1976 Pontiac Anniversary Edition Trans Am - Golden Anniversary Waltz

Hurst Hatches were installed in all S/E T/As built up to and during the first week of May (05A). Hurst Hatch installation was sporadic after that point, which could indicate resounding production issues compounded by the Firebird's unibody design.

Pontiac employee Dimitri Toth Jr. tells HPP that he recalls seeing S/E T/As at the holding lot at Pontiac headquarters. "We heard there were problems with the Hurst Hatches, and I remember several of them being held at the Reliability Garage at Plant 12 to check structural integrity and sealing."

Toth's comments are substantiated by myriad Service Bulletins issued during the model year denoting updated production practices and providing dealership service departments with the proper procedures for curing leaks. Further substantiating Toth's comments are the ship dates found on the factory-to-dealer invoices available from PHS Automotive Services-a majority of the Hurst-Hatch-equipped S/E T/As built through early May we've documented weren't shipped to delivering dealers until mid-August 1976.

Production issues forced Pontiac to remove Hurst Hatches from the standard-content list of the S/E package during the production run, and most S/E T/As after mid-May retained the traditional hardtop roof design. Buildsheets gathered from these cars reveal that not all were shipped to Hurst Performance, while PHS documentation proves that little time lapsed between its Norwood production date and the date it was shipped to the delivering dealer.

Though still coded Y82, package cost dropped from $985 with Hurst Hatches to just $435 without. What isn't clear but is assumed, however, is if the S/E trim was completely installed on cars without Hurst Hatches at Norwood from that point forward. Additionally, a number of late-year S/E T/As still received Hurst Hatches, but there's no indication of what determined if one was destined to. Perhaps readers who ordered such a car can provide insight.

The last recorded '76 S/E T/A VIN we've documented was built in mid-August (08C). Its VIN is approximately 1,500 units away from the final '76 Firebird built (VIN 610775), which proves that the black-and-gold model remained in production until the end of the model-year buildout. And while we know this particular S/E T/A is among the last built that year, there's no way of presently determining if it is indeed the last '76 S/E T/A.

Production Totals
Pontiac production records indicate that a total of 2,590 cars received the Y82 Special Edition Package during the '76 model year. Though initial plans included Hurst Hatches on the entire production run of what was to be only 2,400, just 643 received the removable roof panels. That number is comprised of 533 L78 400 four-barrel cars and just 110 with the L75 455 four-barrel. The remaining 1,947 S/E T/As were assembled without Hurst Hatches, and that number includes 1,628 cars powered by the 400 and 319 by the 455.

Conclusion
The hobby has seen a sharp increase in the desirability of S/E models in recent years, and much of that can be attributed to the rejuvenated popularity of Smokey and the Bandit. While the '76 Special Edition Trans Am may be similar in appearance to S/E models that followed, the optional 455, single headlights, and Honeycomb wheels give it distinction, and the limited production numbers add to its collectability. Until now, little was known about the black-and-gold Trans Am that created a phenomenon, but there's no denying the attraction toward it is as strong today as it was when consumers first laid eyes upon it.