Today was a good day. A site member stumbled upon this Macho which was previously on the dead Macho's list and found that its still alive and well after all still residing in Phoenix, AZ. No other information is known about the car. Cameron writes:

     "Jim, I was in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and pulled into the parking lot of a gas station and found my old car parked with no tags. The car is still alive, but changed so much. When I had the car about 12 years ago it was original. I thought I would send pictures to confirm that its still clinging to life support."

Cameron L. Holeman

 This Macho wears a silver and black paint scheme. Its known to have the W72 option 400 (220hp), auto tranny, deluxe interior, and T-Tops. Reportedly its a low mileage TA. The car recently changed hands and the new owner sent me the following:

     "This vehicle is in excellent shape, it drives as if it were new with no rattles or poor qualities. This is a very interesting car for us as we have owned over thirty Corvettes and currently own 7 different Corvettes which include 4 different 67 Corvettes, 2 coupes and 2 convertibles. I would appreciate any information you could give us on this Macho or any others. I think your website is wonderful and has been very informative especially for someone that knows very little about Trans Ams."

 There are three known '78 Black and Red Macho TAs with this paint scheme. For a long time we had two of the three here in the Gallery and now, thanks to Rich, we have all 3. A friend of Rich writes:

     "I noticed on your site you mentioned that 118 was the last of the Black and Red Macho T/A's and you didn't have it on the site. My buddy owns #118 and he has been asking me to promote the car. His name is Rich Olivia and he lives in Marlboro NJ. He has modified the car highly over the last 15 years or so he has owned it. It now has full Hotckis Suspension, a 500+hp 455 and 700r4 transmission with 9" rear. It was built as a road racer and show car.

Attached are pictures of the car. I can send you more information if you need. Since his sight is failing, he asked me to represent the car on the Internet for him since I have been involved in the Firebird gig for over 18 years myself with a 1980 Formula Firebird project in the works. Thank you and let me know if you need anything else."

~ JT ~
JT's Restoration Services
Aberdeen, NJ
732-673-2347
www.jtresto.com

Wayne Harmon owns this Brown and Gold Macho TA. He also owns '78 #87 which can be seen at the top of the page. You can also see it in the garage in the 2nd pic. I guess the hardest decision he makes everyday is which one to drive. Wayne writes:

     "Here is my other '78 Macho #123. It has a 450hp 455 with a 150 hp shot of nitrous, Th350, 3:23 10 bolt rear end, roll bar and Nitto drag radials."

Wayne has promised me new pics of the #87 car and I hope to get better info on both!!

This stunning black and red Macho Trans Am is just an amazing TA and could possibly be only one of four with this paint scheme. Paul writes:

     "I am the fifth owner of this vehicle and have owned it since November 2002. I found this limited edition car on ebay and fell in love with the color scheme. This was somewhat of an impulsive buy even though I had been looking for just such a vehicle and had bid on others and was outbid each time. The Macho came with major original receipts, some previous owner notes, custom car cover, and DKM Macho racing jacket dating back to 1978. It is 1978 Macho Trans Am #140 with a W72 T/A 400 motor, a Borg Warner 4-spd transmission with a DKM Hurst competition shifter, 4:10 gears in the rear end, WS6 suspension, and 15x8 aluminum snowflake wheels.
It is Starlight Black with Mayan Red body accents and Carmine interior, one of only three that my research has identified with this paint scheme (#118, #140 and #173 with #140 and #173 being the only survivors). It is a numbers matching original vehicle (with the exceptions of (1) front seat covers, headliner, Holley street dominator aluminum intake manifold, 4.10 rear end gears, mufflers instead of catalytic converters, oil filter relocation kit, and radio) with other major work being the correct paint (including colors and schema) and T/A emblems that were redone 5 years ago. The DKM #140 car began life in Arizona and has had 5 owners. It was originally purchased from Larry Miller Pontiac in July 1978. At 21,000 miles on the odometer, it was repossessed in February 1982, and sat until June 1984. Duane Bautch, of Phoenix, Az then purchased the car after his DKM #151 was totaled in an accident. Duane drove the car regularly until July 1988, after which it was stored for 11 years. At 48,900 miles, Duane then sold the car to Paul Raffaelli, who transported it to Weston, FL in March of 1999. At 51, 345 miles, it was then resold to Tracy Pruitt, who transported it to Tampa, FL in June of 2002. At 52, 285 miles, I then purchased the car in November of 2002. At its current 54, 685 miles, it still has a totally rust free body and, as observable from the pictures, is still in awesome shape. Mechanically, it runs very strong with that heavy, big-block sound. It stops people and turns heads everywhere it is driven. The paperwork has been augmented with the full data package from the Pontiac Historical Society, including a laminated copy of the window sticker."

