A ghost from the past recently reared its head during a casual look at Mecum’s upcoming lots for the company’s Dallas auction, which will take place September 4-7, 2024. We’re always on the lookout for memories of Smokey and the Banditthe famous Burt Reynolds film that also featured the iconic 1977/1978 Pontiac Trans Am. We came across Dallas Mecum lot number S316, a 1978 Trans Am that was once owned by the man himself, Burt Reynolds, and it reminded me of a nearly identical run of 1978 Pontiac Trans Ams that the legendary movie actor endorsed 17 years ago.
The YearOne Bandit Trans Am Burt Reynolds Edition (shown here) was introduced in 2007 and is the original archetype upon which Mecum Dallas lot S316 is obviously based. (Note: This is not the car up for auction.)
Flashback to Friday, May 18, 2007. I was in Brazelton, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, at YearOne for the company’s annual muscle car fest. The festive, carnival-like auto show was packed, and Burt Reynolds fans (including many members of the automotive press) had gathered for a major announcement: Mail-order giant YearOne would build the first in a series of highly modified 1978 Pontiac Trans Am touring cars with modern, high-end hardware: an LS powertrain, giant Baer Racing disc brakes, steamroller tires on 19-inch Snowflake wheels, a modern interior, a high-tech suspension, air conditioning, and an overdrive manual transmission. Over the years, the idea of a modernized pro touring version of Reynolds’ movie car became so popular that it attained near-meme status. Today, cars like the original 2007 YearOne BRE Bandit Trans Am have been copied so frequently that it’s become difficult to keep track of where they all came from!
At first glance, I was pretty sure that Mecum’s S316 lot was an original BRE YearOne Bandit Trans Am—it looked nearly identical—but that hope was dashed by a company spokesperson. Still, I wondered how such a similar car could possibly make an appearance. It was clearly a derivative, and I had a breadcrumb to follow: a closer look at Mecum’s description revealed that the wheels had been purchased through Restore a Muscle Car, a company in Lincoln, Nebraska. That was good news, because Restore a Muscle Car is perhaps most famous for hosting the annual Bandit Run, a sort of mini HOT ROD Power Tour just for Pontiac Trans Am owners who want to recreate the movie’s wild ride. Needless to say, the ’78 Trans Am up for grabs at Mecum would be the perfect vehicle to undertake such an adventure.
A call to Restore a Muscle Car revealed some interesting details. For starters, Restore a Muscle Car is building its own updated version of the movie’s famous car, and it’s nearly identical to the YearOne BRE Bandit, albeit with a few tantalizing differences. I figured Mecum lot S316 might be one of the Restore a Muscle Car builds, since most of its updated equipment (including the Wilwood brakes, LS3 powertrain, and Tremec six-speed) was the same. Note that the original YearOne Bandit we talked about had an LS7, Baer brakes, and a Tremec five-speed. Unfortunately, when the Nebraska-based company compared its production records with the Mecum lot’s VIN (2W87Z8L140921), it wasn’t part of the Restore a Muscle Car builds either. So where did this sweet pro-touring Bandit TA come from?
It would have taken a different approach to unravel the rest of the story, and we finally got a good hand when Mecum connected us with the Dallas seller. He told us that, based on conversations with Reynolds’ estate (Nancy Lee Brown Hess), the car was original to when Reynolds and his gardener had it. He first discovered Reynolds’ car during a random stop at Bandit Movie Cars. Upon seeing it, he expressed interest to Gene Kennedy, the owner of the store and a friend of Reynolds, in purchasing the car. After purchasing the car from the estate, he hired Kennedy and the Bandit Movie Cars team to restore and modify Reynolds’ original ’78 Trans Am into the pro-touring form you see it in today.
What’s clear to us is that this is a high-quality professional touring machine, regardless of its famous previous owner. A new LS3 engine is backed by a Tremec six-speed transmission. Heidt-sourced coilover suspension is paired with Wilwood disc brakes all around. Inside, leather-wrapped Corbeau seats, Dakota Digital gauges, and Vintage Air climate control pamper the driver. A fresh coat of PPG Black has been polished to a mirror-like shine. 19-inch Snowflake wheels from Restore a Muscle Car update the look and handling to a modern level while retaining the vibe of the original. It’s basically the way Burt Reynolds liked them, as evidenced by his initial tenure with YearOne in 2007. So how much is a car like this worth?
It is generally difficult, but not impossible, to place a reliable valuation on a rebuilt and customized 1978 Trans Am. For one thing, its highly modified nature precludes giving a reliable estimate based on more traditional measurements. Hagerty values a concours-condition 1978 Pontiac Trans Am at $124,000. For another, the fact that it is documented as having been owned by Burt Reynolds is a major plus, and documentation to that effect is included with the car. Looking at the previous sale of one of Burt Reynolds’ other 1978 Trans Ams at auction in 2015, we see a largely original example with 15,000 miles (its only modifications were a Cobra CB radio and an Eclipse CD player) selling at Mecum Kissimmee for $99,000. Then, in 2018, just after the actor’s death, a black 1978 TA owned by Reynolds sold for $192,000 at Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas, but it’s unclear whether it was the same car or a different one.
The only downside to Lot S316, ironically, may be the car’s extensive modifications. A handful of previous auction attempts for modified Trans Ams from the same era reveal that bidders are a bit timid. Earlier this year, a black 1978 TA built by Killer Customs (later Speedtech) that featured an absolutely insane Merlin 572ci big-block, a Tremec six-speed, a Speedtech chassis, massive Baer six-piston brakes, the same 19-inch snowflakes and minitubs, and a high-end auto show interior sold for a bargain $99,000 at Mecum Tulsa. At Mecum Houston in 2020, another black 1978 TA with the full restomod treatment sold for $75,000. It featured a supercharged LS3 engine, a fully custom interior created from a C8 Corvette, a Tremec six-speed suspension, CPP/Detroit Speed, Wilwood six-piston brakes, Vintage Air, and 19-inch Forgeline Snowflakes tires. Both examples were built to a similar level of execution.
There are plenty of other 1977-78 Trans Am pro-tourers that have crossed the auction block in recent years, but the majority of those with similar levels of aftermarket modifications have failed to meet the reserve price, a predicament precipitated by the combination of relatively few bidders for this type of highly modified car and optimistic sellers who spent heavily to build them. A note in the Mecum lot description indicates that over $100,000 was invested, and since similarly equipped models original The YearOne BRE Bandit sold for $175,000 new in 2007, we have no doubt about that claim. However, owners who have invested heavily in pro-touring modifications always have a hard time recouping that investment at auction. Since this is one of Burt Reynolds’ personal cars, we think a realistic bid would be in the $100,000 range. We’ll be watching to find out!
Burt Reynolds Restomod 1978 Pontiac Trans Am
- Formerly owned by Burt Reynolds from the late 1970s until 2010
- Recent restoration from scratch
- LS3 V-8 engine
- Six-speed manual transmission
- Wilwood Four Wheel Disc Brake Kit
- Air Vintage
- More than $100,000 invested
- Receipts and proof of ownership history included in sale
- Burt Reynolds gave the car to his gardener in 2010
- The current owner acquired directly from Reynolds’ niece
- Four-link coil spring suspension
- Powder coated suspension components
- Custom Snowflake style wheels authorized by Burt Reynolds of Restore a Muscle Car
