Riding Shotgun With Michelle Rodriguez: 1979 Pontiac Trans Am

[@Stu650Zuk]

Thanks for making me feel old....man how I miss my silver 79! I only had the olds 403 with auto and from my previous manual shift mopars...Yeah it was a cruiser more than a drag racer...I would love a 79 Anniversary Edition with the real 400 Pontiac big block with a 4 speed manual....they were really underrated on the up figures of 200-220up. It was really more like 250-260hp with that package....they truly were a muscle car for their time.

[@1Bandit455]

Back in the day Hot Rod Magazine got A 14.6 @ 96 mph out of a bran new 79 T/A 400 4 spd good for even the 60's :)

[@googleusergp]

No Pontiac V8 big block. They did not use small and big block designation for their engines. I have a 400/4 speed 10th Anniversary like you're describing and yes there's a big difference between that and a 403 Olds equipped car.

[@GodBlessedAmerica]

The truly amazing thing about these Trans-Ams, they didn’t have that much horsepower but the torque was unbelievable. My 79 had the 403 Oldsmobile engine. Low HP but well over 300ft lbs of torque. Drove it 22 years and like a dummy, sold it.

[@rodneybrimer1712]

I bought my 79 Trans am in 1987. I was 18 no care in the world. The T/A is a American icon. I gotta say the car looks even better with Michelle Driving. She is one cool sexy down to earth girl. Much respect.

[@MrChad-rs4ki]

I was 18 in 87' too brother!.. Born in June of 69', the year of Woodstock, Elvis was just beginning his stay in Las Vegas, man went to the moon, and the height of the muscle car era!.. but no trans am. I was holding out for a 69' Ram Air IV GTO Judge!.. Or the General Lee.. LOL.

[@saulespino2510]

too bad she doesn't like guys

[@Silverado1st]

Incredible presentation! Even the TA was thinking... Damn I look 1000 times sexier with Michelle Rodriguez at the wheel! Brings me back to my Army days and my '76 with a 454 SD running low 12's in the quarter mile. Way to much power for me at 20 years. The anniversary '79 403 olds is just my speed now at 54. Gonna try to get it started tomorrow, weather permitting, after a 14 years slumber in storage. Anyone interested in helping an old disabled combat veteran restore a classic and relive a better time in life? ;-)

[@camarossdriver]

DAMN! John. I would LOVE to help you put your baby back together again! I own a Solar Gold ‘79,and it’s darn near MINT with only 82,000 miles on her. I’m the second owner,and I absolutely LOVE IT! 😀

[@camarossdriver]

…and GOD BLESS you for your service! ❤️

[@Silverado1st]

@@camarossdriver Hey Tony! Thank you for the appreciation and kind comments :-) Oh I bet that Gold '79 purrs like a lion! Woops, I meant Tiger! I bought mine off a local retired police chief's daughter who used it for back and forth to college. All the local cops kept tooting at me because of it lol. I'd love to be working on it too, but my landlord's property manager (I rent the land) told me I had to move it off the property because it wasn't registered. I got lucky and was able to find a house about a twenty minute walk up the street. Just to far to keep walking back and forth to work on it for me. New DMV rule in the state of R.I. says antique cars of interest have to have a paid valuation before I can sell or even register it. They think people would sell a 40,000$ antique but say they sold it for 100$ in order to avoid paying the higher fees. R.I., worst state in the country to live in. About a year ago there were some politicians here that wanted to try taxing internet porn in R.I. Kinda gives ya an idea what we have to put up with lol. I do appreciate your offer to help me get it back in the races. I got like 2,500$ worth of parts burning a hole in my shed.

[@Silverado1st]

@@camarossdriver I sincerely appreciate that Tony!

[@rodguitarezz3482]

Thanks for the video. Many thanks to John for keeping a great T/A going..

