Best first car? '78 Trans Am

Coop takes some time to reflect on some of his favorite memories in his first car - a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. Who wouldn't want to feel like Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit?
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[@ihateoutube]

A trans am will always be a special car, such a classic.

[@sostrucking]

A '78 was my third car I bought in high school. Sold it when I went to Boot Camp. Wish I had storage back then.

[@misterbuklau4053]

joe king what branch

[@EdBolian]

So cool that the car has been in the family so long. Great to see the dots connecting through its history.

[@daevid21]

Ed Bolian ed could you do a video on buying your first nice car !

[@HIITisHARD]

Love this channel Ed! Keep up the great work! War Eagle

[@carmageddon1886]

@@gavinquirolo1425 I'm 15 and got a 78 Trans Am just without the T-Tops, how's that Stingray?

[@willneverrememberit1]

I didn't realized I wasn't subscribed yet. I've seen almost all of your videos. More Ed please.

[@rsal3492]

Honestly the best youtube channel right now.

[@brettbilger1390]

I hadn't thought about a gray car blending into the road but it makes a lot of sense. Perhaps that is another reason Ed loves the gray Murci.

[@EdBolian]

Definitely a big part of it. I love it being a bit more subtle.

[@123456bmx]

Brett Bilger huh,I'll have to get a wrap soon

[@lokisgodhi]

Doubt any Lamborghini, no matter the color, blends in that much.

[@c4llahan]

Highway patrol cars are a gunmetal gray in my state for that very reason.

[@AdminTommy]

When you actually watch the ad cause you love the channel

[@guskipper1194]

Can't ever go wrong with a Bandit. I love the white/red combo but the gray looks good.

[@eman115500]

This channel has easily become one of my favorites. I remember subscribing when there was only around 500 people and am so happy to see it have grown so much. It blows my mind it has not exploded yet but I am sure it will very soon. The content is extremely entertaining. Consistency is also another hard value to find and I feel as if every episode delivers exactly what we expect. VINwicky is the best!

[@goopah]

I'm here because I'm 57 and owned several T/As back in the late 70's / early 80's. I have not thought about those cars in decades, but in the last few months, I've been having actual dreams nearly every night about driving my gold 1979 T/A with the Olds 403 and no T-tops. I am suddenly feeling the need to own one again. It wasn't even the nicest one I ever owned, and yet that's the one I'm dreaming about. Hell, I owned a '77 Bandit Edition, and yet the one I want back is the '79 that was nothing special, but it felt so good to drive. Nostagia is a powerful thing, and it's driving me crazy.

[@deniseb3897]

My older brother, David, got a 1979 Dark Blue Trans Am brand new with the Oldsmobile 403. I was driving a 1970 340 Dart Swinger then, and even with a V-8 in that little car I could still see the ground all around it. I opened his hood and I couldn't really see anything but that "Shaker" on top of the engine and hoses everywhere. They had to put a 6" extension on the oil fill because you couldn't get to the valve cover! Anyway, he made the mistake of letting me drive it and I was amazed at how great it cornered. We had this long sweeping curve about 3/8 of a mile long with a decreasing radius that had taken out a lot of cars. It curves so gradually that people got surprised by the quick turn in at the end. It was called "Dead Man's Curve" by the locals. I had taken my Dart around it many times so I was comfortable with it. David didn't know that. He was grabbing the dash and telling me to slow down as we started into it, we were past it in less than 30 seconds. I knew he drove like a grandmother. I just wanted to show him what this car could do. It never even squealed a tire around the curve, maybe I couldn't hear it because of the screams. Just kidding, he was fine, just nervous. Looking back, I guess I was just being a know it all teenager.

[@tomconfused8441]

Dang your lucky that you had a trans am

[@danbaumann8273]

First car was a 66 Chevelle SS. I sure wish I still had it. That T/A in white with the red interior is absolutely gorgeous. Man would I love one of those.

[@evilsock420]

1st off, thank you for your service. 2nd, I literally set my phone down to applaud you doing 2 full 360s and recovering it. How do you drive with balls that big?

[@MarkCoopersisqocracker]

james Baggett right foot is directly ahead on the accelerator left foot is sucked up against the seat with my knee high against the door.

[@MarkCoopersisqocracker]

That bubbler at the end though. ;-) Thanks Ed!

[@radracer2033]

I just bought my first car- a '71 Mustang convertible. 302, auto, viper red with a white interior. Put 8000 miles on it this year with only a few run ins with the police

[@bobbyread]

My first car, in 1982, was a ‘77 Trans Am slick top with a 4-speed.

