Thanks to the overwhelming...
Thanks to the overwhelming effect Burt Reynolds driving a ’77 Special Edition T/A in Smokey and the Bandit had upon Trans Am sales, the SE package continued for years after. This example is 1 of 6,030 built in ’77 with a base 400 engine, T-tops, and a Turbo 350 automatic transmission.
For many Bandit Trans Am owners, their affection for the black-and-gold Special Edition models began not in high-profile auction houses or Internet sales sites, but on the silver screen when they watched Smokey and the Bandit for the first time.
David Merricks, an elevator mechanic in Danville, Virginia, saw the film in the summer of 1977. Less than a year later, the then-19-year-old was in the market for his first car and spotted a Starlight Black Trans Am with a gold hood bird for sale in Crown Pontiac’s new-car dealer lot in Greensboro, North Carolina. The hardtop’s MSRP of $6,840 was less than a Special Edition, which carried a $556 extra-cost premium, but its color scheme made it look like a Bandit. “I knew it was the car for me and I wouldn’t be happy with anything else,” he says.
He describes the T/A as the best vehicle he’s ever owned. “Dependable and tough, I gave it everything I could throw at it and it just kept on going,” he says.
Nearly a decade later, Merricks’ priorities changed—or so he thought. “I was married, had a new house, needed a new car, and sold the T/A,” he recalls. “I knew right away that I had made a mistake, and made up my mind that if I ever had a chance to own another Second-Generation Trans Am, I would jump at the opportunity.”
Here’s new ’78 Trans Am owner...
Here’s new ’78 Trans Am owner David Merricks in the summer of 1978. That first T/A helped instill in him a passion for the breed that continues to this day.
Another decade passed before he spotted a Second-Generation Trans Am sitting on the side of a Virginia two-lane country road in November 1998. Luckily for him, it had a For Sale sign on it. “I was on the way to work and couldn’t take the time to look at it then, but I made it a priority to see it on the way home that evening,” he remembers. “I was excited when I saw it was a ’77 and had all of the Special-Edition decals.”
Presuming it was a Special-Edition, but wanting to become the car’s new owner even if it wasn’t, he once again knew the Trans Am would be his. “It only took 11 years and one day to make it mine,” he laughs. “Eleven years until I saw it and one day to close the deal.”
Merricks drove the L78 400, Turbo 350, 2.41-geared, Safe-T-Track–equipped SE T/A for the next eight years, logging only 1,200 miles in that time. In March 2007, he contacted Heavy Metal Restorations in Danville. “All I wanted was a paint job and decals,” he says.
Larry Jolley, the shop’s owner, says he stripped the Trans Am in a three part-process: first with a 40-grit strip disc to prevent the body panels from warping, then with an 80-grit DA, and finally with a sandblaster to address the rust-pitted areas. He discovered the Bandit’s body was in exceptional condition for being an East Coast car. It only needed spot-rust repair.
After the bodywork, he applied three coats of Transtar spray polyester primer, and blocked the body’s surface with 180-grit. He then sprayed four coats of R-M 2K Urethane Primer and wet-sanded with 600-grit.
With the Trans Am ready for base and clear, he sprayed four coats of R-M Deep Black DB 403 and eight coats of Glasurit HS UV Clear, wet sanding with 1,000-grit after the fourth coat of clear. He final cut the new paint with progressive grits of 1,000 to 3,000-grit, and buffed and polished it.
As many Pontiac hobbyists learn when they have only body and paintwork performed on their vintage Ponchos, suddenly all of the unrestored areas stuck out like a sore thumb. Jolly explains: “I told him, ‘You’ve got a show winner with the body, but [if you] don’t do the engine compartment, you’re going to regret it.’”
Faced with the dilemma of living with a half-restored T/A or going all the way, Merricks went home and discussed the restoration options with his wife Cheryl. Jolley recalls: “He came back the next day and said, ‘Let’s do it.’” The project escalated from body and paint to subframe-off engine-bay restoration, and then to a full restoration, including the chassis, wheels, and interior (where needed).