[fireman18]

I know I should know this answer but I can't find it and I don't want to be wrong.

What is the proper hood sccop decal designation for a 1978 with a 400 engine? TA 6.6, 6.6 Litre....
Thanks,
Larry

[fireman18]

I know I should know this answer but I can't find it and I don't want to be wrong.

What is the proper hood sccop decal designation for a 1978 with a 400 engine? TA 6.6, 6.6 Litre....
Thanks,
Larry

[Jonesyisgod15]

if you have the w72 engine i know for sure its the t/a 6.6 is the car an auto or manual if its manual its a safe bet you have the w72 220hp engine. The other 400 is a 185 hp 400 and that goes as the 6.6 litre desgination. If im wrong somebody here will surly correct me

Good luck at your car shows hope you win 1st in the Stock Compact everyday driver nothing special about me class. Or the i want to go fast but cant afford a good car so i buy this crap and put in a sound system cauz the bass gets my A$$ down the street class. but other then that. Nice Car

[TA454]

i always thought that the 6.5 distinguished the motor as a pontiac whereas the 6.6 designated it as an Olds 402.

[fireman18]

It's an automatic. If it helps the Vin begins: 2W87Z8L The engine is the L78 code on my build sheet

[Jonesyisgod15]

Then it is my belife that the correct sticker is 6.6 litre. I know in 77 it was possiable to get a 400 auto transmission and it had the 6.6 litre sticker on the shaker. Try posting this question in the lobby for more responses because i am only 90% sure i am right.

Good luck at your car shows hope you win 1st in the Stock Compact everyday driver nothing special about me class. Or the i want to go fast but cant afford a good car so i buy this crap and put in a sound system cauz the bass gets my A$$ down the street class. but other then that. Nice Car

[Dens71TA]

W72 code 200HP(1977) and 220HP(1978-1979) Pontiac 400 equipped cars will have "T/A 6.6" decals on the shaker scoop. A giveaway for these engines is the flash-chrome valve covers.

185HP Pontiac 400 and Olds 403 equipped cars will have "6.6 Litre" on the shaker.

1971 Trans Am 455 HO - Cameo white
1973 Trans Am 455 - Buccaneer red
1984 Trans Am 305 - Royal blue

[Brian Baker]

Dennis and Jon are correct.

6.5 litre?

Pontiac hasn't used 6.5 since the 60's, for the 389.

[John Witzke]

From the factory for the 1978 model year the W72 Trans Ams had T/A 6.6 shaker decals while the base L78's had blank scoops, no decal.

John Witzke
Member Society of Automotive Historians
POCI Tech Advisor
1977-79 W72 Performance Package Historian

[Brian Baker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by John Witzke:
From the factory for the 1978 model year the W72 Trans Ams had T/A 6.6 shaker decals while the base L78's had blank scoops, no decal.

John Witzke
Member Society of Automotive Historians
POCI Tech Advisor
1977-79 W72 Performance Package Historian<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow! I didn't know that. I've seen a few non-W72 '78 T/A's with the 6.6 litre decal too (restored or repainted cars of course).

[larry davis]

What did I say...



SECOND AMENDMENT: AMERICA'S ORIGINAL HOMELAND SECURITY!

[70tatim]

John is correct, only the w72 option got the shaker decals in 78.

[Skip Fix]

John is correct on the base , mine came without one, and stil has none.
Another question is what "font" did the black SE cars have? I sure think I remember them having that German look to them an dnot the block of the 77 ot the 78s different block. John?

[John Witzke]

Skip, the 1976, 1977 & 1978 black special edition Trans Ams all had the same "TRANS AM" style lettering, Old English or German, etc font. Beginning in 1979, the black special edition Trans Ams used the same style "TRANS AM" lettering as found on the regular Trans Am. Also the 1978 gold Y88 cars used the same "TRANS AM" lettering as the regular 1978 Trans Ams.

Hope this helps

John Witzke
Member Society of Automotive Historians
POCI Tech Advisor
1977-79 W72 Performance Package Historian

[Larry Navarro]

FWIW.....
starting in '79, the t/a 400 motor was designated as the L78 as opposed to the previous years W72.
Why the factory chose to use this, i don't know, as the 220hp engines for the '79 model year were leftover from '78.

John any ideas?

1973 SD455 T/A
1979 SE474 T/A
http://community.webshots.com/album/16587603rOyvmFCiHs

[John Witzke]

Larry, I wish I had a good answer for you question. All I can say is the 1979 ordering code for the T/A 6.6 engine was L78. It is hard to determine the reason and we may never know why. In all internal Pontiac memos I have list the engine L78, T/A 6.6 or T/A 400. However, the 1979 build sheets still list the W72 Performance Package. Actually all 1977-79 T/A 6.6 400-cid engines are L78's with the W72 Performance Package.

