Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - What kind of 6.6 was in the 79 automatic trans am

I found a bundle deal on 2 79 fbodies that i am wanting to check out. The ad says they are a firebird and a trans am. Trans am has a 6.6 auto and the firebird is a roller. I read somewhere that only 79s woth the 4-speed gotthe 400 pontiacs. Would that mean that this 6.6 is the buick 406. If sp whats the dofference

The stocks came with a 400 pontiac, the autos came with 403 pontiacs. Two completely different motors!

Is the car represented as original with that motor and trans? So many of those cars have been hacked up and changed around. Do you have pics? The 403 was made by Oldsmobile, and is far less desirable (especially for true Pontiac fans). If you have a pic, it's easy to spot an Olds 403 with the oil filler neck being at the front of the motor. Also, if the car has the original decals still on it, and the shaker scoop will say 6.6 T/A for a Pontiac 400 and 6.6 Litre for the Olds 403.

Yea i thot i saw 406 lol. The ta is nmbrs mtching automatic. Original stickers but i cant tell the pics are small. 1995 for both. They look pretty rusty but i still wanna go see em

I was hopin for a 400 :/

As was stated, the oil filler tube in the front just behind the water pump and 10 bolts on the valve covers are dead giveaways of an Olds V8.

IIRC, while you could not get a 4-sp w/ the 403 Olds, you could get the 400 Pontiac with either the AT or 4-sp. So just because its an AT doesn't prove its a 403 Olds.

And I'm pretty sure the only Buick engine used in a 2nd gen Firebird was the 3.8L V6.

Its either a Pontiac or Olds but there were no Buick motors in a T/A !

Except for the 89 Turbo TA :D

Sorry in only the 2nd Gen's T/A's i should have said but 3rd Gen's did have a Buick motor !!!!!

lol, okay, i was just saying buick cus it was first to come to mind. im hoping its a 400 and in good shape cus that'd be cool to put in an older project if i could come across one. he is only askin 1995 for both of them and they look kind of solid, but still a bit rusty. Might just have to take a trip with a buddy to go check em out.

Yea i thot i saw 406 lol. The ta is nmbrs mtching automatic. Original stickers but i cant tell the pics are small. 1995 for both. They look pretty rusty but i still wanna go see em

Well....If you want a 79 that's really clean, in project condition, PM me. It's in western AR, and I won't be home for about another month. Car was bought in Tuscon AZ and doesn't even have surface rust in the trunk gutters. I have a 400 from a 73 T/A that has been already been machined.

lol okay, but AR is pretty far away from me in WV i really dig old muscle car's. i'll let you know if i'd be interested in it though. i have been wanting to go on a trip to nowhere. just don't know if i'll be doing that for a while, but if i do, and im interested, i'll letchya know, thanks

Check out wallaceracing.com they have tons of info on older pontiacs

Just to clarify about Buick engines in 2nd-gen Firebirds, according to this VIN decoder (http://www.transamworld.com/2genvins.php), the 231ci (3.8L Buick) V6 was available from '77 - '80 (but not in T/As or Formulas, just in base Firebirds).

Also worth noting, from '72-'76, the base Firebird engine was a 250ci (Chevy) 6-banger (the decoder erroniously shows this as a "V6", it is really an inline 6 (L6)).

The auto TA's were olds 403's. I believe they were rated at 180 hp where the 400 pontiac was rated at 220. However the olds engine cranked out a ton of torque where the pontiac did not. I have heard you can get well over 400 horses out of the olds by changing the heads and intake manifold. Costs around 2000.00

I always thought the auto's were 403 Olds motors and the 4-spds were 400 Pontiacs.
If you want an auto get an auto, You can make big power with an Olds engine.

I always thought the auto's were 403 Olds motors and the 4-spds were 400 Pontiacs.
If you want an auto get an auto, You can make big power with an Olds engine.

You are correct, I stand corrected. This site has the breakdown for the 2nd gens, and it shows that the Pontiac 400 in '79 was bolted to only 4-speed MTs, while the 403 Olds only came w/ ATs.

http://www.2gta.com/

I must have been thinking of the '77 and '78 T/A engines, 403s only got AT, but 400s could be ordered w/ either the AT or 4-spd.

Interestingly, you could get the Pontiac 301 in a T/A with either the 4-sp or AT in '79.

I had one of these cars for 7yrs and probably forgot more then most will ever know.
As said all auto's are 403 Small block Old's, all auto's are 2.41 gears except if you had a WS6 car as those had 2.73's. The 400 4spd cars all came with 3.23 gears and the WS6 Pkg.
The 403 had a 185 HP rating with 320 TQ
The 400 had a 220 HP rating with 320 TQ also.