[@johnnyhunt9447]

Love this in HS I had a 1976 Trans Am 455 4 speed white with red bird and interior it was handed down from my brother got it brand new I Loved the way everything Looked from the Dashboard to the way the Hurst shifter set to looking out seeing the shaker hood moving and the bird

[@debi5292]

We own a 1972 White blue striped T/A. Originally 310 hp but now 480hp 455 H.O. 5 speed Doung Nash trans. 4 wheel dics brakes on the front the 1L3 third gen front 12.5" brakes. AC car to boot. My son in law will probably end up with it some day.

[@camarossdriver]

NIIIIIIICE! I would LOVE to cruise around with you and your T/A. I own a darn near MINT ‘79 Solar Gold Trans-Am…but you would BLOW MY DOORS off with yours! 🤣

[@RenoLaringo]

Someone please tell me which are those rims at 1:41 ? They are soo bad !

[@zxcurve]

Michelle Rodriguez is smoking HOT!! What really tops her off is she's down to earth cool

[@CaptainFALKEN]

zxcurve Right

[@mister.dynamite]

zxcurve *Michelle Rodriguez doesn't shake up my soda*

[@jasonvogue4487]

zxcurve yes, she was also on top gear BBC..

[@RainyDay6913]

zxcurve hell to da yesss!!! luckiest bitch alive! Get it bbg ! Need a partner? I'm down ;-))

[@GODLIKEZ490]

@@jasonvogue4487 which topgear the newer shitty topgear or the old good one?

[@garywkline]

I bought a 1978 in 1978. The horsepower was 220 in 1978 and 1979 if you got the best of of the two Pontiac engines verses the Oldsmobile engines. The 200 hp was differentiated by the TA 6.6 Liter on the shaker for 220 hp, and 6.6 liter on the 200. You also got chrome valve covers with the 220 hp which this motor has. Unless someone changed the decals and put the chrome valve covers on, this is the 220 hp motor and NOT the 200!

[@princessjazzmine6546]

100 percent agreed the 79 trans am is a sexy car

[@AMCmachine]

My brother had an '84 Mustang GT t-top car. Always loved the tops off on a glorious spring or summer day. We didn't take them off too often, but it was a treat when we did. Leaked a bit when it rained, though. Guess that came with the territory. : )

[@jasonvogue4487]

AMCmachine Dodge Daytona had t tops, and some A body GM cars as well.. They even have a conversion for the newer Camaros

[@camarossdriver]

I own a darn near PRISTINE ‘79 Solar Gold Trans-Am…Michelle can drive it any DAMN TIME SHE WANTS TO! 😉

[@gabrielmarino7041]

Love ❤️ her laughter

[@2subswithnovideoschallenge348]

simp

[@jadenpersinger4046]

Old school American muscle car

[@mrdaykurutakuchannel]

My favorite Pontiac ever!! Essentially Natsu Dragneel on wheels.

[@thomasjacques5286]

I owned 2 T/A’s, a 75 and 78 with the 6.6 HO engine. But the 75 was my favorite as it was my first NEW car. I bought it in Sept 1975 with my re-enlistment bonus from the USAF. Wish I had kept it, it was Red with the White interior and A3. The 400 CI engine was rated at 180 hp.

[@Jackmorvin]

Lovely Car. Thanks GM for making the Pontiac Trans Am & the Chevy Camero still look like Muscle Cars at the end of the 70's and not Little Boxes POS Cars like what Ford & Dodge did with the Mustang & Challenger in the 80's

[@RonPrieston]

I owned one in 1981, a 79TA with T-Roof. I was 18, bought it with my own money, I use to buy fix and sell cars. This was my fav, was fast. Sold it in 84. My odometer when up to 140.

[@camarokurt]

I had an '83 Z/28, and then an '02 T/A, both T-tops. Had those tops off any time it was above 50 degrees as long as it wasn't raining.

[@jerbear57]

I had a 1979 black with red graphics and T tops. It is still may favorite car I've ever owned. except the 2012 45th Camaro convertible I have now. But my black 79 T A is a very close second!!!

