I feel fortunate to say that my entire life has revolved around second-generation Firebirds. My earliest memories are of the Chesterfield Brown ’78 Trans Am my dad, Jim Rotella purchased new in February 1978. Barely a year old the day he brought it home, I have no recollection of that event, but it wasn’t long after my memories of it began. I even briefly shared memories of it in this previous blog.
I was about 2 years old when my dad took this photo of me and the ‘78 Trans Am. He sold the car in 1987. I enjoy reminiscing about the car. Images of it this in like-new condition are engrained in my memory. I lost track of the car after the mid-2000s. Perhaps it’s still out there?
During the 1980s, my dad drove second-gen Firebirds exclusively for daily transportation. I wrote about his ’74 Formula 350 previously. A story about his ’79 Trans Am is in the works. The ‘78 Trans Am was, however, his prized possession. He had the others, so it sat under a car cover and driven only on nice days. It never saw snow. In fact, it hadn’t ever seen rain! It had just 9,000 miles on its odometer when he sold it in 1988 to finance the restoration of his ’72 Trans Am.
Whenever my dad and I discuss the many Pontiacs he’s owned over the years, the ’78 Trans Am seemingly comes up. While I was there for many of its stories, I wanted to understand the full backstory of why he ordered it. Here’s what he had to say.
This ‘76 Trans Am was my dad’s first. He took delivery of it in October 1975. He originally wanted the optional 455 Performance Package with 455-ci engine and 4-speed manual transmission, but didn’t want to wait as 455 production didn’t begin until several weeks after model year startup. He settled for the standard 400 and still wanted the 4-speed, but the dealer talked him into the automatic for resale value. My dad says he later regretted both decisions!
“I bought my first new Firebird in 1970 and my first Trans Am was the ‘76 I bought in October 1975,” my dad started. “I really liked the Trans Am because everything you could want was included. My ’76 Trans Am was great looking, but I was disappointed with it. I expected it to run and sound like my ’73 Formula 400, but it had a 2.41:1 rear axle ratio (automatic transmission and air conditioning), which made it sluggish, and its exhaust was really quiet.”
When my dad purchased this ‘73 Formula 400 in May 1974, it was in like-new condition. He loved its performance and the cackle from its original dual exhaust system. It became the measuring stick for all subsequent performance cars until his ‘72 Trans Am with its great-running 455 H.O. came along in 1987.
Chevrolet announced it was reintroducing its Z28 package in midyear 1977. “I read about the ’77 Z28 in new car magazines and thought it was interesting,” he recalled. “I got really excited when I saw the Chevrolet advertisement where all its unique components were laid out. The car came with 3.42:1 gearing (with the automatic trans) and an exhaust system with dual resonators to produce a deep exhaust note. I was really missing the acceleration and sound with my ’76 Trans Am, so I decided to order a new ’77 Z28 through Rosen-Novak Chevrolet in Omaha.”
This ad showing the ‘77 Z28’s specific components—particularly the dual resonator exhaust system—is what convinced my dad to order one from Rosen-Novak Chevrolet in Omaha to replace his ‘76 Trans Am.
My dad took delivery of his Z28 in early-May 1977. “It was the first Z28 delivered through that dealership,” he said. “The salesman called to tell me that it was in and said, ‘Come pick it up now because everyone wants to drive it. I want it out of here!’ As soon as I started it for the first time, I said, ‘That’s the sound I was looking for!’ It had a nice deep rumble—something I hadn’t heard in a new car since 1974.”
The 77 Z28 that my dad purchased new was quite attractive. While it enjoyed it very much, he missed having a Trans Am.
The reintroduced Z28 was intended to compete with Trans Am’s growing success. “I really liked the car. It ran well and I loved the sound of its exhaust system, but in the back of my mind I knew it wasn’t a Firebird. The Z28 was nice, but it just didn’t compare to a Trans Am. The instrument panel. The Formula steering wheel. The wheel flares and Shaker hood scoop. The chromed exhaust splitters. The Trans Am had all that over the Z28,” he explained.
I asked my dad if he preferred the Trans Am over the Z28, why not order a ’77 Trans Am instead? “I knew the T/A 6.6 engine performed well, but I also knew it came with a transverse-mounted muffler and figured it would sound like my ’76 Trans Am. It also took me some time to warm up to the ’77 Firebird’s new front-end treatment. I was used to two round headlights and the move to four-rectangular headlights was a pretty significant change for me,” he replied.
