69 Trans Am Convertible at Mecum, VALUE?

[Don_Lightfoot]

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Don't know the value of the car, but it will be showing up in the next Muscle Car Review. Had a great time working with Robert, VERY impressive collection.

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My issue arrived the other day Arvid. Haven't read through it yet, but I saw a picture of a wild burnout from this car

[Svendsen]

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Don't know the value of the car, but it will be showing up in the next Muscle Car Review. Had a great time working with Robert, VERY impressive collection.

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My issue arrived the other day Arvid. Haven't read through it yet, but I saw a picture of a wild burnout from this car

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Isn't that what our cars were made for ?
Honestly, I was a bit surprised myself, but a burnout pic is always a plus.

[southernfriedcj]

There are three '69 Trans Am hardtops at this auction as well.
A lot of cool junk there.

[black69]

if one finds a D80 on a 69 firebird convert cowl tag, does it have to be one of these cars?

[mrays]

Since winter has finally arrived I decided to spend some time looking through some old magazines I have. I happened to start with Hot Rod and in the April 78 issue they had a story on the Trans Am and mention that only two convertibles were built in 69.

In the August 78 issue Ted Gallas wrote in saying he had purchased a 69 Firebird convertible several years earlier with a big block Chevy engine in it that looked just like the one pictured in the article except it was a convertible. He had been told that there was no such thing as a Trans Am convertible so he thought it was just a Firebird. At the time it was stored in his buddies barn, but he supplied the VIN 223679N104810 and asked the editor if it could be one of the two 69 T/A convertibles. The editor confirmed that it was a T/A convertible. This is the #2 T/A convertible with a Parchment interior that is currently owned by D. Mecum.

In the November 78 issue there is a letter from Ken Edgerton stating he owns a 69 T/A convertible with VIN 223679N104808. He purchased the car in 73 and is the second owner. The car had 62K miles and still had the original drivetrain. At the time he was using it as daily transportation and to tow his boat on the weekends. This is the #1 T/A convertible that was restored by Level One several years ago and is part of the Brothers Collection.

Also in the November 78 issue there is a letter from Charles Adams stating he is the original owner of VIN 223679N109938 and that the car is in perfect condition and is one of his proudest possessions. This is the #7 T/A convertible that was restored by The Finer Details several years ago and is also part of the Brothers Collection.

In this issue the editor also states that there were eight T/A convertibles built in 69 with four being four-speed and four being automatics. I found this rather interesting reading so I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

[StealthBird]

All 8 are accounted for. There was a lengthy article in the January 2016 edition of POCI's "Smoke Signals" covering how the 8 were equipped.

Other trivia:

- 3 of the 8 cars were delivered to Canada.
- 4 of the 8 cars had 4-speed transmissions, 4 had automatics.
- 0 of the 8 cars had the standard 3-speed manual trans.
- 0 of the 8 cars were equipped with the optional RAIV engine.
- 0 of the 8 cars had air conditioning.
- Trans Am #7 on this list had the most options, and had the highest MSRP.
- 8 of 8 cars were ordered with optional Rally II Wheels.

Mike

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by mrays

Since winter has finally arrived I decided to spend some time looking through some old magazines I have. I happened to start with Hot Rod and in the April 78 issue they had a story on the Trans Am and mention that only two convertibles were built in 69.

In the August 78 issue Ted Gallas wrote in saying he had purchased a 69 Firebird convertible several years earlier with a big block Chevy engine in it that looked just like the one pictured in the article except it was a convertible. He had been told that there was no such thing as a Trans Am convertible so he thought it was just a Firebird. At the time it was stored in his buddies barn, but he supplied the VIN 223679N104810 and asked the editor if it could be one of the two 69 T/A convertibles. The editor confirmed that it was a T/A convertible. This is the #2 T/A convertible with a Parchment interior that is currently owned by D. Mecum.

In the November 78 issue there is a letter from Ken Edgerton stating he owns a 69 T/A convertible with VIN 223679N104808. He purchased the car in 73 and is the second owner. The car had 62K miles and still had the original drivetrain. At the time he was using it as daily transportation and to tow his boat on the weekends. This is the #1 T/A convertible that was restored by Level One several years ago and is part of the Brothers Collection.

Also in the November 78 issue there is a letter from Charles Adams stating he is the original owner of VIN 223679N109938 and that the car is in perfect condition and is one of his proudest possessions. This is the #7 T/A convertible that was restored by The Finer Details several years ago and is also part of the Brothers Collection.

In this issue the editor also states that there were eight T/A convertibles built in 69 with four being four-speed and four being automatics. I found this rather interesting reading so I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

One of those was in Massachusetts out near Boston and the other was in New Orleans. That article started the chase that lasted 40 years until the last one - Gordon's car - was "found" just north of Detroit.

[Mr70]

Why were only 8 produced?

[StealthBird]

Originally Posted by Mr70

Why were only 8 produced?

It's simply all that were ever ordered. The 1969 Trans Am was a failure in the marketplace, but sales would recover nicely in the 1970's. The 1969 Trans Am was a serious performance car, not just stickers and a wing, and Pontiac's target audience were enthusiasts that wanted a 1/4 miler as well as one that could corner, like a Boss 302 or Z/28, so the 1969 Trans Am in the convertible format didn't appeal to buyers.

Mike

[Tracker1]

Originally Posted by StealthBird

The 1969 Trans Am was a serious performance car, not just stickers and a wing, and Pontiac's target audience were enthusiasts that wanted a 1/4 miler as well as one that could corner, like a Boss 302 or Z/28,

Mike

Can't say I fully agree on that. Road tests of the day complained of a great deal of understeer/plowing because of the placement of the "big" 400. And it's a car that took the name of a race series but never really set foot on any of the starting lines of that series in any serious way...isn't that the very definition of a "stickers" car?

I say all that with a note of full disclosure: Of the couple dozen or 30 musclecars I've owned, 9 of them have been Trans Ams - love 'em.