[@MackCashy]

Man imagine if they brought the exact replica 79 back untouched with everything up to Date under the Hood ☺️

[@mikerose9313]

you can get one, but they aint cheap. place in florida makes them, completely original looking, but with custom engines. you can get one with a 1000hp custom one off 455

[@camarossdriver]

That would be AWESOME! Except building a car like THAT now,would probably cost $100,000 directly from the factory! Most cars nowadays have cheap metal and a LOT of plastic parts. Don’t get me wrong…there ARE some sweet modern cars too. 😉

[@Mrttansamman1000]

She is so cool

[@jeffb243]

Had a 1979 S/E T/A just like this one; except mine had the 403-4bbl and Turbo 350 automatic transmission. Mine had ‘6.6 LITRE’ on the hood scoop. 400’s have ‘T/A 6.6’.

[@brianbenz3613]

Back then in 77 I was 7 years old and my neighbor had a 71 Corvette with a 330 hp 350 small block and he took me for a ride a couple times and that car was fast

[@mssedmebich1621]

I put one of these together out of a pile of parts and as much as I liked driving it I'm pretty sure my high school age daughter put 10 times as many miles on it as I ever did.

[@BrianChappie]

These are great videos, but they should be HD.

[@robertpedell2837]

Great Trans-Am!! 😊... just a quick fact check Michelle * 1979 Trans Am's with the 4- speed trans had the L-78 Pontiac 400 Engine only, T/A's with the auto trans had the 403 CID Oldsmobile Engine, L-78 equipped T/A had a 220-hp rating * but overall your video is well done Michelle 😅😊😊😊....R

[@blairbrown4812]

Unpopular opinion: Michelle Rodriguez would make a great Bandit in a remake of the classic Smokey and the Bandit.

[@coldsummer3394]

Who's going to play Sally Field character in this version of smoking the Bandit🤔😏 I say Megan Fox😁😁😁

[@harampug9150]

A better show than the new Top Gear

[@mlk4life]

dude. shes still pretty hot.

[@faustorodriguez8199]

Ola yo tengo el mio y se lo q sesiente manejarlo y saver q lajente lo voltea a verlo y el mio es 1977 es una ermosura

[@midblumetal4476]

fun car to drive I had a 79 with olds 403 motor. you could cruise at 120 all day long... the trans am from 1970 - 1973 with the 455 are true muscle cars and the ones to have

[@jasonvogue4487]

Midblu Metal a real Super Duty.. 455

[@TAWS-wq3hx]

Or swap a hi comp 455 in the 79-81 bandit

[@paulgrimm342]

I owned a black 69 GTO in HS72. Pontiac built beautiful cars

[@kissmycholaassofficialchan2241]

Michelle Rodriguez is right the trans am is a sexy car

[@larryburwell8550]

burt Reynolds drove a 1977 trans am in smokey and the bandit, and 1980 one in the the second movie

[@jasonvogue4487]

Larry Burwell Jerry Reed an 82 in 3rd

[@googleusergp]

It was actually a '76 but had a '77 front end on it. GM didn't want to showcase an "old" car for the movie.

[@mountainbikelife2526]

My cousin owns a 78 Pontiac firebird trans am smokey And the bandit version it's a 400 with a auto hardtop hopefully his 78 will be on the show if Michelle is reading it she could make it happen hopefully vin diesel will come for the journey

[@frogerwhansen]

how much money will you take for it.use to have am look for

[@andrewberridge1629]

PONTIAC TRANS AM 👌

[@paulgrimm342]

Don’t ya love Michelle’s voice?

[@MrDjh66]

Love it I have a73 TA

[@theodorefields5880]

Good episode!

[@micaharnold2719]

my 79 trans am had an oldsmobile 403 and the speedometer topped off at 160

[@googleusergp]

Then someone switched the speedo. A factory speedo in 1979 read 100 MPH.

[@Mave242]

Wonderful Car...nice design...top!

