What happens when a brave cock tries to spread its wings and fly, only to get beating after beating? Law and market forces tried to choke this gallant chicken; a virile avian, it shook its bird one last time at the powers that be. Combining old world muscle with new age technology for one final puerile gesture, the 1979 Pontiac Trans Am 10th Anniversary edition signaled the last time big block power could stand erect before the axe of regulation chopped it to extinction.

Everybody who has some kind of sex hormone such as combinations of testosterone or estradiol circulating in their system, even just one molecule, should recognize second generation F-body cars in one way or another. At the very least, mention of "those 1970's Pontiac Firebirds" will conjure images of scoops and flaming chickens streaking like playboy models on the long, swoopy hoods of these lookers. While certainly not the most collectible, or perhaps even most desirable of muscle cars, the 1970's Firechickens presented such singular, iconic styling that nearly 30 years after their demise their mere mention will cause blood to start seriously pumping in the hearts and other areas of automotive buffs.

Introduction and History

The Firebird and Trans Am models were known as ponycars, a market segment started by the Mustang in 1964 that offered above average performance and style at the cost of refinement at a reasonable price. When Ford had such a smash hit with their steed, General Motors jumped on board in 1967 to come up with their own mounts. Born as twins, the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird used the same chassis but different motors to accomplish the same goal of cheap performance image. Pontiac being the division of excitement always took greater steps to make their models a tad more arousing than the otherwise plebian bow-tie Chevys. When it came time to introduce a new model in 1970, this design, internally known to GM as the F-body, was dramatic and different from any other american car then in production. While brawny curves rippling with muscle were the rage, this fighting cock not only looked the macho man part to battle, but looked sexy and more feminine than other muscle cars as well.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. Multiple factors happened all in unison to pretty much stamp out the demand for performance in motor vehicles sold in the United States. With emissions controls growing ever stricter in the early 70's without the techonology to meet them, power outputs came crashing. The stranglehold of insurance regulation combined with climbing gasoline proces ensured the few standardbearers left would be shunned and hung out to die like King Arthur's knights in the search for the holy grail. When the last of the other muscle cars died for good in 1974, Pontiac's ride was left as the only bird still standing erect on the playing field. Through some creative grafting of various engines, Pontiac kept finding a way to offer someone who desired a high performance car something satisfactory to drive.

Still, big block power was getting harder to include in everyday cars and by 1979, the writing was on the wall. The ever stricter CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations had completely banished the use of large displacement motors so that not only the 455 cubic inch fell by the wayside, but even the 400 cubic inch (otherwise known as the 6.6 liter) had to be phased out. Pontiac engaged in a final production run of its 400 cubic inch powerhouse and went out with a bang by warming it to the limit which existing smog laws allowed. With 220 horsepower this Trans Am was only available in a manual transmission and was not only the last big block high performance American car to ever be offered for over a decade, but also the last one with any discernible balls for about that long as well. One magazine wrote "It shall not pass this way again".

Driving Impressions and Roat Test

I had the chance to try the 1979 10th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am back to back with a 1980 Turbo Trans Am, contrasting big block power with a yet to be perfected technology. Driving it around some side roads with a highway jaunt, I was very, very impressed with the 1979 Trans Am as much as I was disappointed in the 1980 Turbo. It provides a unique and charming driving experience that is too often missing from more modern cars. Though its garish styling complete with wings, scoops, air dams and screaming chicken decal on the hood gives the impression of being a fast car, it's surprisingly docile and relaxed. It just makes you feel good to be behind the wheel of one without even thrusting at its limits, kind of like being on the first date with a girl you really like and feeling too shy to rip her clothes off just yet. Thanks to the easy, big block power you don't really have to beat this bird to take pleasure from it. Gentle but passionate 6/10th's stroking can be just as satisfying if not more than flogging it to its limits just because of how much wheelspin a more rough or aggressive approach will cause.
There is a certain tranquil excitement that this car conveys which very few vehicles ever built, then or now, can communicate. That's right, it's a fast(ish) car where you don't have to drive the living daylights to enjoy it!

Muscle bound cock that ruled its roost back in the day, this chicken fires up a throaty, pneumatic and mechanical roar that is so lacking in today's cars. When you start up the motor, you are greated to a hearty and satisfying BRRRRRRRRRR!-babababababa-BRRRRRRRRRRRR!-babababababababababa. You hear the fan belts spin, you gun it and it takes a split second for the carburated motor to rise in revs as your right foot action opens the throttle and squirts more gas into the cylinders. Small amounts of throttle give this car the kind of forward spunk only a large V8 ever could. While its 0-60 time of just under 7 seconds and its 1/4 mile ET of 15s seem paltry by today's standards, this car's 340 foot pounds of torque are available from nearly idle in a way that few massive V8's know how, make it seem completely effortless.

