F body Trans Am is one of the most beautiful cars of all time, every line and every angle is perfection!

One of the best looking slow cars out there.

I was recently informed that I've inherited one of these. My friend from work bought it brand new. Tried to buy it from him for years. His wife informed me he passed and left me the car. When spring hits I'll go dig it out of the garage it hasn't left in 30 years. I vow to get it back on the road!

Regardless of whatever level of performance the Turbo T/A was capable of in stock form, I always thought those turbo boost indicator lights on the back of the hood scoop were pretty cool.

The first American Turbo V8 was the Oldsmobile Jetfire in 1962. And Buick turbocharged the 231 c.i. v6 in 1977 that was avalible in most of thier cars. They continued the Turbo V6 through 1987 in the Grand National.

Bought a 1981 Turbo TA in the 90s. Those turbo 301 were not great and the original was blown with less than 60k miles. Swapped it for a 400 which I blew. Then swapped for a mild 455 which I’ve had 25 plus years. Perfect.

I bought a 1980 Turbo TA back in 1989, and blew the head gasket trying to get more boost out of it. Not fast by todays standards but it was a fun car.

Little known fact - the next gen Firebirds got the turbo style offset hood scoop because the turbo engine was planned to be available in them, then canceled just before production started.

I had a 81 turbo. It always turned a lot of heads. One I definitely regret selling.

For the day, it was decent horsepower. The torque was great, considering the small engine. A stouter turbocharger and true blow through carburetor with a sealed turbo intake cap would've made a difference. The special 301 itself had some genuine hot rodding parts from the factory. Just needed more boost.

It made the cover of Hot Rod. September 1979? Anyway, I still remember one of the captions under a picture in the magazine. “The Turbo Trans Am will still smoke the tires. However, water is now required!” 🤣

cars will never get this beautiful again

This car might have been slow, but it was damned good looking!

The Poncho 400 was not a big block. Also, Pontiac did NOT just "slap" a turbo on their 301. Very few parts were interchangeable between the 301 N/A and 301 turbo. Also, the 3rd gen was supposed to get the 301 turbo. That is why they had the turbo buldge. The corporate bean counters killed that idea. The 301 turbo would have been awesome in the lighter 3rd gen Firebirds.

Mechanic here. I unfortunately haven't had the fortune of driving a turbo 301, but I *have* driven the N/A 301 and it was the most limp, slowest 70's muscle car I've ever driven. It's such a shame that the Pontiac V8 died out with a wimper.

I sold my Trans Am almost 20 years ago, and I still miss that car to this day.

So people can spend more time admiring how cool it is as you roll by

It is a shame. Those cars, and the Camaros of the day had THE look. I am saying that, and I am a MOPAR guy. These were the last of the beautiful cars until the retro craze hit the market in the 2000s. After this, they turned them all into pie wedges in the late 80s and then bubbles in the 90s. But what the government did to the performance, man that was borderline criminal.

I bought a 1980 around 1990 in great condition. It is one of the best handling cars I have owned. In stock form the car really stuck to the road. I lIved the instrument panel with red lights from the factory. Most cars through the late 70's and 80's didnt even have a tachometer, so after driving mom & dads cars for a few years looking at the gauges while driving was exciting in itself. 80's sports cars would fall behind me on winding back roads. It was far from the slowest car in 1980, and out handled most of them. I wrecked it shortly after I more than doubled the horsepower with a built 400 big block. I tried driving it like it had 200 horsepower. I learned then how fun it was to drive a slow car fast. Im not againt gettinv another someday. I still have the turbo and carb, but the intake got lost after the swap. I will always love these cars. The Bandit hooked me as a child.

My dad had one of these back in the 80s. He quite like it, but the biggest problem with it was the fact that it had no intercooler, which was basically unheard of at the time, so it ran quite hot.

Oldsmobile had a turbocharged V8 available on the 1962 and 1963 F85 and Cutlass. It displaced 3.5 liters or 215 cubic inches. It also had an aluminum block and heads. Buick produced a similar engine w/o a turbocharger. The Oldsmobile version had more head bolts and extra material to strengthen the engine. Pontiac was allowed to use the Buick version in there Tempest and Lemans series although most of those used the 1961-1963 Trophy 4 cylinder which was essentially a 389 V8 with the drivers cylinder bank lopped off. Over at Chevrolet the Corvair was also available with a turbocharged flat 6. Those were the first turbocharged cars built and Oldsmobile had the first turbocharged V8. If you are going to make a claim in your video, make sure you research it first because if you are wrong, someone like me will call you out on it.