[@doctorjones9083]

40yrs old' she's no spring chicken'........the car that is' ha"

[@44357514]

I owned a 1976 Trans-Am with a 400 Cubic Inch motor. It was a Real Dog because it was made in the years when the car companies started adding anti-pollution stuff on the engines and exhausts. So that big 400 Cubic Inch Motor only made 180 Horsepower.

[@USMC_BABE38]

Love it

[@briancabral9]

220 H.P.

[@danielfisch389]

she could play The Bandit in a new movie and Burt would have liked it

[@albertodillon]

I like to listen to Michelle Rodriguez's original voice because here the movies "Fast and Furious "are dubbled

[@nikifalcon]

You can find an original version still can you not?

[@dbaker4669]

Beautiful car . I had an 80.

[@DZ302-Z28]

Why isn't she driving an Oriental Car like she did in F&F? That movie alone spawned an entire generation of pimple faced teenagers w/fart can exhausts, doing front wheel drive burnouts, giving real car buffs a good laugh.

[@joeminoso1554]

THE BANDIT LIVES ON

[@12345Nicholas]

My best ever car !!!!!!!

[@rouge_nation1181]

I have a 79 same color and with the gold trim but it has a Chevy 350 in it

[@googleusergp]

Which someone swapped in later on as that was not an original engine choice.

[@willmills1370]

The owner of this T/A ought to install Hotchkis suspension parts and make this beast handle like a Corvette, add Wilwood Brakes and stop on a piece of string! Great to see Michelle being herself. I'd recognize that laugh anywhere...kicking ass and taking names!

[@chrisgrace67]

Love you Letty!

[@imanaxbert6620]

Smokey & the Bandit 2 had this car. Movie car was an '80.

[@startmeup4622]

They always put this one on as the Smokey and The Bandit car, but it has the crappy looking headlights from 79 and on...it's the 77 and 78 Trans Am's I identify with Bert Reynolds.

[@Domobomb]

There were 3 smokey and the bandit movies. Burt drove a '77 in the 1st movie, and an '80 in the second.

[@user-cl6dz7tw4o]

I can't stand idiots who dog the Trans Am. Yes, it was not the fastest in the 70s. Don't you know why Pontiac stuffed it with a V8??? They purposely gave gearheads something they could modify for more power. Can't wait for my rebuilt 400 to get stuffed back into my 78 TA. 350-400 HP in a 78 TA will be down right nasty!

[@pacmang9810]

I miss my 79 Pontiac Firebird.

[@KnightRider46]

Are we going 110? Were going 110! Speedo only goes to 100 though 😂😂

[@mikerose9313]

if you pay close attention, they were actually going 110 kilometers an hour

[@ramona.vargas7298]

How did i just find this???? I gotta catch up

[@jezzcagevila6752]

michelle you're so cool!

[@jamesshirrell3677]

My favorite car

[@adamfarberman3460]

Look at ware the gas cap is in 1979 that would be were lisence plate is

[@XUFNReviews]

I have a 76 50th Anniversary.. There is no such thing as a bandit package.. And in '79 there were 225 Horse.. They were beating factory corvettes

[@googleusergp]

220 HP in '79 for the 400 Pontiac.

[@jamesveach6918]

Oh man it's always cool when you can run the f*** out of other people's cars and love it

[@peterhogan9537]

nice to see a real T/A 6.6

[@zacht9447]

I have one of those with a 455 big block baby

[@Someguyto]

I always wanted to drive a Miata on a circuit track. I wouldn't mind driving a trans am though. I have been having some shoulder issues so I have to wait a few more months. I really want to restore my 1970 amc ambassador.

[@bricebabcock7156]

No you don’t. There’s no such thing as a Pontiac big block. All the Pontiac v8 displacement sizes went into the same block. It’s a little bigger than a small block Chevy and a little smaller than a big block Chevy.

[@bennoakes2477]

@@bricebabcock7156 except 265/ 301

[@NB_NB_NB]

shame it only has 200bhp

[@mrmcscrub9753]

that'd be 220 and it was the only american muscle with that much then.

