Transforming A Budget Pontiac Into the ICONIC Bandit Trans Am! | Roadworthy Rescues

Derek heads down south to Alabama in search of a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am replica. Instead, he finds a Pontiac Trans Am that's the wrong year, wrong color, has the wrong engine, and has clearly been in a wreck. Undeterred, Derek sets out to convert it into a Firebird worthy of Burt himself!
#roadworthyrescues #smokeyandthebandit #motortrend
MotorTrend is the ultimate streaming destination for gearheads coupled with the latest automotive research and news.
Get a fast, simple, and free car quote today ➡️ quotes.motortrend.com
Start your MotorTrend Streaming Free Trial today!
Follow MotorTrend for the latest!
MotorTrend News: www.motortrend.com
MotorTrend App: www.motortrendondemand.com
Facebook: / motortrend
Instagram: / motortrend
Twitter: / motortrend
TikTok: / motortrend
MotorTrend preferred music partner: PrimalHouse Music.

[@MotorTrendWatch]

A Trans Am Transformation! What do you think of the replica Bandit Trans Am?

[@Schmoking]

The car is cool, but i think this faking bs of staging the car like this is insulting to the viewers...

[@robertwyche5409]

Why are these videos so short? Should be at least 2 hours long.

[@hotrodhendrix1]

​@@robertwyche5409 vice grip garage KZbin channel is his original channel. Much longer and much better

[@kazinkap]

It would have been killer with a 77 nose cone

[@russaccordino2061]

This is typical Motor Trend bullshit stage job. They ruin all the best shows. The producers think they know what the people want and they don’t.

[@ViceGripGarage]

This was a fun build for me!! I love how it turned out!

[@trams66]

No cowboy hat 😢

[@mikelynd4587]

What did you do with it?

[@titansrule72]

man, id love to see this on the main channel for a long series. im a ford guy at heart, but my two favorite muscle cars of all time are the smokey and the bandit 77 trans and a 1970 chevelle ss.

[@1978JonBullock]

She does great burnouts what more do you need.

[@OldKill777]

At least you got the round tires

[@tobysure123]

I like how the car was freshly decorated with leaves in the opening shots. So realistic.

[@WhiskyCardinalWes]

Brand new distributor, spark plug wires, and it looked like a lot of new hoses under the hood as well. That car had probably been worked on by MT for a good week before they had to stage it in the woods and start filming. All part of t.v. magic lol

[@lego856]

Complete with aired up tires

[@HammerWrench]

Coming to say the same thing. No leaves on the trunk and the clean tarp on the ground.

[@tnhomestead]

How dare you think that. That car obviously sat in the woods for years, or at least minutes.

[@Thegoobmancometh]

I see I'm not the only one.

[@kevinbrand7992]

A guy put a big smile on my face with this installment! Nice result.

[@icanfartloud]

VGG dude. He free flows jokes well

[@rajm.5819]

I love watching old school mechanics at work. It's like magic and I love to see old cars come back alive. Thanks gents.

[@iamgermane]

This guy had his own KZbin channel and now got signed onto MotorTrend's channel. ViceGrip Garage was the name of it.

[@Enderito]

@@iamgermane He's still active

[@dutchdaniels]

Big thanks to whoever for mowing the grass under the car all those years. Classic story of youtuber we all love, has street cred tarnished by the corp suits great ideas.

[@albertoserrano4736]

Grass dont grow under cars have you ever been outside

[@TheIndoGod]

@@albertoserrano4736Well That Went Over Your Head

[@illwillyum]

The leaves on top of the rear tires was enough for me.

[@krijskovacic4938]

And who washed the car and cleaned the engine. Such BS! No rat turds either.

[@wolflarson71]

RIP Buford T Justice.

[@leftyo9589]

and the Bandit, and the Snowman!

[@ModelMotorworks]

"I'm gonna get that sumbitch!"

[@Westtxcowboy100]

Next build ?

[@houseofno]

MT picked the right guy to rescue this Firebird. Love seeing VGG on the job!

[@OlRider6485]

YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!...Built 5 of these over the years...Love these birds...Ya can beat these like a red head,d step child and they STILL run...FANTASTIC...