I bought one a few years ago thought it was gonna be so cool looks good but absolutely godless

I still have my 80/81 Turbo Trans Am pedal car from when I was a kid. Has the hood bulge and turbo 4.9 stickers still too.

Great video. The shots with the shaker hoods weren't turbos, right?

I owned a 78 with a 400 and a turbo 301 80 as a teenager. The 80 wasnt as fast but both were chick magnets!

My cousin bought a new 1981 Bandit edition Trans Am 4.9L turbo. He still has it to this day with the numbers matching 4.9L engine in it, but it isn't slow anymore. In 2015 he did a complete body off restoration of the car back to completely stock looking but with a crap load more bite. All new updated suspension, all LED lights, touch screen infotainment screen and the cherry on top? The 4.9L was completely rebuilt sparing nothing, if memory serves he put 10k or 12k into it which included fuel injection a REAL computer controlled tunable turbo. He put it on a dyno after all the work was complete and it made 510 HP at the wheels. He still drives it as his primary daily driver to this day. In my opinion, the F-body Trans Am was the best looking bodies of all time.

Would love to see one today with modern bolt ons, engine management etc.

This was my first ‘favorite car.’ I was 6, in ‘80. Still love the look of this car.

I first received a 1979 Z28 with 4sp. 3:5 rear screaming in the highway ten years old then. The high octane gas did it's magic in that feisty baby. Particularly Shell.

I drove a 1979 T/A recently, forgot how much cars of this era rattled. Sadly, my kids Honda accord could blow its doors off.

I owned a 1979 Firebird Esprit with the NA 301 and a 1981 Turbo TA at the same time. This was around 2003. These are cars that nobody really talks about, it was interesting to see the changes Pontiac made to the 301 for the turbo. Also, having owned both those cars simultaneously I can tell you the Turbo did feel faster when you punched it, but it still wouldn't win any races. The TA was also much stiffer and handled much better than the Esprit. My daily at that time was a 1997 Accord. When switching from the Honda to the Pontiac I had to make sure to stop much further back at stop signs and lights, that Pontiac front end was probably twice as long and would stick out into traffic if I pulled up the the stop like I would in the Accord.

'79 to '81 "four eyes" has the most awesome looking front end. meaner looking than the '77-'78

Girl I dated had an 81.... It was a fun car to drive... The handling was still like the car was on rails....

My dad kept blowing up Pontiac motors and got sick of them. So, he dropped a 355 Chevy Nascar block and 671 blower in a '75 Firebird. 700hp later in the early 90's in a non tubbed '75 Trans Am was hilariously impracticable, scary, and insanely fun. Anytime we were at an intersection and he turned up the timing dial, I knew I was in for a 5 second treat.

You still had choking emissions and turbo, fuel injection, and computer control was at least a decade away so it's easy to see how it happened. Would be awesome to get one of those cars now and modernize it with a 500 hp fuel injected turbo with adjustable waste gates.

Decades ago I owned a 1977 Pontiac LeMans Sport Coupe with a n/a 301 Pontiac V8. That engine was a boat anchor. To climb a moderate hill, it required a running start and it slowed down as it climbed. I wished it had a turbo 301, or a 400, because the car handled great with it's "Radial Tuned Suspension".

I have an 81 Pace Car, the OG engine, turbo hood and paint was gone by the time I got it. It now has a mild 400 along with the shaker hood.

My very first car in the late 80s was a Buick that someone had transplanted a rebuilt Pontiac 301 into lol. Naturally aspirated version of course. What a complete DOG. That motor couldn't get out of it's own way. Might as well have been a 2.5 four-banger lol.

It may have been slow but it was one of the best looking cars ever made.

I had a 256 rear gear in my 77 Nova with a 350 and turbo 350 trans. I loved that rear gear. 1st gear allowed me to get above the posted 55MPH highway speed before merging. 60 mph in 3rd was right near 2100 rpm. I could easily flatline the speedo in second. That rear gear took full advantage of the torque.

