[edvisme]

I have a line on one of these for sale, cheap! The story goes, the gent that owns it, bought it in the mid 80's, drove it up until 2003 then parked it. He says the engine kept fouling plugs, probably a burnt valve or something.
The car is all intact minus the original wheels.
Anyone have any clue what this could be worth in running condition? I'm thinking I may pick it up, make it run then sell it/trade it for parts for my 70 Formula 400.

[2manyT/A'S]

Is it rusty...does it need paint....interior condition.......color....options...?

All these things will determine what it might sell for...

[edvisme]

At the time I looked it over, here is what I noticed about the car. It is white with red interior. The right rear quarter panel is rusted through on the lower rear, the left side is solid. The doors and fenders appear to be in good shape. The hood is rotted so bad, I don't believe I have ever seen a Trans Am shaker hood so rotted. The gent said he has another hood for the car that isn't rusted. The paint appears to be original.
The interior looks decent. The drivers seat has the usual wear on the outer side. The hurst shifter is still in the car. Opening the hood, the engine is all original and all there. The shaker on the air cleaner has 455HD on it.
I'm tempted to go out and look at it again. Thing is, if I do, I better hook up the car hauler and take some 100.00 bills with me lol.

[77 Canamman]

The 455-HO decal was a 1975 thing, but that could easily be added..

[2manyT/A'S]

75-76 455 HO's were NOT...........they were a "station wagon motor" that barely made 200 hp...

Unless you can buy it really cheap...it will likely not be a money maker....JMO

See what those years are selling for before you get buried in it

[edvisme]

Thanks, 2Many for the advise. This is exactly why I thought to post a thread on it. If I can get the car for a grand or so, I may pop on it. I like to think I could part the thing out and make some $$$ off it.

[2manyT/A'S]

If you can score it for a a grand...you can't really loose & who knows...it MAY turn out to be better than you thought at first.....

It's when you actually OWN it & get it home before you find all of the "surprises".

[edvisme]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

If you can score it for a a grand...you can't really loose & who knows...it MAY turn out to be better than you thought at first.....

It's when you actually OWN it & get it home before you find all of the "surprises".

Ha Ha Ha! So true! I am looking forward, and hopeful to find "good surprises" with my 70Formula 400 once I tare into the body for paint.

[77 Canamman]

The 455 4 speed '75-'76 Trans Ams were relatively decent performers when new, and had a lot of potential once the crap heads, exhaust manifolds, and the rest of the exhaust system was thrown in the dumpster. I have seen nice examples hit $20k, which isn't excellent money, but not crap either. If optioned right, it is worth saving.

[2manyT/A'S]

At the Mecham auction in Houston a few months back,a black on black 76 (non-S/E) 455/stick T/A ,supposedly sold for 30k??

Amd a white/red 74 SD auto for only 52 k in the same hour....go figure?

Not knocking the 76's...just sayin',.....don't get buried in one unless it's a "keeper".

[Rack776]

I would stick to restoring one car at a time, I fell into that trap and ended up keeping my rusty 75 base bird....now I have 2 unrestored cars with 1/2 the budget for either one to get fixed,
I had them both for like 20 years so I'll try to keep them both but if I had to do it over again I'd stick to building one nice car and finishing it.....unless your friggin' loaded with cash....go for it.
I also would not part one like that out, not if it was a real 76 455 car, unless it had issues with the title or the body was so far gone it could not be saved. If you could get it for $800-$1000
and sell it for $1200 to $2000 with not a lot of money, parts or time invested might be worth it

I'd think rust in the hood means severe rust down low as well. These cars are not cheap or easy to get parts for, not like a 1960s mustang where you open a catalog and buy what is missing.
1974-1976 each year has some differences that make the parts one year only, on some parts 70-73 wont fit or work or 77-81 either, some will but some stuff sucks to find.
There were a lot of design changes between 74-76

I have a 1975 455 car they only made 857 of them and your lucky to see one sell for $10,000 to $15,000....Rare does not equal high value....popularity does.
Check out 69 camaro prices vs. production numbers if you dont belive me LOL!

Don't let the 1970s era magazine performance reviews get you down, they were built as smog slugs but Pontiac provided a good base to build some performance with. You can drive the hell out of a mid year T/A and not worry about loosing value like an SD or 70-72 T/A, one paint chip or oil leak and the collector price drops, same goes for the perfect original or restored 77-81 SE cars. Too expensive to have much fun with on the road.

I'd save the original smog engine parts in a box if it still has them and build it the way you would want it, as long as it can be turned back to original some day with no cutting/hacking, there is no harm in modifying it.

IMHO 1976 has the best looking front & rear bumpers/grills, its the year I was born, and I'd love to have a 76 some day, they are all cool from 70-81 if you ask me.

Good Luck with it if you get it!

[Dave R]

76 455 projects go for between $2-5K depending on what it needs. At $1000 you can't go wrong.