John set the suspension up for the over 100 mph trip around the track to know how to call ahead and tell the engineers at Indy to set up the actual car and the backup’s. It was an original 17,000 mile car and sold for less then $7000. Several years ago the John Callies test car complete with pace car strobes with hand signed Pontiac Experimental docs plus a PHS report confirming it as a test mule. If I wanted one I would hold out for provenance if I were to invest and I use that term lightly. I think the price is high on the above example presented to us. In the early 1970’s the Trans AM had separated itself from the Camaro by being a true performance car. It was bad enough that GM killed the 350/400 but even worse for using an Oldsmobile engine in place of the mighty Pontiac. Hard to imagine now that the 301 Turbo was the best the mighty GM could muster. With the quick fix of installing the 301 Turbo my guess they were still paying warrantee claims on these when the 82’s were coming out. The handwriting already being on the wall. The Trans Am was on it’s last gasp and needed a gimmick to take an aging platform and make it all new just enough to satisfy the public until the new Gen III’s came rolling out. At about 3,000rpm the turbo pulled about a half a car length, then as then all I could hear was the “pinging” from that poor turbo motor, either the turbo driver backed off, or the car backed itself off, but we gained the 1/2 car length back and then some, then the Turbo caught boost again, passed us, pinged again, we passed it…….This went on and on, and on, and on until we both finally made it down the road it what had to be a 20 second 1/4 mile at 65mph…….seriously…….Would I want one, HELL YES, then I’d build a twin-turbo 800-1,000hp LS motor for it :-D………I owned a 89 Turbo TA, now that was a very quick car, hard to get around corners fast as the boost was an all or nothing kind of thing, but a blast the drive…….įace it. Off he line side by side, no tire smoke, no tire squeal either. Onetime we line it up against a 4.9 Turbo TA, it was a hilarious, but sow race. In HS a buddy of mine has a 4.9 non-turbo Firebird, what a slow POS. The 4.9 could be had a s a turbo or not, I’m guessing probably th same lw compression engine either way. The Poncho 400 /4-speed couldn’t be found in CA back then. I used to have a 79 with the 403 Olds/auto trans as most of these were. Would you bring this Turbo Pace Car home? Are you in need of a Pace Car, or a Trans Am? This is an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. We love the level of originality this Trans am has and we wonder what it would be like to drive the 4.9 turbo engine. Overall this Pace Car is in very nice original condition and would be a pace car we would welcome to our stable. The seats, carpet, red lit gauges, and the embroidered Firebird logos in the door panels were all key features that made the Pace Car unique. Aside from that its looking very nice, and we love the factory turbo boost gauge. The dash looks pleasant, with the only apparent wear being on the top of the steering wheel. The light grey really illuminates nicely, and the cloth fabric on the seats is excellent. We are thrilled at how original the interior is. Being a Pace Car means this car came with the WS6 performance handling package with 4 wheel disc brakes. He mentions there is a small rust spot on the hood as well as under the rear deck lid. The exterior of this Pace car looks wonderful, although the seller has been up front with mentioning there is some minor rust in this old bird. Horsepower was about the same for the Turbo 4.9 as it was for the 6.6 at 210 horsepower. The 4.9 Turbo replaced the 1979 model 6.6l engine due to emissions standards and gasoline concerns. The turbo set up is crude, but does make a substantial amount of torque at 345 Ftlb at 2,000 rpms. This is an interesting engine as it is a factory turbocharged V8 engine, something GM hadn’t done since the Oldsmobile F85 Jetfire turbo 315 cubic inch V8 engine. The seller claims the car runs great and has no issues, which we can believe with only covering 83,000 miles. Upon viewing the heart of this Pace Car it is very original with some patina, but in nice shape. Find it here on craigslist out of Marietta, Georgia. Appearing in clean and original condition this Trans Am looks like a deal we wouldn’t pass at $10,950. The 4.9 turbo V8 is an interesting engine, that isn’t common to see. This 1980 Trans Am Turbo does exactly that. Pace cars often catch our attention and desires.
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