Hopeully this video spreads some more knowledge of these cars. Recently one was up for auction and featured in some viral clip. The host correctly identifies the "boost gauge" and screaming chicken hood sticker but because it sounds so ridiculous to younger people they rip on her thinking she's making it all up. There were a lot of unique things automakers tried in the 70s and 80s that they couldnt get away with now and its forgotten to time.

I still have my 1980 Trans Am that I bought in 1981. It came with the TA 4.9 (301) with the crap Metric 200 auto transmission. The tranny shot craps after 5 years, so being a young motor head I replaced the motor with a .090 over bored 428 Pontiac motor with a race built Turbo 400. Now it is a true muscle car.

Owned a 1980 turbo Trans Am. It had unbelievable turbo lag. Worst part was turbo would spool up and if you had to hit brakes it would keep accelerating. Easy to get away from you. Lights on hood scoop were cool.

Pontiac did not have a big block, or small block, there was simply a V8 Pontiac block across displacements.

Early in the video you mention the 400 Pontiac “Big Block”. Pontiac only had one block size with various displacements. Chevy had big and small blocks

That black custom wide body at the end of the video is gorgeous.

Feeling like Burt Reynolds is important.

The Oldsmobile jetfire had a turbocharged V8 petrol engine in 1962. 215bhp was pretty decent for a 3.5 Litre V8 especially in 1962.

If Pontiac made the shift to fuel injection for that V8, they probably could have gotten a lot more performance while still remaining emissions compliant...as was said in the parting shot of the turbocharge V6 that Buick had in their Grand National

I remember I was on a test drive in a new 1984 Mustang SVO. A Turbo V8 Trans Am pulled alongside and wanted to race. The Four Cylinder Turbo SMOKED the TransAm. It was why I bought the Mustang! LOL

1980 Pontiac Firebird Formula!!! The 1ST Car I ever Wanted was the 1ST CAR I ever HAD!!!! I Still Miss My Baby😪 She was called in the street 'The Body Snatcher'!!! She was BEAUTIFUL, T-Tops and ALL!!!

GREAT VIDEO MAN!

Did anyone mention that the 403 Olds was available in ‘80 in the Trans Am? 180hp and actually fun to drive

The 3 speed auto trans was a major contributor. I had a late 70’s bird and it was stupid slow. At highway speed the RPMs were screaming

I have a 79 ta with a 455 Nice toy

I had the Indy Pace car edition. Beautiful car. The white exterior and interior had the fire bird stitched into the rear seat and door panels that matched the hood. The red dash was also cool.

How they managed to get so low power from a turbocharged V8, is mindblowing... to avoid higher numbers, engineers had to work hard.

I had a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am Indy turbo pace car in 1988 when I was 18. It was slow as f ck. I blew the rod out the oil pan and had to rebuild it. The cast crankshaft has no counter weights on it. You heard me right. The valves were as small as a bottle cap. And the turbo only made 7.5 pounds of boost, not 9. It had no intercooler, and the temp under the hood on a hot summer July day was hot f ck from the 2 exhaust pipes wrapped around the eng with the turbo slapped on top. I woke up one morning after a night of drinking, went out, started the car, and started driving home. It had a bad misfire. I beat on it so hard o rod broke and went through the oil pan just below the block. So most of the oil stayed in it and I was able to drive it home. Craziest shit I've ever seen. So I rebuilt the engine and learned what a stinking pile of engineering crap it was. The no counter weights on the crankshaft still blows my mind. That some hack shit Pontiac put out.

I am a Ford guy but the 77 Trans Am is my favorite car.

Awesome looking car. I had a 74 t/a with a 455 4sp. I went to buy one of these it was beautiful. I drove it. What a dog. I passed

Great vid!!!! 👍👍

Looking forward to this.one. watched every episode of the Alfarrari...cant wait to see this truck finnished...

My first car. I bought it in late 86 at the beginning of my senior year. Black, black ltd edition velour interior, t-tops, ws6 suspension with 4 wheel disc brakes and wider wheels. I sold at the behest of my first wife in 93. Dumb move. Slow, but handled well and was just plain fun.

The 1980 Turbo TA used in Smokey and the Bandit part 2 had to be modified with nitrous by the production crew to get any kind of performance out of it

Very cool video. One note about the “C” word engine commentary. The only way to get four speed was with a 305 CID Chevrolet in a 49 state car. This car had a 3:42 rear gear to make up for lack of power. This was the best handling version of the T/A because of availability of WS6 package and lightweight SBC.

