You’ve likely read about my ‘76 Trans Am that my dad helped me purchase in 1993 at age 16. A blog post about that car is coming, but what many people may not immediately know is that it was originally Sterling Silver. By the late-1990s, the faded silver exterior needed to be refinished and that afforded me the opportunity to paint it Firethorn Red.
Why Firethorn Red? Well, I feel it’s a very attractive one-year-only color that the Trans Am body looks great in. But also because of the countless times my dad spoke of his very first Trans Am over the years—a ’76 in Firethorn Red. Although he owned that Trans Am when I was born, I was just months old when he traded it. I would stare at the pictures he took of it back then, hoping someday to have one like it.
The 1973 Formula 400 that my dad purchased in May 1974. He loved it so much that he planned to by another in 1976.
Prompting my dad’s desire for a ’76 Trans Am was the ’73 Formula 400 he purchased in May 1974. “I loved that Formula, but I was getting married to your mother in August 1974 and figured that we’d have kids soon, so I traded it for a larger car that could accommodate a family and had more trunk space. It also lacked a limited slip differential and didn’t get around in the snow at all,” he explained.
My dad ordered a ‘75 Monte Carlo through Rosen-Novak Chevrolet in Omaha, Nebraska in December 1974. “The car was delivered around January 1975—it only took about 3 weeks to arrive. It was silver with white half-vinyl top and white and black interior. I went with the small-block 400 4-barrel for performance and a limited slip differential. It was beautiful but didn’t perform or handle like the Formula. It was also the first year for the catalytic converter, so the exhaust was very quiet. I just couldn’t get the Formula out of my mind. I missed it terribly and wanted to get back into a Firebird,” he says.
Already familiar with the Trans Am’s 455-HO package for 1975, the September 1975 issue of Road Test magazine (distributed a few weeks ahead of its print date) was the first time that my dad saw Firebird’s revised front and rear treatments for 1976. He found the appearance quite attractive.
Pontiac dropped the 455-ci from the Firebird lineup for 1975 leaving the 400 4-barrel as the Trans Am’s only engine. By midyear, however, the L75 455-HO package was introduced for those seeking added performance. It included a 4-speed manual transmission, a 3.23:1 rear axle ratio, and a special muffler that produced a more aggressive exhaust note. “The 455-HO package really pushed me over the edge,” my dad says. “I read about it in the new-car magazines and it got me enthused about buying another Firebird.”
My dad wanted another Formula, and not necessarily a Trans Am. “At the time I felt the Trans Am was just too much and your mom felt the same. The Formula was more subdued and there was talk that the 455 would be available in it for 1976, and with an automatic transmission, which I wanted so your mom could drive it if she had to (Note: she also had her own car). I saw Stellar Blue ’75 Formulas and Trans Ams driving around Omaha and thought it was a beautiful color. In my own mind, I settled in on a dark blue ‘76 Formula with the 455, automatic, a rear spoiler, and Rally II wheels.”
Thinking the ‘76 Formula would have the same fiberglass hood with beautifully-sculpted scoops on the leading edge that his ‘73 Formula was equipped with, my dad was greatly disappointed when he saw the Formula’s revised scoops in Pontiac’s 1976 press photos. He immediately began considering the Trans Am.
As the 1976 model year played out, Pontiac forced my dad’s hand. First, the 455 was again limited to the 4-speed only, but that wasn’t too concerning. “When I saw the first press photos of the ‘76 Formula in the new-car magazines I was disappointed,” he says. “I loved the Formula’s fiberglass hood with its scoops on the leading edge. I just didn’t like the revised hood for 1976. Then when I learned that the 455 wasn’t available in the Formula, my focus immediately shifted toward the Trans Am. Your mom and I drove to Colorado in early-August 1975 for vacation and we saw a few Trans Ams on the interstate and that cinched it. We decided on a dark blue ’76 Trans Am with the 455 4-speed package.”
On the drive back, my dad says they agreed to visit General Pontiac in Council Bluffs, Iowa to price out a ’76 Trans Am. “We met with Art Novak, the sales manager, and he told me that blue wasn’t available for 1976. We looked at the other color choices. The Monte Carlo was already silver, and black wasn’t yet available. We didn’t care for Cameo White, Goldenrod Yellow, or Carousel Red. I asked about Firethorn Red but wanted to see it in person. When Art said it was like Candy Apple Red, which was my favorite color from the hot rod days, I knew I wanted it right there.”
