[Toecutter]

I am partial to the 77-78 nose, since it makes the car look a little shorter and not so busy. My wife likes the 79-81, like on her car. I have access to a 77-78 nose right now for $100. I want to get it, but I know she is not going to let me swap it...LOL! And besides, the car is an ex-turbo car. So that means I would have to swap out the hood and get the whole shaker setup.

Oh well. Which do you prefer? The 77-78 or the 79-81?

[SD73]

I'm a '79 and up guy. I've owned and SE and a TATA before and loved the look coupled with the rear.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Both. There isnt a 2nd gen nose I dont like. I seem to prefer the 79-81 over the 77-78, I have only had two 77s and four 79-81s. The nice thing about the later nose is how easy it is to clean it up aerodynamically. Headlight covers make a big difference, and covering up the lower grilles makes for a very smooth front end. Most people dont want to drive around with the grilles covered though. My TATA had no trouble runnin 130-140 mph yet my 77 could only manage 120-125 with the same gears and more engine. The 10th didnt have anything over the headlights or grilles, that thing would top end like crazy for a stock engine.

My favorite is 70-73, I have always liked those best.

[Toecutter]

Originally Posted by Thumpin455_GTO

My favorite is 70-73, I have always liked those best.

Me too. But you can put that nose on a Ford Taurus and it will sell for $50K ...LOL!

[mzbk2l]

'77-'78, hands-down.

[johnsma22]

Personally, I like the one year wonder. 1976, LOL! I'm a little biased though. This is the T/A I ended up with back in 1987, before I even knew what the differences were between the years.

To answer your question though, definitely the 77-78. I know a lot of guys are partial to the 79 and later, but it just looks "plasticky" (for lack of a better word) to me. If I had it to do all over again, I would restore a 70-73. Not only do I like the nose, but I love the flat rear glass.

[Grand73Am]

79 is my favorite, so I got 2 .

[chicagoland]

77-78! And even Rockford Files agreed, they didnt get a '79 for the 79-80 season.

[1971WARBIRD]

no,your turbo hood will work with a 77-78 front bumper.the 79's are kind of growing on me,but 77-78 for me.bought a 78 bandit new,always thought it kind of looked like the batmobile.

[speedrider]

77-78 are my favs even thou I have a TATA

[frans455]

Before I got my 78 T/A, I was actually looking for a 79 ... But like its been said earlier, there isnt a sec gen nose I dont like either
I wouldnt want to mix a 79 rear with a 78 nose.

[mzbk2l]

Originally Posted by speedrider

77-78 are my favs even thou I have a TATA

I'm in the same boat. Gotta get someone to buy the darn thing so I can get a '78 that I really like!

[GT182]

I liked the 79 nose the best... the Darth Vader look. LOL And it's was the main reason I bought my 79 Formula with the Deluxe interior. That was the only brand new off the floor car I've ever owned. If the "whole" interior hadn't been stolen, I'd still have that car. At least I still have the WS6 Snowflakes... 2 sets.

[bonneville Joe]

'77-'78

I love them all for what they are but the '77 nose with the honeycomb grilles is the pinnacle of T/A styling IMHO.

John, I'm pretty sure I've asked you before but what size wheel/tire combo is on your '76? I'm looking at getting a set of those for my '77.

[Transam Stripper]

[B]I heard of the '79 thru 81 T/A's look like a hammer head shark. 67 thru 69 look like a ant eater sucking on a leman. 70 thru 73 look like a cross eyed hog sucking on a leman. I always liked the 77,78 the best even though my pride and joy is a '79.

[se428bandit]

Originally Posted by Transam Stripper

[B]I heard of the '79 thru 81 T/A's look like a hammer head shark. 67 thru 69 look like a ant eater sucking on a leman. 70 thru 73 look like a cross eyed hog sucking on a leman. I always liked the 77,78 the best even though my pride and joy is a '79.

Bill is that a "lemans" or a "lemon"????????? Hey Stripper you left out the 74 thru 76 cars,what do they look like.I like the 77-78 better but 70-73 is my favorite of the second gens.

[dean7276]

I like the 77/78 nose.Looks aggressive and menacing.Im still wondering what look they were trying to achieve with the 79/81 nose.

[johnsma22]

Originally Posted by bonneville Joe

John, I'm pretty sure I've asked you before but what size wheel/tire combo is on your '76? I'm looking at getting a set of those for my '77.

The combo that I came up with after much research and opinion is 17x8 American Racing TTII's with 4.75" backspacing all the way around. The tires are 255/50R/17 BFG g-Force T/A KDWS's all the way around. The car is lowered about 1.5" from stock with the Comp Spring Kit from Pro-Touring F-body. No rubbing anywhere, under any conditions. No modifications had to be made.

[Zirconia]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

Personally, I like the one year wonder. 1976, LOL! I'm a little biased though. Those 255-50R17's fill the wheel wells perfectly. 8' wide with 4.75" backspacing, correct?

Here it is in Goldenrod Yellow, also my Burt Reynolds Edition in Progress.

[johnsma22]

Those 255-50R17's fill the wheel wells perfectly. 8' wide with 4.75" backspacing, correct?

Yes they do fill up the wheel well nicely, don't they? That was exactly the look I was after. I feel fortunate that I nailed the look I wanted on the first try. I know of many others who were not so fortunate, and that means $$$$!

All four wheels are 8" wide with 4.75" BS. One thing to note would be that this wheel/tire combo would not have filled up the wells so nicely if the car wasn't lowered. This combo with a stock ride height would look pretty silly.