[@bobbyread]

DevX 03 In 1982 it was probably $20 to fill up. In 2018 it’s going to be about $60. I got about 10 mpg. Refueling was frequent.

[@yorgle11]

Driving home from college in the rain, I spun a Fiero onto I-80 at rush hour. The ridiculous thing is that I realized the car was starting to slide but I had gotten a little too comfortable with doing that and felt more annoyed than concerned about it. So I ignored it until the slide got near the point of no return, then in irritation I jerkily overcorrected it, and that's when the spin happened. I turned backwards which stalled the engine, then spun it around forwards and came to a stop in the 2nd lane before getting it restarted. It's only by the grace of God that I didn't kill myself or somebody else, it's amazing that there was no collision with all the traffic flying through there. That was when I learned my lesson about leaving a margin for error and not taking foolish risks around traffic. And also to always trust what I feel happening from the car and not be stubborn. I learned I was both mortal and fallible that day. :) 2ndgens are my favorite generation of FBody - they're just simple and fun. In general I love the simple DIY friendly way older cars were built. Not enough people work on their own cars anymore and it's because of the overly complicated designs. I like the self reliant ownership experience that old cars allow - with these cars it's actually *your* car.

[@kevintucker3354]

I did that in a 87 Mazda RX7 getting onto I35 in Texas. Entered the highway backwards between two cars in the slow lane and continued spinning around at about 80 into the middle lane where it recovered with its nose pointing the right direction and still going 60 miles an hour.

[@Hobodeluxe960]

My first car was in 1976. It was a legit 65 Mustang pony GT. 289 hi-po and 4 spd. 2nd car. 1968 GTO.

[@Valdismith]

Cool story. What I did not understand was the radiator drilled and punctured from the coiling fan blades, or was only the fan stuck, meaning no spinning fan to blow on the radiator. It sounded like the 2nd case, so it would be normal for a car to operate without any fan blowing on the highway. You do not need a fan blow at highway speeds, or even at lower speeds, if the car is constantly moving forward, the wind from the speed is enough to blow the radiator, no need of fan to spin. The fan would kick in at the traffic light, when the car is standstill, and there is no air stream to cool down the radiator. Especially in the winter, you do not need a fan apart from a long stops in traffic jam.

[@ItsJustCams]

All of these legendary things that you here about Pontiac... and yet... when GM needed to cut back? Pontiac was the first to go...smh

[@gavinhosler5503]

tru tru

[@lokisgodhi]

Bullshit. No it wasn't. Oldsmobile was the first to go. They axed it in 2004. Six years before Pontiac disappeared.

[@ItsJustCams]

Well yeah but did anyone really care about Oldsmobile going?

[@isaakwelch3451]

Oldsmobile had some fantastic classics.

[@melrose9252]

Krome Yoshi But Pontiac was all but done except for their G 8.

[@BrettsGarage]

My first car was a 90' 944 S2... loved that thing

[@MychalMiller]

I know its a different car but my first car was a 79 camaro. It was a blast. I loved that car. My cousin and I would put miles on it every weekend just because we could. This was in 2006.

[@jbatic8094]

I have a '79 I am fixing up t/a with ws6 and a 403 olds

[@1967davethewave]

When I was a senior in 1985 I got a '79 10th anniversary 400/4 speed Trans Am. It had 21k pampered miles, until I got ahold of it. On New Year's Eve 1985 I led 4 police cars on a 30 mile chase. If I hadn't been a stupid teen who used to keep the fuel level at about an 1/8th of a tank all of the time I would have gotten away. The 3 Caprices and the 1 LTD 2 that were chasing me were much slower. I ran out of gas while almost a mile ahead of them. Back then it was all good. I got 6 tickets from 3 different jurisdictions, hired a lawyer, paid the fines and went on about my life. Today I would have been beaten, shot, jailed and generally annoyed. Aww the good ole' days!

[@Henry-mn3xm]

I really like it if car guys still own theyre first car

[@sterlingreed6336]

My first car is a 79 firebird, love the car and still love the car.

[@halotornadokick]

How much did you buy it for

[@clintgliford9941]

Loved this one. That is a super cool first car.

[@ozzstars_cars]

Coop can never sell that car or he'll cry for years and never be happy again.

