Need help! purchasing a 1977 trans am

[speeflo]

Well ive been looking around for a street/strip car and came across a 1977 trans am black on black special edition, it came with a 403 and a turbo 350 , the original engine is messed up ( not sure what though), comes with purchase.. so they put in a new oldsmobile 455 , stock transmission is slipping he says, but has new turbo 400 never installed, he bought all this stuff for a project car but cant finish it, it supposed to be very straight and would take a easy paint job only 1 rust spot was a california car , so i get both engines 1 bad 1 good... 2 trans 1 bad 1 good.. new carb, new water pump, fuel pump, distributor, and edelbrock intake.

question is what do i need to look out for?

what would it cost to rebuild a turbo350?

going to look at it tomorow morning and gunna take pictures..

im looking to have a clean street car, not a frame off restoration, want a nice interior , nice paint job original look of t/a and a solid 400hp/400tq

thoughts any1????

JIM..

[speeflo]

forgot to add ,$4500.00 is asking price

[Vash]

Well it's such an old car it has to stand on it's own merit. If it's not running 4500 seems steep. The body and interior would have to be nice to merit that much.

Any pics? Good Luck.

[heinzd01]

You might try asking over at http://www.78ta.com/smf/index.php .

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

400HP and 400TRQ from the Olds Engines. Good luck, TA's back then only had like 250HP and 275TRQ.

[speeflo]

it does run now with the 455 mated to the 350 turbo, he said the trans is slipping a bit though..

ill get pics up tonight of what it looks like..

not saying it would be easy or even in my price range but the 455 can make way over that, i seen one on car craft that made 470ish hp and 550+tq

[2010SLVRBULIT]

My 403cu in only had output of 255hp..steep asking price IMO..

[Hylton]

Is it an SE? Gold headlight bezels and gold pinstriping all over the place.

[speeflo]

yes its a Special edition

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by speeflo

yes its a Special edition

If the body is in good shape and you have the original drivetrain, 4K is a no brainer. The SE cars are one's everyone wants and properly restored, they sell for 5K more all other models.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Trans Ams used to be my obsession. You sure it's an SE? They're easy to clone down to the teeth. Don't even fully trust it if it has the correct golden interior appointments.

If you're serious, buy a PHS (Pontiac Historical Services) documentation for it or ask for a build sheet if he has it. Code Y82 would mean it's a T-Top special edition while Y81 would mean it has no t-tops.

Power-wise, the 455 should do you fine if you don't care so much about originality. But the resale value for a true SE would be very high if you restore it, they fetch big bucks these days (upwards of 25K).

Just because you see that one rust spot doesn't mean there isn't more - inspect it thoroughly. Floorboards (especially if it has t-tops), around the rear window, frame rails, the tail panel behind the gas tank, and the corners at the dashboard in the interior are all common places on 2nd Gen T/As.

If it's a real SE that needs that minor of work... 4500 is actually pretty reasonable.

If the engine's been replaced, then it lost some of its value - the big valued ones are the 4 speeds with the original 400 Pontiac Engine (code W72).

[speeflo]

ill check the codes and inspect the car further tonight with pics ..its a hard top with the original 403 and turbo trans he just took the 403 out due too problems with it..im just going off whathe says ..supposable its one of 180 built with 403 and hard top

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Originally Posted by speeflo

ill check the codes and inspect the car further tonight with pics ..its a hard top with the original 403 and turbo trans he just took the 403 out due too problems with it..im just going off whathe says ..supposable its one of 180 built with 403 and hard top

It might just be, but that fact alone is a potentially bad sign since Y81s in general are pretty damn rare much less those with a 403, not to mention the 403 wasn't nearly as common in 1977 since I recall they only used them in California cars with auto trannys (don't quote me on that). But I do know that 403 cars became more mainstream in 1979 when they shoved them into every TA with a slushbox.

If it is an SE, then yeah, you got a pretty rare model... all the more reason to request a buildsheet, and if he doesn't have one, ask if you can check under the seats or (I know, this is going to sound weird), remove the gas tank and check under it. It's common for build sheets to be stuck on there. If not, the PHS would definitely be worth it.

Edit: And yes, pictures would be awesome. I can you help better then.

[Logan-69-Camaro]

The guy selling this car lives in Midland Tx. The car is faded, NO IDEA how the interior looks. IMO 4,500 is to steep ya its an SE but it STILL needs a ton of work to be done, at the max i say 3000