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

That car was for sure planted in the woods, and had leaves thrown on it. The Grass isn't long around the car, and all the tires have air in them. Plus the car is way too clean for it to have been in the bush for long.

[@Thegoobmancometh]

I'm definitely not the only one who thought that.

[@Wolfparkinson]

Shoved into some bushes covered in debris and a branch on the windshield. Totally no staged.

[@threefiftyone4726]

The good old " chuck some leaves on it and push it into the grass revival "

[@markkeller1778]

"Honey Hush", best words ever spoken. RIP Jerry Reed.

[@Omg_im_scared]

Did you guys throw all the leaves and sticks on the car before filming this 😆 🤣

[@STARSHIPTROOP]

and pushed it into the grass

[@Omg_im_scared]

@@STARSHIPTROOP there were more leaves on the car than the ground 😆 🤣

[@teddydavid2816]

That's what I was thinking they looked all fluffy and freshly tossed on there along with those random log/branches

[@Sean_Farmer]

100% staged. I just stopped the video to check the comments when he opened the trunk and the area around the seal was cleaner than most cars out in the desert. This is an insult to our intelligence Motor Trend!

[@krob5375]

These are basically a shortened knock off VGG episode, using Derek's name to get views. Staged "revivals" should be expected. I don't really care, just like seeing Derek work

[@wefwefwef.]

Great episode, but as people have mentioned that car was for sure planted in those woods for the show, your avarage petrolhead has been around cars that have spent time in a bush and that wasnt one of em 😂

[@buttslappingpirate]

If you don't have circumstances, well, you've gotta create them.

[@josephfilm73]

It def would have been planted. As in sunk into the soft ground. Tired rotted to nothing. Need a tractor to pull it out.

[@kilodk77]

The leafs loosely put on the roof and on top of the right rear wheel really was corny. In my opinion Derek should get off this channel. Also the (almost) constant background music annoys me.

[@chrishyde377]

@@kilodk77 I agree 100%. I'm starting to think Derek likes the money more than worrying about putting out good content here with Motor Trend Magazine.

[@Bac0n3510]

Absolutely incredible. A car thats been "sitting" in the "woods" for "years" just fires up and runs. Throw some nitrous on it. And done even go thru the motor one bit. Simply amazing.

[@scottythomas7086]

Helloooo. It was in Ala-Baaaaama.

[@bbrut3332]

Yeah right... Don't think so.

[@MrShakotan]

It's a short cut video, there are a lot more parts and bit then is shown on each episode.

[@mikepavlige3134]

He has a main channel where he spends days getting these running, which I assume he did with this one as well.

[@Raswhitworth]

Can you point me to the timestamp where they claimed it was "sitting" in the "woods" for "years"? That part wasn't in the video I just watched...

[@JimMAGA2024]

That Trans Am looks so good for a fast job 👍👍

[@shannonschneider8413]

The satin black and the glossy stickers actually work really nicely together and the rim and tyre package is spot on,wouldn't say no to that for a daily driver

[@highnoter1]

A 455 and $5.00 gas. Yes you would

[@goopah]

I'd buy that for a dollar!

[@danblythe2979]

Sure has clean windows for a rig that's been sitting so long. After a summer of a rig sitting in my yard you almost can't see out them 🤣🤣🤣

[@600wheel]

These motortrend cars are very suspect in their descriptions

[@worldssickestmedia2713]

Proper product leaf placement.

[@billness7310]

They retreated with rain, x and dirt. X and Mold X before it was parked.

[@STARSHIPTROOP]

and pushed it into the grass for Xtra abandonment

[@skahwaya4192]

I was thinking the same thing! Plus the grass wasn’t to worn where it was sitting! Sadly I believe it was staged there..something about those leaves and that log didn’t look natural to me, but I’m not gonna lie he does a good job at what he does but a lot of red flags on this build

[@85Stang331]

Man that thing took a beating especially after sitting and looking the way it did. Nice work glad to see it got a second chance instead of becoming a pile of rust or crushed.

