I have always wanted a 78 TransAM, I happened to trip on the chance to get this 1969 Corvette.

Where would I best find someone considering trade?

Where would I go to get the best guess estimate on the value of my Vette?

 

You have a 69 vette and you want to trade it for a 78 trans am?
What condition is the 69? The 69 vette definitely has more value than a 78 trans am. I wouldn't do it. The value of the vette is already 5 times the original cost of it, about $5k (in 1969). You can find a 78 trans am. I wouldn't do it.

 

If I like your '69 enough, I'll go buy a '78 TA to trade you for it...


s/b general??

 

A 78 Trans Am? If it was a 69 or early 70s model maybe, but not a 78.

 

Yeah....an I'd trade my 70' for a 73' 4-door gold Nova with 3 matching hubcaps, no power steerting and drum brakes. Oh yeah...I already owned that car!

Seriously, the 78' TransAm has ZERO pull. Take BKBoiler's advice.

 

I like the 78 Trans Am's, I like the 79's even more. In fact I was looking for one when I found my Corvette. I just couldn't find any Trans Am's that weren't $15,000+ that had good frames under them. I had 2 Trans Am's a 79 and a 74 and both of them I got rid of due to frame issues.

 

I had a 79 T/A in my late teens. It was a nice car, but here is no way I trade one for my 77 Vette. But i would trade my 77 for a 69 Vette.

How about we Swap my 77 for your 69 and call it even?

 

I know it has to be some sort of a child hood cool car gotta have fettish... I had the Same thing for Grand Nationals till I bought 1 now I miss the Vette so much I sold it to get to work on her again...

Good Luck with the 78 Definately a cool car in my Book

 

I wanted to thank you guys for your honest opinions!

I would not be apposed to a earlier TA, but as I said.... the 78 was so cool, maybe I would change my mind once I tried one.

I always wanted the TA since first seen on Smokey and the Bandit. I know it is not as desirable or valuable as the Vette, I figured I could get one completely restored as a trade.

My Vette has it’s issues as well. Here are the pics I took when I opened the garage that she slept in for the past 30 years. http://pmhmaterialhandling.com/spec/...esfirstday.pdf I got her this past Thanksgiving. I was asked by a co-worker that is at a different office than me if I would sell her car on E-bay. When she told me what it was I sent her links to some of the ones on E-bay for her to see the values and what information would be needed when listing.

She told me she was hoping to get $5,500 for it, I told her I would be interested but I couldn’t afford what I thought she could get for it. She called me and said the Vette was mine. She would take no more than $4,500 and payments over 12 months. So… that is how I ended up with this 1969 Corvette. When I got her and brought her home and began rebuilding the motor since it sat for 30 years. Come to find out, it was not the original 350, it was a 302 from a camaro. A guy offered me $2,300 for the motor, so I sold it and was able to buy all the needed items, all new brake system, calipers, shoes, lines, e-brake, radiator and some other small stuff. Bought all the chrome items and gaskets for the 350 that was given to me and I rebuilt. Bought used chrome side exhaust covers (originals way too bad), carpet (the rest of the black leather interior, dash ect was a 9 out of 10) The Vette has 58K miles on her so everything seems to be nice. The power windows work, the radio works when it wants too. Can you believe this…… ALL the vacuum items are working! The lights come up nice as does the wiper door!

Now.. for the bad things. The paint job is slightly more than a 20 footer, I would say 30 feet should do it. Tire are the ones that came on it, then actually roll nice, I layed a little tread so far in them, I only drive it in town. ALL the bushings need replaced, they are all dry rotted and makes the ride a little rougher than it should be and the steering is rather loose, this is one of the reasons I wont drive it out of town, not too mention the 30+ year old tires, not sure they would handle 70-80 mph so well.

So…. I thought maybe get the car I drempt about, already complete, or just enjoy the one I got and make her the way she should be over the next couple years.

I could get the money to complete her, but I don’t want to be like some guys who list their Vettes on these sites and want to sell them for 20K and say they have 40 invested. At this point, I bought her for 4500, sold the motor for 2300, and put that back in her, so I guess I have a 69 vette on the road for 4500.

 

I had a 78 TA from 92-00. I got it when I was 16. I loved that car. It was completely original and loaded. It had the base 400, th350 and 2.56 gears. As I was completely poor, I did every budget mod to that car that I could. As years went by I developed more and more stuff for it. By my senior year(95) I was still sacking groceries and driving my TA daily.. I had it running 12.30s with a 125hp my senior year. Finally when I turned 20 and got some cash for my b-day, I changed heads and a couple other things and had it running 12.0-12.teens on motor, it was still my DD. Eventually I had it running 11.80s on motor and had a 175hp shot on top of that. WHen I sold it in 2000, it had decent paint but needed a FULL interior resto, new floor pans and basically a lot of work. I sold it for $4k.

As years have gone by, I have entertained getting another one problem is, the 77-78s are now pretty high dollar cars. Restored they are bringing $17-20k and drivers are bringing $10k+. They really were great cars. I will have another one some day. Up until about 1 month ago, I still had the good heads/intake/cam out of my old TA from back in 2000. I saved them when I sold it, knowing one day I would need them again.

