Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – 1970-1981
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Arguably the best engine ever created for the Firebird was the 455 V8. Sadly that engine was discontinued in 1976. Why not choose just a single year that included that engine and leave it at that? Honestly, the late 70’s and early 80’s was a bit of a rough time for American sports cars. There was not that many that were truly great cars. So let’s celebrate the car every teen and college kid drooled over and hoped to cruise around in.
One thing that must be mentioned is the distinctive Firebird emblem on the hood of many trans-ams. It’s the kind of feature that has rarely been used in a car, and certainly not in bulk. The car was cool enough that it could put its brand out there for everyone to see and admire. A bold styling option, but one that was remembered. A t-top roof with a proper bird on the hood is a perfect version of this car.
Power Options
The number of engines that have been offered in the Firebird are almost endless. Like the Camaro, they were built with ample size for varying engines and allowed for easy customization. The best engine was the 455 cubic inch Pontiac V8. That 7.5L behemoth made the Firebird something special. The noise is almost indescribable. For many years it was the only engine you could get, but it really struggled to meet emissions standards. That’s almost impressive considering how lax the emissions requirements were at the time.
Smokey And the Who?
In the late 70’s, the epitome of cool was Mr. Burt Reynolds. The 1977 version of the Trans Am became a part of pop culture history when it was chosen to be the car in Smokey and the Bandit. The movie increased sales of the car. It had never outsold the Camaro, but within 2 years it was even more popular and outsold it for the first time. Burt was actually promised a Firebird Trans Am every year for life from Pontiac’s President after the movie.