The powerband is now, here and instant. There is no V-tec to go on cam, there is no turbo to spool up, there is no special level of revs to reach or gap in grunt that will leave you flat footed if you select the wrong gear. You just have pure, BRRRRRR!-babababababa-BRRRRRRRRR big cube horsepower instantly at any speed or gear. While not as tractable as the 455 with which you could practically start it in fourth and accelerate to speed respectably fast, the extra few top end horsepower of the warmed over Pontiac 400 allow it to enjoy a relatively broad powerband. Unlike the other smog choked engines of its time that would run out of breath around 3500 RPM's, you can draw the gears out to well past 5000 RPM's (did it only once in 3rd and reached criminal speed, WOW!) to a redline limited 134 miles per hour in 4th gear. It's a willing powerplant, and you don't have to shift so much or even at all to feel like you're having fun because even just a little BRRRRRR!-babababababa-BRRRRRRRRR big cube shove in the back will make your hair and other things stand on end.

Speaking of all things phallic, the balky four speed hurst shifter is a sight to behold in this bird, jutting straight out of a cradle into the air and curving at an angle towards you like a bona fide power stick. It's really in tune with this car's mission. Unfortunately, as fun as grabbing this stick-shift appears, its balky manners take away greatly from the driving experience. While the pedals themselves aren't exactly easily placed for heeling and toeing, the clumsy, heavy, imprecise, crunchy shifter is a real buzzkill. You never really can feel what gear you're selecting and even worse you need to apply a lot of effort which doesn't inspire confidence. You hope it goes in the right gear when you push so hard, but you can't help shake the feeling of throwing daggers in the dark. Fortunately, the motor has such a wide powerband that is always "on" that you end up leaving it in high gear with the occasional BRRRRRR!-babababababa-BRRRRRRRRR runs that bury the 100mph speedometer's needle and back will beckon.

Another distinguishing feature of 2nd generation Trans Ams is how erect your position is despite the low hung chassis. Unlike certain exotics, you still get that "hunker down" sports car feeling but it's easy as pie to get in and out without requiring any contorions and despite the less than ideal seats, not all that uncomfortable thanks to good head and leg room. The dash gives you plenty of eye candy in the form of analog gauges that spin around and as is customary for race cars, the RPM gauge actually starts off around the 5 o'clock position and moves upwards. There are all kinds of bird of fire emblems on the steering wheel and the dash while the sloped windshield gives excellent visibility, good headroom and enough space to dangle a pair of fuzzy dice.

The handling, particularly for a 30 year old car, is very akin to the car's driving style. Given the massive V8 sitting on its fore-quarters, 2nd generation Trans Ams deliver a predominantly front heavy feel of understeer and easy wheelspin of the line. It's very clunky and discourages harder driving. When driving gently, it definitely has a lot of grip and you can feel the car changing direction with ease thanks to its light, if slightly overassisted power steering. For the faster twisties, you have to use its balls to direct your course. When pushing the car a bit faster through on and off ramps it does feel unbalanced but when you apply that big torque power, and it doesn't need a lot, the rear end rotates and you can keep that front end tracking. Such torque sometimes works against you; when launching the car, you can't really give it full throttle quickly or you will roast the rear tires in a cloud of smoke, getting nowhere. The same can be said for corner exit, but thanks to the presence of a manual transmission which can help you precisely dose and meter the delivery of its strong torque. Unfortunately the washboard ride unmasks just how awful this Firebird's build quality is. Not even considering that the large, swoopy doors sag when open and rattle as if their layers threatened to fall to pieces every time you slam them shut, the bumps likewise conspire to create a chorus of creaks and groans. Charming indeed, between the motor's roar, the drivline hum, and the chirping body panels, you'd think there were ghosts in here. Given the car's age and possible previous owners, there just might. Boo!

The experience of driving a muscle car isn't totally a positive one though. Charming as a second generation Pontiac Trans Am can be, practicality is not this car's strength. Even back in the day, the design was oft criticized for being poorly space efficient and taking way too much exterior room in proportion to how little room there was available inside the car. The back seat will fit two adults in very poor comfort with minimal headroom, though it makes a great, if slightly ironic place for a child safety seat given the car's badass styling and image. The trunk is absolutely tiny and hardly capable of holding much more than one suitcase and a duffel bag or two, with some of the room being eaten up by the spare. To be sure, this is a 1970's car that shows its age and it is not that comfortable at all, particularly on long trips. Even though this is a 10th Anniversary Trans Am with the fancier interior, you're easing yourself on leathery silver seats that were designed to be clothed in vinyl, er, naugahyde. I couldn't really tell the difference. Most tree huggers would agree that this car's terrible gas mileage is as deplorable as the number of naugahydes that had to be slaughtered to create enough material for its seats.