I definetly would not get rid of my 71 Vette to get a TA, but I would definetly buy another one if I found a deal on it. Those cars with a mild built 455 will run mid 11s all day long with a $4k motor in a 3500lb, not a $8-9k motor like what is required to go mid 11s in a heavy car with a SBC.

 

Thanks for all the information... and support.

Still not sure I will do it, would have to be a very nice, complete, and original (with more HP) T/A.

Not sure it will happen.... signed on a T/A forum site and those guys are as bad as us... thinking T/A are more valuble (or at least equal in value) as the Vette. A guy told me a 78 was equal in value as a 69 vette, all things considered equal, condition, options ect... I find that hard to believe and I havent owned a Vette long.

 

 

http://www.78ta.com/smf/index.php?topic=3535.0

 

Personal preferance issue...I dig 70's vintage T/As and would rather pursue a 78 T/A vice a 68-72 vette due to the economic to cool factor ratio. I am a class of '78 HS grad and those T/As were bad ***. We all know those early C3 prices are escalating rapidly and would guess you can find that right 78 T/A for a substantially lower price. Like every cool car, it will have its day at Barrett-Jackson auctions. Good luck!

 

'78 & '79 Trans Am's with the W72 engine and WS6 suspension are going up in value fast as well as several other '70s F bodies. As mentioned, $15-$20k for a nice W72/WS6 is considered reasonable now. '75-'77 Trans Am's are not as desireable, but the '78 and '79's with the W72 had excellent performance (20 more hp than the standard 400) and combine that with the WS6 package and you have a very nice car. If you are looking at a standard '78 Trans Am, the price should be much less depending on condition. And there are clones, so be carefull.

I sold my stock '70Z a couple years ago for what I thought was a good price and after 2 more owners, it sold again this past February for $29,800. The only changes owners made since I sold it were the addition of aftermarket wheels and tires. It still had my lacquer paint from 1988.

So don't underestimate the value or desireability of certain second generation F bodies. They will pass up certain Vette's just like the first gen Camaro's are doing right now, and I should not have let that Z go.

 

From what I am understanding though is the Rear Rails are a bitch to deal with and unless someone else delt with it, I would have to deal with the rust. Agree?

 

Rear rails are not always an issue, but if you have above average steel body repair experience, and can weld sheet metal, you should have no problem with them. Other than working upside down (a hoist is preferred) they are no more difficult than replacing a quarter panel or floor pan. Time and fitment. The rails are originally spot welded to the floor pans, so if you get a car with good floors, the job is a lot easier. If the floors and rails are both rotted, you'll need to take a lot of measurements for reference before cutting everything apart. You can plug weld the new or donor rails to the floor.

Get a western car, or buy a western shell to transfer your Trans Am parts to. A rust belt car = lots of work and parts and $$$$.

The biggest problem I've run into with restoring second gen F bodies is the availability and quality of repro parts. Many parts including structural are simply not reproduced yet, and those that are available don't always fit. It helps to do one car first, then the second car will turn out better once you learn the tricks. All these issues are solved on first gen cars, but it's a whole different story on second gens. I know that frame rails for '70-'73 are repopped, but not sure of the later styles. So when you find the car, make sure you can get the parts you need. Goodmark sheetmetal is a must. There is one Taiwan manufacturer stamping all the sheet metal, the quality parts that meet certain specs go to Goodmark, everything else is relabled.

Key rust areas are:
All exterior sheet metal (Trans Ams don't have vinyl tops, so the roof shouldn't be an issue). But beware of T tops, most '78s have Hurst T tops and parts are scarce. Most '79s have GM T tops.
Core support.
Upper dash panel.
Front fender skirts.
Rear of rocker panels.
Outer 1/4 wheel housings (if inners are bad, walk away).
Front of front floor pans up into the firewall.
Rear of rear floor pans.
Trunk floor and extensions.

One more thing, since they made these cars for 13 years, a lot of parts are interchangeable. So it's quite common to find several different years of parts especially interior parts mixed together.

 

Not quite right, the '77 Special Edition will be the best investment (year in the original Smokey movie) of the "rubber" bumper T/A's. Restored, these routinely ask and sell for $25k+.

Other than a true '77 SE, the value is close for all other '75-'79.

Steve

 

The body is in nice shape, there are several spider crackes in the paint, near the lights and on the trunk area. There is a small crack near the front door on the fender. The seals in the T-Top, back window or side window leakes, I have not investigated that yet, but it did leake when I had it sit out one rainy night, the old carpet and seats were out at the time, thank god! now that the new seats and carpet are in, I wont chance that! lol.... The vette needs all new bushings since the original ones are dry rotted from sitting 30 years. All the vaccumm stuff works. I rebuild a 88 motor, 350, Looks and Run Great and is real strong, but is not the original. Factory side pipes are good and I am install a nice used original set of chrome covers. The frame only has a hole where the side pipes were bolted to it, all other areas are nice. I replaced all the brake lines, calipers, fuel lines, and e-brake stuff. The interior is like new! Well almost, there is no cracks in the dash and the leather seats look and feel great. I installed a new radiator.

What is your best guess of value? or what other information is needed to do so?

 

http://www.transamcountry.com/forum/

Lots of nice T/A's here.