Post by ferrari512s on Feb 18, 2014 17:04:42 GMT -5
Ultimate Hot Wheels Cars|Channel C00236562
The Pontiac Firebird Trans AM 1977
This was also the year the Trans Am became firmly established as the car of the 1970s when Burt Reynolds drove a black-and-gold Special Edition through the unexpected hit Smokey and The Bandit.
The Bandit's Trans Am may have looked great, but it wasn't particularly quick — Hot Rod magazine tested a similar car and could only muster a 16.02-second run down the quarter-mile at 89.64 mph. Nonetheless the influence of this movie Smoky and the Bandit was overwhelming.
It sure became popular quickly, though, as Pontiac sold 68,745 Trans Ams along with 86,991 other assorted Firebirds during 1977. The numbers speak for themselves. This Trans-Am model was on fire! The Phoenix flew proudly and was being admired by many...
With no reason to mess with success, the 1978 Firebird and Trans Am basically carried over from the '77 except that there were a lot more "special editions" like a gold Trans Am with brown accents and blue "Sky Bird" and red "Red Bird" Firebirds.
America snatched up 93,341 Trans Ams and 93,944 other Firebirds for an astounding total of 187,285 — the best sales year ever.
The Pontiac brochure for 1977 showed the Trans-Am proudly and presented the magnificent Firebirds...
The Firebird Spirit...
This Trans-Am came in other colors too! However black with the gold Firebird Phoenix on the hood is the more iconic version we all remember.
Pontaic Firebird Type K
Pontiac even considered creating a concept Firebird station wagon. What a concept car this turned out to be...
Here is an article in Motor Trend magazine regarding this concept Pontiac...
Is that James Garner from the TV hit show "Rockford Files"?
www.edmunds.com/pontiac/firebird/history.html
The Trans AM Revolution Continues...
A distinctive, slant-nose facelift occurred in 1977, redone somewhat in 1979.
From 1977 to 1981, the Firebird used four square headlamps, while the Camaro continued to retain the two round headlights that had previously been shared by both Second Generation designs.
The 1977 Trans-Am Special Edition became famous after being featured in Smokey and the Bandit.
Later on the 1980 Turbo model was used for Smokey and the Bandit II.
Beginning in 1978, the Pontiac group introduces a new special edition vehicle. The Firebird Formula LT Sport Edition which featured a revised 10% raised compression Chevy 305 V8 powertrain producing 155hp (same as 1977 Chevy Monza Mirage) combined with a floor center console 4 speed Manual T-10 BW Transmission coupled to a limited-slip differential final drive. The Limited Touring package (LT) also included a cabin roof, door, fender and hood graphics scheme, the Trans-Am sports handling package with HD gas shocks, Modular Alloy Wheels and the SE Trans-Am rear deck Spoiler with "Formula" word graphic detail.
The engineers also revised the compression ratio in the 400ci through the installation of different cylinder heads with smaller combustion chambers (1977 Pontiac 400 engines also had the 350 heads bolted to the 400 blocks, these heads were known as the 6x-4 heads and were taken from the Pontiac 350).
This increased power by 10% for a total of 220 during the 1978–79 model years. The 400/403 options remained available until 1979, when the 400 CID engines were only available in the 4-speed transmission Trans Ams and Formulas (the engines had actually been stockpiled from 1978, when PMD had cut production of the engine).
1979 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Trans Am, and a special anniversary package was made available: silver paint lower paint (with gray upper paint accents) with a silver leather interior. The 10th Anniversary cars also featured a special Firebird hood decal, which extended off of the hood and onto the front fenders. Pontiac produced 7,500 10th Anniversary cars, of which 1,817 were equipped with the Pontiac 400 engine (and coupled with the 4 speed Borg Warner Super T-10 transmission). The only option on these cars was the engine (the 400 was not certified for California, nor was cruise control available with it), which dictated the transmission and the gear ratio (3.23 on the 400 cars, 2.73 on the 403 cars). In 1979 Pontiac sold 116,535 Trans Ams which still holds the record to this day.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird received new styling to the front end for the 1977 model year. They now had quad rectangular headlamps and an more aggressive looking grille.
The Firebird was available as the base, Esprit, Formula and Trans Am. The base version with a V6 engine sold for $4,270 while the top-of-the-line version had a price tag of $5,450.
The 90-degree overhead valve V6 powerplant offered just over 100 horsepower. An optional overhead valve V8 brought horsepower to 145 bhp. A 350 CID V8 was also available, with 170 horsepower. The Firebird Trans Am versions received a 400 CID V8 that had 200 horsepower.