[@SaxonSavage]

That thing hadnt been sitting. The freaking grass was green underneath it when it pulled away, plus those leaves were placed there to make it look like it had been sitting.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

car was not sitting,period

[@mikeadams2677]

The '79 isn't bad for making a Bandit tribute car, because the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit II was a 1980 Turbo Firebird.

[@roadhammer2380]

Ok I agree with you but I watched a documentary about the movie when they wanted to create the first one in 77. Now please correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they have to make the 76 look like the 77s?? because the 77s weren't exactly produced at that time.. I'm not sure and please don't rip me for it. I love the movie because it was my birth year. August 10 1977.

[@JeffKopis]

Hopefully with an engine swap.

[@jerrywilcox9890]

Know it wasn't first car was a 76 then it went to the 77 lol.think you should look it up hahaha.

[@jerrywilcox9890]

​@roadhammer2380 first one was a 76 then they went to the 77 this dude has know clue what he's talking about 😂😂.

[@mikeadams2677]

Smokey and the Bandit was a '77, Smokey and the Bandit II was a 1980, and Smokey and the Bandit III was a 1982.

[@Cihatgaraj]

Throw some leaves for drama. But Windows shinier than my future. Even tires not going into soil

[@68hotrodrs]

Finally … I don’t have motor trend… now I can watch … been a fan of a feller for years !!!!

[@schmohawk5512]

The loose leaves look sus. Thrown on for dramatic effect?

[@harmankardon478]

Looked that way....

[@dwahnaslowdown8887]

Definitely.

[@leftyo9589]

yup, kinda ruins things. fakery on youtube is getting real old!

[@JeffKopis]

Everybody's a skeptic. Rightfully.

[@renegade5399]

Def gave those history channel staging vibes. Not bad in this case though as it was just for effect and not faking the entire premise. 😂

[@Rob-tn8to]

You should have picked up Jessica on the side of the road wearing her wedding dress...that would have been funny!

[@kingfornjot]

Fantastic ,bit annoying that someone had dumped a load of leaves all over it just before you collected it lol😅😂😂

[@Trev0r98]

Yeah, I caught that, too.

[@kingfornjot]

@@Trev0r98 lol 🤣 it made me laugh properly production team effort 😆😂

[@2ndsspz]

come on, its a tv show

[@kingfornjot]

@@2ndsspz yes it is

[@Walking_Death]

Amazing, I park a car in my yard for a month and there's a big dead patch in the grass... This has been sitting for years and the grass under it is lush and green.

[@Walking_Death]

and I blame MT for that fakery, not Derek.

[@19714955]

Plus new looking master cylinder and distributor cap

[@leftyo9589]

i like Derek, but he went along with it, so he is just as much to blame.@@Walking_Death

[@CattleRustlerOCN]

This is the difference between MT and VGG, VGG doesn't stage anything for the rescue videos. I only watch the Mt videos because I like Derek and he's funny but if this series disappeared tomr I wouldn't bat an eye.

[@mikeblaz]

@@CattleRustlerOCN I thought this sucked compared to VGG. The car was cool to see but the production was bad...

[@johanchastain]

Oh my God, you had me laughing so hard I was crying. I still live your show. Now I got to split my time between you and Matt off road recovery.

[@sampson7941]

What a glorious piece of machinery ! Even a guy like Derrick could love thet thing

[@Rawsolo]

Derrick never ceases to impress.

[@plstewaf3]

Good job throwing those leaves and wood chunks on the car before filming!!! LOL

[@keithrozeski8463]

No leaves were harmed or moved in the making of this video. Lmao

[@denniskeena5936]

Eastbound and down loaded up and truckin!

[@donwoods7305]

Looks like an Olds 403 from where I sit. It has the oil fill in front of engine just off center is a dead giveaway.

[@motov8-garage832]

That’s exactly what I thought.. I guess an olds 455 has the same filler neck like the 403. It’s an olds not a Pontiac engine.

[@jasonmacneil2256]

Unfortunately the Olds 403 motor was garbage for horsepower.

[@coledrevenj]

@@jasonmacneil2256But the Olds 455 had up to 400hp/500tq

[@jasonmacneil2256]

@coledrevenj not from the factory it didnt.