The original order form from when my dad ordered his ‘76 Trans Am through General Pontiac in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Notice the agreement date of August 14, 1975.
Among the optional equipment my dad selected was the L75 455 4-speed package, black custom interior, AM/FM Stereo with 8-track, and Rally II wheels with white-lettered tires. “I specifically said no hood bird. Your mom didn’t like it and I thought it detracted from the car’s appearance at the time,” he says. “Pontiac hadn’t published ‘76 prices yet, but Art quoted me a very good number adding a couple of percent to cover the expected model year increase. To make the deal, he needed the ’75 Monte Carlo in trade right then because the ‘76 Monte Carlos hadn’t been released yet. Mine was still considered the current model year and would sell quickly.”
I found this ad for the ‘75 Monte Carlo that my dad traded to General Pontiac for the ‘76 Trans Am in the September 7, 1975 printing of the Omaha World Herald.
Knowing that he’d be without a car for a length of time, my dad asked how long it would take for his Trans Am to arrive. “Art called the Zone office and found ’76 Firebird production was about to begin, but production of the 455-ci Trans Ams would be delayed for five weeks after startup. I could get a 400 car in 4 to 5 weeks, but if I wanted a 455, it would take the 5 weeks plus the time to build all 455 orders ahead of mine. I really didn’t want to be without a car for that long, so I decided on the 400. I still wanted the 4-speed though. Art said manual transmission cars had poor resale value at the time and while your mom was willing to learn to drive a manual transmission (with the 455), she preferred an automatic, so I went with that, too.”
The waiting game commenced. “I called Art all the time and he kept telling me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll call you when it comes in,’” my dad recollects. “I started seeing transports with new Pontiacs going to dealers, so I knew my Trans Am had to be in soon. One evening in late-September or early-October 1975, we took a ride to General Pontiac to see if any transports were unloading. I didn’t see any Trans Ams in the back lot, so I peeked through the service door, and there it was! We went into the service area and Art Novak was there. I said, ‘I thought you were going to call me when it came in?!’ He said, ‘Do you have ESP? It just came off the transport. Let’s go look at it.’ It still had plastic on the seats and the center caps and trim rings hadn’t been installed onto the Rally IIs yet.”
My dad snapped a series of photos of the ‘76 Trans Am shortly after taking delivery. Here he stands in our driveway next to his first Trans Am!
Of his first impression, my dad recalls, “The Trans Am was beautiful. I loved the color and I noticed the chromed exhaust splitters right away. The black interior was racy and the engine turned dash and Formula Steering Wheel were cool. The build sheet was laying on the floor in the back seat, so I grabbed it and the first thing I noticed was the 2.41:1 rear axle ratio. I was so disappointed. The sales literature said 3.08:1 was the standard ratio, so I assumed mine would have that. Later I learned that standard gearing was for the standard transmission (the 4-speed manual) and automatic cars received 2.41:1 gearing.” (Note: that later changed as the model year progressed and 3.08:1 became a no-cost option with the automatic trans.)
The original window sticker from my dad’s ‘76 Trans Am is one of the many documents he kept from its purchase.
My dad noticed a small dimple on the front fender that was circled with a grease pencil. “I asked Art about that and he said it was shipping damage. They planned to send it to their Cadillac dealership the next day to repair it. A couple of days later Art called and said the car was ready for delivery. Your mom drove me over to pick it up. I was so happy. Art even said, ‘I’m glad you’re taking the car. I could’ve sold it five times over.’ I think it was the first ’76 Trans Am that General Pontiac delivered. They still had a ’75 Trans Am on the showroom floor when I picked it up.”
As weeks passed, my dad appreciated his Trans Am even more than the day he took delivery. “I loved its appearance, and it rode and handled great,” he says. “It looked like a real race car inside. I was disappointed in the exhaust note though. It didn’t sound anything like my ’73 Formula. I couldn’t find an exhaust shop that would remove the catalytic converter, so I bought the special muffler that Pontiac included with Trans Am’s 455 package and had it installed. It sounded a little louder and exhaust pulsations were more pronounced, but it was still pretty quiet because of converter.”
The Trans Am body looks very attractive in Firethorn Red. It’s these photos that pushed me into painting my own ‘76 Trans Am (originally silver) that color when I repainted it.
