79 trans am to 87 gn

[twin34]

ok guys i know this is a buick forum but i recently sold my 1979 trans am to get a buick grand national did i make a great decision?

 

[TryMeGT]

Had a red 79 T/A with a 403 Olds automatic back in the day. Car was mint and sweet. I loved it and had a blast driving it to high school and college. It even had the factory ratchet shifter:biggrin: Have an 86 GN now, the two are not comparable. Although I would buy another 79 T/A, it would not be at the sale of my GN. You made the right choice Once you get a taste of boost, it is like crack Find one that was taken care of with a few mods, then enjoy. 99% of the cars on the road won't be able to hang with you from light to light. It is a good feeling to know that the Vette sitting next to you that cost $50+K doesn't have much of a chance when the light turns green

 

[brent8487]

YEP

I say this even with the recent problems I've had.

Before I restored my car, it provided me with 9 yr's of reliable and fun service, at good fuel milage. And the cops didn't notice a BE-wreck, but they sure noticed the F-bodied cars, but....that's also true with the chicks....

I think the chicks today are smarter then back then, and todays chick want to ride in class...

 

[tzque]

I currently own a 79 Ta and a 87 GN . My TA has been with me since 1985 .I would never sell it . They are two different cars . I have never raced the two but the GN is quicker but My Ta def has more top end . The TA is a hard ride .. The GN feels like a Caddy .My TA is more trouble free for me than the GN and the TA is easier to work on .
If I had to sell one the GN would be gone . How good the car ride is the biggest plus .

 

["Turbo-T"]

ok guys i know this is a buick forum but i recently sold my 1979 trans am to get a buick grand national did i make a great decision?

Well that depends on who you ask.

Me personally I think the '79 T/A looks a little better than an '86 GN. But I know an 86 GN will run circles around a 79 T/A.

But unless your T/A was a special edition black/gold pin striped model with the W72 package, I say you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

If you really had it in you, you could find a wrecked 86-87 GN and then transplant the drive train into another '79 T/A....or better yet.....

Find an '80 or '81 T/A....drop in the GN drive train....then brag to everyone "I have an 80/81 turbo T/A"...they're going to laugh at you because they're going to think it's the anemic 301 turbo which were known to be turds....but as soon as you bust their ass with it, they won't be laughing....even better when they learn it's only a V6 it'll really make them wonder....

 

[turbofish38]

You'll be kicking yourself if it was real Pontiac. If it was a L78 4 gear with WS6 than you screwed up. Anything else than it was a good deal. There is nothing like being pushed back into the seat when the LC2 is under boost. Not quite the same as a NA V-8 but any big block comes close reguardless of what car it is in. I used to own a 76 T/A with the 455/4 speed and even though it wasn't a WS6 any G-Body could whip it handling wise.

 

[tzque]

Stop light to stop light my GN takes it , From a roll it doesent stand a chance . I have a 455 in my TA it never stops pulling top end .My GN feels like it runs out of breath . My brother has the same 455 in his 442. We only raced once from a roll my GN got out on him but he walked me down . We ran out of race room but my GN had given all it had .He was still pulling
My son loves my TA and hates that I drive the GN when I want to go for a spin.
My body likes the GN more .

 

["Turbo-T"]

You'll be kicking yourself if it was real Pontiac. If it was a L78 4 gear with WS6 than you screwed up.

Did they have a WS6 back in '79? I seem to only recall the W72 package as the 220 hp 400 Pontiac V8, which was top of the line.

The '77 Smokey And The Bandit Trans AM has always been one of my favorites, although the '76 model I think looked even better.

 

[buttonfly]

I had a 79' T/A in high school too! I loved that car! There is actually one in the cars for sale section right now for 5K.

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

I had a 79 Tenth Anniversary TA, I have had an 89 20th TTA and several 86/87 GN's.

I love them all for many different reasons:biggrin:

 

[Dr.drivability]

t/a

Had black and gold 79 t/a while I lived in Germany 92-95. Man dem krauts loved that car and paid dearly for it!! Had that and my vette (in sig) there at the same time. Would not even consider giving the GN up for another t/a!! My GN is a supercar compared to that pos. Is was clean but those cars just don't do it for me anymore. BTW, boost is kinda like crack, I think?!!

 

[turbofish38]

Did they have a WS6 back in '79? I seem to only recall the W72 package as the 220 hp 400 Pontiac V8, which was top of the line.

The WS6 came out late in 77. I never saw a 77 with it but a lot of the W72 cars in 78 had it. The easy way to tell are by the wheels. WS6 used the 8" wide snowflakes with a 255 tire. For 79 the WS6 included the 4 wheel disc brakes and every 79 W72 got them. So what I was trying to say by real Pontiac was that if it didn't have the W72 220HP 400 than it was a good deal. The Olds 403 and the Pontiac 301(and Cali 305) cars were bastards even compared to my weeny 200HP 455/4 speed Trans Am.

 

[lee01]

I currently own a 79 Trans Am w/455 Pontiac, its actually my fourth 79 TA and own some 3 gen. Camaro-T/A.

My first 79 T/A had a 350 Rocket in it, automatic and 4 wheel discs. Its wasn't fast, but it did drive, brake so well, it was a real cruising car.

But I still don't like how you seat in it. Like most T/A its low and you drive all stretch out.

So for my opinion, I did like most of the T/A, like most of the people said, I love it for different reason.

Also i'm selling my TA in favour of my GN addictive money pits:wink:

The GN is fast YES
I feel less strest out driving the GN I dunno why maybe because I know is that fast???
It ride different, easy to adjust and one point I like, I care less about speed bump, bulky sidewalk. My T/A were constant rattle and exhaust scrapping over those.

GN over T/A, but that me.

 

[twin34]

mine has disk brakes all around and 8inch wheels

 

[pacecarta]

i parked my 79 10th ann 4spd and 78 y88 ws6 4sp for the buicks
no regrets

 

[pacecarta]

The WS6 came out late in 77. I never saw a 77 with it but a lot of the W72 cars in 78 had it. The easy way to tell are by the wheels. WS6 used the 8" wide snowflakes with a 255 tire. For 79 the WS6 included the 4 wheel disc brakes and every 79 W72 got them. So what I was trying to say by real Pontiac was that if it didn't have the W72 220HP 400 than it was a good deal. The Olds 403 and the Pontiac 301(and Cali 305) cars were bastards even compared to my weeny 200HP 455/4 speed Trans Am.

actually
78 was first model year for ws6 option
for part of 78 the ws6 and W72 performance pkg were teamed together
late 78 (march 12th ) the ws6 was seperated from W72 because the w72 wasnt available on auto trans cars , only the 4spd would be 220hp, the auto 400 dropped back to 185hp
and ws6 was the 8 " rim, handling pkg , tighter steering box (constant ratio, high effort) and firmer bushings and rear bar but rubber was 225/70 15 goodyear polysteels RWL in 78 other wise it was gr70-15
in 79 ws6 and non ws6 cars both got the new metric 225/70-15 rubber but the ws6 got the goodyear polysteel RWL tires and others got the uniroyals

and rear disc brakes (J65) became available for 79 availble with or without the Ws6 pkg

and you could order the 8" rims on the 305 cars without ws6 or j65 brakes under the Ws7 RPO

i still have a site up with all the info
78-81 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 info page

 

["Turbo-T"]

Found this on WS6 cars of 1978....scroll down...

1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

And it also gives some credit to the Buick 3.8 turbo in the opening statements here...

1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am