Trans Am Bandit Y82 W72 WS6 SE Special Edition

1978 Pontiac Trans Am Y82 Special Edition 4 Spd W72 WS6 Description

I'm selling the SE that I've owned for 10 years. It's a real Special Edition, 4 speed with numbers matching W72 engine and T10 transmission. It was restored over 10 years ago and runs great, sounds great and looks great. The reason I'm selling it is that I hardly drive it. I've only driven it 3500 miles since I bought it. For the last 5 years, I've only driven it to car shows, on average 3 times a year. So it sits most of the time.
The air conditioning was converted to R134 years ago and still blows very cold. The engine was rebuilt when the car was restored and has like I said, about 3500 miles since. A Ram Air III cam was added during the rebuilding. I had a 2.73 rear gear with positraction added many years ago so I could take it on long trips like the Bandit Run and go without gas stops for long distances. It gets about 18 mpg now, as opposed to when it had 3.42 rear gears and got only 12. It cruises at 70 mph at about 2200 rpm, which is a huge improvement over the original setup when the engine was roaring at over 3000 rpm at 65 mph. Just the lessening of wear and tear on engine components was worth the conversion. But I've only taken it on one long trip, to Las Vegas, about 1000 miles round trip. I am now too scared of getting in an accident, getting rock chips, and getting it stolen since it attracts a lot of attention.
The tires look great, and they were new when the car was restored. It's always been garaged, so the only time they see sun is when the car is out for a drive. The wheels are the correct 1978-only WS6 snowflakes with the painted spokes. As an aside, this car was built when the WS6 performance package contained the W72 TA 6.6 engine option. John Witzke, in his "W72 Historical Information" writeup notes that after 2/22/78 you could order a W72 engine without the WS6 option, but this car was shipped to the dealer on 2/8, so it was probably built in January or early February. Also, the pricing on the PHS document (see pics) shows the price of the WS6 option as $151.00 meaning it included the W72 option at the time of this car's build. I know that's a tangled description, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Of course, there's some things wrong, but they are minor. A couple of places the decals are scuffed. There's a pea sized paint bubble on the right rear fender under the decal stripe (see pics). The door glass is streaked where they rode against the anti rattles. The power steering hose has a small leak. There is a small crack in the dash, see the pics. Overall though, it's in great condition.
There was apparently a lot of rust in this car and a lot of sheet metal was replaced, not bondo'd. It's solid. The floorboards were extremely rusted out due to the leaky Hurst T-Tops. The trunk was rusted out and the cowl had a lot of rust due to mice making nests inside. It's very solid now, but the Hurst tops still leak when I wash it even with new weatherstripping, so go figure. I guess they always will.
All the interior, including the gauges, were restored. Even the clock works. The AM/FM radio has an 8-track that works ok. I put tapes in it and some sound good, while others sound wavy. It might be the tapes, but the 8-track player is not in the best of working shape. As I said, the air conditioning works great, blows hard and cold. The seats are recovered in Lombardy cloth, as originally delivered. The dash was repaired, but a small crack has reappeared. See pics for that. It shifts easily and brakes well.
The exhaust manifolds are the original cast iron units, but there are no cats now. And there is a full 2 1/2" X-pipe exhaust all the way back to the splitter tips. It's a very aggressive sounding setup. The underside is detailed down to the tags on the components (see pics). The trunk is clean, has the correct jack, compact spare tire with inflator (dont know if its full or not), and new Hurst T-Top storage bags.
This is a car that will perform well on the highway and when cruising. It looks great. I hope it goes to someone who will appreciate its pedigree and drive it too. Questions? 505.414.5221