78 Trans Am Specs

• The 1978 Pontiac Trans Am is a classic muscle car. Road image by Janne Kallio from Fotolia.com

  The 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is one of the most recognized muscle cars. At release, it set sales records. The combination of power and style demonstrated by the car makes it desirable to this day. Auto enthusiasts continue to buy and restore them. New emission restrictions set in 1980 made the 1978 Trans Am one of the last muscle cars of its kind.

Body

• The body of the 1978 Pontiac Trans Am is 196.8 inches long from nose to rear and 73.4 inches wide. The height is 49.5 inches with the frame resting 5.2 inches off the ground. The wheelbase of the car measures 108 inches. The angle of the windshield slope is 57.4 degrees. According to 78TA.com, a website about the well-known Pontiac car, the base weight is 3607 pounds, but that can vary with different option packages.

Liquid Capacity

• Inside the '78 Trans Am is a fuel tank that holds 21 gallons of gasoline. The engine holds 6 quarts of SAE 10W/40 oil. The rear axle lubrication capacity is 4.25 pints of SAE 80GL5 oil. The cooling system can hold 22.9 quarts of coolant.

Engine

• The base model 1978 Trans Am engine is a 305 cubic inch V8 with 145 horsepower. This engine generates 245 ft.-lbs. of torque with an 8.4:1 compression ratio. The 1978 Trans Am was also available with a 350 cubic inch V8 engine with 170 horsepower. This engine generates 270 ft.-lbs. of torque with a compression ratio of 8.2:1. A third larger 400 cubic inch V8 engine was also released. This engine produces 220 horsepower and generates a torque of 320 ft.-lbs. with a compression ratio of 7.7:1. All three engines have an HEI breakerless distributor that rotates counter-clockwise. The piston firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.

Chassis

• The car's chassis features an independent front suspension system. This front suspension has an anti-roll bar, coil springs, and tube shocks. Leaf springs are used on the rear suspension. This model has 11 inch front disc brakes. The rear brakes are 9.5-inch drums. The '78 Trans Am had GR70X15B tires with 15X7JJ rims.

Release

• The 1978 Firebird Trans Am was released with a base price of $5,799. It had a production run of 93,341. There were a substantial number of paint options for the car. The possible choices were Cameo White, Platinum Poly, Starlight Black, Glacier Blue, Martinique Blue, Redbird Red, Berkshire Green, Solar Gold, Sundance Yellow, Laredo Brown, Ember Mist, Chesterfield Brown, Mayan Red, and Carmine.