[@NB_NB_NB]

+Zach Shelton hard times.

[@mrmcscrub9753]

+Nick prosser True enough, true enough.

[@mrmcscrub9753]

+Nick prosser Yeah it was pretty decent for using a mostly stock mill. If I remember right they geared it to get it to move faster. Personally I'd get a factory TA/6.6 or 455 (I have a 76' myself) and do some parts swapping until I got more desirable numbers. Wanna do a 474 combo for it but I don't have enough cash in my car fund for it yet.

[@MarkRoberts-bj2me]

+ Nick prosser The torque my friend, the torque. Enough to force you back in the comfort of the bucket seat when floored. With the T-Tops off, and the W72 400, it's a blast to drive.

[@sarahdanette]

Bandit MS Bandit... is my name!

[@Yngsatchvai]

I love the 79 Ta. Hate like hell I ever dogged mine into nada😥

[@ct87gn25]

Aww don't fret Yng, we all did, LOL. But my 79 took it like a champ. Finally blow my 403 at 220,000 'hard' miles. Put in a rebuilt 403, hung some performance parts on her, changed out the rear to a 3.42 posi unit from a 78 Z28 and she was a FUN car to drive.........

[@jamesshirrell3677]

They sexiest car ever built was the 77

[@LilRaisinAcres]

Lol my 98hp Chevy Spark goes to 120 on the speedometer 🤣🤣🤣

[@davidmandziuk8493]

stock in 77 was 200 bhp. '73-75 is the year

[@danbaumann8273]

Smokin car. Smokin woman. Those two fit like a glove. Both of em have that growly voice too. 😘👌👍 Haha

[@MarkRoberts-bj2me]

Michelle, it might interest you to know that the Trans Am you seem to cream your jeans over was not even Pontiac's poster car for '79. That honor belongs to a nocturne blue (only available in '79) with camel hobnail interior TA with the obligatory Pontiac 400 mill and Fisher T-Tops. The car is topped off with the WS6 performance package which this one lacks since the absence of snowflake wheels is a dead giveaway. Also, no mention of the W72 Engine Performance Package which would provide you with another 20 horses between your legs. So next time, get hold of a properly equipped T/A.

[@mrmcscrub9753]

Its a TA/6.6 according to the scoop which would mean that it would've had 220. But that doesn't mean that it didn't originally say 6.6litre before they replaced the decals...

[@BattleGoat1982]

+Zach Shelton if it originally said 6.6 litre it would have originally been a 403/auto and if I remember correctly... 185hp. The Pontiac 6.6 (T/A 6.6) were the 220.

[@mrmcscrub9753]

+BattleGoat1982 That is correct sir. Mr. Roberts is under the impression that the TA/6.6 was reserved for ws6 cars. What he apparently doesn't realize is that ws6 was strickly a performance suspension and handling option and didn't change any of the drive train. The TA/6.6 was a separate option that was also in very limited supply for 79' TAs. Thus not ALL ws6 were equipped with them and many non-ws6 cars were equipped with them.

[@BattleGoat1982]

+Zach Shelton the 400s were largely reserved for the 10th anniversary cars... my uncle tried to order a 400/4 and waited too long so he took a 301 because he wanted that 4sp. It was a black on black with the suspension option... beautiful but a dog.

[@MarkRoberts-bj2me]

+Zach Shelton I am under no such disillusion. The WS6 Performance Package was a separate option on the build sheet and Pontiac ran low on disc brakes because of the popularity. Pontiac created a new option which only had two disc brakes. My point was to describe a properly equipped '79 T/A. We all know (I hope) that Pontiac's supply of the Pontiac 400 engine was exhausted in 1979. I own one of the cars (with the build sheet) that I described so I would hope that I would know more than the average bear. I also had a brand new '79 which I ordered from Mecham Pontiac in Phoenix, home of the Macho T/A.