[@odahithedubious2017]

Research is your friend. Go look it up, there were variants that came that high from the factory. Olds made some very interesting engines, back when they made their own.

[@jballoregon]

Fake leaf placement? Uncalled for

[@fredberger2451]

Yeah all those leaves but not dirty under them lol

[@gypsymusik4251]

Agreed

[@bruceallen6016]

My ears really perked up when the casting numbers lead to 455 Oldsmobile. Two of my favorite car companies were Olds and Pontiac. I've had fire breathers from both. You lucked out. 😎

[@gofasturnleft01]

Hopefully that’s one of the steel crank models out of a Toronado.

[@bruceallen6016]

@@gofasturnleft01 People don't realize that Toronado engines had up to 375 HP. They were a high end cars.

[@drunk3n_m0nk12]

I heard that casting # and was like "wait a minute... that's the same casting as the Olds 455 I had for my 67 Tempest!"

[@ronporter610]

These episodes are never long enough.

[@FlyingShotsman]

Yeah, they've tried to capitalize on what Derek does on his own channel, but Motor Trend edits them so heavily that the magic is lost. So much is cut out that these Roadworthy episodes are barely worth watching.

[@brianl6798]

6.6 is a 403 small block... famously in Olds and Pontiacs... 455 is a drop in replacement and you got the good one being a 68 to 74. Some of the very first were high compression monsters

[@coledrevenj]

Yep, the 403 was an Olds motor. The 455 could be Olds or Pontiac, or even Buick. I have a 10.5 - 1 stock compression Olds 455 out of a 1968 Toronado. Monster came out of factory with 400HP/500ft.lbs!

[@JamesHolbrook-eh5sp]

400 Pontiac was only available with 4 speed stick that year. Automatics got the Olds 403. Why put a 455 in it? Because 455 is bigger than 403!

[@davesnothere8859]

@@coledrevenj all different 455s too. If you can find a 73 T/A SD you found the last of the muscle cars.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

super duty ftw

[@taurota1554]

Awesome and outstanding as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

[@CentralStateMower]

I had a '79 Trans am in that same blue color! In fact, I thought that was my old car for a minute until I saw the T-tops. Mine was a hardtop with the Olds 403 engine. I loved that old car! Thanks for the memories!

[@AllAmericanProClean]

My dad had one of these when I was a kid. The colors were reversed though. It was gold with the black bird.

[@fladave99]

I have left enough cars to rot and those leaves would have been stuck on and left unremovable stains in the paint

[@juliuscullum6596]

Burt would be proud👍

[@JamieFry-fe1nm]

Turned great looks like a lot of fun . Thanks again to a guy for sharing 👍

[@aaronhouston1982]

one of the best transformations of a car (with just paint) i have ever seen.. BEAUTIFUL

[@acatwiththreenames3658]

I once read that the smoky and the bandit cars were 1976 Pontiacs with 77 front ends because the 1977 models weren't available when they were filming the movie.

[@Draconfury1]

There was 4 cars they used, one of them was a 76 with a 77 front, where the other 3 were 77s I believe if memory serves correct, the first was used as a showcase to showcase the movie originally, which was why they had to put a 77 front end in there as the 77s weren't quite ready

[@leftyo9589]

now to really blow your mind, the sound the car made in the movie was actually by the 2 lane blacktop/American graffiti car.

[@Draconfury1]

All 4 were actually destroyed during shooting too, with 1 being destroyed just on the bridge scene, the sound was from a 55 Chevrolet custom, as the other guy mentioned, because they didn't think the trans am sounded powerful enough

[@piedpiper8355]

I had a 79 with the 403 Olds engine. It was definitely a slug.​ @@Draconfury1

[@RandysRides]

6.6 trans am was the very first car that slammed me back in the seat. First car I was in at 120 mph, too.

[@brainards11]

OMG...he turned it into a MONSTER...LoVe it dude!!! Lets show more of the car please!!!

