guionM

I just checked, and I was in fact wrong on that. Memory lapsed.

That having been said, I found the sales figures of the late 70s Z28 & TransAm, so hold on:

1977: Z28-14,349 / TransAm-68,745
1978: Z28-84,877 / TransAm-117,109 :EEK:
1980: Z28-45,137 / TransAm-50,896 (1st year of turbo 301)
1981: Z28-43,272 / TransAm-33,493

1982(First 3rd gen): Z28-64,882 / TransAm-52,960

BTW:
Biggest TransAm year: 1979 @ 117,109
Biggest Z28 year: 1984 @ 100,899

Just to put 1979 TransAm sales into perspective, and to show you how successful it was, the combined sales of ALL f-bodies last year was around 60,000 cars! Also, compare that ONE model with Mustang's current sales of about 130,000 cars....and it's considered successful today!

Z28Wilson

I think that just shows how times are so different today than they were 20+ years ago. A successful 5th Gen Camaro should sell around 80-100k units a year IMO.

------------------
Mark

94 Z28, Red, A4, 3:23
Lone Mods--LPE CAI, !Lapeer Dragway.
(Hey, I'm a college boy I can't afford gobs of bolt-ons!)

Best time: 14.658 @ 95.1
with SES light on and Driver off! (First and only time at track)

The F-body will NEVER die.

guionM

Noticed a mistake I made. 1977 & 1978 should be 1978 & 1979.

fbody_forever

The TA 455 last offered in '76 had 225 HP. The base 400 offered in 77-79 had 180 HP. The optional "T/A 6.6" had 200 HP in 77 and 78, but jumped to 220 for 79. I have owned all of the above, and I will tell you that anyone would want the 455 over all of the 400s due to the torque advantage. A set of duals on the 455 was good for 30 HP! The 400 cars were all top end. Most would not spin the tires with an automatic.

------------------
2000 SS #6041
A4, 3.23,
HPP, 160Stat, !EGR,descreened MAF, Baker Hose
13.42 @ 104.39

Previous GM: 74 Firebird, 74 T/A, (2) 76 Formulas, 77 Formula, (2)77 T/As, 79 T/A, (2)86 T/As, 87 Formula, 88 Formula, 84
Vette, 93 Z28, 93 Formula, 76 SE T/A, 96 SS

Eric77TA

I know this. I have a PHS documented W72 1977 Trans Am in my garage.

I was only speaking in reference to the "In 78-80 outran Corvette" part. The W72 was introduced in 1977 with 200 horsepower and was bumped to 220 for 1978. All of the 1979 Pontiac 400 powered cars have 220 horse 400s that were built in '78 and then stockpiled for use in 1979. The 403 was initially the California engine. It was not used in all automatic cars. My car has a TH350 and is a W72. This is true for 1979 - all 4 speed cars are Pontiac 400s and all automatics are Olds 403s (and maybe '78 but I don't remember).

Eric77TA

Pontiac only rated the 455 "HO" (which is an odd designation since it shares absolutely nothing with the early round port HO motors and is the same engine you'd get in a Bonneville station wagon) at 200 horsepower in 1976, but it does have a considerable torque advantage over the 200 horsepower 400.

guionM

Couple of other interesting items I learned while looking up TransAm history:

*The orignal Firebirds (till the 2nd gen came out) had OVERHEAD CAM L6 engines. GM replaced them on the 2nd gen with OHV 6s because of cost. OHC L6 also had a 4 barrel carb option!

*The 1989 TransAm with the turbo V6 was rated at 250 horsepower, but had closer to 290 (more than LT1s) and flew from 0-60 in 5 seconds (5.1-5.5 range) & did 14 second quarters.

*The 1980 Turbo T/As were not only dogs (the 82 cross fire injected cars were faster), but with the turbocharger & all the tubing, the powerplant weighed more than the 455 did, and in the real world (it came only with the automatic) got worse fuel economy than the much faster T/A 6.6 it replaced!

Eric77TA

* The same OHC six was also available in the Tempest (the A body car the GTO was based on). The 4 barrel version in both the Tempest and the Firebird was referred to as "Sprint" these were very decent and well balanced performers for their day.

* The 301 has to be one of the biggest boat anchors of all time. They are heavy for their size even in non-turbo form. A Pontiac 400 actually weighs more than a 455 does - same block, less material.