Found a 4600 mi turbo ta in 1996 for $1100. Was in a mild off road excursion and bent frame. Was technically driveable. Super super clean.

Good video. I read somewhere that Pontiac was actually considering a 2nd gen version of the turbo 301 for the 82 Firebird redesign. It would have had EFI. If Pontiac would have stayed with the development through the 80s that could have been quite the performer as technology caught up. Alas they instead went with Chevy engines.

It was always amazing how US engineers of this era managed to get such shockingly low power and torque from such big engines.

I had a 1969 Chevelle with a 1959 283 with a 2bbl,3 on the tree and 3.08 gears. I gapped one of those turbo 301 trans ams. I mean car lengths in the 1/4 mile.

Pontiac should have gotten Gale Banks to help. Banks and Ken Detweiler worked with GM on the Buick turbo cars. A twin turbo 301 may have produced a lot of power. So the cars were slow, they still look cool as hell!! And 3.08 gears are awesome on the highway since this was before we had over drive transmissions.

I liked the idea comment “a lot more could go wrong “ which it did before even leaving the factory. My father worked in AGR for Pontiac in Norwood Ohio. He said that they would be lined up sided by sided out of the pit and to exit door waiting for repair.

I had a 1979 Trans Am with 6.6 litre and i was clocked at 220 mph. So whomever says that the 79' was slow has never ridden in one before. Their fast and handle like a dream. Ive outrun so many cops in my younger years. It never once let me down. Best damn car I've ever owned. Can't wait to buy another one.

Great video of a good car 👍

My friend had a turbo 301, it was slooooow

That's cool, Unique is in my hometown in Mankato Mn!

My all time Favorite Car❤❤

I also had a 1981, I think it was like 210hp , but if I remember it was the first production air cooled turbo lasting about 70/80k miles , but I went with a 383 stroker motor with 10:75 -1 ratio if I got that right. Also had gotten a 455sd motor out of a junk yard in Freeport long island, my friend worked there and found it on a top shelf, I think I paid 200$ for it , it was machined at SK speed shop , but unfortunately it was more of a pipe dream , I ended up selling it un assembled like 30 years ago. A lot of memories with that car .

Bought a turbo Trans Am from a buddy when I was in the military in the late 80's. The engine was junk but the car was cool. Pulled it and put in a 455. Car was a beast after that.

1978 was the last casting year of the traditional PMD v8.

Pontiac 400s sold in 1979 were, I believe, stocked up 1977 and 1978 blocks. Once sold out, that was the end for the 400.

I had a 1980 Ford Fairmount Durango. It was supposed to be a ranchero replacement as it was lighter, and smaller engines for emissions and better fuel economy. It was one of somewhere between 212 to 350 ever made.

The best engineering for the day, does not say much for engineering of the time.

My roommate in college had one and I had an ‘82 Z28. It was a great looking car but had horrible turbo lag. Handling was good though.

The 3rd Gen was supposed to continue developing the Pontiac turbo v8. That’s why the early 3rd gens had the turbo bulge in the hood. GM made them use the SBC at the last minute

i had a 1974 455sd and when that engine came on cam at 90 mph it was like a turbo had cut in. it only got 10 mpg. just about bankrupted me. but it was fun.

Great video, I learned so much, I always wondered what changes the 301 (really a 302 but Pontiac didn't want to upset Ford) went through in preparation for the Turbo. The low octane gas makes sense, yes, the 308:1 was for fuel economy. A friend of my Uncle's has an 80, white with charcoal two tone and my dad and stepdad both started at GM Oshawa in '79. I wonder if anyone who has one now installed a 373 posi and a four speed?

Back in mid 80's I had an 81 Turbo Trans-Am. The 81 models were rated at 210 horsepower and the 80 models were rated 190. When things were right my 81 was a fun car that had decent power and handling. Previously I had a 78 Regal Turbo. My 81 T/A Turbo was a POS. I was constantly fixing issues. Door hinges, A/C leaking, Power window issues. Then things went from bad to worse. My 81 was afflicted with "soft" camshafts. I had to have the camshaft replaced. The dealer messed up the installation of the cam and damaged the cam bearings, causing low oil pressure. The engine had to be pulled and new cam, rod, and main bearings installed. 3 days after the engine was reinstalled, the oil pump driveshaft sheared off and I was stranded on the freeway 60 miles from home. The car was towed, repaired again. A week later an electrical fault burned the car. What a nightmare that car was.

