So I was visiting a friend of mine in one of San Salvador’s residential areas, a peculiar vicinity from the 1960s, built for the military when they were considered a class of their own in this nation. My friend’s father had actually been a military doctor, and thus the reason for his family having a home there. Given the background, not necessarily the best of places to go curbside hunting.
But just as I was leaving, the sight of a very ’70s shape appeared on a side street. A ’70s Pontiac Trans Am? With a Screaming Chicken? Despite the surroundings, time for an undercover operation to grab some pics! After all, I would be hard-pressed to find in this city another American vehicle that screamed “Living the 70s!” with such conviction.
It’s no secret that as the ’70s advanced, Pontiac’s fortunes were quickly reversing. From hot-shot star to has-been, in a scant few years. But well, such is the spirit of the US; you better keep up with the times, or you’ll quickly fall behind.
But even if its star was fading, Pontiac occasionally found its way into the spotlight; offering a model here and there that kept the brand alive in the eyes of the young. Had it not been for the ’70s Firebird and Trans Am in my childhood years, would I have known about Pontiacs at all? Doubtful. Same with my classmates.
Of course, if you liked the purity and classiness of Pontiacs of the ’60s and longed for them, the ’70s Trans Am was a kick to those sensibilities. But how we, kids of the ’70s, had a way of knowing the brand’s best days were behind it? There was no web available in those days, and my father was into Soil Science magazines, not R&Ts. Not the best environment to know about Ponchos of the 60s.
In any case, the ’70s Trans Am carried every styling cliché of the period with unabashed pride. And like every fad-related matter, those clichés we now mock were… well, the coolest at the time. We may wince now, but my Mom gladly wore her color-coordinated polyester suits from Sears with great delight. And I better not share photos of my teen years with those ’80s stone-washed jeans.
Who hasn’t sinned on the altar of fashion?
But as said, the Trans Am carried the fashions of the day to an extreme. No middle of the road on that. And if there ever was a car that looked ‘right’ with such excesses, it’s a ’70s Trans Am. A late 1970s sporty-&-broughamized Pinto or Mustang II looks funny, as if carrying an ill-fitting suit. A Trans Am is just the opposite; one of few cars that as a strip-o, looks as if missing a great deal. Excess befits it.
Not that the Trans Am, at least in ’77, was just an appearance package. The 6.6’s 400CID V-8 still provided about 200 HP, and could reach 0-60 in about 10 secs. It was only to go downhill after that, of course. CAFE standards, malaise era, and all that. But no matter how ancient and emasculated those mechanicals got, Pontiac never failed to clothe this Trans Am’s generation with lots of drama.
“Excess ain’t rebellion…” sang an alternative rock band in the ’90s. Well, no one told that to GM and Pontiac’s execs, as everything in the Trans Am screams: “Screw conventions! I’m a -corporate- rebel!” The Trans Am’s loud decals unabashedly proclaim speed and fun times. No surprises there. After all, the expected ‘youth revolution’ of the ’60s had become a cynical marketing exercise by then.
Want fun and rebellion? It’s up for purchase, at Pontiac dealers!
Still, it was this image that kept the Firebird/Trans Am in the public’s consciousness, prolonging Pontiac’s magic to some degree. And when the time came to get himself a cool youthful ride, some influential colonel in the Salvadorian Army knew a Pontiac was the ticket and without hesitation, got himself a ’77 Trans Am.
Or so is my theory, after talking to my friend (the military doctor’s son) a couple of days later. As he explained to me, back in the day, members of the Salvadorian Army could import any car they wished tax-free and with no red tape hassle—one of the perks of the job.
In the case of this Salvadorian Trans Am, no matter how much ‘excess’ GM added to the model, no local can resist adding a bit more ‘visual flair.’ Trans Am experts may correct me, but I’m pretty sure this owner found a way -somehow- to add yet more gold trim on the car. Quite a feat.
The car’s location partly explains the poor quality behind some of my photos (that I hope will look better on your tiny cell phone screens). As I saw the car on my way out of the gated community and the security guard passed me heading in the opposite direction on his bike, I felt luck was calling me. The light was lousy, and yes, I took the photos in haste, hoping not to get caught (Growing up under repressive military rule creates that, you know?) But would I get another chance? After the furtive action, I quickly parted.
