Nearly four decades ago, 18-year-old William Leland Jr., a distant relative of Henry Leland, the founder of Lincoln and Cadillac, bought a highly well-equipped 1979 Pontiac Trans Am for $10,095. The Trans Am wasn’t to be driven or even washed, Leland ordered. When Leland died at the age of 42, his father took over ownership, and preserved the car according to his son’s wishes as a shrine.
Now, after being passed on to a third owner, the car is on sale, having been preserved in pristine condition 39 years after it emerged from GM’s manufacturing facility in Norwood, Ohio.. The North Carolina dealer RK Motors is listing the Trans Am at $159,900, or about 16 times what Leland originally paid for it.
The pictures get me unduly excited, and make me to want to grow a mustache and buy some leather pants.
The car, according to RK Motors, has “never been washed, never been rained on, and [benefitted] from yearly fluid changes that included fresh oil and distilled water.”
It was also fired up once a month, and worked through its gears. It’s hard to imagine a 1979 Trans Am in any better shape.
Under the hood is a pristine 6.6-liter V8 equipped with a four-barrel carburetor that pumps out 320 lb-ft of torque of torque, attached to a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 3-speed automatic transmission.
A list of the rest of the features, many of them optional, is exhaustive. From RK Motors:
* Power steering
* Black windshield molding
* Black backlite molding
* Bucket seats
* Column-mounted dimmer switch
* High Energy Ignition system
* KPH/MPH speedometer
* Trans Am identification
* Concealed windshield wipers
* Black tail lamp trim
* Front chin spoiler that’s accompanied by front wheel spoilers
* Rear wheel spoilers
* Front fender air extractors
* Dual mufflers and side-splitter exhaust tips
* Dual horns
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
* Starlight Black lower exterior paint ($00)
* Starlight Black upper exterior paint ($00)
* Black cloth interior ($00)
* Black interior trim ($00)
* Black trim appointments ($00)
* Gold decals ($00)
* Bodyside molding ($43)
* Black bodyside molding ($00)
* 6.6 liter (403 cubic inch) L80 V8 that’s equipped with a 4-barrel carburetor ($00)
* Automatic transmission ($00)
* Limited-slip differential ($00)
* Custom air conditioning ($529)
* Heavy duty 63-amp alternator ($00)
* Heavy duty battery ($21)
* Black seatbelts ($00)
* Console ($00)
* Cruise Control ($103)
* Remote control decklid release ($24)
* Electric rear window defroster ($99)
* Rally Gauge package that includes a clock and tachometer ($00)
* Soft Ray tinted windows ($64)
* Door edge guards ($13)
* Additional acoustical insulation ($31)
* Lamp Group ($19)
* — Luggage compartment lamp
* — Glovebox lamp
* — Instrument panel courtesy lamp
* Dome reading lamp ($19)
* Front and rear floor mats ($25)
* Passenger’s visor vanity mirror ($6)
* Sport mirrors: remote left and manual right ($00)
* Power antenna ($47)
* Power door locks ($86)
* Power windows ($132)
* Delco-GM AM/FM stereo that’s complete with a cassette deck ($351)
* Dual rear speakers ($00)
* Special Edition Trans Am ($1,329)
* — Removable hatch roof
* — 7-inch gold cast aluminum wheels
* — Special gold interior appointments
* — Special gold exterior appointments
* — Special gold striping and emblems
* — Hood decal
* Decklid spoiler ($00)
* Formula Steering Wheel ($00)
* Tilt steering wheel ($75)
* Special Performance Package ($250)
* — 8-inch cast aluminum wheels
* — 225/70R15 steel-belted white-letter radials
* — Power disc brakes
* — Special Handling Package
* Gold wheels ($00)
* Controlled cycle windshield wipers ($38)
* Velour Custom Trim Group ($150)
* — Custom velour bucket seats
* — Custom velour rear seats
* — Door handle ornamentation
* — Pedal Trim Package
* — Custom interior appointments
You should buy this car. Or at least stare at it for awhile.