Man Finds a Pontiac Trans Am in a Barn, and the Surprise Under the Hood Is Incredible

This car has been sitting for years, but that doesn’t automatically make it a wreck. Far from it. It was recently pulled from a barn, and what’s hiding under the hood is especially exciting news for diehard Pontiac fans.

First, let’s clear up exactly what we’re looking at. This is a TATA, short for Tenth Anniversary Trans Am, and Pontiac built only 7,500 of them. The special edition arrived for the 1979 model year to mark the Trans Am’s 10th anniversary.

Pontiac loaded these cars with virtually every option available, leaving buyers with just one major decision: which engine and transmission combination they wanted. By the end of the model year, 1,817 cars had been built with manual transmissions, while another 5,683 received automatics.

The four-speed was available with the Pontiac 400, while the automatic transmission could only be paired with the Oldsmobile 403.

That makes this particular Trans Am even more interesting. It’s a factory four-speed car equipped with a Pontiac 400 under the hood. But the real surprise is that the engine actually starts and runs.

Based on a video posted by the seller on eBay, the engine sounds remarkably healthy. We don’t know exactly how long the car spent sitting in storage, but finding a barn-stored TATA that still runs is a pretty big deal. Unrestored examples are getting harder to find, so cars like this are becoming increasingly interesting to collectors.

The numbers reportedly match, and according to the seller, virtually everything on the car remains original, with one exception: the passenger-side fender.

“It had it replaced because it had a small dent, and I had a good fender available,” the seller explains.

Like most cars that have spent years in a barn, this Trans Am has its share of problems. There are some typical rust concerns, among the other issues you’d expect from a vehicle that hasn’t seen regular road use in years.

Still, I’d strongly recommend inspecting the car in person before making any decisions. The interior appears to have survived surprisingly well, too. The seller describes it as having “an original perfect dash pad and a four-speed console that doesn’t even have any burn holes.”

That doesn’t mean the cabin is ready to hit the road tomorrow. The seats will need attention, along with the door panels and headliner. None of those jobs should come as a major surprise on a car that has spent so much time sitting.

The bigger question is whether the asking price makes sense.

Mechanically, the car has plenty going for it. It’s a genuine anniversary Trans Am, it has the desirable Pontiac 400, it’s equipped with the factory four-speed, and the numbers reportedly match. Most importantly, it gives a buyer the chance to restore a rare TATA from the ground up rather than starting with a car that has already been heavily modified.

The asking price is $14,200, which is where things get interesting. The owner has also enabled eBay’s Make Offer option, so a serious buyer may have some room to negotiate.

Whether $14,200 is a bargain or too much for this particular example is ultimately up to the buyer. Personally, I’d want to see it in person before putting down any money, especially given the unknowns that come with a long-term barn find.

The car is currently located in Snellville, Georgia. Given its condition and the fact that it has been sitting for several years, you’ll almost certainly need to arrange transportation rather than simply drive it home.

The eBay listing is scheduled to expire in five days, and the seller says a clean title is included.

For anyone looking for a rare late-1970s Pontiac project, this one deserves a closer look. A 10th Anniversary Trans Am is already special, but finding one with its original drivetrain, a four-speed, matching numbers, and a Pontiac 400 that still fires up makes this barn find considerably more tempting.