A few days later, I called my friend and asked about the car:
- You think there could be a chance to walk around your ‘hood and take some photos of a car I saw on my way out?
A long quiet pause followed, before he answered;
- Mmmm… You mean the Trans Am? I better check who the owner is before we do that. For all I know is some high-ranking general who won’t like us doing that at all… That car has been there since my childhood, and you know how those old military types were then…
Ooops! And I thought I had a fondness for living.
As we know, the Firebird and Trans Am were becoming dinosaurs even by the late ’70s, losing ground to more efficient and nimbler vehicles. Besides its outdated platform, the Trans Am probably stuck to its ’70s fashions far longer than it should have. Those ‘oh so cool’ Trans Am cues from the ’70s, looking increasingly out of step. Much like Mother, who refused to let go of her polyester suits all through the ’80s.
“Honeycomb pattern… Stoooopid!”
A quote, etched forever in my mind, emphatically told by a close California pal of mine whenever a ’90s Trans Am appeared in traffic, back during my college days in LA.
You probably rightly guessed that I won’t be going back for more photos of this ’77 Trans Am. Kind of a shame, as it’s just such an icon of that era. A model with plenty of fans and detractors. But regardless of where you sit on that fence, what can’t be denied is that the model kept some of that Pontiac magic alive in the eyes of many. Not quite the ’60s kind of magic, mind you. But new tricks have to be tried and learned in order to keep an audience’s attention.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – Not Quite Screaming Chicken
Curbside Classic. 1979-81 Pontiac Trans Am – Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
Curbside Classic: 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – Instant Attitude
I did read car magazines starting in 1977, and thus did know that early ’70s Firebirds were more powerful than current models since they often referenced that, but the Trans Am and Camaro Z/28 still got some respect because they held onto big V8 engines longer than other sporty cars (a Pontiac 455 through 1976, and a 400 or 403 through 1979) as well as good-for-their-time handling. I knew ’60s Pontiacs mostly through advertisements in old National Geographic magazines we still had around then, and the occasional reference to them in car magazines and actual sightings on the roads. Things started to wobble in 1979 with an unattractive facelift and more so with the 1980 “Turbo Trans Am” which sounded nice, but used the 301 V8 and had little hot-rodding potential. Still, a 2nd-gen Trans Am was an aspirational car for many of my friends, especially after the “Smokey and the Bandit” bounce.
When I saw your title, “Prolong the Magic”, I thought there was going to be a ‘Cake’ reference in there somewhere, but that’s the kind of thing Joseph Dennis would’ve done. 😉
As a 17 year old teenager when ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ came out, these cars made a huge impression on me, but there was no way I could ever afford one. My friends and I would just admire them when we saw them.
When I was only 12 or so, a guy down the street had several older car guys as friends, and one of them had a ‘70 T/A with a souped up 400 under the hood. I did not know this guy from Adam, but he took me for a ride in that car and scared the b’Jesus out of me. That thing was loud, fast, and looked very cool with its own custom paint job.
Many years later, I would own my own version of Pontiac’s attempt at “Prolong[ing] the Magic” in the form of a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, gold bling and all. Even though it was only a Supercharged 3800 V-6, that car would’ve smoked the Bandit’s Trans Am.
Ha! I did have ‘Cake’ in my head while typing this, I just didn’t want to make it so obvious. The quote I used “Excess ain’t rebellion…” is from the ‘Rock N’ Roll Lifestyle’ song found in their Motorcade Of Generosity album.
‘Prolonging the Magic’ is an apt title for not only the 2nd gen GM f-body, but the Corvette C3, as well. They seem like the first domestic cars that went way beyond a 2 or 3 year remodel. Well, maybe after the Model T, but that was more due to a very stubborn Henry Ford than anything else. Then there was the VW Beetle.
No, the f-body was planned for the typical timely discontinuation but, suddenly, there was a big surge in sales, and no one at GM was going to kill a golden goose like that. Ford would later follow suit with the Fox-chassis Mustang which lasted even longer with just minor changes.
It just occurred to me that the 1967 Mopar A-body lasted through 1976 with few changes other than federally mandated, so there was a similar long-lived model.
Also the AMC Hornet/Concord/Eagle, 1970-1988. And of course if we get into vans and SUVs you get things like the Jeep Wagoneer and Dodge B van.
