1969 Pontiac Trans AM Ram Air IV - Barrett Jackson
 

Does anyone have any insight, history, or information about Lot 1438.2?

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Even...-AIR-IV-253716

The description and photo's look okay. It was last sold at Mecum in Denver for $180K. Based on the description it does not retain its born with engine but it is not clear. I figured some of the experts here may have more info about the car.

Thanks

that's a neat car!
(and a neat read!)
RAIV & a coulmn shifted automatic seems almost like a contradiction of sorts!?

And how many came column shifted, with deluxe interior?

Not many automatics had stacked gauges.

from the description:

Something must be wrong with me. Even though it's the rarest of the rare and best engine with corporate Pontiac provenance, the column shift just kills it for me. Who at PMD ordered that?! Not that it matters, this car is so out of my financial league.

They just didn't order the console, so they put the shifter on the column.


:)

There's nothing wrong with you.

I'd rather a RAIII/mt Formula (only because those are the most valuable of the 70 Formula's) any day of the week over this...

A friend of mine said I overpaid for mine when I bought it for 5K.

/\ lol
Well time has proven that you made a very smart move.

As a side note, the only legit '69 TA I have seen in person was in Washington State;
It was owned by the gentleman who owned (and lived across the road from) All American;
My impression for videos and the like is that alot of '69 T/A's are in Washinton state!?

There is at least 3 here in town now and 1 other one was sold recently.

Thanks for the input. I have gathered some info on the car and will look at it in person this weekend. From what I have discovered the car has more issues than I would want.

No reserve...cajones of steel.

If I was in the market for a auto T/A let alone a RA IV the column shifter would not push me away from it.My 4 speed III TA and my now clone car did not have consoles which I like better.Not knowing about what block,carb and dizzy is now in the car would influence the price for me.Tom

I think the questions on the column shift are “is it rare and desirable “ Lots of rare stuff that doesn’t bring up value. Has to be rare and desirable to raise value.

I think Certainly to some it would be but the more people it’s desirable to the more it’ll push up the price .

Either way though it’s a great car and super rare, hard to be too picky, not a lot of RAIV birds to choose from
If you want one .

You should give me a call

I will give you a call.

Issues
 

Wondering what issues there is with this car that you know of?

It would be a great car to add to your stable but the column shift might be tough to get over.

I like the column shift, a lot of hemi cars and LS-6 Chevelle's were column shift.

One oddity I love in 69 Firebirds is the bench seat. It's a very rare option and puts three people in the front. You have to have a column shift, so the combo with the bench seat is awesome. It's kind of a cleaner look too with buckets.

The column shift on these high end Muscle Cars has become more and more acceptable . I like it and it’s super rare!

Well, 3 if they're young, slender and quite fond of each other. Otherwise, get a Bonneville.

I recall when I was about 18, a group of us friends in 3 cars driving from Long Island to Great Adventure park in New Jersey. In my 69 Firebird convertible were 6 of us, one seated on the console. The 120 mile trip back after a hot summer day in the park was a bit uncomfortable.

Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

The 69 Trans Am RAIV sold for 115K. I call this well bought but I have not seen it in person and I do not know of any issues others speak of.

Something must have been up with it.

theres a whole lot up with it. thats the only reason it wasnt 250k. go try to buy another real ra4 69 ta and see what kind of figures you get quoted

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4d19c812ca.png
You've got that right Gary! It may have had something to do with some state issued VIN number or something? Whatever it was the car basically sold for less than half price. Sounds like there were some pretty high-end shops that did some work on it over the years. Someone stole it regardless.


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Vin & Trim Tag 69 T/A
 

Had a friend look at this car for me Thursday.

The cowl tag should have been 106110 body # for the RA IV TA with that VIN.

I show this car sold at Mecum Denver in 2015 for 180K
Ouch

Here is a picture of the block in the RA IV Trans Am

Wonder if there is a SR number down lower???

Even as important if the is a vin down where it belongs?Tom

Can't believe on a 100K plus car they can't even fix an antifreeze leak.

Someone did not care what happened to the car,should have been a Thursday car.JMO,Tom

Disregard my info. It is wrong.


:confused:

Very strong money for what appears to be a different engine and body... So the market is showing if you have a set of ram air IV heads and a title you are sitting on over $100k!

Rumors
 

There is no indication of a body swap to me, can anyone change my mind?
I personally don`t agree with all the negative comments without anything to back it up, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just my opinion about the body rumors, and no I didn't buy the car.
KC

Maybe the comments have to do with the state issued vin comment?
I would think that sort of disclaimer would scare off potential buyers, and would only be there if something is off about the car...???

Looks like that`s a generic disclaimer listed on all cars.

oh - really?

I've never been to one of those shows, so I'll take your word on that.

Seems like a weird disclaimer to put on all cars(?) - don't states issue vins only for vehicles that have something suspect about them?

The auction companies all have disclaimers regarding the originality and condition of the vehicles they run through their events. It is difficult for them to fully inspect and verify all vehicles. I have attended and purchased vehicles from many of the auction companies and in my opinion, Barrett Jackson currently does the best at insuring sellers accurately represent their vehicles. An other major auction company makes no attempt at correcting sellers representation of their vehicles.

Attached are examples of two lots sold at Barrett-Jackson this past week. They clearly note the re-body and VIN issues. These descriptions were both changed at the event. If you would have read the descriptions on their website or on the window when they first arrived, they would not have noted the re-body and VIN issues. The Barrett-Jackson staff inspected and were able to determine the issues and had the window cards changed prior to the car going across the block. they also made mention of the changes to the vehicle description when announcing the car on the block.

The TA that is the topic of this thread did not have any adjustments made to the description. I don't think anyone has stepped up with any certainty of how the car was restored. Anyone at the event and inspecting the TA could make their own determination of condition and originality of the car. I passed on it based on my inspection and information I gathered prior to the auction. Ultimately the car sold for what I think is a fair value.

what ive been told, (i have no actual knowledge other than hearsay) is that the chp found the vin didnt match the hidden vin on the firewall. im sure jim mattison could talk legally about it since he was brought into it thru phs to verify the car.

Got ya, Thanks Gary

Very well respected and knowledgeable Pontiac source told me the body and engine didn't corelate to the tag...

engine not matching is no big deal as a large percentage of the cars dont have their numbers matching engines. a lot of them show the vin number to match but pontiac has the records of the engine unit number (number above the engine code) that goes with the car and might in a certain situation be proved to be a restamp. but the vin not matching the hidden numbers stamped on the body, well that is a big deal.

Jim was not at BJ this year im told.Tom