's side window was made in
October
of 1978.
Passenger: YJ - "Y" denotes
October
and "J" denotes
1978
meaning the passenger's side window was made in
October
of 1978.
Rear: XJ - "X" denotes February and "J" denotes
1978
meaning the rear window was made in
February
of 1978.
Driver's T-Top: TJ - "T" denotes August and "J"
denotes
1978 meaning the driver's side t-top was made in
August
of 1978.
Passenger T-Top: TJ - "T" denotes
August
and "J" denotes
1978
meaning the passenger side t-top was made in
August
of 1978.
Interior
The camel tan deluxe interior of
the Trans Am looks splendid.
The seats are
in like new condition with no tears, split seams, or signs
of wear. The carpet is also like new no major stains,
rips, or holes. The original dash is in good
condition with no major cracks, fading, or sun damage.
The door panels look great with no cracks or splits, and
both door pulls are solid and in tact. The headliner is in
great condition and not sagging at all. The
aftermarket radio sounds good, and most importantly the
original dash was not cut or modified for the installation. This car has not
been smoked in; there is no aroma what so ever. Older
Firebird interiors are not know to wear well, especially on
cars with t-tops, and the excellent condition of this
interior is a testament to the excellent care this car has
received.
The interior looks just as good in person as it does in the
photos.
Mechanical
This Trans Am is
in excellent mechanical condition and all of the accessories
work. The mechanics and the way this car runs and drives are
some of its strongest points. The car is an exceptional driver
that feels great on the road and at highway speeds. There is no
smoke when starting or driving the car. It starts right away
every time, idles well, and runs excellent. The car shifts
well, does not pop out of gear, and the clutch feels good, it
does make a little noise going from first to second. The brakes
are responsive and do not pull to one side or the other. Also,
the engine is clean and nicely detailed as one can see from the
photos. The horn works as do all the exterior lights, gauges,
wipers, and blower for the heater. The speedometer, odometer
tachometer, oil pressure, fuel, and battery gauges all work as
they should. This Trans Am has a ton of power and handles
amazingly since it is a factory W72/WS6 car. Not enough can be
said as to how much of a pleasure it is to drive this car,
especially with the 4-speed transmission and t-tops out on a
beautiful day.
Overall
Condition
Overall, this 1979 Trans Am is in
excellent condition. It is a great value and we have it priced
to sell. This car turns heads and gets tons of attention
wherever it goes. The originally and rare option package make
this Trans Am especially desirable and difficult to duplicate.
The value of these cars has gone up exponentially in recent
years. They are all solid investments for a collector. Cars
like this are the Barrett Jackson stars of the future. One
could easily enjoy this vehicle for several years and sell it
for more than the purchase price with minimal effort
Thank you for looking and please do not
hesitate to email or call with any questions.
The vast
majority of cars sold by Seven Hills Motorcars are shipped
across the country or even across the world to their new owners.
Therefore, we are very familiar with the shipping process and
glad to help our customers with it. We are more than happy
to assist in having your car transported to anywhere in world.
For our domestic customers in the United States we can handle
the entire process in-house without the need or added expense
for a shipping broker. Please feel free to contact us for
a shipping quote.