[@สันคมเพชรสงฆ์]

เคยใช้ ปอนเตียค คามาโร ปี 1970 มาสามคัน คันสุดท้าย สีเหลืองดำ ปี1971 ..4ข.4404กทม.ซื้อต่อจากเฮียร้านขนมแถวเยาวราช เมื่อปี 2531 ทุกอย่างเดิมๆ เปลี่ยนแค่กะปุกพวงมาลัยเพาเว่อร์ ขับดีมาก ยังคิดถึงเสมอ มีวาสนาครอบครองเธอแค่สี่ปี บัดนี้ไม่เคยพบเจออีกเลย

[@vannjunkin8041]

isn't this a w72 ws6 car?

[@googleusergp]

Yes it is. If it's true to form, it's one of 1,107 Y84 Black SE 400/4 speed cars for 1979.

[@jasonvogelsang7034]

That's not a bandit t/a its a Hybrid between the 1st and second movies... bandit 2 was a turbo t/a

[@Tiffany.1970]

Smokey and the bandit 2 had a 1981 4.9 turbo trans am not a 79 😁😊

[@PontiacPower79]

It was actually a 1980 model

[@RayfieldA]

Nice ride but I'm like girl, take off that helmet and put on a cowboy hat!! Do it Right!! Make Burt proud!

[@gabrielmarino7041]

Soooooooo coooolllll❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

[@henrychristophe9026]

79 and 77 transam are nice but a 74 transam with the 455 engine are way better!

[@jesseramos6748]

Yall gona piss off torreto.....

[@kevinklien90]

Jesse Ramos lol

[@darrenheadrick3669]

I find it funny that this T/A has a 6.6 liter/455 c.i. with only 200 HP. My 04 Silverado Z71 has a 5.3 liter/327 c.i and I'm running 300 hp.

[@jeffnorbert1871]

6.6 is 400 pontiac or 403 oldsmobile ci depending on which engine it has.

[@bennoakes2477]

what's funny about 30 yrs of development, and yet still came out with less torque

[@lyxxiroxx4476]

I agree with Michelle Rodriguez the 79 trans am is sexy! 😍😍😍😍😍 I love it!

[@RainyDay6913]

Only think missin is me! And I ain't got to talk I just drive them sob's🤛🏼🌪💨💨💨💨

[@Nfarce]

I used to own one back in the early 80s - with the Olds 403 - as my first car in high school. They handled like crap unless seriously suspension modified. They were also slow as crap. However, it only took a quick Jeg's weekend delivery to unchoke that 200hp to the upper 200s and suspension coil overs and strut mods to have a little more fun and actually seriously trackable against the 3rd gen F-bods, of which I had an '87 Trans Am GTA. That car was track ready with the WS6 suspension.

[@nasondavidson809]

First year was 1969 !

[@delmikotaylor]

Nice

[@Tiffany.1970]

If one robbed a bank in this t/a might as well phone prison n reserve a spot in jail too slow

[@pacmang9810]

freaking gorgeous girl? who is she? is Mr. Garner from The Rockford Files getting crdits too. He drove a similar car back in the days in those series.

[@sophieh7192]

shes Michelle Rodriguez a.k.a letty from fast and furious

I think I just fell in love ..... lol

[@igotatan1]

My '78 Formula is for sale...... 350 Chevy engine, 50K on motor, 108K on body, no T-tops.

[@tamersaab4965]

kyle wolfe how much

[@igotatan1]

tamer saab $4500 Or best.

[@tamersaab4965]

kyle wolfe hmmmmm ill offer you 4

[@ericwilliamson263]

i thought she only just learned how to drive on the set of f&f1? i guess all that money can buy plenty of seat time with pros. cant say im not jealous

[@maxskullic9879]

she's only 5 years older then me.... and she is single too... so I have a chance.... 0.00000001% chance....lol

[@davidparker2664]

Never a 79 bandit! sorry. It was a 1977 with 170-180 hp 350

[@jadenpersinger4046]

You are Lettie off of fast and furious

[@beelee4067]

Man can I have that car