The 1976 Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Trans Am
Lot#1

This rare 50th Anniversary Trans Am is 1 of 319 made with the 455/4-speed combo. In contrast 1,628 LEs were made with the 400 and an automatic transmission. This special appearance package was coded Y82 in 1976. A the time these pics were taken the car had been repainted a few years before using Dupont Chromabase in Starlight Black with clear coat. The decals were replaced with a licensed GM set from Phoenix Graphix. The interior is completely original. Options include power steering, power brakes, power locks, tilt wheel, A/C, Soft Ray Glass, Additional Acoustical Insulation, Front Seat Console, Lamp Group, RH Visor Mirror, Special Edition Package, Custom Trim Group, Radio Accommodation, Package  and power windows. The engine is the original numbers matching engine and had never been removed from the car. The wheels are the originals and were restored to their original gold color. Two of the wheels sport NOS trim rings. The car has been to some shows and won Dealer's Choice at the 2001 Southern Trans Am Nationals held in Pensacola, FL.

This beautiful 50th Anniversary Trans Am belongs to Gary Vass. It sports the optional 455 and 4-speed tranny. Only 319 Limited Edition TAs were produced with this combination. According to Gary the car is well optioned with every power option available and the rare rear console. The car has only logged 60,000 miles and is completely original. Gary is quite the Pontiac fanatic and collector with a collection totaling 12 cars. His expansive collection includes: a '79 10th Anniversary Trans Am (see the Anniversary Trans Ams Lot#1), an '80 Trans Am Pace Car, an '81 Nascar Edition Pace Car with only 4,000 miles (seen at the '80 Nascar Edition Pace Car Trans Am Lot#1), an '83 MR MSE Trans Am #39 with only 4,500 miles (seen at the Macho & MSE Trans Ams Lot#2), an '83 Daytona Pace Car, an '84 15th Anniversary Trans Am, an '87 Trans Camino (wildly customized into a Truck!!!) (seen the '87 Firebirds Lot#1), an '89 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am with only 500 miles, a '92 yellow/black Trans Am convertible, a '94 25th Anniversary with Daytona decals, and a '96 Formula convertible (see the '96 Firebirds Lot#2). Whew thats a heck of a lot of garage space.

A nice looking 50th Anniversary Trans Am showing off its stuff at a car show. Only 643 Limited Edition TAs were produced with the new Hurst T-Tops. Only 110 of these were built with the 455 and 4-speed. This combo is one of the more rare TAs to be had. The 455 in its last year of production was rated at 200hp.

The 50th Anniversary was an extremely eye catching car and provided the basis for the Bandit Edition Trans Ams that would debut in '77. The black car was accented with gold pin-striping, a gold Trans Am hood decal, and special gold Trans Am decals located on the fenders and the rear spoiler, and a special gold 50th anniversary put on the fender below the standard decal. These anniversary TAs also received gold headlight bezels, gold grilles, a gold machine-turned dash faceplate, a gold center button on the steering wheel, and gold anodized polycast honeycomb wheels. They could be had with either the 400 or the 455 and with or without T-Tops.

Another 50th Anniversary Trans Am. I think the black and gold paint scheme was one of the most successful ones put into production. The Limited Edition TAs built in '77 and '78 would prove to be the highest selling TAs in its history due in part to the wildly popular "Smokey and the Bandit" movies. I have personally owned two '76s: one black not an LE and one red with T-Tops (interesting considering only the LEs were supposed to get them) and I loved them both. Although a little low on the hp side; both had the standard 400 rated at 185hp, but they still provided me with a lot of fun and memories. Besides the 400 is easy to upgrade for more performance and hp. This particular Trans Am is the rarest of the rare '76 TAs. Its the coveted LE with the 455/4-speed combo with T-Tops. This combination makes it a 1 of 110 car. The car was reportedly all original and one owner before its sale with 47k on the odometer. Among the standard options of power steering and power brakes this car also came with a/c and rear defrost. An interesting note about the interior is that the console is missing. It could have been ordered that way or simply removed.

This limited edition 50th Anniversary Trans Am is owned by Eric & Christina Cox. Only 1,628 Trans Ams were built with this anniversary package. These particular TAs sport a lot of features that were not available on the standard Trans Am. The gold bird emblem on the roof, that was a decal instead of the traditional metal emblem, the gold dash panel, gold steering wheel, and the 50th anniversary decal located below the Trans Am decal found on the front fenders all signified this anniversary model.           This L.E. was built with the smaller of the two available mills the 400c.i. engine. It was rated at a rather anemic 185hp but none the less still managed to provide an element of performance. The standard 3-speed automatic and a 3.08 posi-trac rear round out the drivetrain. Eric writes,          "Even though it is underpowered by today's standards, when a local Mustang 5.0 or unsuspecting 4th gen Z28 pulls up next to the TA at the light, most notice the "400" sticker on the functional shaker scoop and the huge "TRANS AM" decal on the back spoiler and don't try to test the TA's acceleration. I guess the reputation that the Trans Am cars have made for themselves makes these "hot-rodders" think twice before jumping." The interior is completely stock and in nearly perfect condition. The only change that has been made is the addition of an aftermarket AM/FM stereo and the replacement of the rear deck lid panel. The original stereo was kept and is boxed up. The car also retains its original Delco speakers.

1976 would be a landmark year for the Trans Am and Pontiac. Firebird sales topped six figures for the first time ever at 110,775. This was the last year you could get a 455 from Pontiac and it would be the first time the Trans Am topped the Corvette in sales. Production of the 455 however was high due in part to the popularity of the Firebird. A total of 7,099 base Trans Ams were built with the once powerful mill and another 429 found their way into the T-Top and Non T-Top Limited Edition TAs. If your looking for a low buck high performance Trans Am a '76 with the 455 is an excellent choice. The base hp rating of 200 is low but can easily be boosted with minor upgrades that aren't too costly. Photo courtesy of Mark Allbaugh

The 50th Anniversary Trans Am was outfitted with a completely unique decal set. First was the 50th Anniversary badge (seen here), a mile of gold pin striping applied liberally, and finally all the Trans Am lettering was a unique design. This special Trans Am also received gold bird stickers on the sail panel rather than the standard metal bird emblem. The honeycomb wheels you see here were a $103 option and the gold colored sets were only available on these cars. This picture also appears on the car of the book entitled, "Firebird: America's Premier Ponycar!".

Robert Jenkins owns this 50th Anniversary Trans Am. Robert writes:      "I just bought this car and am having a restoration done. It was purchased in New Hampshire where it was bought new and hasn't left NH until now. I live in Connecticut and this is a number's matching PHS documented 1 of 110 Trans Am. I absolutely love the car. I will send pics of it when it comes out next spring." Robert Jenkins

David Ochser owns both of these fantastic Special Edition TAs. David writes:      "Hello, here are some pics of my 1976 50th anniversary.  It is all original with 1 455 4 speed number matching with the rare anodized black splitter exhaust as well as special order saddle interior and am/fm 8  track player and very rare rear console.  It has 10,500 miles on the car and it is in pristine condition. Enjoy the pics. I will send you one of my '81 and '76 together.  The first black and gold and last black and gold together." You can see more pics of the '81 Trans Am at the '81 Special Edition Lot#1.