1979 trans am, what's it worth?

[CreepingDeath94]

Alright, I have another one for you guys. I have a 1979 Firebird sitting at my house that has more or less been turned into a Trans-Am. It has the Trans-Am fenders, shaker hood, 400 Pontiac 6.6 motor, dual exhaust with original chrome tips, and a Powerglide 2 speed tranny. Now basically, the car has been sitting for about 3 years and has since rusted pretty badly. It would be best to replace the whole body. On top of that, the interior is in need of 100% restoration. Heres the good news. The engine has 0 miles and has been professionally rebuilt with slight modification (slightly bored, .30 over I believe, Keith Black flat top pistons, some head work, and an Edelbrock intake, 600 cfm carb, HEI distributor, with some matching chrome Pontiac valve covers and air cleaner). That rebuild cost over $3500. The exhaust has also been recently run within the last 2 months by a professional (about $800 I believe). In addition I have the snowflake rims for it in straight condition but they need to be painted. Also, I have a new fan shroud, radiator, brakes front and rear (whole system), stone guards, and rear spoiler. It basically is a parts car because of the body though.
My question is this. Is it worth $2000. The parts on it could be either swapped to a good Firebird/Trans-Am or a good body could be dropped on this frame. The drivetrain and mechanical is all brand new for the most part. I've got way more in it than that but I can't afford to let it sit there and rust away. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[FormulaLT1]

I could see you getting 2k or more for it and I could even see someone restoring it fairy easy cause I have friend who had the uglyiest most hurting 2nd Gen I ever seen. You could get in anywhere in the car without falling threw the floor and the body rust went right threw the car and to see the car today you would think GM just made her but it took alot of work.

John

[CreepingDeath94]

So if I put it on autotrader or Ebay and set my reserve or firm price at $2000, it wouldn't be rediculous then? I just want to make sure I can at least get the $2000 out of it, I wish I could get about $2500, but need the $2K or Ill just keep it.

[FormulaLT1]

I would think that its very possible to get 2k. I wouldn't doubt it. I would also throw a add in the local paper.
John

[pontiacpmpn]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath94

So if I put it on autotrader or Ebay and set my reserve or firm price at $2000, it wouldn't be rediculous then? I just want to make sure I can at least get the $2000 out of it, I wish I could get about $2500, but need the $2K or Ill just keep it.

Too bad im in iraq right now.. id probably give you 2k for it if I could get a trailer to bring it to MN.. Its got pretty much everything I need... let me know if you cant get the 2k for it.. I wont be home for about 8 months though. Anyway I think you could definetly get that, maybe even 2500 on ebay or something

[92bonny]

Hello everybody,
a freind of mine just bought a 1979 trans am for $5500 at a dealer. It has a 6.6L 3 or 4 speed auto, t-tops nice pipes and rims, it's actually quite nice. It needs new gaskets, some tuning, and some interior/exterior work. We were wondering what it could be worth if it were properly cleaned up (not neccessarily restored) and if he got a good deal on it or not. Let me know what you all think, thanks.

[92bonny]

my bad, I did not see that post below, please don't kill me.

Any new thoughts are welcome though.

[FormulaLT1]

No problem, I merged the 2 threads together because they are so similiar.

John

[FormulaLT1]

I just tried to look up what a 79 in good shape was worth and unfortantly most of the sites I know of like Edmunds only go back to 1980 but if you look in autotrader for your area I am sure you can see what most people are asking for these and compare to see if you got a good deal but to me it sounds like you did.

John

[CreepingDeath94]

In good shape all original, these cars go from around $3000 to upwards of $10000. I'd say if it was at a dealer and in good running and driving shape with origianl parts, you paid just about exactly what its worth. I'm not sure about how much, if any, restoring it will bring up the value. It depends on how many original miles are on it, what kind of optional equipment it has, etc.

[92bonny]

Thanks for merging my thread to this one and thanks for the input.
Also the car says it has 129,000 Original miles on it.

[volkerc]

Tss.
My answer is, those cars are exactly worth what somebody is willing to write a check for. Currently those cars are being advertised for stupid money.And some fools are paying that type of money. It is my opinion that if you do not have an all original car in nice shape forget about the value of it. because there is a certain sentimental, or individual value it does not mean that you will get that kind of money. Cars with matching numbers and cars that have been produced in limited numbers bring the most. Firebirds and trans Ams that have been built in 79 are a dime a dozen, because that was the year Pontiac sold the most of these cars. Your best bet to find out how rare your ride might be is to look in those Red books. They list the production numbers very well and give you an idea what is rare. Generally the black and gold special edition cars 77-79 bring some good money as does the 10th Anniversary Trans Am. Also manual transmission birds bring more, as do the earlier birds of the 2nd generation 70-73.
I bought my 79 Formula for $1000 with a 400 in decent shape and no rust, and the guy wanted $2000 in Auto trader. If you want to make more just go the ebay route, because for some reason people there pay stupid money.