By fall 1977, new-car publications began sharing 1978-model-year information and something caught my dad’s eye. “The Firebird’s new front end had really grown on me and I thought it looked very aggressive,” he said. “I read that the 1978 T/A 6.6 was getting a boost to 220 hp because of a revised air intake, a new camshaft, and a dual resonator exhaust system. As soon as I read about the exhaust change, the ’78 Trans Am now had everything that my ’77 Z28 had over my ’76 Trans Am. It was time for me to get back into a Trans Am.”
Pontiac introduced its T/A 6.6 in 1977 as Firebird’s top engine option. Rated at 200 hp, the high-performance 400-ci equaled that of the outgoing 455-ci from 1976. The T/A 6.6 was further refined for 1978 and now rated at 220 hp. It catapulted the Trans Am to the leading edge of the domestic performance car market. Notice how it’s referenced as the “T/A 400.”
In October 1977, my dad went to Stan Olsen Pontiac in Omaha to place an order for a ’78 Trans Am. “Now with a family, I felt this would be the last new car I could afford for a while. I also kept reading how emissions and fuel economy were killing performance and figured that I wouldn’t be able to buy another new performance car like it. I decided that I was going to equip it the way I wanted and keep it forever.”
My dad met with salesman, Don Marasco. “He knew I wanted the T/A 6.6 engine and 4-speed transmission and didn’t try to change my mind. I let your mom decide on the exterior color so she could have some say in the purchase. She ultimately chose Chesterfield Brown and we selected Camel vinyl custom interior. I added air conditioning, power windows, pulse wipers, and AM/FM Stereo with 8-track player. I told Don I wanted the factory Delco radio and not the aftermarket unit many dealers were installing at the time.”
My dad went to Stan Olsen Pontiac in Omaha on October 25, 1978 and placed this new vehicle order with salesman, Don Marasco.
The WS6 package was also new for 1978 and included a constant-ratio steering box, larger- diameter rear sway bar, specific suspension bushings, and 15 x 8-inch cast aluminum Snowflake wheels. “I didn’t order WS6 because I really didn’t want to spend the extra money. Plus, the spokes of the gold 15 x 8” Snowflake wheels were completely painted in 1978, and I didn’t care for that look at the time. I also wasn’t into the 15 x 7-inch Snowflakes. Mostly though, I think Rally II wheels with white-lettered tires looks really aggressive—more traditional Pontiac—and that’s what I wanted for that car.”
As with his ’76 Trans Am, my dad specifically refrained from adding the optional hood bird decal to his order. “The large bird was too much for my taste then. I thought Trans Ams looked cleaner and more serious without it. It was really unique to have a Trans Am without the hood bird at the time.”
With the order placed, the waiting game began. “I had to give Don the Z28 on trade-in when I placed the order,” my dad said. “He had a buyer for the car and winter was coming, so I wasn’t going to drive it anyway. I was used to waiting 3 to 5 weeks to get a new car after placing the order, but knew this one would take a little longer because Chesterfield Brown wasn’t going to be available right away.”
My dad regularly checked with Don for status updates. He learned that Chesterfield Brown would be officially released in mid-November 1977 and there was a backlog of orders in the system for Firebirds in that color. He also learned that the T/A 6.6 was on allocation because of CAFE—the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard that was newly-imposed for 1978. That all translated into a longer wait than usual.
“Don let me know when my order was accepted, when Pontiac scheduled its target production week, and estimated its delivery in early February 1978,” he said. “I was anxious to get the car, but wasn’t too upset waiting because I didn’t want to drive it in the snow. Maybe a week or so before mine arrived, I saw a Chesterfield Brown Trans Am on a transport truck in Council Bluffs, Iowa. When I got closer, I saw it had Snowflake wheels and knew then it wasn’t mine. That really got me excited though. I really liked the color. It had a lot of metallic in it.”
Because of a production backlog and CAFE, it took more than three months from order to delivery for my dad to get his ‘78 Trans Am. According to its original invoice, it was delivered on February 3, 1978.
A few days later Don called my dad to inform him that his Trans Am had arrived and was being readied for delivery. “Your grandpa drove me to the dealership to pick it up. There was some snow on the grass, but the streets were clean. I was so excited to see it and hear it.”
Upon arrival, the Trans Am was parked in the service bay. “We walked in and saw it sitting there. I loved the front end—it looked very aggressive and flowed with the theme of the car. The Chesterfield Brown paint looked great. The gold ‘T/A 6.6’ decals jumped off the Shaker hood scoop. The chromed exhaust splitters sparkled. And the Rally II wheels with white lettered tires looked so sporty. The camel interior was very attractive, and the black Formula steering wheel really stood out. The entire car was so impressive. Your grandpa loved it, too. He couldn’t believe how aggressive it looked.”