[@jamesharrington4923]

WOWZERS that brings back memories of my 79 bandit T/A, I swapped out the Olds 403 for a 71 Pontiac 455 and built it up with a crane cam, ram air Iv heads and it ran.luke a T/A should have 😅😅😅

[@FreddyFunderbunz]

How amazing that those green trees dumped so many leaves just on the car. You guys definitely didn’t back a running car into that spot and dump leaves on it. Just a battery and some gas and 5 mins later he’s on the highway. Amazing!😂

[@JeffKopis]

The "magic" of television. And by magic, I mean deception and trickery. But ya can't blame a guy for takin the car and cashing the check.

[@leftyo9589]

yeah , i thought ol vicegrip was above that nonsense, but MT got their hooks into him.

[@danhambrick6331]

Nothing like the torque of a big block😁😁👍💪👊

[@ripvanrevs]

Mine has a 454. Big blocks were put in because they were CHEAP!

[@1jhawk67]

That's a good motor. All the good Olds torque. Car looks pretty wicked . Good job!

[@keith455-73]

I have a black 77 Trans Am. I have been waiting for you to feature a second generation Trans Am. 👍👍👍👍👍👍This was my favorite video so far, just too bad that it wasn’t much longer.

[@mikelynd4587]

I'll be dipped!!!

[@mantelmann13]

Only leaves on the car and nowhere else? Hm...ok. Suspicious I'd say.

[@jasonlavoie4710]

I love everything this man does from pulling stuff out of the woods to tempo garage paint job's and more he's the only guy that never lets us down love the show 👍👍

[@graffalexander11]

The spot that it left out of had zero marks in the grass that it had been sitting there for any period of time. TV magic right there. "throw some leaves on top to make it look like its been there a long time"

[@4ndy530]

The leafage looks very staged....how do the leaves get on top of the rear tyre? 😂

[@emilianocruz11]

We need full eosiodes of Roadworthy rescures here in KZbin nowooo

[@billyoki8674]

Had a 79 myself, Brentwood brown. Doughnuts for days with that car. Loved it

[@fuzzyturner8132]

Thank you for your show. It’s really nice to watch without wonder what kind of language I’ll hear. Keep up the good work and may you be blessed in all you do. 😊

[@burridge911]

Awesome video as usual from Derick ! And vice grip garage!

[@philthyco1]

The prop wood and leaf's on the hood are not needed

[@petercasper224]

Not bad for a 50-footer, Derrick! Fabulous vid, looks like she was fun.

[@jamesdupin737]

Awesome job and awesome job feeding no2 giggle till it put the smile on a fellas face 😎👍

[@BeansMcGriddle]

That was 100 percent put in the woods and covered with leaves and a log to create a fake scenario 😂

[@screamingsaint]

That's what immediately came to my mind as well. 😂

[@leftyo9589]

it was pretty pathetic.

[@AlbertaPug]

Everything on TV is fake. Derek don't let them fake your style.

[@buttslappingpirate]

I was particularly impressed with how cropped the grass was beneath the car, not an overgrown weed to be found anywhere.

[@adamthetford5820]

They advertised that it ran 🤷🏼‍♂️ so it definitely wasn’t out there very long

[@damonscrivener3664]

Bring this car to the vgg channel

[@nelashharinarain3394]

Great build. Awesome burnouts

[@goopah]

As a former owner of a 1979 Trans Am back in its glory days (and mine), it did my old heart good to see this one brought back to life.

[@pecktox]

Sweet. I didn't think I would like the satin, but it turned out good!

[@ripvanrevs]

I believe the original color is starlight black

[@GoneFalconcampin]

One of the sadest attempts of making a car look like its been sitting under a tree for years..

[@nigelkeelan2022]

Lol are u there why u no so much about this?

[@PhenomProductions-tn5fj]

I'm restoring my '76 T/A, I'm not bragging or anything, buti do know what it's like to fix a car that's been sitting for 20 years under a tree, getting rained on, they will not just fire up, I had the pre-caution to remove and dismantle the Carb, only to find dirt & twigs inside, I'm glad I didn't try to fire it up like that. Don't want any more junk going into the motor, trying to avoid a tear down rebuild. These things take time, especially if you're doing it yourself, replacing shocks, new brakes, re-doing the entire braking system, including new master cylinder, new hard lines, and new brake hoses, new wheel cylinders & hardware, new emergency brake cables, new shoes and pads and rotors and bearings, restore the wheels, paint them, new tires, etc it goes on & on. This should have been at least a 3 hour video.

