In 1981, if you wanted a fast Trans Am you had to build it yourself or leave it to a select group of tuners, who hadn't given up on the soon-to-be-replaced Second-Gen platform. Among them was Trans Am Specialties of Cherry Hill, New Jersey-an upstart company that made quite a splash with its Bandit T/A.
Billed as "The Ultimate GT Automobile," the company pledged, "Bandits in Performance trim deliver a level of performance that has all but disappeared in the U.S. today. For example: 0-60 mph in approx. 6-seconds, 0-100 mph in approx. 13.5 seconds and a top speed of approx. 150 mph. We do not sacrifice driveability, reliability, or economy to achieve performance. Bandits in Performance trim are luxurious high speed GT automobiles that let you have fun driving..."
The 455 was rebuilt by BTP...
The 455 was rebuilt by BTP Total Performance in Bismarck, North Dakota, and features a Holley/AED 750 H.O. 850-cfm carb, a ported Edelbrock SP2P intake, 6X heads, and a Comp cam. Owner Neil Cofell has the original 650-cfm Holley spreadbore for future installation. M/T valve covers engraved with Trans Am Specialties' and the owner's name were also part of the Bandit package, as was the optional water injection; the red box on the inner fender, and the black hose that goes to the Weiand air cleaner.
Trans Am Specialties actually licensed the "Bandit" name and font style from Universal Studios, adding cache to its package that went beyond the hard parts. But let's not discount those hard parts. Where it had been standard procedure for tuners in the past to supertune the 400 or 403 Olds engines that came in the Trans Am to release the inherent power within, and then offer an optional turbo or nitrous for the true speed freaks, Trans Am Specialties' owners Chuck Posey and Rob Jones Jr. realized that with the 301, it would be more efficient to simply replace the engine with a well-built vintage Pontiac 455. And so they did, adding 400 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, or 500 hp and 610 lb-ft when equipped with nitrous.
To mix the gears, the buyer could select a Doug Nash 4+1 manual trans or a modified Turbo 400. The Nash was not an overdrive, as its Fifth gear was 1:1. Instead it had a low 3.27:1 First gear, a 2.13:1 Second, a 1.57:1 Third, and 1.23:1 Fourth. The result was dig in First with a 3.08:1 rear gear that was equal to a 2.20:1 First from a vintage close-ratio Muncie matched to a 4.56 rear gear. This enabled Trans Am Specialties to retain the stock 3.08:1 Safe-T-Track disc brake rear.
Since the company started with mostly 305 Chevy or 301 Turbo S/Es that were lighter up front than the 455, '78-'79 WS6 springs were swapped in. The WS6 suspension was further tweaked with adjustable shocks and urethane bushings. Then the entire car was gone over to reduce rattles.
Neil swapped the Turbo wheels...
Neil swapped the Turbo wheels for 15x8 Snowflakes with 245/60R15 BFGs and widened 15x9s with 275/60R15s in the rear, because he prefers their appearance.
You can just see the flangeless headers with slip-fit collectors that are welded to the head-pipes, like Trans Am Specialties installed them.
Inside were tuner car staples-Recaro seats, an Escort radar detector, and a 170 mph speedo adorned with the company name. Outside, it was sinister Starlight Black, defrocked of all the vestiges of the S/E. The stripes and Birds were replaced with Bandit decals and a buyer-chosen car number.
Pricing was $26,000 to $30,000 Reagan-era dollars, which includes the purchase price of an '81 S/E T/A.
Once the first car was built, which oddly enough was numbered "7," it was delivered to the automotive press and Motor Trend was first to print, according to Chuck. Multiple magazine road tests had the desired effect on the buying public, and the phone started ringing at the Cherry Hill facility. Over a quarter century later, there are still Pontiac hobbyists who remember the Bandit fondly.
Among them is Neil Cofell of Bismarck, North Dakota, who was 27 years old in 1981. "I remembered reading about these cars in the early 80s, but I had never seen one," he told HPP. When I spotted this one for sale on the Internet, I was surprised that there wasn't more interest in it, because it was such a low-mileage one-owner car." In March 2006, Neil bought the Bandit for $22,000.