The Can Am package may have...
The Can Am package may have been short-lived, but it made a very big impact in the collectible Pontiac hobby. Aside from the Trans Am and Formula, this was the sportiest car offered by Pontiac in the late '70s. It also followed the credo of the musclecar-a big engine in an intermediate car.
The visual flash of the Pontiac Can Am isn't to be challenged by any other A-body car to roll into GM showrooms during the late '70s. They are unique, classy, and clean. Pete Rust must agree with this because he owns two of them. While limited to an estimated 1,377 total units, there is a very strong following for them. With the help of his two sons Dave and Mike, the Rust family was able to resurrect this once-dilapidated Can Am into one of the cleanest show-winning A-bodies on the road.
How It Began
Pete is a 72-year-old plant superintendant in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Back in 1979 he was living in Pittsburgh, which is where he stumbled upon this '77 Can Am. "I really liked the body style and looks when I first saw it," he says. The owner was being forced to sell the car for personal reasons. Pete, knowing the car's significance, decided to snatch it up for a fair price.
The brainchild of Jim Wangers, the Can Am was a particularly rare car. Included with your price of admission to the Can Am Package was an assortment of standard equipment. Most notably was the venerable 200-horse T/A 6.6L Pontiac 400 with a Q-jet four-barrel. It commands attention with the sealed Shaker scoop adorned with T/A 6.6 callouts. Power is sent to the body-color Rally II wheels through a Turbo 400 automatic transmission mated to a 3.08-geared rear. The front brakes are power-assist discs, and the steering is a variable-ratio power unit.
Here is where the project...
Here is where the project started. The rear quarters had to be completely cut out because rust damage was so extreme. Pete had a set of N.O.S. quarters ready to install before painting.
Most Can Ams were sold in Cameo White with special tri-color striping, callouts, and reardeck spoiler. Inside, the driver could see what was trailing behind through the twin sport mirrors, and was able to see all the Pontiac's vitals thanks to the Rally gauge cluster in the Grand Prix-sourced instrument panel.
To make sure these limited-edition cars held the road, all Can Ams were equipped with the Rally RTS handling package, which consisted of specific springs, shocks, and bushings, and heavy-duty front and rear sway bars, all designed to work in concert with radial tires.
In addition to the already feature-filled A-body package, Pete's came with some extra options checked off. These included the Safe-T-Track Differential (G80), Custom Air Conditioning (C60), Front Seat Console (D55), Custom Sport Steering Wheel (N31), Tilt Steering Wheel (N33), and Lamp Group (Y92).
Pete sits proudly behind the...
Pete sits proudly behind the wheel of his Can Am.
His Can Am soon took the role of daily driver, transporting Pete across town. Eventually the transmission died. "Once the transmission broke, I let the car sit for at least 10 years," he admits. It was taken to his sister's garage, where it lay dormant.
During this dark time of the Can Am's life, Pete and his sons, Dave and Mike, collected a jubilee of parts for it, so they could restore it back to its original glory one day. It was also around this time that Pete stumbled upon another Can Am for sale. This one had a Firethorn Red interior and didn't need very much work to make it show worthy. The team quickly fixed that one up and began parading it around.
The second Can Am took some attention away from the one he already had. By this time, not much had been done to it. Sometime around the mid '80s, the transmission was rebuilt and some small things were performed on the car. "We collected a lot of parts for it because we knew we wanted to fix everything on it," he said.
Inside and out, GM N.O.S. pieces were hunted for before they were taken out of parts pipeline. Parts that he wasn't able to track down were sourced from junkyards, where they found rust-free doors and a trunk lid. They finally had everything they needed to restore the Pontiac.