[@v1nc3mc]

Awesome story. I got my first car two years ago at 14yrs old. It's a 1977 Nova. 4 bolt 350, 4spd Saginaw. All original interior. Cops hate me but it's worth it 😂

[@gol2163]

97 trans am is my first, I'm 16 now, very grateful for it

[@kipdiggs1827]

A man my dad knew had a used car lot. He had a gold '79 Trans-Am (no t-top) he thought I would be interested in. This was the mid to late eighties and I was in college. My dad took one look at the car and said, "There's no way -- NO WAY -- your mother is going to let this happen." No Trans-Am for me.

[@revengefullobster4524]

My dad had a 78 T/A. Red with red interior, 4 speed, T-Tops and even a CB radio. I really wish I would have gotten the chance to drive that. Good vid!

[@zacktroyer1827]

My first car ...a 1964 Ford falcon 3 on the tree 170 inline 6 no speed no power miss that car

[@poptartpc5287]

As a high school student saving for college, I can't really afford a car of my own but my parents have a couple cars that my siblings and I share. I can't wait to shop for my first car. Even if it's a piece of junk I'll be ecstatic to have something I can officially call mine.

[@DTM-ch7jy]

It was my first car also. I loved it. I miss it. Yes; Burt Reynolds was the reason I brought it.

[@gregjames4023]

Had a 78 black trans am t-top 4 sp cragar sst wheels t/a white letter tires crane cam and plush velour interior in 83 senior in HS. The sound of the Quadrajet was awesome and you could almost see the gas needle going down when you hit the gas. Had many 7 mpg nights when playing around. Learned never floor it unless pointed straight after many tries.

[@cadecruseturner2864]

I got a 65 mustang for my first car.

[@danielnathan5064]

my first car just about 3 months ago is a wicked close to bone stock '92 240sx hatch.

[@joseeexd5293]

Liked instantly because i want a 78 trans am as my first car too

[@LoopKoop6778]

Reminds me of the 1993 mustang Foxbody 5.0 5 speed car thats been in my family for years... i remember riding in this car with my cousin when i was like 12-13 years old everytime he would pull out he would be spinning the tires or so... and everyone knew the car even the cops... so when i started to get older my cousin already had three kids with this car and my brother got the car from him which means i could drive it every now n then after that and i loved it!!! and i kept asking my brother if you EVER want to sell that car let me know, he kept telling me no it'll never be sold plus its too much car for you! (i was still young.) but then i drove the car alot and we ended up moving and my brother said if you want the car you can have it if you take care of it! which in return its still sitting in my drive way today and i took my children home from the hospital in the car also when they was born n all.. (i have another car with a story just like this one also!) (1990 Ford Probe GT Turbo!) Came from a very close friend and i've kept it for years also!

[@gavinhosler5503]

Sounds like the Purple Unicorn

[@Mkewl2006]

I’ve got a 78 Transam that I purchased in 1980. Here we are 2020 and I still have it. I’ll never part with my baby. Finishing up on full resto. 😀

[@user-cl6dz7tw4o]

I often worry about my 400 in my 78, but even with over 100K miles, it still runs solid. It's not the fastest car in the world, but it takes me back in time faster than any DeLorean could ever take me......Wait a minute. It was DeLorean who began the Pontiac muscle car trend back in the 60s with the Tempest GTO, so I take that back. Man, I love all of the period-correct smells and old-style feel.

[@outlawtransam]

awesome story. Ed should get me on this show, i got some Trans Am stories lololol

[@superman60201]

Buick Grand National was my first car. Bought miles of GA asphalt with my speeding fines in that car.

[@millerjohnson9459]

As a kid who got a 84 Z28 smallblock V8 with 67,000 miles on it...those style cars can be fun

[@michaelgreco4813]

Cannonball channel goes bandit

[@EdBolian]

Variety is the spice of life!

[@jackbritt2424]

Only channel I turn add blocker off for.

[@soulrisk1010]

that actually inspired me to do the same. They definitely deserve the revenue from me watching stupid fucking ads. Not keeping adblock off forever... or anyone else honestly. But if I have to watch dumb fucking ads to keep these guys around, that is worth it! I really hope other people see us 2 and turn it into 3. still haven't downloaded the app though lol. Even though it seems amazing.

[@sherrysetliff2502]

Had a 78 solar gold. Very neat car.

