With sleek body lines and aggressive, muscular styling the 1969 Trans Am Convertible is the definition of cool. Only eight of these convertibles were made with six known to still exist, which makes the owners of these birds part of an exclusive club. All six were on display at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals and three them were originally Canadian.
GM released the Pontiac Firebird as part of the F-Body platform in 1969 along with its sister car, the Camaro. The Trans Am was a performance package based on of the Firebird race cars which competed in the SCCA Trans Am racing series. The Trans Am was listed as a $725 option titled “Trans Am Performance and Appearance Package” It came equipped with a Pontiac 400 motor, a rear spoiler and the RAM AIR III or IV engine.
Unlike most cars from the era, the hood is fully functional, it delivers air directly into the deep breathing 400. The 400 produces 345 horsepower and 430 lb/ft of torque that launch the bird to 60 in 6.5 seconds. The front fenders contain side air extracts designed to pull air from the engine compartment to cool it down at high speeds. The Trans Am was given suspension upgrades such as disc brakes on the front, sway bars, and beefier leaf springs for road course like handling.
All of the 1969 Trans Ams were polar white with a blue stripe down the middle, and this one had a blue interior with woodgrain trim. “This car is truly kind of a movie star…not to say that it ever appeared on screen, but it is one of the most famous musclecar designs out there.” As we find out from YouTuber V8TV, collector Charley Lillard bought this Trans Am ‘vert about five years ago from the original owner in San Fransisco. The original owner was a former ad executive for Pontiac, he didn’t order the car but got a call saying his car was ready. As it turns out, John DeLorean had the car built and optioned for the executive as a gift. how would you like to have a boss like that?