Burt's Bandit - 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

There are a couple of other notable points about this Pontiac. First off, since this car was delivered to a California dealer, it had to have a 185-horse 403 Oldsmobile engine under the hood, coupled to a Turbo 350 automatic, and it had a 3.23-geared rear. The 400 Pontiac wasn't clean enough to pass the tough California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission standards, so all California Trans Ams that year were Oldsmobile-powered.

Secondly, this Trans Am had a tan interior as opposed to the black interior of the movie cars. This was changed at some point before the third owner took possession of it. The F-body was also repainted and a set of '77 decals added. It's not correct, but in this guise, it looks much like the movie car. Only the sharp-eyed would notice that the Fisher roof hatches, as well as the grilles, wheels, upholstery and door panel patterns are incorrect compared to a '77 model.

There is a bit of confusion regarding the car's history. Though there is no question that it was given to Burt Reynolds by Pontiac and that Reynolds had the car in his possession, there was some speculation that this Trans Am was actually one of the Trans Ams used in the movie. However, that is impossible since its build date was after the movie left the theaters. Secondly, there were only Hurst-Hatch cars in existence at the time the movie was shot.

The confusion arises out of the fact that the car was mistakenly registered as if it was from the '77 model year. Though the VIN clearly shows that it was a '78 Trans Am, the box for the year on the application for certification of title and/or registration was filled in as a 1977. It's quite possibly a simple mistake at the DMV. The person typing the paperwork may have mistakenly thought that the 7 in 2W87 of the VIN meant it was a '77 Trans Am. The fact that Burt Reynolds' name is spelled "Renolds" on the same document lends credence to this. If this is what happened, a simple keystroke error has led to years of incorrect assumptions.

After Reynolds, the car was sold to Lamar Jackson, an associate of his, who also had a small role in Smokey and the Bandit, as well as some other Burt Reynolds movies such as Sharky's Machine and Stick. From there, Jackson sold the Trans Am to Ray Claridge of Cinema Vehicle Services in North Hollywood, California. Claridge did not transfer the car to his name but sold it to current owners, Jim and Rick Schmidt at National Parts Depot, in 1993 by way of the Kruse Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. To date, the Trans Am has racked up just over 45,000 miles and sits proudly on display at NPD's museum, located at its corporate headquarters in Ocala, Florida.

With the enduring popularity of Smokey and the Bandit and the later Second-Gen Trans Ams becoming favorable to collectors, this particular Trans Am rates as a desirable example. It's the first-ever Y84 Trans Am and a pilot-line car with an extensively-documented celebrity history. After all, it was a token of Pontiac's affection for its best salesman: the Bandit himself.