Pontiac Macho T/A, the Hot Trans Am You Never Knew Existed

The Trans Am gained more notoriety in 1977 after a special-edition model was featured in the Smokey and the Bandit film. Firebird sales almost doubled from 1977 to 1979, despite the fact that the 1978 facelift was rather minor. But even though it was enjoying success, the late 1970s Trans Am was a disappointing car performance-wise.

The restrictive fuel emission regulations and the oil crisis of the early 1970s put an end to the traditional muscle car as carmakers moved away from big-block power. Sure, Pontiac was still offering a 6.6-liter V8 in 1977, but at 200 horsepower it was making a little more than half the oomph of its 1970 predecessor. And this is where the Mecham brothers and their Macho T/A stepped in.

Yes, the Macho is not a factory-built Trans Am. It couldn't be anyway since Pontiac so many restrictions to deal with. It was the work of Kyle and Dennis Mecham, the sons of Evan Mecham, who owned a Pontiac dealership in Glendale, Arizona. Frustrated by how slow and underpowered the once-exciting Firebird Trans Am had become, Kyle and Dennis set up DKM and started modding cars bought from their father's dealership.

DKM started out with 26 Firebirds. The cars retained the stock appearance, but the underpinnings were upgraded for additional muscle. The W72 engine, a 6.6-liter V8 rated at 200 horsepower from the factory, was fitted with new four-barrel carburetor, a set of Hooker headers, and a muffler-free dual exhaust system. The Mechams also put the fake hood scoop to go use by installing cold air induction.

The modifications resulted in an extra 50 horsepower, bumping the Trans Am's total output to 250 horses. While it was still far below 1970 and 1971 output levels, it was better than what any other American carmaker could offer at the time.

To keep the extra oomph in check, DKM also added Koni adjustable shocks, wider tires, and a tweaked suspension setup. The result? The Macho T/A was a full second faster than the stock Trans Am on the quarter-mile.

Although the car retained much of their stock appearance, they came with "Macho T/A" graphics on the doors and some examples were fitted with brightly colored racing stripes.

As word got out and customers started coming to the Mecham dealership, DKM worked out new upgrades for 1978. The highlight was an optional turbocharger with seven psi of boost, which was enough to take the big-block V8 up to 325 horsepower. Far more powerful than the factory muscle cars of the era, the turbo Machos were also fitted with Doug Nash five-speed manuals for extra fun.

The powerful Macho T/A was also expensive. A Trans Am fitted with the turbo package and all the other DKM goodies fetched an extra $3,000 on top of the sticker price. This made the Macho T/A as expensive as European premium cars of the era, so DKM didn't sell too many. Word has it the shop converted only 325 examples from 1977 to 1979, before killing off the project in 1980 as Pontiac switched to the unreliable 4.9-liter V8.

There's no word as to how many Macho T/As survived to this day, but the car if finally getting some recognition alongside other dealer-built hot-rods from the muscle car era. These cars are starting to hit the auction block, usually changing hands for more than $30,000.

Some have been sold for as much as $50,000 in recent years, which is more than most stock Trans Ams from the late 1970s. As of this writing, someone is selling one of only 204 Machos built in 1978 on Craiglist. A mint-condition example with with 92,000 miles on the odo, it's listed at $48,000. That's a macho price tag, but it comes attached to a rare bird.