Another column shift Trans Am on epay
 

rare as hen's teef!

I can tell ya one thing, that would be the first thing to go during the resto.

IMO, all these cars are mistakes. Pontiac should have required the console for all auto trans TAs and Formulas. Column shift in those cars is ridiculous.

They have 2 cars locally for sale. the white one i looked at. Total mess. started out at 30k locally

Looks rough and rusty at a glance ... but a lot of the exterior metal looks like it could be saved. For a matching numbers car, price doesn't seem too out of line (unless it's rotten underneath), but for sure the column shift/no console isn't helping it. I see it's got the wire-heated backlite, too. That's somewhat rare on the early second gens.

This '72 Auto AC TransAm project car has been listed several times on eBay.

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Disagree on the ridiculous part. Floor consoles weren't standard equip til, believe it was '78 models on 2nd Gen Birds. Having known & conversed with several original Pontiac dealers & salesman, most had an idea of why they ordered an early 70's Formula or TransAm a certain way. Being able to provide a vehicle at a certain cost point often factored into how certain vehicles were ordered for dealer stock. Also, on several '71 & '72 HO Formulas, ordering them w/o weight adding power steering & consoles, & even radios, was important as those Formulas were ordered to race in NHRA & IHRA Stock & MP classes.

I don't remember them all, but seems like most of the ones I've seen are not strippers. The one I posted recently, the one in this thread and the one you mentioned are all AC cars, so not exactly stripped down for racing. I'm sure that could have been a reason why some were intentionally ordered that way.

Another thing, seems like Pontiac could have easily made a soft or hard boot or shifter cover to use the floor shifter in a auto car without a full console.

All I know is that if I ordered one and got a column shift as a surprise, I'd be pissed.

I agree! I've heard many people were surprised when they ordered a 73SD Formula and when it came in with a shaker hood, they weren't happy. Some things came as surprises, not that every one was a surprise.

I always get a laugh when weight savings are brought up when it comes to the column shift. The console itself you can pick up with your pinky, and the actual floor shifter itself weighs nothing.

I am glad you mentioned it - because I was certain that I had seen it listed a couple times previously.

I believe that the console became standard as of 1975.

I also believe that this was purely a bottom line cost savings thing - once the cars came standard with a column, the base prices would have reflected the additional base equipment.