This Macho Trans Am was up for sale recently and at the time was advertised with 68k original miles. It features a gold with black accent paint scheme, Hurst T-Tops, gold velour interior, A/C, cruise, pw, and 15x8 snowflake rims. It also came equipped with the engine of choice in 1978, the 220hp W72 400 and the TH350 automatic trans. Last seen in Utah.

This Macho Trans Am recently changed hands and is now owned by Casey Criss. It still has its original 400 engine and 4-speed tranny. It also has the WS6 package and factory original 15x8 snowflakes painted to match the body color. It also has a cool custom fiberglass hood and the shaker has been "cut-out" to make it functional. Casey writes:

     "I recently purchased the #79 car listed on your site from owner Tim Owens. I would like to resend some new pics and some interesting history on the car. I spoke with Dennis Mecham and this particular car he says is very rare. It's called a Type "E" production car. Even the invoices from Mecham Pontiac states it. Supposedly, they only built 5 of them. The Type E meant they were to be exported. Dennis said he's never seen any of the five Type E cars. I've sent Dennis an email and he's suppose to be looking up more info about this Macho T/A. Do you guys know anything about these Type E cars? The sail panels on the outside of the cars says Type E. How much updated info would you like? I would love to talk to other Macho owners."

Casey recently sent me the following update on this rare Macho TA:

     "Here's some recent info I discovered from Dennis Mecham about #79. Information below is listed exactly from the original invoices from Mecham Pontiac:

1) Macho Package
2) Lift-Off Fiberglass Hood (some fiberglass hoods were actually given a tilt option)
3) Oil Reservoir
4) Battery Trunk Mount Kit
5) Big Tires
6) E-Type Conversion (Firebird Hood Decal & Type "E" Paint Sail Panel)

This Type "E" conversion Macho consisted of high performance Pontiac heads with the part number of 9799497, aluminum intake manifold - part number 488945, heat crossover - part number 9796395, cam, lifters, valves, guide plates, springs, push rods, studs and nuts all were under the part number of 242. The Type "E" conversion cars (somewhere around 5 or less according to Dennis) were pushing close to 400 horsepower or more. "These cars were built to race! - Dennis Mecham". This is the only survivor of a Type "E" Macho that Dennis is aware of. The extra costs for this option was the reason why there wasn't too many built. Dennis said to me that this is probably the rarest of all his Macho's. This Type "E" option added on an additional $715.21 to the price of the base line Macho not including the extra options listed above. This car will enjoy a complete full body off restoration and will be restored to the exact detail when new. This car still features the matching number 400 motor, Borg Warner 4 speed, fiberglass hood, heads, intake, etc. The car was located in New Mexico and brought to Oklahoma. Please list my email address for Macho enthusiasts. I will send some pre-restoration pics in seperate emails."

Thanks again,
Casey

This white Macho T/A looks to be in perfect condition. Macho enhancements include Koni shocks, high performance cam, lowered suspension (1.5"), Clarion sound system, and the easily recognizable Macho paint scheme complete with Macho decals including the production number. This Macho has once again changed hands and David is the new owner. I'm waiting for an information update from David. The previous owner last sent me the following:

     "Jimmy, as you know the #87 Macho T/A has changed hands several times while on this site. Anyhow, it now belongs to me. Here is some updated info. and pictures. The car has the W72 400 engine package and the WS6 handling package like all 1978 Macho T/A's. It has an automatic trans., air cond., power windows, cruise control, and is in very good driver condition for it's age. It has just over 80,000 miles on it and runs great."

David also owns 1978 Macho Trans Am #104 seen at Macho TAs Lot #3

This Macho was recently sold to a new owner. Comments from the last owner follow:

     "I purchased # 90. It has a 4-speed, T-Top's, Roll-bar. Car was Brown and Gold. I repainted it Black and Gold with Gold wheels. Car is getting a complete new interior, Tires and Headers. The motor was just rebuilt. I will be taking old # 90 to Camaro Concepts here in Houston, Texas for the final touches. Attached is a picture of the car when new. If you know of a Macho for sale please let me know. Always looking for one more."

