The DKM Macho Trans Am & MR MSE Trans Am
Lot#5


 









1978 Macho Trans Am #151 of 204
owner: Wesley Steinbrecher

 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."

 


 









1978 Macho Trans Am #153 of 204
owner: Chase C.

 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."

Chase recently sent me the following update:

     "Hi, this is the updated pictures of TA 78-153. I just started driving this car again and love it as always. Run and drives perfect, I am just about to put the stripping back on the car. And if any one is wondering. This car was originally blue with silver stripping that was deleted from the first owner. I choose to go silver with the black stripping and choose to go with a black interior. If you have any question about this car please contact me at chasewhatever23@aol.com."

 


 












1978 Macho Trans Am #160 of 204
owner: Kurt Blanchard

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.

 


 

 



























1978 Macho Trans Am #171 of 204
owner: Ken & Kathy Moody

This Macho TA recently underwent a nice restoration and really shows how great these paint schemes can look on one of these TAs. Kenneth writes:

     "Hello, I would like to update your site for 1978 Macho Trans Am #171. I recently purchased this car from Dennis Rosenthal Dec.6th 2008. As Dennis writes this is a very strong Macho! For anyone who has not seen the video of this car, you need to. The car is as seen in the video. I purchased the car from Dennis and drove it back to its new home in Virginia. Put 700 miles on the car with no problems. Car cruises fantastic in the 75-80 MPH range and was a constant head turner on the trip home. Will send new photos this Spring. Thanks for a great website."
 
Kenneth Moody

The previous owner wrote:
"This is a well documented matching numbers car with only 71,000 original miles. Color combo is white with red accents and interior. Options include PS, PB, AC, PW, PL, PT. WS6, rear defrost, Tilt, Deluxe velour interior, Fisher t-tops. Documented with PHS, build sheet, copies of old titles, Mecham Pontiac records and receipts. Car still has its original DKM installed headers, shaker, console plate, h-pipe, converters, and most exhaust. This car is unusual as it is one of only a few (3 known) in '78 to have the roof painted in its accent color (similar to an RS Camaro) instead of the typical stripes just around the windows, (other known cars with painted roofs are #173 and #178); also rare are the fisher T-Tops as Mecham preferred a hardtop car.. While most cars used Carmine as an accent color, original accent color on this car was Firethorn red. This car appears to be the same color combo as the car featured in the October issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.
Engine in this car is the numbers matching original engine as installed by Pontiac and appears to have never been out or apart. Other matching parts include the carb, distributor, etc... Car runs great, has good power, trans shifts crisp and firm, car drives well. This cars runs and drives as Dennis Mecham intended, it spins tires at will and car runs easily up to speed as a performance car should. The car has not been registered since 2001 in Arizona and still wears its AZ tags, and as such has not been driven very much. This does not seem to be an issue as the car is a blast to drive. Macho TA's are the only 70's version of the now famous dealer tuner cars of the 60's, Yenko, Berger, Baldwin Motion, Nicki, Royal Bobcat, Mr Norm, etc..."


Great movie of #171. (62Mb download)
He also created a website for #171 which can be seen here: 1978 Macho TA #171

Webmasters Note: The last picture in this set is a vintage pic of #171 sitting on the Mecham dealership in Glendale, Az.

Ken & Kathy Moody also own 1980 Macho Turbo Trans Am #6 see over at the DKM Lots #8.

 


 

 Black Trans Am (61,903 bytes)

Black Trans Am (66,005 bytes)

Black Trans Am (83,418 bytes)
1978 Macho Trans Am #173 of 204
owner: unknown

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 bag located in the trunk, red velour bucket seats, tilt wheel, 15x8 snowflake rims and a stereo with cassette player and amp to drive it.

Webmaster's Note: I was recently contacted about this car and learned it may now be located somewhere in the Netherlands.

 


 

Red Trans Am (152,542 bytes)

Red Trans Am (170,348 bytes)

Red Trans Am (122,076 bytes)

Red Trans Am (138,150 bytes)

Red Trans Am (67,691 bytes)

Red Trans Am (91,048 bytes)
1978 Macho Turbo Trans Am #178 of 204
owner: unknown

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

 


 





1978 Macho Turbo Trans Am #181 of 204
owner: Mike Royalty

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

 


 

 Black Trans Am (163,619 bytes)





Black Trans Am (185,737 bytes)





Black Trans Am (164,360 bytes)
1978 Macho Trans Am #183 of 204
owner: Team Theogon

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.

 


 

 







1978 Macho Trans Am #193 of 204
owner: Ken Kohler

Ken writes:

     "I had sent you pictures of my father's car previously. The pics I sent were from when he owned it and the car was perfect. I have been trying to locate the car for years and finally found car right here in Arizona, where it was built. Unfortunately the guy parked it out side for several years and it has a lot of sun damage. It is a 400/4sp car, still has the original motor with 46,000 miles on it. The car has no rust or body damage, just sun damage from being parked outside."

Thank You, Ken Kohler





 


 

 
1978 Macho Trans Am #194 of 204
owner: Heath Elmer

Awesome update on this car!! The car did change hands recently and the new owner contacted me. Heath writes:

     "I own 78-194. I bought it as you see it, from the second owner. He lived one mile from the old Mecham Pontiac dealership. He had planned on restoring it but lost interest, the front clip was off as to not damage anything when the engine was pulled. Its a 400, 4 speed, solid roof, chrome roll bar, original paint, 59k mile car. It should be on the road soon! I also own Macho Z #6, 350, 4 speed, chrome roll bar, t tops, white with black stripes/dark grey interior. I purchased it in pieces as well, however it does have the original paint and graphics intact."

Previous cars owned:
1983 MSE #21 on this site
1985 Macho #22 Black with grey interior
1986 Macho #20 Brown/gold with tan interior

Thanks for keeping this site up, it gets bigger every time I log on.
Heath Elmer
Mesa, Arizona

Heath has a great collection of DKM modified TAs including a 1979 Macho Z (Camaro) #6, 1984 MR MSE TA #84 (seen on Macho Firebirds Lot #8) and 1985 Macho TA #22.

 


 

 Silver Trans Am (39,616 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (31,651 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (92,979 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (97,034 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (37,879 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (98,985 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (116,313 bytes)

Silver Trans Am (41,519 bytes)
1978 Macho Trans Am #197 of 204
owner: Tray Powell

This Macho TA is a striking silver with red accents and matching red interior. Options include 400ci topped with a Holley carb, 4-speed tranny, power windows, power steering, power brakes, 15x8 snowflake rims, and A/C. Tray writes:

     "I have some plans for modifying this car, motor from butler, tranny from liberty, wheels from Boyd 20 '' snowflakes, complete underside will be chromed plated, etc... But I'm not using any of the stock parts, just in case it ever goes back to stock."

 


 

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