decoding pontiac trans am

hi,i was wondering if someone could help me figure out how to find out what was in my car originally.see im not sure all the letters and numbers mean  i know the first four determine if it was a real trans am the fifth is the engine the sixth is the year after that unsure.the reason im curious is that i have discovered that the hood scoop the hood and even the mirrors were silver and if it is a anniversary  car id like to know.i know i can call and order a phs report but if it is just a ta im not sure how important it is as for i have no intensions of selling it.the biggest reason to know is so i dont go making bandit tribute out of a rare car.any info would be helpful thanks,nisent  

I assume that you have a 1979 TA if you are asking about Anniversary cars. If you will post the VIN number minus the last six digits (for your security), I will be happy to decode it for you. But you can start by checking the second digit, if it is W it's a standard TA, if it's an X it's a 10th Ann car. The fifth digit will be either a Z (400 Pontiac) or K (403 Olds) if it a 10th Anniversary car.  You can also check the cowl tag attached to the top of the firewall underhood. Line 3 is the color info, 15L and 16U are the color codes for the Charcoal lower and Platinum upper paint on the 10th Ann cars. Line 4 has several numbers in it but the ones we're interested in are Y89 (10th), WS4 (TA), or W66 (Formula).
If you post all the numbers on the cowl tag line by line we can decode most of the info for your car. Another thing to look for is the build sheet,it has all the production codes your car was built with. If you pull the bottom rear seat cushions out and remove the two screws that hold the seat back, you can remove the back and the cardboard divider. Often the build sheet is in between the insulation and the cardboard.
Let me know, even if it isn't a 10th Ann car, knowing all you can about it can be interesting.
Steve  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

hey yes it is a 79 the vin is 2w87k9L,which means it is a ta.the body tag is this
79 12c 2fs87L......
74b  19l 19u W
A51 CC1  C34200327
i bought the car as a rolling chassis the motor and tranny were junk.i used a donor 77 for the drivetrain and interior along with various other usable parts.any info you can tell me would be awsome.thanks nisent  

hey also do you need the rest of the numbers on the first line on the body tag if so let me know.thanks,nisent  

Ok, your vin breaks down as follows: 2 (Pontiac), W (Trans Am), 87 (hardtop coupe), K (403 Olds V8, 185hp), 9 (1979), L (Van Nuys California assembly plant).
The body tag reads: 79 (1979), 12C (December, 3rd week), 2FS87 (base model: Firebird), L (again, Van Nuys).
Next line: 74B (carmine red cloth interior, Hobnail with Lombardy velour bolsters), 19L and 19U (starlight black, upper and lower ie: not two tone), W (i believe this was the code for water based paint used at the California plant as opposed to L for laquer at the Norwood Ohio plant.).
Last line: A51 (modular seats ie:buckets just like all the other firebirds), CC1 (T-tops), C34200327 (I can't find info for this number).
The rest of the numbers on the first line are the consecutive body number from the body plant and don't correspond to the last digits of the VIN which are the actual production number.
So you have a 1979 TA that was built in starlight black, with t-tops and carmine red deluxe cloth interior and a 403 Olds V8 with th350 automatic. If you find the build sheet it will tell you what gears the rearend came with, what rims and tires it had originally and what color striping package it had. I know some 79 TA's had the red/silver/grey bird and stripe package, but the three tone red/orange/yellow package was a real looker in my opinion (especially with red interior) but I'm not certain if it came on 79's or not. Of course if you've already replaced the missing interior, I say paint and stripe it the way you like, you aren't messing with a 10th anniversary or SE car so enjoy! By the way, what drivetrain did you install from a 77?
Steve

PS: just for kicks, I checked my 79 Formula, it too was built in Van Nuys but in the second week of February with the 301 4bbl/150hp/auto and 2.73 gears. It also has the deluxe cloth interior but in light blue with the two-tone platinum and charcoal paint and Formula stripe package.  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

hey i found a 77 ta donor non t-top (the body almost all rot )that had rebuilt 400 and the date on the block indicated feb 1977,the tranny was a th350 which i still have and it has 3.73 gears.when i first bought the donor i ididnt think the body was that bad but even the rear frame was gone.on a good note though the interior was really good with only the driver seat being in less than good shape.the interior was the deluxe black with black velure seats.the rest of int the dash and everthing salvageable was saved.i did put the th350 in at first but ive always wanted a 400 4speed and so about a month ago i put in a super t-10,with a2.43 first.it has alot of power and sure is fun,the only thing i would like is to get the rpm down so its a little easier on the highway at 60 mph it revs just under 3000,any ideas?i dont want to lose to much torque but i would like it to go a little better on the highway.thanks alot for all your help your really cool for helping me,and any ideas for gears would be good iwas thinking 3.42 but i wasnt sure how much of a difference it would make.thanks again, nisent  

Going form a 3.73 to a 3.42 will drop those rpms a noticeable amount the 3.42 will probably be your best bet for highway use.  
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hey any idea what rpm it will drop to?also ive never done a gear swap is it hard or relatively simple,also will i need any special tools i like to know what im in for so i get minimal surprises.thanks alot for all the info you guys are awsome,nisent  

hey i forgot which brand if gear iknow there is several and would like the best i can get without the hype you all seem to know the real deal versus the just name any info helpful,thanks again nisent  

If you never done one before then I would have a buddy or someone that has there to guide you and help with the gear swap.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

Richmond gears are the best that's what I use in most of my costumers cars and I use them in my owne as well.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

How tall is the rear tires on your car then I can tell you the RPM for sure.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

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hey the tires are 26 1/4" tall  

i will definately go with richmond then and thanks for all the help,nisent  

with the 3.42 your looking at 68.5mph @3000rpm and 57mph @ 2500Rpm.
With a 3.23 your looking @72.5 mph @3000rpm and 60 @ 2500.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

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