The 1976 Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Trans Am
Lot#2

Brandon Atkins owns this 50th Anniversary TA. Brandon writes:      "Hey cool website!!! My name is Brandon Atkins and I'm submitting some pics of my '76 anniversary TA. I named my ride Blackhawk. It has a 400 Pontiac motor with a 350 automatic tranny. It also has the t-tops. I picked the car out when I was 15 years old back in 1998. The car came from Michigan and you can really tell by the rust underneath it. I used it as a daily driver until about a year ago. The TA is mostly stock, but I've had a few things done to it: Edelbrock performer IAS shocks, Accel wires HEI coil cap and rotor, and K&N air filters. The first pic was taken right after I got a fresh paint job on it. I have my own personal website at http://hometown.aol.com/transamn1 you can check out." Brandon

The 50th Anniversary Trans Am was introduced to the press in February of 1976 at the Chicago Auto Show. The package was designed by John Schinella who admired the black and gold John player racing cars. Pontiac built the cars and then shipped them to Hurst to have additional goodies added such as the Hurst T-Tops. The T-Top design was originally planned for the '76 Gran Prix's and had to be adapted to the Trans Am body. Production of the T-Top version didn't start until April 1976 which is a big reason why only 643 of the 50th TAs were made with the new Tops. The T-Top TAs account for about 25% of total production. This Trans Am does not have T-Tops but does have the highly desired 455/4-speed combo which makes it a 1 of 319 car. Options include A/C, tilt wheel power steering, power brakes, power antenna and power windows. The license plate on the front was not part of the LE package. You'll also notice the exhaust tail pipes are incorrect for this Trans Am. Splitters were used on '76 TAs whereas these more closely resemble the straight pipe style use from '70 to '73. The shifter ball is also not stock and you may notice the block off plate has not been removed. This is correct for a factory original car but unusual as most people have taken them off over the years to make the scoop functional. I'm guessing the floor mats are not original and you'll notice the pull strap buckles on the passenger door are missing the black plastic covers on the end.

This LE is owned by Michael Tyler. Michael writes:      "I am the third owner of this PHS documented 1976 50th Anniversary LE Trans Am with T-Tops that has less than 24,000 miles on it. The second owner only had it for a few months before I bought it. However, I drive it and don’t own a trailer. The original owner made a few modifications in 1977 to this car that I am slowly, but surely, restoring to original condition. The car was modified with side-pipes, but thanks to Ram Air Restorations, now the exhaust has been restored to a true duel exhaust from the manifolds all the way back with TA Specialties providing the OEM type chrome tips. Other modifications included locking hood pins that were chrome, now painted black to hide them a little, and a B&M transmission temperature gauge located in the center console, and American T-Tops that do not leak. I will get to these other modifications restored slowly and put them back to stock at a later date. The interesting thing is that it is a true PHS documented 1 of 533 cars that were produced with T-Tops, a 400ci, and an automatic transmission. What is even more interesting is the car was produced with a deluxe buckskin interior. I think this combination even sets the Black & Gold finish of the car off even better. I am sure that even fewer 1976 50th Anniversary Limited Editions Trans Am’s were produced with this interior and exterior combination. As far as how limited no one is certain. Thanks so much for your website. It really shows how many people understand the old adage “ Pontiac builds excitement”." Respectfully, Michael Tyler, Past President of the Ohio Firebirds