1977 Pontiac Firebird T/A S.E.

[echoxrayniner]

I needed to test this decal set out as I was kind of worried that the twin-stripes were too thin for the printer to do clearly, as well as try see if they actually fit. I also wanted to give this Trans Am kit another go cause in-box, it ain't a Trans Am... no call-outs, no markings so way back(my first forum post in fact), I did a regular Firebird 400 of it in red. So I tried some more home-made little tricks like trying to use ribbon as seat-belts, make seat-belt arms, plumb the entire engine including the A/C unit and so on. So I used some basic Tamiya black and the ever so wonderful Vallejo golds, a whole lot of clear, about 5 hours of stripe work and topped it off with very era appropriate ProTrac R/P Radial tires that were proudly advertised with a half-naked lady leaning against a '78 Firebird back then.

The only gripe I got about this kit is the tires being waaaay too thin, this car needed some wide-as-sin rubber, not these small radials. But alas, I will say though - more screw bottom chassis', this thing feels sturdy. Also I screwed up the tail, the stripe shouldn't be on the wing but around the tail-light, but oh well.

[Can-Con]

NJ, First, nice T/A. The decals look good.

Second, I went and looked at that red one on your site ,, it definitly is still a Trans Am. 

My '85 was repainted when I got it and didn't have any of it's decals but that didn't mean it wasn't a "real Trans Am"

The Trans Am package is more than just the decals.  The flares and shaker hood are also a very big part of it and IIRC, you had the option to delete the decals when you bought the car. In fact, the big hood decal was always an added on option, at over $200!  They even have unique serial numbers that separate them from base Firebirds and Formulas.

You could get the engine and suspension under a Formula but the hood was different [except for a few '74/'75 SD455s] and they didn't have the wheel spats and vents on the front fenders. 

Here's a link to a site that will cover the basics.

https://tran-zam.com/index.html

[BigTallDad]

Very nicely done.

[Slick Shifter]

Once upon a time i stripped and scrapped a 1976 Trans Am Special Edition. There were many changes from 1976 to 1977, though.

For future reference you may choose to remember that the shaker callout for the 1977 Pontiac 400 V-8 was T/A 6.6 whereas the sorry 403 Olds V-8 got 6.6 Litre markings.

For people who loved Pontiac Motor Division and their products, this is an important distinction.

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by Slick Shifter

[echoxrayniner]

I actually had the T/A 6.6 ready to go on there cut out from the sheet, and blew it off the table after getting up and into the friggin' void forever, so I took the other pair I put on the sheet which were 6.6 T/A and 6.6 Litre >.<

Edited December 10, 2019 by echoxrayniner

[Anglia105E]

This is a very nice Pontiac that you have built, NJ...... especially well done is your interior and under the hood. The paint job and the decals are excellent also, and the Vallejo gold over the Tamiya black works really nicely.

David

[Classicgas]

Very nice.

[KWT]

nice job bro

[Zoom]

Nice job on that!

[Tom99]

Looking good.

[charger74]

You nailed it !!!

[Dragonhawk1066]

Looks good. Nice job on the stripe decals. The interior and engine details look good also.

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[slusher]

Sweet Trans Am!

 

[PappyD340]

Nice!!

[Dann Tier]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

[mustang1989]

Saw this one yesterday and meant to comment on it but got interrupted. I do love me some T/A's and this one is looking really good. 

[Funkychiken]

build looks pot on!

[Plashdaddy]

Looks great! I’m working on this kit and am going to try to make those missing Trans Am decals. Yours came out really good.

[LL3 Model Worx]

You got ol' Fred's mouth watering for a couple cheeseburgers!

Nice T/A

[Oldcarfan27]

On 12/10/2019 at 2:04 PM, Slick Shifter said:

Once upon a time i stripped and scrapped a 1976 Trans Am Special Edition. There were many changes from 1976 to 1977, though.

For future reference you may choose to remember that the shaker callout for the 1977 Pontiac 400 V-8 was T/A 6.6 whereas the sorry 403 Olds V-8 got 6.6 Litre markings.

Man, that S/E that you stripped would've been worth a mint today! Even in poor condition. 

Actually,  in 78, the T/A 6.6 was for the W72 code 400 with the 4 speed ONLY. 220hp which was as hot as it got in 78.

The 6.6 Litre was for the W78 code 400 with automatic  (180 hp) or the 403 Olds/automatic (200 hp).

The final eight thousand or so Pontiac 400s in 78 and 79 were only available with 4 Speeds. And many of those were stockpiled for use in the 10th anniversary Trans Am Special Editions.