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1977 Pontiac Trans Am - Factory Fresh, Part 3

Exterior and Trunk Area - Exploring the minute details of a 213-mile ’77 Trans Am

If you regularly read HPP, by now you're intimately familiar with this '77 Trans Am, which we've featured in the past three issues. If you're a newcomer, you may wonder what makes the particular Firebird so special that it deserves a fourth installment. At first glimpse it looks much like a typical, accurately restored, and very well-detailed Special Edition Trans Am powered by a base 400-inch Pontiac V-8. What separates it from its peers, however, is the mileage on its odometer and the care given to preserve its factory-fresh state since the day its first owner took possession.

In "Time Bandit" (HPP, Aug. '13), Editor DeMauro outlined the details of how this '77 S/E T/A has come to travel just 213 miles since the day it rolled off the Norwood, Ohio, assembly plant in April 1977. Purchased with the intent of perfect preservation for maximum collectability down the road, it's proven a treasure trove of details, and we spent hours poring over it to photo-document the minutest detail. With so few Second-Gen examples left in such a state, it lends rare insight into how we might properly restore our own Firebirds, but also a clear understanding that they weren't exactly as perfect as we tend to remember them!

It isn't often we find any Pontiac in such impeccable condition, so it only made sense to give it as many pages as needed to share what makes this particular Firebird so interesting and/or unique. In the September and October issues, we focused on the underhood and chassis areas, pointing out many of the cues most Firebirds lost as the odometer clicked on. In this, the final installment, we explore the car's exterior and trunk area. You're sure to appreciate that at one point in its life your Pontiac was just as fresh, and if yours still remains that way, you know what a sight it is to behold decades later!

[2] Maybe it’s just us, but it seemed the Trans Am’s front spoiler fit more consistently earlier in the Second-Gen production run because it was a piece separate from the valance. By ’76, the spoiler became part of a much larger molded-plastic component. Gaps between the spoiler and its corresponding front wheel flares were quite common, and Pontiac developed a small support brace that connected the three in an attempt to maintain alignment of the entire aerodynamic-add-on assembly. Trimmed with gold striping, the stripe doesn’t extend onto the support brace, but we also see the stripe isn’t in perfect alignment. Sharp eyes may notice the lack of paint coverage on the lower fender where it wraps beneath the car.

What separates it from its peers is the mileage on its odometer and the care it was given to preserve its factory-fresh state since the day its first owner took possessi

[13] Gray primer/sealer is found in many locations of the body, and that includes the back trunk wall. We also see on the driver-side quarter, where the original red oxide basecoat is clearly visible, and the line where the gray primer/sealer was applied. While many owners restoring their Firebirds liberally coat their trunk compartment with spatter paint thinking that was the factory's intent, we can see just how sparsely it was applied. Unlike other examples we've seen where exterior color was quickly blown onto the back wall, this particular Trans Am has very little Starlight Black visible in the trunk area, and any that is present was likely overspray that migrated in through the openings in the rear body panel. It just goes to prove that no two cars are the same!" class="wp-image-466520" />