The Wagoneer, yes. But it’s a bit of a closer call on the Hornet/Concord/Eagle. Those all might have been identical underneath, but it seems as if when the manufacturer changed the name, they felt like they had to do more than just an occasionally different grille/tallights.
Are those Pontiac wheels? They look familiar but not 70s Pontiac.
The tires look too high profile even for that era Firebird.
Pretty sure they’re aftermarket generica. I could never understand swapping out cool factory styled steel wheels or (later) alloys for an aftermarket wheel everyone else ran.
Agreed on those tyres profile, they’re a very square section..
I believe they are Camaro Z28 rims from around the same model year.
It’s always very jarring to be walking down the street in a South American (or Central American) city and come across some old North American muscle car just sitting there in the street or alongside someone’s house looking all forlorn and lost, not to say totally outside of its element. The cars usually come with up yo four flat tires and a very faded paint job. I will always remember when my son and I were taking a walk through the Barranco district of Lima, Peru, and came across a mid-1970’s Pontiac TransAm still looking resplendent in its original (but faded) white with blue stripes color scheme and honeycomb wheels parked behind an iron fence at someone’s house. These old cars end up sitting until they return to rust/dust because of the high price of getting repair parts and the lack of knowledge on how to keep them running. I once met a wealthy Peruvian who traded his 1960’s Ferrari 275 GTB for a 1957 Chevy Bel Air coupe because he could not find a Peruvian mechanic that could tune the Ferrari’s Weber carbs well enough for the Ferrari to run decently, let alone source and then afford to pay the exorbitant prices charged for Ferrari repair parts in Peru.
Every time a stylist says “Honeycomb” I inevitably hear “Chicken wire”. Thus was the grille on my 2007 Miata.
I never understood the popularity of brown on F-bodies of the era. When we were searching used in the mid-80s it was shockingly common for something of a “sporty” nature. I remember a Trans Am was absolutely off the shopping list for insurance reasons as was a Z28 – I could have a regular Firebird or Camaro. Also funny that even with the 400 cid V8 we’re still talking a 10 sec 0-60, and I’m sure the 1978 305 Camaro I ended up with trailed well behind even that. My last 3 rides – a 2000 Prelude and 2007 and 2022 Miata – all would’ve smoked them hysterically.
Apples and Oranges. What would a 2000 T/A do in a race with a 2000 Prelude? What would a even the a non V8 Camaro do in a race against a 2022 Miata? In both cases, smoke them hysterically.
The slowest 1977 T/A 6.6 ( Pontiac 400, W72 ) I’ve seen tested went 0-60 in 8.8 seconds, 16.0 in the 1/4 mile. Best I saw was 15.58 at Englishtown raceway. Not fast by today’s standards, but merely brisk.
The 78’s were rated at 20 more horsepower, though the NHRA, based on their performance surmised they were closer to 260 HP. High 6s to 60, 15.2, 15.3 in the quarter. Good traps speeds would be 93 to 95 mph. At Englishtown ( NJ ) saw one do 14.9. Not bad for something trying to expel its exhaust gasses through the horribly restrictive flat pellet type catalytic converters GM was employing then.
The ( stock ) 408 Olds powered ones had too much working against them. They’d be 10 second 0-60 cars. Low RPM peak, horrible 2.43 gearing. UGH.
Brown was the “it” color of the 70’s, so even though the T/A in Smoky And The Bandit was black, this car’s brown paint really brings its 70’s-ness home!
When these were new I couldn’t stand them – they were everything I hated about the 70’s in cars, from the wild graphics to the smog-strangled mechanicals. I remember that kids my age would never call one a Firebird, it was always “Trans Am”.
As time has passed, I have come to really like them. Smog-strangled or no, lots of cubic inches makes one of these work for me, and I have come to respect the goodness of the overall package. And if you are going to get one, why not go for the one with the screaming chicken!
Trans Ams outsold the standard Firebird and Formula lines which is almost unheard of in this catagory of car(most of the time the top trim performance V8s trail the standard 4/6 cylinder base models). They sold well until 1980 when the 400/403 was dropped, a legitimate casualty of CAFE as the 301 was still the same basic block that carried the 400ci dimensions but had to make due with either a terrible turbocharger or no turbocharger at all. The 400 and olds 403 powered 78-79s were good performers for the era, so the image wasn’t unearned.