Firebirds are my favorite body style. Owned a 78 T/A and an 87 T/A. The 79-81's fronts clips never looked right to me.

I didn’t even realize these existed until this summer. I saw a rusty white one with hood scoop that said turbo 4.9 on the side at the local beer store and googled it when I got home. I’ve seen it one more time since but I’m still unsure who owns it. Edit: I still wasn’t aware the scoop was offset until this video.

I worked for Pontiac from 1978 through the beginning of 1981. The turbo Trans Am formula were an abysmal failure. I had a formula company car in 1980 and turned the car back in quickly. I swapped it in for a used formula with a 400 4 speed. (Great car!) The only thing that could be said about the turbo was there was maybe slightly less weight over the front wheels. The turbo lag was obnoxiously long and this is a car that I turned in with less than 4000 miles on it. Pontiac couldn’t give me one of those cars! It was a shame from there until modern computers brought the horsepower back…

I bought a 1980 Turbo TA brand new in the spring of 1980 off the local Pontiac showroom floor. It looked great and was quick, but did feel slow overall. I attributed that to the weight, as it was a heavy car. Also, mine did not have the turbo boost gauge. I don't know when that got added.

most 2 door coupes and fastbacks lacked enough weight distribution to the rear wheels and had lousy traction. Even the mid size sedans also had poor traction and were dogs when trying to make a hard launch. I had a 1984 305 Caprice Estate wagon that did wheelies after a few mods. I also kept all the emissions control properly connected. The only things I changed was an upgraded camshaft and I slightly altered the 4 barrel secondary throttle opening and fattened the secondary fuel mixture to increase the top speed. The quadrajet only bogs out from leaning out after increasing the air volume. I was able to put thinner fuel metering rods into the secondaries to compensate for the added airflow volume. The wagon had a 3.42 gear ratio. the 3.08 gearing is mostly used in police vehicles as well as Corvettes. I'm probably one of a rare few people who know how to fully tune most GM V8s. Most experienced mechanics were mostly into Ford and mopars. Whenever they worked on a General Motors vehicle, they would go backwards on the whole tuneup once they loosened the distributor to set the timing. For the past 30+ years, I've picked up lots of non running chevies for next to no cost. I would have it running and roadworthy immediately after I got it registered. I can count the total value of every vehicle I've owned since I was a teenager all within a few grand. One car was given to me as a freebie. One I only paid $15 for. I took an old rusty crewcab square body for $0. another Oldsmobile for $150. An ex police car for $1000. A chevy van for $1800. And 2 motorhomes at $1200 and $3000. I'm now in my late 40's. I paid less money for vehicles than paying rent!!

4:00 The comment about turbos not being done mainstream before is only true for v8s. The Corvair Spyder had a mass produced turbo 6 cyl in the 1960s.

I had a 76 Formula Firebird with a 400 SB. It ran mid-13's 1/4 timed bone stock engine with a bit of carb tuning and a swapped 350 to 400 turbo trans. The engine ran rather warm being shoehorned in a bit, so turbos probably added little to no power. Also, as you mentioned, premium gas wasn't always available.

I have a 78 L82 4spd Vette. I wanted one since 78. I also wanted an 80 or 81 Trans Am. Never got one, and now the prices prevent it.

I had a 79 301. A buddy got a turbo that lasted about 3 weeks. Blew it up trying to race me after I put a 455 in mine

i wouldn't care how slow they are, just to own one would be a complete joy, Old cars are Beautiful, every old car needs saving, like us, once they're gone they're gone forever.

I had the '70's "Smoky" Trans Am. 454 cu in. It got 11 mpg!

I owned an ‘81 T/A 301 turbo exactly like the one @1:00, I had better exhaust and a Hurst slap shift in it but she was still pretty dickless. Nonetheless I loved that car and if I were thinking better at the time I’d never have sold it. Body & frame were perfect, all I’d have done was updated everything else and tossed a warmed over LS in there

"Smokey & the Bandit" was the 2nd highest grossing film of 1977. A broadly popular film, not a "cult classic" which is niche.