The Firebird's had a new hood with simulated air scoops. In the back was a spoiler. In the front was a recessed grille that was positioned in-line with the quad rectangular headlamps. The name 'Pontiac' could be found on the driver's side of the grille.
Esprit versions could be purchased with the new blue 'Sky Bird' appearance package with blue velour seating, two-tone blue body and blue cast aluminum wheels.
Firebird Formula models had blacked-out trim, dual hood scoops, and large 'Formula' graphics on the door. The Trans Am models had a new shaker hood. They came standard with a 400- or 403-cid V8. An optional 'T/A 6.6' powerplant was also available.
The Firebird came standard with a three-speed manual gearbox. The Firebird Formula came with a four-speed manual. The other models had a three-speed Turbo-Hydra-Matic.
Other Sources
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16319/Pontiac-Firebird-Trans-Am.aspx
www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0708_1977_pontiac_firebird_trans_am_bandit_edition/
Hot Wheels Pontiac Trans-Am
Mattel decided to introduce the Pontiac Firbird Trans-Am in 1978. Let's have Hot Wheels Wiki tell the story...
This Firebird was introduced in 1978 as the Hot Bird in the Flying Colors series in Black and with Blackwalls, (bw).
It was available in the Thundershift Roarin' Raceway. In 1979 it was Gold-plated as part of the Golden Machines 6-Pack. In 1980 it was changed to Brown in the basic line for a short run and then changed again to Blue.
In 1982 it was changed to Black again and joined the Hot Ones series.
The Captain America also uses this casting.
Several paint and tampo variations followed from "glitter black" to Metalflake blue. There are also SEVERAL tampo variations over the years.
Bases vary from origin= The original Hot Bird was made in Hong Kong, Malaysia and China.
In 2006 a completely new casting was made and produced in both Malaysia and Thailand. This new casting was used from 2006 on.
Although very similar to the original, the dimensions of the car differ.
The 1st noticable difference is the size of the shaker scoop on the hood.
The new version's shaker is slightly longer than the old. Also, both bases are different. A few other differences are the detail of the rear tail lights and the hood bird tampo.
One constant similarity of both models through the years is they have both ALWAYS been all diecast. This Firebird also appeared in Burt Reynold's popular feature film "Smokey And The Bandit."
Ultimate Hot Wheels Cars|Channel C00236562
The Pontiac Firebird Trans AM 1977
This was also the year the Trans Am became firmly established as the car of the 1970s when Burt Reynolds drove a black-and-gold Special Edition through the unexpected hit Smokey and The Bandit.
The Bandit's Trans Am may have looked great, but it wasn't particularly quick — Hot Rod magazine tested a similar car and could only muster a 16.02-second run down the quarter-mile at 89.64 mph. Nonetheless the influence of this movie Smoky and the Bandit was overwhelming.
It sure became popular quickly, though, as Pontiac sold 68,745 Trans Ams along with 86,991 other assorted Firebirds during 1977. The numbers speak for themselves. This Trans-Am model was on fire! The Phoenix flew proudly and was being admired by many...
With no reason to mess with success, the 1978 Firebird and Trans Am basically carried over from the '77 except that there were a lot more "special editions" like a gold Trans Am with brown accents and blue "Sky Bird" and red "Red Bird" Firebirds.
America snatched up 93,341 Trans Ams and 93,944 other Firebirds for an astounding total of 187,285 — the best sales year ever.
The Pontiac brochure for 1977 showed the Trans-Am proudly and presented the magnificent Firebirds...
The Firebird Spirit...
This Trans-Am came in other colors too! However black with the gold Firebird Phoenix on the hood is the more iconic version we all remember.
Pontaic Firebird Type K
Pontiac even considered creating a concept Firebird station wagon. What a concept car this turned out to be...
Here is an article in Motor Trend magazine regarding this concept Pontiac...
Is that James Garner from the TV hit show "Rockford Files"?
www.edmunds.com/pontiac/firebird/history.html
The Trans AM Revolution Continues...
A distinctive, slant-nose facelift occurred in 1977, redone somewhat in 1979.
From 1977 to 1981, the Firebird used four square headlamps, while the Camaro continued to retain the two round headlights that had previously been shared by both Second Generation designs.
The 1977 Trans-Am Special Edition became famous after being featured in Smokey and the Bandit.
Later on the 1980 Turbo model was used for Smokey and the Bandit II.