Recommendations and Repair Issues

This is a real cah, designed during a time when men were men and the naugahydes worried. Despite its charms it's not for the faint of heart for a number of reasons. First off, this 1979 Trans Am is going on 30 years old and will have a number of issues that can plague 30 year old cars. The beauty of these cars is that mechanically they are more simple and therefore a lot of the repairs can be done yourself, but DIY'ing it can take lots of tender loving care. That said, for those in love with 1970's second generation F-body cars, Trans Ams made in the late 70's are lower maintenance than those made sooner thanks to more modern technology like self lubricating joints. While the performance of the early 70's models was better, the 1979 makes a better daily driver. If only used as a show car, as these do generate crowds at automotive events, you might get away with only several weekends per year spent troubleshooting and replacing things assuming there is no serious body rot.

Rust was indeed something to which most cars of the time period were very vulnerable, but F-bodies of the 70's were some of the worst in this regard. Trans Ams of the later 1970's had somewhat better fit and finish as their earlier brethren suffered greatly from production headaches no thanks to United Auto Workers strikes interrupting production, but body rot remains a concern even in the most meticulously maintained examples. Aside from the usual underbody decay for which a serious collector must be vigilant, you should remember that most GM vehicles of the time period suffered from poorly designed door sills that would trap water and encourage rapid corrosion. Another place that almost always suffers from severe rust is the rear quarter panels around the trunk which was prone to leaking and likewise bears a close inspection.

I will also caution a prospective buyer about theft risk. These Trans Ams, despite a transmission lock, are about as easy to steal as if you could pick it up off the street. You can pop the hood by reaching underneath the car to pull a switch. If pressed for time, a thief can just take the large and enormously expensive battery required to start the 6.6 liter behemoth.

For the speculator types that are sometimes attracted to these cars, the 10th Anniversary 1979 Trans Am with the hurst shifter and 220 horsepower 6.6 liter may not be as fast or desirable as the high performance Ram Air III or Ram Air IV 400's as well as the SD-455's which are far more valuable to collectors. However, there may exist a premium for this last of the big block firechickens, and values have ranged from 15,000-40,000 dollars depending on the condition and authenticity of the vehicle. This represents an increase that is more or less on par to a slight gain versus inflation from when it was first new, and in the coming years may continue to appreciate. There is probably a good chance that even in a down market, the uniqueness of this car will give you a good chance of not losing any money on the deal. However, I must urge any buyer that when purchasing collectibles like this, it should be done for pleasure only. A car is a risky investment that can be stolen, crashed or decrease in value from the whims of the market and cannot be counted as a true investment. If you want to make good investments, I recommend Maxing out your 401k if you have one with a good investment company that offers no load, low expense funds using broadly diversified total market index funds over actively managed funds whenever possible. You don't want to try to beat, outguess or time the market, because it is smarter than anyone in it, including the so called professionals. So buy this car for pleasure and not speculation!

Conclusions

Barring the spaceship like 1950's cars the likes of which will never be seen again, the 2nd generation F body cars were some of the most striking american cars ever made. Their styling, driving feel and overall impression they cast on those lucky enough to drive them have left an indelible mark in automotive history. When properly equipped with the stronger motors, such as with the 10th Anniversary 1979 Pontiac Trans Am I drove for this review, they are fast and fun to drive, but in all honesty, their charm lies not in speed, but character. From the smoky burnouts like Smokey and the Bandit, to the batmobile styling, to the characteristic roar and low end torque of its ballsy motor that is so absent in today's cars, this fighting cock can stand erect and proud many years after its breed became exctinct. Due to its age, lack of practicality and maintenance issues, this is not a car for everyone, but if you want a little more BRRRRRR!-babababababa-BRRRRRRRRR in your life nothing will bring it on like this screaming chicken.

That's all folks. Thanks for reading my review!

If you liked my take on this screaming chicken, I invite you the kind reader to parouse other pleasurable essays of mine:
Alfa 164 Turbo.
Alfa Romeo SZ.
Lancia Rally 037 Evoluzione I.
Ferrari Testarossa 512 TR
Peugeot 106 Rallye
Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Chevrolet Camaro V6
2004 Rustang GT
Amount Paid (US$): 12000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1979
Model and Options: 10th Anniversary 6.6 Liter with Hurst 4 speed manual transmission