Paul
Maryland

Webmasters note: It is interesting to note that Paul calls out 3 TAs including his that should have this paint scheme for the '78 model year. All 3 of them including his are now featured here on the gallery. For a long time #118 was unaccounted for but, happily, I was contacted by the owner and it was added recently (just a few entries above this one). I had found a 4th TA with this color scheme (#104 over on Lot#2) but was unable to verify if that was the original paint scheme to the car. It has since been re-painted all black but one pic was provided that showed the original paint scheme and it does appear to be correct.

Paul: If you read this, please contact me via e-mail!!

After only one day on the site the owner of this special Macho TA has already contacted me. What are the odds. Loren writes:

     "Hi, the Macho T/A 142 belongs to me. It has been restored and is almost done. This is the car Dennis Mecham took home for his self and his wife, as he states in HPP Magazine, it is the only white one with black stripes and silver pin stripes made in 78. It has a 400 with auto trans 342 posi, it has the concord stereo and 250 watt Fosgate amp. With Fosgate punch controls on the console which was an upgrade from the 100 watt system. It is also loaded with pw, pl, tilt, rear defrost intermittent wipers, power trunk, deluxe interior roll bar. Here are some pics of the car on the show room floor at Mecham Pontiac when new and pic from the 80's and a pic of a few new Machos on Mecham's lot in 1978 and a pic of a DKM jacket. I will send more pics when the final touches are completed."

THANKS,
Loren Garrigus

This Macho Trans Am features a black and gold paint scheme. Its equipped with power windows, power door locks, A/C, rear defrost, tilt, Cruise, Fisher T-Tops, 15x7 Snowflake rims, a 400c.i. and TH350 transmission. The hooker header decal installed by DKM can still be seen on the air cleaner base. Not much is known about this car at this time.

 Well maybe its corny but today is a good day and I'm very happy to announce that I was able to remove one of the numbers off the killed Macho list on the 1st page. Never did I think I would actually get to do that but it turns out that although someone reported this car was dead and gone, it appears that is not the case as Wesley can attest. He's the current owner and writes:

     "My name is Wes, and I own the 1978# 151. Its still alive and well! Runs great and looks great. I've been restoring it for years. Its getting close but not done yet, it still needs some more TLC. It was not taken care of too well before I got it. Here are some pics, I will try to send more later when I'm finished."

 Chase C. owns #153 and is working to restore it. Chase writes:

    "Well, I am the 3rd owner of this 1978 macho TA #153. I have had it for almost three years and have almost fully restored this car. This is a 400 with the Muncie 4-speed with first gen. Hurst T-Tops. This car has 32,876 original miles. The car has been completely stripped and I painted it an "updated" silver. The car is 90% restored and will be done by 5-1-08. Pictures are a little dated, I will send updated pictures soon. The 2nd owner had the car for over 18 years as far as I know and kept a full gas log and every service record. I also have the orig. build sheet."

Kurt writes:

1978 Macho Trans Am #160

     "I am the fifth owner of this vehicle and have only owned it for about a month and a half as I am writing this on September 14, 2001. I found this car literally 3 miles from my house and purchased it for $6200 and feel it was worth every penny. I was not prepared for or even considering purchasing a 3rd Firebird at this time. (I also own a 1977 Formula and another 1978 Trans Am), but just could not let this go. It also came with all receipts dating back to 1991 to present totaling approximately 10,000 for everything from interior restoration to small emblems. It is a 1978 Macho Trans Am #160 with a W72 T/A 400 motor with a Borg Warner 4-spd transmission, 3:42 gears in the rear end, WS6 suspension, and 15x8 aluminum snowflake wheels. It is Chesterfield brown with camel interior (which was redone in 1997). This has been restored over time, but I don't believe it has ever needed any bodywork being from Arizona most of its life. It still has a totally rust free body and is in awesome shape. It's been repainted with the Macho striping around the windows, hood and rockers removed. I will be putting most of this back in time. I am presently searching for paint codes and original decals for this. I took it to the 2001 Trans Am Nationals in Dayton Ohio and had several people come up to me with a wealth of information and contact information about Macho T/A's. The person that owned this car most of it's life had a last name of FORD. I thought that was quite ironic."

