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A numbers-matching 1978 Pontiac Trans Am doesn't often turn up with its original Hurst T-tops still in place, a matching cowl tag, and a full paper trail to back it up, but that's the case with this Y82 Special Edition. The car and its photos come from Restore A Muscle Car, the Lincoln, Nebraska shop that brought it back to life and now has it listed for sale.
This isn't just another 400-cube Trans Am. Pontiac built only 3,345 automatic Y82 Special Editions for 1978, the final year before the 400 gave way to Oldsmobile's 403. Factory paperwork shows this particular car left Barrier and Beck Pontiac in Charlotte, North Carolina, finished in Code 19 Starlight Black over a Code 19N black interior, the classic black-on-black combination that has become a favorite among Bandit-era Trans Am collectors.
Power comes from a numbers-matching Pontiac 400 cubic inch V8, sold at the time as the 6.6 Litre, paired with the factory automatic transmission and a limited-slip rear axle. The options list reads like a well-equipped '78 should: factory air conditioning, a tilt steering column with cruise control, a full gauge cluster with tachometer, an AM/FM stereo cassette deck, power steering and brakes, tinted glass, and bucket seats with a floor-mounted shifter and console. Refinished 15x8 WS6 snowflake wheels wear period-style BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires in the correct 255/60R15 size, and the odometer shows 91,670 miles.
Backing up the car is a full PHS (Pontiac Historic Services) package, including the factory invoice and original window sticker, so a buyer can verify exactly how it was built rather than take a seller's description at face value. That kind of documentation carries real weight in a market where survivor-quality, numbers-matching Special Editions are increasingly hard to find outside of dedicated restoration shops.
The Y82 package has become one of the more closely tracked Trans Am variants on Hagerty's valuation tools, which break out Special Edition cars separately from base models to reflect how much the gold bird decal, snowflake wheels, and factory options can move a sale price. Running a 1978 Trans Am through Hagerty's price guide is a useful gut check before making an offer, and it's a habit worth keeping for other Pontiac muscle moving through the market, including a rare 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air III that recently surfaced on Hagerty Marketplace.
Second-generation F-body cars in general have followed a similar pattern, with condition and originality driving bigger swings in price than in years past. A recently modified 1968 Chevrolet Camaro that crossed Hagerty Marketplace is a good reminder of how much build quality changes the math, and the same logic applies here: a numbers-matching, PHS-documented Y82 with its T-tops intact sits in a different tier than a driver-grade clone.
This Trans Am is currently listed as inquire-for-price through Restore A Muscle Car's page on Motorious, with financing and shipping assistance available through the dealer. Anyone cross-shopping it against other classics can check Motorious's running list of the coolest cars for sale this week to see how it stacks up.
