Hooniverse Fastback Friday – Which GM Pony Car Suits Your Inner Mullet?
It has been a while since we had a Fastback Friday Posting, and so I thought it was a great time to do a three way Fastback Friday Feature with three General Motors Pony Cars of the 70′s, including a pair of Trans Am Firebirds, and a Camaro Z/28. So, which of these cars would you and your Mullet rock?
These are all from Kevco Classic Car Sales in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and this dealer really has some stand out modern day classics. Like this 1975 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. This is a fantastic example of the classic Trans Am shape, and how it evolved in the increasingly emission chocked 70s. This was the first year for the Catalytic Converter, and the year after the final Super Duty engines were offered in the birds. This Bimini Blue Bird was in storage for 15 years, which kept the (repainted) finish fresh and the interior looking new. This car was optioned with an AM/FM radio, Automatic Transmission, and Factory Rally II wheels. Under the hood is the Pontiac 400 CID V-8 rated at 180HP.
Asking price for this Blue Bird is $13,950, and you can see the listing right here. Remember, 180HP doesn’t sound like much, but the potential to tune this engine to produce more power is easier then ever, but you may not want an Auto.
Then this Firebird might be for you. This is a 1976 Trans Am, with lower mileage than the Blue one above, and itcomes with a four-speed stick. Overall the car is very nice, with the default color of this decade (silver), but there is a wrinkle. The original 455 CID V-8 has been replaced at some point in its life with a 400 CID (no word on whether or not it was the T/A 6.6L, or a regular 6.6L) which may lighten the nose, but does nothing for performance. This car has A/C, but no word about its functionality.
Asking price for this Silver Bird is $14,975, and the listing is available for viewing right here. Since the engine has already been replaced, there is no point in trying to keep it original, so if you do take possession of this T/A, go crazy with the modifications.
If Pontiac isn’t your thing, then how about this 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28? It is equipped with the original LM1 350-cubic inch small-block V8 powerplant, a 4-speed stick, AM/FM Radio, Alloy Wheels, and the optional T-Tops. This is very well equipped Z/28 and according to the dealer, it is a numbers matching car. Mileage shows only 64,000 Miles, and is bathed in an eye-searing red paint scheme.
This is probably the best “Pony Car” in this dealers inventory, and the price reflects that at $16,800. I have to say that none of these prices are cheap, but neither are they “Barrett-Jackson” level. You can see the Z/28 listing here, and tell me if this Chevy is suitable to your inner Mullet?
Related posts:
- Hooniverse Fastback Friday – Fastback German Sedans; Trendy and Beautiful?
- Hooniverse Fastback Friday – The Rotary Powered Mazda Fastbacks of the 70′s
- Hooniverse Fastback Friday: A Gorgeous 1959 Fiat Abarth to celebrate Black Friday.
- Hooniverse Fastback Friday: What is Your Definition of a Fastback?
- Hooniverse Fastback Friday – How about a Pinto and a Bobcat?
Am I evil for saying that I would rather have a less original one so I could stick a sweet crate motor in it?
I don't mind the looks, but I would need to do something about the motivation. And i never want to be the guy that pulls apart an original….
(I also would take the T/A over a Camaro)
If you are evil, I will be your trusty (wr)henchman.
Only the evil genius makes the puns, My henchmen and sidekicks only set them up.
If I were going to be evil int he world of cars, I think it would have to British cars that we restored and sold to unsuspecting individuals.
For some reason i have never liked the looks of the mid-1970s Z-28s. So I will take the '76 T/A and find a nice 455 to put back in it. Some kid drives a similar vintage silver T/A that has been retro-modded to the local high school. I see it when I pass by the parking lot in the morning.
Jim, the 400 and the 455 are the same block, so the weight wouldn't be that different for the '76. I'd just want to know if it were a pre-'71 400 (we would have to know the engine code), which would make it high-compression. My guess is that it's a dealer-installed reman, after the owner blew up the original 455. As for the '75, I'd yank that '75 180HP 400, and replace it with something like a Ram Air III or a Ram Air IV, from a '69 or '70.
If I were searching to buy a second generation F-body, I would hold out for a 455 SD or a Bandit T/A on the Pontiac side, or a split-bumper Camaro.