John Witzke
Member Society of Automotive Historians
POCI Tech Advisor
1977-79 W72 Performance Package Historian

[Alvin]

Let's remember that Pontiac was rolling T/A's and Firebird's off of 2 assembly lines in the 70's - Van Nuys, CA and Norwood, OH. When they ran out of Shaker decals did GM shut down the production, and release of Trans Ams? Obviously not. Hence the Non-Decaled Shaker Callouts on some of the '78 and '79 T/A's. Couple that with the transition '78 decals (73-78 style) that included the Gold in the Shaker, Trans Am Fender, Hoodbird and Rear Spoiler Decals no matter what color the decals are. Stencils and Stripes goes to great lengths to identify the Gold Color added decals on there site. Anyone remember '78 Van Nuys Firebirds with WATER BASED paint vs. Norwood Laquer paint? My personal experience: Owned a L78 400 Pontiac engined Trans Am with Decal Kit Scoop with Gold highlight and 6.6 Litre on Shaker, this was an original T/A build sheet etc. This was a late June '78 production T/A. It was explained to me by Jim Wangers that just as the tailight bezels were blacked out, the gold in the decals was a transition to the '79 Blacked out tailights and the New for '79 Revised Hoodbird Style. The factory photos that PHS sends to everyone for their '79 T/A has no shaker scoop engine callouts. Does anyone remember how controversial it was with all of the "Diehard Pontiac Enthusiasts" to even consider a Oldsmobile, let alone a Chevy, or other engined Trans Am or Firebird? Obviously, it was a real big deal to some at the time. Take a look at the Osprey Classic Marques, Pontiac Firebird by Nicky Wright book (ISBN 1 85532 340 0) pages 52, 53, 54 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59. There you will see a Y-88 that I used to see in Albuquerque New Mexico. This Y-88 has the T/A 6.6 call-outs on the Shaker Scoop. Notice the tailight surronds that are blacked out? Another area for discussion is the Y-88 8 inch Painted Gold Snowflake Wheels. This same Y-88 has only the outer wheel edge of the wheels machined. Both wheel stlyles were available on the '78 Y-88's. The other style I am talking about are the 8 inch snowflake wheels that machined from the center hub opening all the way out to the outer wheel lip edge like the '79 Bandits with the WS6 Gold 8 inch wheels. I test drove a brand new '78 y-88 in San Diego fall of 77 and it had the 8 inch polished snowflakes and the 403 Auto with 6.6 litre Shaker Scoop callouts. ALSO, only time that I have seen the DEEP PLUSH CAMEL CARPET was on this Y-88 (it was just like the carpet on the '79 TATA's except instead of the TATA Silver carpet it was Camel). Haven't seen it available since then, but that is one of the trim items that really stood out on that Y-88, that mile-deep pile carpet with the Camel Velour Cloth interior, Gold Spoke wheel and dash bezel...well you get the picture, it was an awsome highline trimmed T/A!

[Skip Fix]

I'll have to check and see if my 78 was a Van Nuys car, might be why the paint wore off the sail panel and between the T tops in a year and a half with only waxing! Glasurit put on in 1988 still looks as good as new!

[Jonesyisgod15]

i was going to say, my build sheet for my 79 had w72 listed. That is strange indeed

[John Witzke]

Alvin are you sure you test drove a 1978 Y88 Trans Am in the fall of 1977? The reason I ask is according to internal Pontiac documents and documents to it's dealers which I have show the Y88 Trans Ams did not go into production until January 1978.

Also, additional Pontiac documents which I have show the 8" gold aluminum wheels used with the WS6 only came with machined outer rim and painted ribbed edges. Both style were not available during the 1978 model year. The machined gold 8" wheels came during the 1979 model year.

The 8" gray aluminum wheels used with the WS6 had machined ribbed edges along with the outer rim.

Only the 7" aluminum wheels both gray and gold had machined ribbed edges.

I too was around when the 1978 cars were new and I have never seen "6.6 LITRE" decals on the shaker scoops of base L78 or Olds 403 cars. The only 1979 Trans Ams to have blank scoops (no decals) were the 301-cid cars. This was not a case of the factories running out of decals.

All Y88 cars came with the blacked out tail lamp panels. Base 1978 Trans Ams and Formulas started with the black tail lamp panels in January 1978. The only exception was black or white exterior color Formulas with the W50 appearance package in which case were gold.

John Witzke