In my frank opinion these the Grand Prix, Grand Am and the Can Am were the only models Pontiac had any business selling in the 70s. Every other model “keeping up with the times” (brougham, econobox) irreparably damaged Pontiacs definining image it established in the 1960s. When the big cube Trans Am was gone Pontiac had nothing left, other than brief glimmers of its old self with cars like the 6000STE or the supercharged GTP Grand Prixs of the 90s but everything in between was mostly disposable/forgettable
I’m certain this one is a 78 and not a 77, this style bird graphic started being used in 78 and the taillight bezels are black, where in 77 they’d be body color
It was the Brougham Era. Pontiac tried selling more distinct, sporty niche cars in the Aughts, and look what it got them.
Was it CAFE, stricter emissions standards, or the second gas crisis in ’79 that made GM drop their 400+ V8s for MY 80? The timing would have been extremely quick for the third option, and I doubt they could have sold many anyway that year when gas prices doubled and it was sometimes scarce. For once, their timing hit the market right with that decision (and the new X cars), but there were several (well, many) awful years after several good ones, despite Reagan negotiating limits on Japanese imports and relaxing CAFE somewhat, IIRC.
Primarily the first, and to some extent the second. The way CAFE was set up by EPCA imposed statutory requirements for 1978, 1979, and 1980 (of 18.0, 19.0, and 20.0 mpg respectively), and then 27.5 mpg for 1985 and beyond, with the interim steps to be determined by regulation. The regulatory standards then were set at 22.0 mpg for 1981 and 24.0 mpg for 1982, rising to 27.0 mpg for 1984. While the Reagan administration relaxed the standards to 26.0 mpg for 1986–88 (the lowest they could set them without requiring Congressional approval), that was still 44 percent higher than the 1978 standard.
There was simply no way that GM, or Ford, could hit those targets with carbureted engines of 400+ cubic inches, even if the bigger engines could be made compliant with 1980–81 federal emissions standards, which was a big “if.” Federal CO and HC emissions limits dropped by more than half for 1980, and the NOx limit was halved between 1980 and 1981, and that was a delay of the original Muskie Act standard (which the U.S. didn’t end up reaching at the federal level until later in the ’80s).
Thanks. They did strip another couple hundred pounds or so off their big cars in the ’80 refresh, so a smaller engine wasn’t as awful for them, but I can’t help seeing them as ersatz versions of the ’77-9 ones. The sheet metal may not be thinner, but it looks like it to me.
Between foreign competition, CAFE, emissions, safety regs, two gas crises followed by recessions, inflation, labor quality and wage problems, and erratic interest rates, it must have been a stressful time to be a high-up auto executive. There probably wasn’t much difference between govt lobbying and extortion for them.
I can’t say I’ve ever lost a lot of sleep worrying about the plight of the poor highly compensated Detroit executives, TBF. Detroit fought federal regulation (especially on safety) tooth and nail the whole way, and spent 40+ years trying to gut the UAW.
Also, emissions standards ended up being — after over a decade of genuinely rotten slapdash improvisation — a key driver in the development of modern engine technology and the eventual standardization of closed-loop electronic fuel injection, which allowed much better performance, fuel economy, and drivability with lower emissions. Had it not been for federal emissions standards, fuel injection would have lain around for at least another 15 years with no meaningful auto industry interest.
The Trans Am of my youthful dreams! Actually, the Trans Am of my reality. My older brother had a red ’76 that he let me drive to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. The parking lot was full of T/As. A couple of years later, my younger brother got my Dad to lend him the money to buy a Bandit replica, but he burned my Dad by not paying him, and my Dad had to sell it and recoup what money he could. Why didn’t I take it over? I was driving my Coupe de Ville, who needed a Pontiac?
The secret to these cars, is that Pontiac found a way to add catalyzed testosterone to the paint, making them as irresistible to young males as McDonald’s french fries!
My current ’06 Mustang GT can blow this car away, and is a very close call in emotional appeal. To those of us who came of age in the mid ’70’s, the Trans Am is like Disco, it will never die! And contrary to many beliefs, it NEVER sucked!
+1 on that last paragraph, Jose! 😁
(I even think my lowly ‘07 V6 could beat the T/A)