The aggressive front-end treatment was created by John Schinella—Chief Designer of Pontiac Studio at GM Design Staff. Inspiration for the “mean look” came from NFL linebacker, Mike Lucci.
My dad was anxious to hear the sound of Pontiac’s new dual-resonator exhaust system that drew him toward the ’78 Trans Am. “I was so excited to start it up for the first time,” he said. “I heard it and immediately thought, ‘It’s perfect!’ It rumbled much like the Z28, but with a deeper tone because of the added displacement. I felt it sounded better than the Z28.”
Spring was on the horizon, but my dad was quick to get his new Trans Am off the still-sanded and salted Omaha streets. “I left the dealership, stopped nearby to get gas, and drove the car straight home. On the drive, I remember the whine from the manual transmission—it took me back to what I remembered. The engine wasn’t broken in yet, so I only punched it just enough to hear the Quadrajet’s secondaries open. The exhaust rumble was incredible. It all felt so similar to my ‘73 Formula 400. I was so happy to have a car like that again.”
This is likely the first photo took of his ‘78 Trans Am. It was snapped near our house just after delivery.
My dad wanted to optimize the T/A 6.6’s performance. “Within the first year, I cut open hood scoop and purchased carburetor and distributor accuracy kits from H-O Racing. I installed the new jets and rods in the carburetor. I then took the car to Sammy Bonacci’s service station, where he helped me install the distributor kit and reset the initial timing. I could really feel the performance improvement. The car ran really well.”
The lack of foliage on the trees suggests that this photo were taken in the spring of 1978 not long after my dad took delivery.
Some magazines claimed that draining the beads from the catalytic converter bed provided better sound and performance. “I removed the converter fill-plug and drove it around the block a few times to blow out the beads. The exhaust immediately sounded better, but I wasn’t totally happy with it. After a while I ordered a bypass pipe from H-O Racing and installed it on the hoist at Frank Nebbia’s used car lot, Bridgeway Auto Sales. The exhaust was much louder and deeper with the resonators only. I got so many complements about the way it sounded.”
The larger parking lot of the grade school in our neighborhood provided an excellent area to photograph the Trans Am.
One sunny Sunday afternoon during the fall 1981, my dad and I took the Trans Am to my grandparents’ house for lunch. As we drove down a major four lane street in the middle of Omaha, a USPS mail truck that was making special deliveries hit us, badly damaging the Trans Am. “We were cruising around 40 mph and he came up the side street and missed the stop sign completely. I turned the steering wheel hard to the left to avoid the crash, but we hit really hard. The mailman flew out of the side door of the Jeep and skidded across the ground.”
The second-gen Firebird’s silhouette is timeless. The bronze-toned Chesterfield Brown was quite attractive.
At the time, I was about 4 years old and riding in the front passenger seat. In the days before seatbelt laws, my dad and I were both unrestrained. I recall seeing the mail truck and then my face hitting the Trans Am’s padded dash above the assist grip. I was shaken emotionally but had only a fat lip and my dad a wrenched back. We were so lucky to walk away uninjured. The mailman was pretty banged up, but he walked away, too.
That’s my mother and me in the front seat posing for this photo.
“I was really upset about the car,” my dad said. “It only had about 4,000 miles on it at that point. The subframe was bent and the entire front clip had to be replaced. The body flexed so much during the impact that the right rear wheel flare broke. I didn’t want the car anymore, but knew I couldn’t get a new one like it. I didn’t want a new Trans Am with the 301 Turbo and automatic transmission.”
My dad called Sam Marasco—Don’s brother and general manager at Stan Olsen Pontiac—to ask about finding another 400 4-speed Trans Am in like-new condition. “Sam told me to call Matt Traynowicz at A1 Body Shop in Omaha,” he explained. “Sam said, ‘He’ll fix the car and if you don’t like it, you can always sell it and look for another. Just give him a chance and see what you think.’ I trusted Sam’s opinion and figured that it was worth a try.”
The Trans Am was in the body shop all winter and my dad checked on it regularly. I went with him from time to time. “Matt straightened the frame and replaced the fenders, hood and hood scoop, front bumper, and everything connected to them. When he finished the car, you couldn’t even tell it had been hit. The color matched perfectly. The paint Matt applied was glossier than the original finish, but most people would never have noticed it. Body panel fitment was way better, too. I was completely happy with the result.”
Always clean and polished, no one could ever tell the Trans Am had been heavily damaged. A1 Body Shop in Omaha expertly performed all the repairs. The car looked better than new!
