Pontiac Trans Am 1979 T/A

1979 was Pontiac’s last year for the big 400 V8, and this custom Trans Am takes that swan-song engine and pushes it to 450 horsepower, numbers no factory W72 ever touched. Add the mandatory WS6 package and a four-speed, and you have the final real Pontiac big-block wearing a serious modern build. Here is what made 1979 special before Pontiac killed the 400 for good.

Absolutely stunning custom-built 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am T/A with a modified 400 cid 6.6-liter V8 engine producing 450HP and 680nm (500 lb-ft)!
This muscle car beast makes a fantastic sound from its big exhaust pipes, oh and check out those cool led tail lights!
This is one of the best looking Birds I’ve seen in a while, leave a comment below what you think…

1979 was the last stand for Pontiac’s biggest V8, the final year you could order a factory 400 in a Trans Am before GM killed it off for good. Buyers who wanted that engine had no choice but to take Pontiac’s stiffest suspension package and a four-speed stick along with it, the factory flat-out refused to pair its last big mill with a slushbox. This custom-built example takes that swan-song engine and pushes it to numbers Pontiac’s engineers in 1979 could only have dreamed about. So just how far past factory spec does 450 horsepower actually go?

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Last Year for Pontiac’s Big Mill

The factory W72-code 400 arrived rated at 220 horsepower and 320 lb-ft, respectable for the malaise era, though period testers at NHRA found these engines were quietly making closer to 260-280 net horsepower on the strip. Order one in 1979 and Pontiac forced your hand on options too, the 400 came exclusively with a Borg-Warner Super T-10 four-speed and the WS6 handling package, a combination of stiffer springs, a bigger rear sway bar, quick-ratio steering, and those unmistakable 15×8 Snowflake wheels. Once 1980 hit, the 400 was gone for good, making 1979 the true last call for Pontiac’s biggest performance engine.

Modified Well Past Factory Numbers

This build’s claimed 450 horsepower and 680 Nm, about 500 lb-ft, sail well past anything a stock W72 ever made, which tells you this 400 has been reworked internally rather than left showroom-stock, the kind of build that respects the factory’s final-year 400 while refusing to leave any performance on the table. Add LED tails and an exhaust note that turns heads, and you have a Bird that looks period-correct at a glance but hides a genuinely serious engine underneath.

Where Builds Like This Fit In

Survivor W72 Trans Ams in factory condition already command real money as the last of Pontiac’s big-block breed, and a well-executed modern build like this one carves out its own lane entirely, respecting the 1979’s final-year significance while delivering the kind of power the original engineers never got to chase, thanks to decades of emissions rules finally lifted off a fresh build.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter