1979 Trans Am Fulfills Pro Builder’s Childhood Dream

Sep 20, 2024 1 min read
1979 Trans Am Fulfills Pro Builder’s Childhood Dream

This glorious hand-built classic Trans Am represents everything that this professional builder’s life long goal.


The classic second-generation Firebird Trans Am is one of America's favorite vintage pony cars and is seen around the globe as a symbol of individualism and freedom. This image is mainly due to the car's role in the 1977 classic Smokey And The Bandit, which quickly became a modern outlaw western that showed a man's resilience with a goal with a romantic twist. Of course, this inspired an entire generation of new car enthusiasts who became instantly enamored by the idea of building their own "Bandit" Trans Am. This car takes that idea and adds yet another layer as it improves upon what the original lacked.

Under the hood of this sleek beast is a 5.3-liter LS truck V8 equipped with two massive turbochargers, which helps the car hit 0-60 in a comparable time to a Corvette Z06. That insane performance is made perfect by the exterior styling, which sports a widened rear end and an extended spoiler, giving the usually weak rear of this car an aggressive stance. The owner also switched the front fascia to a 1977 Trans Am front bumper because this is a 1979 Trans Am.

The interior appears original primarily, with the factory brown interior with some gauges being changed to digital. This was a great choice as it gives the car a "futuristic-hotrod" look. Owning and building this car was a childhood dream for this builder after watching Smokey And The Bandit for the first time as a kid. This extreme pony car pushes everything to the limit to give this member of the Ken Block crew the driving experience she's craved since his childhood. Of course, that dream was finally fulfilled, but it would appear that there is far more to come.

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