With the Trans Am back to its original condition, we continued enjoying it again. I can remember watching him polish the shiny Chesterfield Brown exterior in the driveway while I rode my bike up and down the street. I remember sunny Sunday cruises as well as family trips to Dairy Queen on hot summer nights. We could never actually eat our ice cream inside the car though. We’d sit on the parking bumpers or fence posts and enjoy our cool treats before climbing it and rumbling back home.
The ‘78 Trans Am was rarely driven as my dad’s daily transportation for several years during the 1980s was this Nocturne Blue ‘79 Trans Am. I plan on writing a story about it in the future.
The Omaha-area Pontiac club hosted its first-ever all-Pontiac show at the local GM Training Center in August 1983. By the mid-1980s, my dad began taking the ’78 Trans Am to what had become an annual event. I remember that we left to get food and when we returned, we’d learned that the car had been awarded a first-place trophy. The Trans Am was so original and meticulously maintained that such awards had become commonplace in the years that followed.
I snapped this photo of the ‘78 Trans Am at our local Pontiac show that took place on August 23, 1987. Notice the first-place trophy on the radiator support. That’s my sister, Gina—then 3-years old— waving for the camera.
“The ’78 Trans Am was approaching 10 years old and I still loved it. I received so many complements about its unique color and lack of hood bird, the 4-speed transmission and the deep exhaust sound. I really liked the look of the ’70-73 Trans Ams though. I wanted one with a 455 H.O. or Super Duty 455, so I started looking around. We saw the ’72 Trans Am and I tracked down its owner and bought it. I didn’t have the space to keep both cars, so I sold the ’78 Trans Am to finance its restoration.”
Shortly after buying his ‘72 Trans Am in October 1987, my dad listed the Trans Am in the classifieds section of the Omaha World Herald. This ad first appeared in the October 4, 1987 printing.
My dad listed the ’78 Trans Am in the classifieds section of the Omaha World Herald in 1987. Some callers came to look at it, and all admired its impeccable condition. One young man named Bernie drove up in a Mayan Red ’79 Trans Am. He was looking to replace it with another Trans Am with far less miles. The’78 Trans Am proved perfect for him. He and my dad negotiated the selling price and Bernie became its second owner.
Not wanting to store the car over the winter, my dad reduced the asking price to $7,200. This final ad appeared in the November 1, 1987 printing of the Omaha World Herald.
Bernie lived just a few miles away and my dad and I would drive past his home from time to time. Occasionally, the ’78 Trans Am was parked outside. When I started driving, I routinely drove by and would even call Bernie sporadically to check in on the car while quietly hoping someday I could buy it back. It seemed the Trans Am was suiting him well for daily transportation and still looked good.
One day in the 1995 Bernie called to let us know that he was selling the Trans Am and my dad and I went to see it. While well cared for, the car had around 100,000 miles on its odometer and was essentially a used car. The Chesterfield Brown exterior was weathered, rust had formed on some of the body panels, and the camel interior was worn from daily use. While I wanted it from a nostalgia perspective, I had recently purchased my ‘76 Trans Am and had no money or space to restore it.
After several years of serving daily use for its second owner, the ‘78 Trans Am appeared in the classifieds section of the Omaha World Herald in mid-October 1995.
I’m unsure who bought the Trans Am from Bernie, but my dad and I saw it parked outside a Firestone service center during the late 1990s and someone replaced its original Rally IIs with 15 x 8-inch Snowflakes along the way. I understand it went to South Dakota and was ultimately listed on eBay in the mid-to-late-2000s. I was able to speak with a former owner/seller who explained that it spent time as a race car. It had been painted black and its original engine was missing. He added that the new owner planned to restore it.
Similarly to how my dad felt when seeing it in the mid-1990s, because the ’78 Trans Am is no longer how I choose to remember it, I’m not certain that I would ever be interested in purchasing it back. However, I would enjoy speaking to any previous owners, or even its current owner if the car still exists today. Hopefully, someone reading the blog will recognize it.
Because of that car and the happy memories it invokes, I have a deep affection for ’78 Trans Ams. I someday hope to find an original, low-mile example to recapture those feelings. Ideally, it would be a Chesterfield Brown with a T/A 6.6 backed by a 4-speed. I realize, however, finding an identical match a tall ask. I suppose I could forego the Chesterfield Brown exterior if the right 400 4-speed car came along. I haven’t found it yet, but I certainly enjoy reliving memories while trying!
Do you have a similar story about a Pontiac that’s made an impression on you?