[@MasterChief-sl9ro]

I found White is the best. As my 1975 Camaro was Pearl White. I never got a ticket in it. Always got pulled over for son how old are you?.. As I looked 14 year sold when I was 21! But I drove the wheels off that car. As it was a tank. I once backed into a light pole. In the parking lot leaving the doughnut shop to got to work. It was half way bent over from the concrete base. I asked the shop owner where is the manager. I hit one of their poles. He seen it leaning over. Then said. Son I would get in that car and get the hell out of here! He didn't have to say it twice...

[@minimumdorifto6595]

My dad’s first car was an ‘85 Mustang GT. Mine was a 2000 Miata.

[@mikeg6438]

god this channel is fucking awesome

[@jrg7951]

Nothing sounds as cool as a big American V8 engine.

[@meldinssti3311]

My first car is a 1985 Mustang Gt 5 speed t-top car with a mild built 302 also I guess I did good choosing to paint it grey

[@logan_kes]

I'll vouch for the "grey cars don't stand out as much" theory. My red mustang was nailed with ka band every few minutes however my new grey one rarely ever gets hit

[@brandoncaldwell95]

Of course, another has some interesting stories and the car i want.

[@mossyshotgun5902]

I had a 77' T/A Iuved that car !

[@moutnlovr2]

Obviously he didn't have a W72 400 to say these cars were anemic. The W72 400 4spd, 3.42 rear ratio TA was far from anemic.

[@bluecow10]

dream car

[@KevinMartinez-pt5zl]

That's a tough ass car

[@fulltiltdrift]

Quick release crank. Very nice hahaha

[@noahcovell4698]

Trans Am's are great. But I'd do anything to have my old 635csi back, that was a pretty wild first car.

[@ronaldarchibald2506]

Great car. I had a rusty red 1977 trans am as my first car. Bird delete vehicle. Ended up destroying the suspension jumping it over a hill in the road. It was too rusty to consider repairing. Parted it out for almost what I paid for it.

[@clifforddavis8518]

I had a 79. Was the best car I ever had.

[@jscharp889]

This man is my spirit animal

[@justuswhitmore8199]

Would love to see more about American cars, love the channel regardless

[@thelmsjr]

mine was a blue, 67 mustang fastback with cragers,, and I wish I still had it.

[@danielanderson2030]

We put 200k on our triton v10 with a snapped connecting rod.... that rod went at 10k and we just never got it fixed. It worked just fine. Even after blowing the head gasket and fixing it with the block seal stuff in a bottle. Sold it after that. And the family that bought it drove it for another 2 or 3 years on that motor pulling the grade into Santa Maria (one of the harshest in the country) weekly... that truck had 400k when we sold it. Had already been through a motor and rear end. Surprisingly tranny had held all 400k which is a miracle for an e40d if you ask me. Those also weren't light California miles, we pulled a trailer with that thing for years when I was a kid it had been driven all over the left coast and never at normal highway speeds.

[@jimmygrant3212]

Daniel Anderson broke a connecting rod at 10k and it was still under warranty and never fixed it? No way it was still running without the broken rod flying around.

[@meldinssti3311]

Daniel Anderson did you mean 100k because a broken connecting rod at 10k should be under warranty

[@danielanderson2030]

Nope, it was NOS we picked up off a friend of a friend of a friend dirt cheap. Still in the crate. Yes, it was a snapped rod, As our mechanic said it was an absolute miracle and he s since seen a few old fleet trucks with v10s come in with similar issues. One I got to see in person was a piston completely split in half without any big signs of trouble only found it because they were changing plugs and took the chance to scope it. Now don't tell me miracles don't happen because I think if a crank is broken in multiple pieces like in the video it would kill the motor instantly but it didnt. In this case a connecting rod broke but stayed in place. You have an unclean break toward the top end of the rod and pressure from each end keeping it together. That motor always fired up instantly and that's the absolute only way I can remotely imagine it worked out for so long. I'm not mechanic or an engineer by any means so my .02 ain't worth shit but I've seen weirder...

[@---jt5wg]

was 16 when i did the same two full 360s, stayed on the road, didn't hit a thing and didn't have a single witness. so you kinda just keep driving off not sure if you just hallucinated or what the hell happened

[@rvstrocket]

that's friggin' weird... My first car is an 84 firebird. Albeit it's a v6, but still: its got that T top.

[@GreenJeep1998]

Bigmac At least it didn't have the Iron Duke in it!

[@ronb2482]

Same had a 91 v6 but the t-tops made up for it

[@joshualaw375]

The '78 Trans Am is THE MOST badass car ever made!