I'll take me the silver Firebird with the t-handle shifter and the bitchin' console. Gonna cut me a coupla beer can holders into that thing.
<img src="http://www.digitalbusstop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Mullet-1.jpg" width="400/">
Seriously, though, if I'm going to drive an old Camaro or a variant thereof, it gots to have the T-top.
There is something about a silver (or white in other cases) car with a red interior that just gets me. I'll take the silver one.
Now if money was no issue and I could choose any Camaro or T/A from that gen I'd go with the Nelson racing F-Bomb.
<img src="http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/assets/galleries/51/1-hrtv-f-bomb.jpg" width="500">
No poll?
Z-28 for me, because, you know, T-Tops.
Blue, always bet on blue. Wait…what?
I'm all over that silver bird with my aviators and moustache trembling with excitement!
TEEEEE-TOOOOPS!!!
(The automotive G-string… wink-wink, nudge-nudge)
As far as the three of these are concerned, I like the silver Firebird with the four speed. Yeah, build the engine into a grenade and go terrorize. Big fun. On a more practical level, there's a guy who lives around here whom I see occasionally who drives a serious redneck hot rod '70 or '71 Camaro. Flat black, big meats on all four corners with mags, a built 350 with a Holley the size of a toilet, a lumpy cam and obnoxiously loud exhausts. The beast just looks evil, and I want one just like it.
None of these cars really rock my socks. As for the Firebirds, I prefer the '77-'78 models because of the snarkier nose styling with the rectangular headlights. I can't get very excited about any Camaro made after 1971 or 1972. Black vinyl interior, T-tops, and no A/C in South Florida? Not a dealmaker for me.
<img src="http://carimages1.everycarlisted.com/images/pontiac-firebird-kearny-nj_30036_2U87Z7N136747_23.jpg" width=500>
I'm going to go out on a limb and call the Monte Carlo a Pony car. Sure it was based on a mid size sedan but as anyone whose been in the back seat of one (get your mind out of the gutter) they aren't really meant for people to stay there long.
So my vote is for the Monte Carlo SS. Not because there is one sitting near my home rotting. Not because it should be sitting in my garage being resurrected. No because every high schooler in 91 aspired to have one as his first car.
<img src="http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2010/08/15/20/28/1984_chevrolet_monte_carlo_ss-pic-5297724883404111230.jpeg" width=600 />
I graduated high school in '91. I wanted a Grand National! I settled for a '81 Buick Regal Limited Sport Coupe Turbo. It had the power bulge like the GN, but only about 170HP.
In trying to find '81 Buick Regal HP numbers, I think I just found my second favorite automotive website: http://www.automobile-catalog.com/ It lets you do bench racing with specs of just about any car since 1945. In includes manufacturers performance numbers and numbers run through some sort of simulation software, that aren't too far off.
Ooh, that is fun.
1/4 mile;
'2 Dodge Intrepid ES 3.5 vs. '97 Jaguar XK8 convertible.
15.2 @ 92MPH —- 14.7 @ 96MPH
I drove my brother's XK on xmas eve, it felt really slow. Or, not much faster, anyway.
None of the above. The blue Pontiac comes the closest, it's at least the right make and color and it's just a year too new. Give it honeycomb wheels and an SD-455 underhood and it would match my Dad's car that's been in the barn for years (except the engine pieces of that car are in its trunk, and in another shed at the farm, and in my parents' garage, etc.)
In a situation like this, I always go for the one with the biggest chicken on the hood. Which means none of them.
I'm digging this:
<img src="http://wqik.net/kammback/79%20Kammback.JPG" width="600">
My personal fave would have to be a 1981 Turbo T/A with mighty Buick Grand National style motivation in white with blue chicken sidewinding into the offset scoop. Or the silver small family sportster above.
But I'll take the manually motivated T/A in the lede story.
The '80-'81 Turbo T/A's actually had, rather than a Buick V6, the final and most infamous version of the Pontiac V8.
Also: everyone's favorite saucy minx is apparently writing for Autoweek!
I'd prefer a '78 screaming chicken "Bandit" Trans-Am, but that's not a choice, here.
Ergo, I've gotta go T-tops and eye-searing red.
Where be my cat-shavin' clippers. I'll have a mullet in no time!