Top photos are vintage pics of when the car was new.

Paul writes:

     "I have just relocated to Groton, CT from the Chicago area and have just come across your website and am  very impressed with its content and layout. You are to be commended for a very organized and comprehensive site. I was especially surprised to find you had a section devoted to the cars produced by Dennis Mecham. My DKM T/A has been dormant for the last 10 years and I have just begun a restoration project on the car.
I have attached a number of pictures of my DKM T/A for your review and addition to your site. Here is some of the basic info on my car:

I purchased the care in 1981. At that time, the car had only 16,000 miles. It is car #97 of the 204 produced in 1978. The car is Solar Gold with Brentwood Brown accent identification marks. It is an automatic car with the usual DKM upgrades and modifications. Additionally, the car came equipped with an electric sunroof which you can see in the attached pictures. Shortly after acquiring the car, I had the top removed and the car converted to a convertible by National Coach Engineering of Michigan. Articles about this company converting Firebirds and T/A's to convertibles can be found in Thunder Am (now High Performance Pontiac) December 1980 and in Motor Trend August 1979.
The car was driven on a fairly regular basis through the 1980's and displayed at various cars shows through out the area. One weekend while at the Road America Road Race (Elkhart, Wisconsin), I met Dennis Mecham who was there with one of his MSE edition cars. The Trans Am's took a parade lap that day and after seeing my car on the track, he immediately came over to see the car and introduce himself. Fortunately, I had my original sales literature for the 1978 Macho T/A's and he was kind enough to sign it for me.
During the early 1990's, vandals scratched and destroyed the paint. During the last 10 years, the car has not been driven (currently has 45,600 miles). My plan was to add some additional high performance modifications to the engine (which was to been done soon after the paint was vandalized) and then to repaint the car. The repaint has been on hold until this last month (7/01). The car will be going through some additional custom modifications and is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2002."

Paul completed the modifications and customizations he spoke of above and the bird has been completely transformed into something new. You can see it at the NCE Lot#1.

Macho TAs are already classified among the rare where Firebirds are concerned however, some of the Machos built by Dennis and Kyle were still more rare than their cousins. This is one of them. What makes it special? Very simply the addition of a turbo unit. If you remember the Mecham brothers started the whole line of Machos by adding turbo units to some '77 Trans Ams. The brothers continued modifying Firebirds in 1978 but for some reason only about 8 turbo's were made each year including '79 and '80. Rumor has it that only two of the eight built in '78 are left but this has not been formally documented. This particular car is a Turbo 400 with the desirable 4-speed tranny. It also features A/C, power steering, power brakes, Hurst T-Tops, 15x8 snowflake rims, tilt wheel and tilt wheel. An interesting feature of this TA is that it retained the hood bird. Most Machos received a special paint scheme that most often did not include the screaming chicken. Manny Salierno writes:

     "Now that we got hooked on these cars, I couldn't pass up the chance to get my father, Antonio Salierno, a 1978 macho TA #100 Turbo 4-speed. We had to have it. So as you probably guessed a week later it was delivered to my door step from California. Its white and gold with the big bird decal. I spoke to Dennis Mecham and got the spec's on this car. It has Recaro seats, rear mounted battery, Hurst T-Tops, Hurst shifter, oil restorer, special edition bird that was installed by DKM, and the big tire option. This exact #100 is featured in a hotrod magazine issue, which I found an original copy!! I have the DKM jacket (seen at top of Lot#1-wm.), DKM badges and a lot of paperwork including an option and install booklet from HO Specialties, the company who installed the turbo kits for DKM. I will also do a complete resto on this vehicle too. I will send detailed pic's as each project gets underway. Thanks."

