Unrestored '70 RA3 Trans Am

[scuncio]

Love the seller's description on this one:

"This is one of those cars that remained in the possession of the original owner or the owner's family for decades and decades and then all of a sudden, like an heretofore unseen star in the night sky, is revealed to the collector car world as if out of thin air, piercing the limitless abyss with a brilliant sparkle of light. But this is no twinkling little star, its a fire-breathing American muscle machine that snorts peppered vinegar and craps thunder's big brother. When I first saw this Trans Am my reaction was awe and disbelief. Like that star in the night sky appearing as if by magic or the hand of providence, I asked myself, "How could a car like this still exist?" Surely, ten or fifteen or twenty years ago a muscle car collector or a hot rod shop should have found it, wrestled it from the owner and brought it back to showroom condition, thereby undoing decades of history and patina that, once gone, can never be replicated. But this didn't happen. Somehow it stayed tucked away, unknown and unseen, like a patiently dormant volcano, waiting to finally be offered up to the world. And it is in this condition that we find it today."

Link to 1970 Trans Am Unrestored

[Lee Stewart]

If it was truly unrestored then the hood stripe should look like this - also missing the bumper decal

[L_e_e]

I believe that the dash gauge bezels should chrome rather than black on a 1970

[Tracker1]

Originally Posted by L_e_e

I believe that the dash gauge bezels should chrome rather than black on a 1970

I believe the chrome bezels were for deluxe interior cars only. I don't see a grab bar on the pass. side or chrome bezels so I assume it is a standard interior car.

[L_e_e]

Originally Posted by Tracker1

I believe the chrome bezels were for deluxe interior cars only. I don't see a grab bar on the pass. side or chrome bezels so I assume it is a standard interior car.

If you revisit the auction photos you can see the 2 holes left where the pass grab handle is missing. Custom or standard interior, I've had both and both had chrome bezels. Maybe it's just a coincidence every 1970 I've seen had the chrome bezels, who knows.
I do know that they tended to tarnish and discolor early on and it would be very easy for someone refreshing a T/A back in the day to replace them with black ones.

[Tracker1]

It's certainly not a hard & fast rule; this is my standard interior 70 TA, it had chrome bezels. It was an original owner car with under 40,000 miles. But I have definitely seen black on original '70s, mostly std. interior cars.

[Tracker1]

And the Rally II wheels he shows are definitely not from a '70 TA - they are '73 and later.

[L_e_e]

Nice!!
What I found confusing about the ebay car is it did have standard interior with the pass grab handle...or did have the handle at one time from the evidence of the 2 holes in the dash. Regardless, maybe it was based on time of production rather than interior choice, is yours an early 70 1/2?

[Tracker1]

Originally Posted by L_e_e

Nice!!
What I found confusing about the ebay car is it did have standard interior with the pass grab handle...or did have the handle at one time from the evidence of the 2 holes in the dash. Regardless, maybe it was based on time of production rather than interior choice, is yours an early 70 1/2?

May '70

[auwrestling]

Nice RaIII Ys motor. Lots of HS with this one