1977-79 Pontiac Trans Am On the surface , the 1977-78 Trans Ams seem like no-brainers for our list . They ’ re the Smokey and the Banditstyled cars and have the equivalent cultural resonance as orange 1969 Dodge Chargers with “ 01 ” painted on the doors . So it seems strange that we ’ re also including the 1979 models on our list , because they had the admittedly lessdesirable “ split headlight ” front-end styling . But here ’ s the thing : 1979 represented the last year for the true Pontiac V-8 in the Trans Am , and those last-year cars have come to be quite collectable to Pontiac purists , especially the 10th anniversary models .
There ’ s a caveat to the 1979 models ’ desirability , however , and it all depends on the lettering on the car ’ s shakerstyle hood scoop . If it reads “ T / A 6.6 ,” the car is powered by a Pontiac 400 and backed by a four-speed manual transmission . If it reads “ 6.6 Litre ,” you ’ re looking at a car saddled with an Olds-sourced 403 engine and slushbox trans . To be perfectly honest , the Olds engine was just as stout as the Pontiac 400 and was admirably smooth , but it just wasn ’ t a Pontiac mill . The 1977 and 1978 models get away with their underhood heresy because of one word : Bandit . If it ’ s a 1977 or 1978 and black , all is forgiven . And if it is a 1977 or 1978 and not originally black , there a good chance the color was changed during the last 30 years , so check the trim tag carefully . Originality is always worth more .
As for those 1979 10th anniversary models , only 1,817 of the 7,500 built were equipped with the Pontiac 400 engine / four-speed combination , making them very desirable .
1986-87 Buick Grand National / 1987 Buick GNX
Turbo Buicks had been around since the late 1970s , but the addition of an intercooler to the 3.8L V-6 in 1986 was the catalyst that transformed a merely good engine into a great one in the Buick Grand National . It was immediately elevated from respected performer to factory hot rod icon . The intercooler pushed output from 1985 ’ s rating of 200 horsepower to 235 – with 330 lb-ft of torque . Horsepower increased to 245 in 1987 .
Out of the box , the Grand National could hit 60 mph in about 5 seconds flat and , if the driver was good , clip the quarter-mile in about 13.9 seconds . Nothing – and we mean nothing – was running 13s from the factory in those days . Not surprisingly , it was a strong seller , with more than 5,500 sold in 1986 and nearly 21,000 sold in 1987 .
In a perfect , go-out-on-a-high-note performance , Buick commemorated the end of the G-body platform and the Grand National model with the sinister-looking , 276-horsepower GNX . Only 547 were built , and they became instant collector items and remain valuable holdovers from the 1980s . Like the popular muscle cars of the 1960s , many Grand National owners were quick to modify their car , so low-mileage and unmodified examples are getting more scarce . Also , the original lacquer paint jobs were notoriously thin and haven ’ t stood up well over the years – even on otherwise well-preserved examples . Excellent , original cars are out there , but they ’ ll cost you . And the still-in-the-wrapper
GNXs are pushing six figures .
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