Not long after taking delivery, like many savvy Trans Am owners at the time, my dad made its Shaker functional. “I drilled out the rivets that held the block off plate in place and installed a piece of stainless-steel screen I found to keep leaves out,” my dad says. “I noticed a slight performance improvement with the open scoop, but I didn’t re-jet the carburetor at the time, which would’ve helped it even more. It sounded a lot faster when the Quadrajet’s secondaries opened though!”
Of the Trans Am’s performance my dad says, “The 400 ran well, but the car didn’t come off the line hard. Nothing ran great at that time, but the 2.41:1 gears really hurt it. I ordered a 3.23:1 gear set from General Pontiac’s parts department and had its service department install them. Once they got into the job, they realized they couldn’t install the ring and pinion on the existing carrier. They told me they could order a new carrier, but it would cost a whole lot more than the original estimate, so I told them to put it the 2.41:1 gears back in.”
While at the dealership for the gear swap, my dad noticed another Firethorn Red ’76 Trans Am in the service area. While his exterior decals were gray/red/black, he immediately noticed those on this car were gold/yellow/black. I later found that when Pontiac introduced Starlight Black in November 1975, they moved to gold decals for most Trans Am colors. “I thought the gold letter jumped off the Firethorn where the gray/red decals on mine were subdued, so I went straight to the parts department and ordered a gold set for my car. Without the bird, they really didn’t cost much. I installed them in the driveway at home and it made the car look a whole lot better.”
In the mid-1970s Trans Am’s popularity began to explode. “The car really stood out in Firethorn Red,” my dad said. “People complemented it all the time. And a lot of people liked that it didn’t have the hood bird. I remember your grandpa saying, ‘It looks like race car sitting there. You’re going to have to put pylons around it when you park to keep people away.’ He loved the color so much he ordered a Firethorn Red ’76 Grand Prix from General Pontiac.”
During the 1970s my dad was buying new cars each model year, but he’d kept the ’76 Trans Am longer than any other—more than 18 months—simply because he was so happy with it and in his mind nothing better was available yet. Then in early 1977, he’d heard that Chevrolet planned to reintroduce its Z28 late that model year. “There was a lot of publicity about that car coming back and when I saw the ad with all the special components spread out, it hooked me,” my dad says. “The magazines talked about how good the exhaust sounded, and I really wanted the dual-resonator exhaust system. And with 3.42:1 gears standard with the automatic, it was way better than the 2.41:1 in my Trans Am. I went to Rosen-Novak Chevrolet in April 1977 and ordered one.
The ’77 Z28 arrived in May 1977 and my dad traded the ’76 Trans Am on it. “The Trans Am was in perfect shape with only a few thousand miles and hadn’t ever been driven in the snow,” my dad says. “Gary Stanek worked in Rosen-Novak’s service department and he saw me drive the Trans Am when I picked up the Z28. He called the next day and said he was interested in buying it, but wanted to ask a few questions. He bought it that day. It never even made the lot. He kept the Trans Am for quite a while, but I lost track of it after that.”
My dad traded his ‘76 Trans Am for this ‘77 Z28. He took delivery of it in May 1977.
I asked my dad to comment about his ’76 Trans Am in retrospect. “That car started everything for me—a trendsetter,” he says. “It was my first new Trans Am and while I preferred Formulas before that, I was sold on Trans Ams from that point on. It was a complete package—everything you’d want in a performance car was standard. A big engine, power steering and brakes, limited slip differential, Formula steering wheel, engine-turned dash, gauges and tach, and rear spoiler. The black custom interior was beautiful and comfortable. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the 2.41:1 gearing and the exhaust sound was limited.”
This is the last photograph my dad took of the ‘76 Trans Am. He had replaced the gray-and-red decals with gold-and-yellow by this point. You can see my grandfather’s ‘76 Grand Prix J parked off to the right. It, too, was Firethorn Red.
As the 1970s progressed, Pontiac’s Trans Am became the American sports car to own and my dad went on to purchase others. “At that time, I thought the ‘76 Trans Am was the best-looking Trans Am Pontiac had built up to that point. I absolutely loved it then and still do today. The round headlights and clean bumpers, front and rear are really attractive. They did a great job with the styling. While I prefer the ‘70-73 styling now, I’ll always have a special spot in my heart for ’76 Trans Ams because of that car.”
Now that you heard about my dad’s first Trans Am, feel free to share yours!