Manny and his father recently also purchased the #102 1978 Macho Trans Am which is not yet depicted here. He has promised pictures of it as its restored.

This Macho TA is one of the rare few that maintained the big screaming chicken decal on the hood. A full restoration was just completed. Claudio provided regular pics and updates throughout much of the restoration and we are pleased to finally be able to display the finished product. Claudio writes:

     "Hello, my name is Claudio Acquafredda and I live in Miller Place, New York; Long Island to be exact. In July of 2006 I purchased this Macho Trans Am 1978 #102 from my cousin Manny Salierno. My uncle, Antonio Salierno, still owns the Macho Trans Am #100 Turbo which will be next in restoration. On February 3, 2007 the restoration began mainly by my cousin Manny Salierno. We have worked very hard since restoring the car #102 to its original looks so here are some pics. I am an original Trans Am owner, my first car was a 1977 Trans Am. It was gone in 1985 so as you can just imagine I just COULDN'T WAIT ANY LONGER. Thank you."

Claudio Acquafredda

Webmasters note: The 2nd to last pic in the set shows the condition of the car at time of purchased before the restoration was started. The last pic is a picture of Claudio with his first Trans Am.

 This Macho originally had a black with red accent paint scheme as seen in the first pic but was recently re-painted solid black. It came equipped with the W72 400 and the very desirable Borg Warner 4-speed transmission. Its also equipped with power windows, power door locks, a chrome roll bar, and 15x8 snowflakes. The new owner, David, contacted me recently and told me that sadly, the original motor in this TA was ruined during an racing event and was pulled and replaced by the previous owner. The chrome roll bar was also removed before David took ownership of the car. New pics and information are coming soon....

David also owns 1978 Macho Trans Am #87 see at Macho TAs Lot #2

 This is possibly a 1 of 3 Macho. It recently changed owners. I have contacted the owner to request permission to name him as the owner as well as to request new pics. So far he has not agreed to either but hopefully he will soon. He has several Machos in his collection and is actively trying to sell '78 #140 and '79 #24. You can see them all at his website here: www.machotransam.com. The following information was provided by the previous owner.

     "Hi, I just found your site and was scrolling thru the photos of the Machos and was I surprised to see a picture of my car !!  I know it's mine by the license plate. I believe the photos were taken at a Pontiac gathering several years ago at Jim Wangers' shop in Southern California.  However, the correct number is #106.  Yes it is a 400 4 speed car with 2.41 rear gears and is numbers matching and fully documented thru Mecham and Pontiac Historical Services. According to Dennis Mecham, this color combination was a special order and this same original buyer ordered a total of 3 in this color scheme.
I found the car in Santa Rosa in 1999.....missing much of the identifying Macho T/A graphics and with mismatched rims.  But it was mostly original paint in the black w/blue stripes and one door had been replaced.  The AC system had been dismantled but the parts were in a box in the trunk.
I have since been working my way through a restoration.  Mostly focusing so far on getting her drivetrain overhauled.  I've had the trans out twice for work on the internals and have been working on getting that Rochester gone through and set up to feed that 400 what it needs to really run.  I have done some interior work - headliner, visors, seats, door panels and purchased a set of refurbished silver 15x8 smowflakes.  I put the graphics back on the car to give her back her identity until I get around to the repaint.
She made an appearance at the Trans A Rama XIII show in Roseville, CA in 2001 and we won the women's B stock autocross class.  We've been drag racing at Carlsbad, Famoso and Inyokern dragstrips (after putting 3.23 gears in) and have been through the road course driving school at Buttonwillow Raceway.  We've also made the scouting trip to Battle Mountain, Nevada to enter into their Pony Express Road Race hopefully in 2005.
And what do I do in my spare time......I am on the pit crew for the 'Lil Nate' nostalgia Nitro funny car doing clutch and bottom end. I don't have any digital photos of the car that I can forward to you at this time...but once I do, this site will be on the list."

Photos courtesy Heath Elmer