Beginning in 1978, the Pontiac group introduces a new special edition vehicle. The Firebird Formula LT Sport Edition which featured a revised 10% raised compression Chevy 305 V8 powertrain producing 155hp (same as 1977 Chevy Monza Mirage) combined with a floor center console 4 speed Manual T-10 BW Transmission coupled to a limited-slip differential final drive. The Limited Touring package (LT) also included a cabin roof, door, fender and hood graphics scheme, the Trans-Am sports handling package with HD gas shocks, Modular Alloy Wheels and the SE Trans-Am rear deck Spoiler with "Formula" word graphic detail.
The engineers also revised the compression ratio in the 400ci through the installation of different cylinder heads with smaller combustion chambers (1977 Pontiac 400 engines also had the 350 heads bolted to the 400 blocks, these heads were known as the 6x-4 heads and were taken from the Pontiac 350).
This increased power by 10% for a total of 220 during the 1978–79 model years. The 400/403 options remained available until 1979, when the 400 CID engines were only available in the 4-speed transmission Trans Ams and Formulas (the engines had actually been stockpiled from 1978, when PMD had cut production of the engine).
1979 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Trans Am, and a special anniversary package was made available: silver paint lower paint (with gray upper paint accents) with a silver leather interior. The 10th Anniversary cars also featured a special Firebird hood decal, which extended off of the hood and onto the front fenders. Pontiac produced 7,500 10th Anniversary cars, of which 1,817 were equipped with the Pontiac 400 engine (and coupled with the 4 speed Borg Warner Super T-10 transmission). The only option on these cars was the engine (the 400 was not certified for California, nor was cruise control available with it), which dictated the transmission and the gear ratio (3.23 on the 400 cars, 2.73 on the 403 cars). In 1979 Pontiac sold 116,535 Trans Ams which still holds the record to this day.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird received new styling to the front end for the 1977 model year. They now had quad rectangular headlamps and an more aggressive looking grille.
The Firebird was available as the base, Esprit, Formula and Trans Am. The base version with a V6 engine sold for $4,270 while the top-of-the-line version had a price tag of $5,450.
The 90-degree overhead valve V6 powerplant offered just over 100 horsepower. An optional overhead valve V8 brought horsepower to 145 bhp. A 350 CID V8 was also available, with 170 horsepower. The Firebird Trans Am versions received a 400 CID V8 that had 200 horsepower.
The Firebird's had a new hood with simulated air scoops. In the back was a spoiler. In the front was a recessed grille that was positioned in-line with the quad rectangular headlamps. The name 'Pontiac' could be found on the driver's side of the grille.
Esprit versions could be purchased with the new blue 'Sky Bird' appearance package with blue velour seating, two-tone blue body and blue cast aluminum wheels.
Firebird Formula models had blacked-out trim, dual hood scoops, and large 'Formula' graphics on the door. The Trans Am models had a new shaker hood. They came standard with a 400- or 403-cid V8. An optional 'T/A 6.6' powerplant was also available.
The Firebird came standard with a three-speed manual gearbox. The Firebird Formula came with a four-speed manual. The other models had a three-speed Turbo-Hydra-Matic.
Other Sources
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16319/Pontiac-Firebird-Trans-Am.aspx
www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0708_1977_pontiac_firebird_trans_am_bandit_edition/
Hot Wheels Pontiac Trans-Am
Mattel decided to introduce the Pontiac Firbird Trans-Am in 1978. Let's have Hot Wheels Wiki tell the story...
This Firebird was introduced in 1978 as the Hot Bird in the Flying Colors series in Black and with Blackwalls, (bw).
It was available in the Thundershift Roarin' Raceway. In 1979 it was Gold-plated as part of the Golden Machines 6-Pack. In 1980 it was changed to Brown in the basic line for a short run and then changed again to Blue.
In 1982 it was changed to Black again and joined the Hot Ones series.
The Captain America also uses this casting.
Several paint and tampo variations followed from "glitter black" to Metalflake blue. There are also SEVERAL tampo variations over the years.
Bases vary from origin= The original Hot Bird was made in Hong Kong, Malaysia and China.
In 2006 a completely new casting was made and produced in both Malaysia and Thailand. This new casting was used from 2006 on.
Although very similar to the original, the dimensions of the car differ.
The 1st noticable difference is the size of the shaker scoop on the hood.
The new version's shaker is slightly longer than the old. Also, both bases are different. A few other differences are the detail of the rear tail lights and the hood bird tampo.
One constant similarity of both models through the years is they have both ALWAYS been all diecast. This Firebird also appeared in Burt Reynold's popular feature film "Smokey And The Bandit."
Ultimate Hot Wheels Cars|Channel C00236562