Kurt,
New York

Kurt recently submitted new pics.

This black and red Macho TA had 55,000 original miles on it when these photos were taken. Macho enhancements include a re-jetted carburetor, hooker headers, and the unique read and black Macho T/A paint scheme. Factory original equipment includes a 400c.i. mated to a TH350 automatice tranny, power steering, power brakes, power windows, A/C, tinted T-Tops with storage bad located in the trunk, red velour bucket seats, tilt wheel, 15x8 snowflake rims and a stereo with cassette player and amp to drive it.

Recently a former owner of this car took the time to contact me and send in these vintage pics of it to add to the gallery. Richard writes:

     "Howdy! I recently found your web site and reviewed your current listings of DKM TA’s with great interest. In 1981 I purchased from the original owner this 1978 Macho Turbo TA #178.  The paint scheme was Mayan Red with Cameo White accents and a White interior. This rare and unique Macho turned a lot of heads cruising around my hometown of Naperville IL during my high school years. I also remember taking road trips with this car to spring break in Daytona Beach Florida with some friends.
Great memories!
Some options on this #178 included a Rayjay brand turbo charger, oil pressure restorer, GM Fisher T-Tops and the not so common, screaming chicken affixed on the hood. I recently had some correspondence with Dennis Mecham. I was trying to find out more details on this rare car. Dennis responding by saying, “While specific information would take an exhaustive search, I can tell you that there were a little over 200 Macho TA’s build in 1978 with less then fifteen of them turbocharged. Rare doesn’t quite cover it, there must be a better word. Unfortunately, I had to sell the car in 1984 to attend college. "

Sincerely,
Rick & Lori Meisinger

Photos courtesty of Rick Miesinger

I've posted some pictures of some pretty rough TAs in this section and I've also posted some pretty bad pics in this section all in the name of pursuing my quest to document every remaining Macho TA left out there. This one qualifies for both but Mike has promised both to work on the car this year, 2007 and to send me some much better pics. Mike writes:

     "I recently found your site and wondered if you would add my car to your listings. What I have to offer is not the greatest at this time, but I submit it for completeness of your gallery. I bought Macho T/A #181 back in 1997 - advertised in the Thrifty Nickel as a "Trans Am" - which it is I guess, they just didn't know exactly what they had. The car was owned by a 17 year old who's parents were making him sell it as he had 1 too many speeding tickets.
I started a restoration on it immediately, but due to a momentary lapse of money I had to stop working on the car. 2007 looks like the year to finish the job though. These photos are old and not of great quality - and I only have one of the whole car which is a scanned Polaroid. Obviously not the original wheels and tires. Car is solar gold with Chesterfield brown accents.  went through a process back then to verify that the macho was authentic. I have those details somewhere, but at the time there was someone who had some of the records from Dennis and would verify the VIN # against those records. Mine is authentic."

regards,
Mike Royalty
Crowley, Texas

Manny Salierno (owner of #100) found this Macho at the Hamptons Concours  d'Elegance and sent me some info about it. I contacted the racing team that owns the car and here is the update. The car is now owned by Team Theogon and is being raced in the annual Cannonball One Lap of America. The car has raced at several tracks including Sears Point and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This original DKM Trans Am still runs its original 400 engine though its been punched to 461ci and now sports 452hp @ 5100rpm and 574 ftlbs torque @ 2800rpm. Engine work is handled by Lawrence Racing Engines. This TA features a laundry list of DKM mods and additions including:

Doug Nash 4+1 manual transmission
Hooker Super Comp Headers
Koni Shocks
Accusump Oil Accumulator
Long Shifters R-Lockout
Scheel Seats
Fiberglass Lift-Off Hood
4-Point Roll Cage
Weld in sub-frame connectors

Of course the TA has been outfitted with lots of other go-fast goodies and mods to make it handle better for the racing duties it is now performing almost 30 years since it was built. If you'd like to find out more you can visit the car in the Road Racing section of the site for more specs and pics, you can d/l and read the team brochure graciously provided by Team Theogon (Macho TA Brochure) or you can click the link above and spend a few minutes browsing their site.