[77 Canamman]

You would be an expert on such matters...

[gtohurstjudge]

My bone stock never opened up 403 79 T/A runs 15.3 in the quarter with
2:73 gears. It is not a slug, never has been. I had a 12,000 mile 1979 400 4 speed T/A back
in 1982 and it had zero mods and I never could get it to run that fast with no mods...
15.6 was all it would do bone stock with 3:23 rear end gears. Your results may differ slightly, but I think you get the idea that you're not going to feel any difference between the two engines by the seat of your pants, only with a timer. And by the way, the 403 gets way better gas mileage than the 400 Pontiac motor. I love my 403 Olds thank you very much.

[W72-Bandit]

I've had several 79s, both 403 and 400. Seat of the pants not much difference. But the 400/stick is certainly more fun to drive.

[2manyT/A'S]

Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge

My bone stock never opened up 403 79 T/A runs 15.3 in the quarter with
2:73 gears. It is not a slug, never has been. I had a 12,000 mile 1979 400 4 speed T/A back
in 1982 and it had zero mods and I never could get it to run that fast with no mods...
15.6 was all it would do bone stock with 3:23 rear end gears. Your results may differ slightly, but I think you get the idea that you're not going to feel any difference between the two engines by the seat of your pants, only with a timer. And by the way, the 403 gets way better gas mileage than the 400 Pontiac motor. I love my 403 Olds thank you very much.

Interesting....So......if YOUR 79 had the optional 3:23's......realistically it should prolly run 15.0...or close to it....

[77 Canamman]

That 15.3 403 is the exception to the rule. Very few will run that well stock. I have had the exact opposite experiences. Also, in regards to fuel economy, I would consistently get well over 19 HWY MPG with my W72 in the Can Am. Your results may vary.

[2manyT/A'S]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

That 15.3 403 is the exception to the rule. Very few will run that well stock. I have had the exact opposite experiences. Also, in regards to fuel economy, I would consistently get well over 19 HWY MPG with my W72 in the Can Am. Your results may vary.

NO exception to the rule there....

Just a well-tuned car....with a GOOD driver and the RIGHT track conditions...

OK,...I'll stop confusing you with FACTS....

[77 Canamman]

I'm not confused..far from it. I know my cars well.





See if you can dig up some road test for the 403. I couldn't seem to find any. I surmise they were typically 16.1 sec cars..

[2manyT/A'S]

You know your magazines well....but NOT your cars....

Magazine road cars were usually RINGERS...(prepped by the mfgrs)....and were generally not really original..OR....as they left the assembly line...so the published results are not very accurate.....OR believable..

There were NO 403 T/A road tests...that I am aware of....because Pontiac didn't really want the press or buying public to know about the engine switcheroo going on...in the T/A's...

Will be interesting to see if the Pure Stock Drags will let the 403 T/A's play....

I'll bet if they DO...you WON'T be liking what you see THERE...

[rexs73gto]

There is a show called Legendary Motors which is the same guy who has the dealership that sells all kinds of muscle cars out of Canada. He on 1 show did a test of both cars , 1 with the 400, & 1 with the 403. The 400 car in EVERY test was on top. The 403 car didn't go through the slaloms very good because of the extra weight of the 403, same with the braking. In the accl. part the 403 got the 400 out of the hole but at the end of the 1/4 mile test which they did 3 so they could have an avg. had the 400 car on the avg. was .6 faster in all 3 runs. The 403 car got out of the hole a bit better because of the little extra TQ, but could not out run the 400 in the 1/4. This was a show I saw about a year or so ago & I believe that the test was done fairly because they wanted to know what all of us did ,,, back then. These were both low mileage cars to so you can't yell foul because the cars were different . But they came up with the same thing Rick is saying, the 400 car is faster & handle better & stops better. The 400 car is overall the better choice for if your wanting one just for that. Most want the 400 car because it has the Pontiac engine in it alone which makes it a true Pontiac & not a re-skined Cutlass.

[77 Canamman]

As I did with my Can Am, I will be blowing those Oldsmobirds doors off with my pure Pontiac powered bird. The W72 was a far superior engine top to bottom.

[Nitebird]

I have a 1979 Trans Am SE with the original numbers matching W72 400 4speed. It is a T-Top car with WS6 along with the black hobnail interior. It has 2 build sheets and full PHS report.

I wonder how much it is worth as compared to the 403 SE equipped cars if both cars were in the same condition.