Change original color?
 

I'm doing a 1978 trans am project now. Missing the original drive train. It's a rare factory yellow car. Would it be best for resale to keep it yellow or is it ok to repaint it a different color? Thanks Bryan

i would change the color to what you like & a more popular color for resale.

once the car is no longer original drivetrain, any value to "originality" is gone. so if you plan to keep or sell the car i would pick a color you like & that will be liked by more people buying.

also the interior color matters for picking exterior color, looks like yours is black which opens up almost any exterior color.

no offense to the yellow car guys, but yellow trans ams are kinda tacky looking IMO & dont do the car justice compared to the common popular colors like black, blue & silver... or even red & gold.

I'll agree..... You'd be better off with a different color on it now.

Are you building it for yourself, or is your intent on flipping it? If it's your own personal project build it how you like, don't worry so much about the resale value.

The only car I like in yellow is a 32 Ford 5 window with orange flames on it!

Here's my 2 cents I have a 77 Goldenrod yellow with white interior not bad looking when everything is new but not my favorite but is a rare color for 77, so mines going back showroom condition. My car is all original except the exhaust manifolds and intake and everything is date code correct with build sheet also. I just found the correct intake and the date code is within 30 days of the engine build date. Your car is missing the main stuff people want when it comes to matching so it's a open canvas do what you want for you and resale should be second thought unless you're a flipper good luck and post those pics.

Looking to sell later just finding out if the yellow color is hard to sell.

Without any details on the level of restoration you plan on I'll say this. If you do a nice driver quality resto and put a correct drive train back in it and stay yellow your sale price I think will be 10K-12K. I say this because I watched several yellow cars over the last year on the internet before buying mine and they went like this. Two were at classic car showrooms matching and nicely restored for 28K and 31K I never saw them sell. There was one super low miles matching survivor sold for 23.5K I saw another matching nice restoration sell for 17.5K There was one that had a driver quality resto NOM sold for 11k and two that were matching in need of a resto some rust sold for around 5K. None were T-top cars and all the info was just what was posted with thw ad's that I read I didn't look at any of them in person. On top of what I posted earlier about mine it's rust free and no crash damage that I can see. If I can drive it for two or three years after a really nice
quality resto done by me and get 16-17K I'll be happy.

Have been watching '77-79 T/A 6.6 pricing for over 25 years. Have a heavy loaded '79 W72 4spd project, Sundance yellow/black hobanail, easy restore. Mothballed it in the mid 90's, in mean time picked up quite a few nos pieces for it. Have had the chance to "restore it" 3 times for customers, changing color to Starlight Black & adding SE striping. Not at all in interested in going the Clown car route, & turned each offer down.

Over the years, Sundance & Mayan Red have caught my attention as most likely lowest production bright colors ordered on '79 TransAms. Well preserved originals & nicely restored examples should bring more, it all takes the right presentation. Changing the color combo on '75 up 2nd Gens, it all comes down what the T/A originally was ordered as. If a '78 W72 auto, i would be much more inclined to restore original colors, even pick up an X7 block & build up from there. base 180 horse auto, Pontiac built so many of em, I would not go crazy throwing a ton of $$$$ at such a car, going to be buried in it.

With Milner driving it!!&

I'm thinking if going for a resale that a black T/A with all the graphics would gather more interest. Otherwise, Paint it your favorite color and enjoy it.

If you want to maximize resale value, paint it "resale red"...or make a "bandit" clone.

or if planning to sell, sell it now and as-is. That way you won't have lost thousands and the buyer will know what condition that car is in since they are only going to strip a quick repaint done for sale to do properly anyway in a colour they want. Rare yellow, because no one wanted one in Yellow. It was a poor seller at the time.

This is true. However if you want to build the car and enjoy it for a year or so black will most likely be your best sale. Rare doesn't always equal value.

Hey! Them's fightin' words! :boxing: Serioulsly though, isn't any car with a giant screaming chicken sticker on the hood a little "tacky"?

I kind a like my Sundance Yellow '79. The red hood bird really makes the car pop compared to the ones I've seen with the gold bird. Really stands out at car shows and kids love it when they see it on the street.

That being said, if you're looking for top dollar and a quick sale, making it a black SE clone is the only way to go.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ac&oe=5E81B6CF

That's purdy..

However, for the masses, the only way to go is the black/gold Bandit appearance. That's where the later 2nd gen money is.

I love that sundance car, def dont see too many of them.

LOL! i agree yellow t/a's can look good, especially nice ones & yours looks very nice! yellow just isnt my thing. yes any big hood bird is kinda tacky & disco lookin, just that other colors look better to most people & definitely will bring more $$ for resale.

personally im kinda tired of the black/gold thing, my 78 was non SE black/gold, when i repainted it i went with the red/charcoal bird used on white & silver cars, its a somewhat unique combo & when i did it 10 years ago i only saw one other done that way, now i see a few more but still uncommon.

regardless of my preference, i think if its not original anymore & you arent keeping it & want a yellow car, to pick a better color that potential buyers will want more.

By the time I bought my 82 firebird (brand new) the whole hood bird thing had pretty much run its course. Nothing says look at me or the 70's like a huge obnoxious bird on the hood of a car. BUT, now that I am older and regressing in maturity I wouldn't have it any other way. A Trans Am is not a Trans Am without one, imo.

This post caught my eye as I'm going to look at a yellow 77 tomorrow! This a legit one owner car, garage kept, original paint and drive train. Has not been driven in 5 yrs or so due to health reasons. I've only seen one pic as it has not been advertised. I've been trying lock in a max dollar amount before I go. Any thoughts? They're only original once!