[@cameronbeyer7687]

My dad's first car was a 78 firebird trans with t tops and the works. He regrets selling it to this day

[@knerdrider]

Rockford gold is the proper color for that car!

[@jacobjohnson8775]

Best first car... 1989 Ford Taurus SHO... 215k miles and a transmission with some, lets say, character. I love it though

[@keithzimmerman1354]

My dream car

[@sighko]

This is crazy as I was just on holiday and there was a Trans Am on sale at a nearby garage, and it was within budget for my first car...

[@justinraystyles3537]

77-78 trans ams greatest year ever for the ta!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@chickensfloat7427]

May not have been the car causing the fan clutches to go bad, but aftermarket clutches suck, they never last. Could have been a bent watsrpump shaft too

[@gmoritz71last52]

I too accidentally slipped my Firebird into 'R' at highway speeds ( I-17 going downhill past Sedona ). It was 1983 or 1984 ... The TH350 was unphased ans I started it back up while still rolling forward and all was fine. ( Yes, I was an idiot and I still am. )

[@kevintucker3354]

I used to drive a 81 trans am with a turbocharged 301 V8. I don’t think it ever made more that 2 or 3 lbs of boost. There weren’t to many on the road with that engine setup.

[@michaelchristenbury552]

I miss my Trans Am, I had a 1980 turbo car as my first car.

[@marcathens2951]

Dang lucky ! My 1st car was an old 68 buick special 😔

[@muizawan]

Mine is a 2015 focus st.... after driving a few cars I’ve driven prior it definitely has some power and i should be careful lmao but I love it

[@ryandangleis]

We have a 96 trans am and I get it when I'm 16 fully restored may put a ls1 in it

[@rbreeze789]

Ryan Dangleis better be careful kid

[@Chris-es3jo]

My first car is an 81 Camaro, I'm 17

[@leohard1814]

I've got a 1980 TA that came with a Pontiac 400 out of a GTO that fouled a lifter and swapped it with a $200 350 out of an another Firebird that was in a field for god knows how long. Runs strong the compression is within spec and have put a 1000 miles on it in a couple months so I'd Pontiac motors are reliable are your going to get out of a motor from the 70s

[@Grey86]

The white looked way better...

[@MarkCoopersisqocracker]

Skoolblow after the engine swap it's going back to the original white again thanks.

[@Grey86]

Good to hear man love the car.

[@theorganizedgarage1080]

Coop tells a good story.

[@NeonPunks]

I wish i still had my first car :(

[@gavinhosler5503]

what was it?

[@loganburks23]

I got a Honda Accord...16 right now, gonna keep on working for a cool ride!

[@VINwiki]

What is the goal? What car are you looking to get?

[@loganburks23]

VINwiki 4th gen trans am or older, c10, or 350z, my dad will match me half (thank god) so I’m gonna pay him back!

[@MrMrWife]

Logan Burks get ya self a 240sx best mistake I made

[@rbreeze789]

Logan Burks local craigslist listings wont do ya wrong! dont be afraid to walk if the car is not what you want it to be be patient you will find the one for you

[@masterbuilder7729]

I’ve looked at the 77 78 trans am as my first car a lot

[@amystockton6279]

Man, that is amazing

[@Mega747400]

my first car was a 1997 Saab 900 SE turbo talladega

[@whiteoak60]

Wow great story!! Thank you for sharing!!@@

[@hydarail6477]

why do you guys always give the VIN number of the cars these people own

[@VINwiki]

Because VINwiki is a free app that lets people document their cars over time and build a history much more detailed than you could find on Carfax or Autocheck. These stories are examples of the types of content people can post to our app.

[@RobinsM]

Meanwhile people in LA with exotics hide there Vins. I'm not even kidding walk down rodeo and find the most expensive car they will slide a card down the windshield to block the VIN

[@hydarail6477]

okay thanks and thanks for replying to my comment I really appreciate it

[@-Sirens-]

everybody should go check out marks channel, its pretty small but he has some cool cars and has more videos about them over their.

[@PedroDelgado724]

Mine was a 78 camaro

[@nickmilledge619]

thinking this was rabbit's story damn

[@heavy_metal_dude9281]

Oh would I love to have this car

[@karlhollywood453]

Wondered what happened to Darren Kirkpatrick

[@Firebird400]

Was my first car to lol still have it to .

[@not4sgarageofbs500]

80 Malibu for me just got it at the turkey run for my first car