[@fubarfrank74]

​​@@PhenomProductions-tn5fjI'm going to go out on a ledge and assume you don't watch Vice Grip Garage.

[@Koody666]

great episode, fun to watch.

[@dangerline95]

Those leaves were definitely placed there right before recording 😂

[@CrankAddict]

That satin black actually looked pretty good with those gold graphics.

[@ErikDB6]

Looked like a$$. And that “satin” finish will show off every imperfection. It would have looked better the way he “found” it.

[@michaelbradley7529]

I wish Motor Trend wouldn't stage how the car was found. It's like the videographer said, " It will look better if we pile up a bunch of leaves on the roof of the car, and pile some up on top of the rear tire, because that will look natural". smh

[@victorvillasana3409]

I was going to comment the same. All the trees surrounding have green leaves. This is what happens when a corporation writes the script.

[@leftyo9589]

sadly, it wasnt even found there, green grass under the car, no ruts from the tires sitting there for years. it was all 100% bogus.

[@michaelbradley7529]

@@leftyo9589 This is part of the reason why Motor Trend is not a big as it should be, because they have no problem with insulting the intelligence of the viewers.

[@markmowbray1769]

Great stuff. Love the Budget Bandit !!!

[@lisadeyoung5361]

Satin flat was a perfect choice. All the good stuff...and mad burnouts. Who could ask for more?

[@rogersaucedo8817]

403 Oldsmobile 💯👍

[@jasonmacneil2256]

If it's an Olds 403, that's a garbage low horsepower motor!!

[@rogersaucedo8817]

@@jasonmacneil2256 all you really need to do is put some 1970 64 cc heads Aluminum Intake and headers to wake it up been there done that had a lot of fun on the cheap but every maker makes garbage Motors

[@jasonmacneil2256]

@@rogersaucedo8817 most pontiac guys I know removed the low compression low horsepower 403 Olds motors from their trans ams and added a pontiac 400 or 455. Much better motor and more easy to add more power!!

[@rogersaucedo8817]

Had those Motors to fun Motors to work on

[@LordHumungus-eg2dw]

Stop with the fake leaves.

[@joegilly1523]

Two days in a row,Awesome.

[@TxRiderDave]

Amazing how much of the imperfections are hidden by the satin paint. Also amazing the nitrous shot didn’t simply grenade the engine or transmission....yet. That was fun.

[@memyselfandi3925]

Only dry leaves and a random log😅. Nice try but maybe next time

[@joanntommykeener79]

The pile of oak leaves on the T tops was a nice cimanamic touch. 😂

[@marqueslabbe1105]

The matte black looks awesome! Great show!

[@Expatriate1977]

that turned out beautiful! Really well done!

[@schlick93ify]

That thing look pretty good & it runs great!

[@Ryan-ho9tz]

So sweet. Can't get much cooler than that.

[@brucecoy4799]

Love it !! Great job on the Bandit tribute Derrick ! So many people focused on the leaves....who cares

[@andyhorton3535]

Worth every moment spent watching this, Gold!!

[@BeansMcGriddle]

Staged lol

[@nikolasp9622]

Super sweet, thank you

[@jamesmitchell4209]

That was fun thanks . Good Job Mr.

[@johnritcher5751]

This guy is a car genius. Love this video.

[@ronnieadams2079]

Great video, love that little button you installed.

[@MrBIGNAWD]

ONE OF THE BEST !!!

[@pyminier]

i'm in France and this is exactly the car of my dream from my childhood.The Trans am 1979, specially in gold edition.

[@jeanjacobs6616]

That is a way to cool job restoreing that reel great job

[@jamesmusisca7547]

these cars are made to bring a smile to yer face you can put so many cool engines in them like plug and play stock parts

[@kevincorbin6273]

Turned out perfect

[@vincehatina6987]

That came out ultra cool!!!

[@marionarthur6629]

This is my favorite car and favorite build and I like all ur builds and videos been watching ur videos for many years

[@Ellis157]

THAT WAS AWESOME THE BANDIT WOULD BE PROUDE TO DRIVE IT