At first glance, it looks like a refined late-’70s Trans Am - long hood, wide hips, Solar Gold paint glowing under the sun. But this one isn’t about nostalgia. This is what happens when a second-gen Trans Am grows up, gets real money thrown at it, and decides it’s done pretending.
Solar Gold: Elegance Hiding Violence
Under that shaker is a 650-horsepower Butler-built 535 cubic-inch Pontiac V8, and it changes everything.
Solar Gold remains one of the most underrated colors ever sprayed on a Trans Am. It’s rich without being flashy, warm without being soft. On a big-bodied second gen, it emphasizes the shape instead of screaming for attention.
That’s what makes it dangerous.
Video: Walking Around "Golden Bird"
Above: Walk around video and photos of "Golden Bird" courtesy of Vicente Diaz, the humble photographer/videographer
From a distance, it reads as a high-spec grand tourer. Up close, the details - stance, wheel fitment, subtle hardware - hint that something very wrong (in the best way) is happening beneath the skin.
This car doesn’t advertise its power. It ambushes.
The heart: Butler Performance 535 Cubic Inch Pontiac V8 (650 HP)
Forget factory option codes. This build replaces mythology with engineering.
At the center is a Butler Performance 535 cubic-inch Pontiac V8, a modern interpretation of what Pontiac would have built if emissions, budgets, and sanity weren’t factors.
Key highlights:
- Kauffman aluminum cylinder heads, flowing serious air while keeping Pontiac DNA intact
- Victor single-plane intake, built for high-rpm breathing without killing street manners
- Edelbrock Pro-Flo EFI, delivering cold starts, clean idle, and instant throttle response
- A powerband that feels endless, pulling hard well past the point where a stock W72 would have waved the white flag
Six hundred and fifty horsepower in a second-gen Trans Am isn’t theoretical - it’s physical. The car doesn’t rev so much as compress the air around it.
Drivetrain: Built to Survive the Violence
Power is useless if the rest of the car can’t take it - and this one can.
- 4L80E automatic transmission, chosen because it lives where others fail
- Aluminum driveshaft, reducing rotational mass and smoothing high-speed operation
- 3.73 rear gears, aggressive enough to feel brutal, civilized enough for the highway
This isn’t a drag-only setup. It’s built to cruise, roll, and then absolutely annihilate the throttle when asked.
How It drives: Controlled Chaos
A 535 cubic inch V8 Pontiac doesn’t feel like a small block on steroids. It feels like torque weaponized.
- Roll into the throttle at highway speed and it shoves the car forward without drama
- Nail it from a stop and traction becomes a suggestion
- The 4L80E shifts with authority, not hesitation
It’s not twitchy. It’s confident. The kind of fast that feels heavy, deliberate, and unstoppable.
The Contradiction that Makes It Perfect
Above: Da'Ron Grier is the Firebird's astute owner. His PHS documentation shows that Golden Bird was built at the Van Nuys, California plant and first sold on May 19, 1978 at Belcastro Pontiac for $8,595 as a Special Edition Y88 with the W72 package.
That’s the magic of this build.
- Solar Gold paint says luxury
- Second-gen lines say classic
- 535 cubic inches say war
It doesn’t look like a pro-touring caricature. It looks like a Trans Am that someone quietly turned into a monster because they could - and because they knew exactly how they wanted it to feel.
Final Word
This isn’t a tribute car. It’s not chasing Bandit nostalgia or factory correctness. It’s a statement.
A 1978 Trans Am, finished in Solar Gold, powered by a 650-hp Butler 535, tuned by Lonnie Patrick Racing, is what happens when respect for the past meets zero tolerance for excuses.
It still looks like a gentleman’s muscle car.
It just hits like a sledgehammer.
Classic Industries - Your Trusted Source for Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Parts
Whether you're restoring your Firebird to Pontiac factory new condition, or you are building a Trans Am race car for track use only, or anything in between, you may rest assured that Classic Industries has the parts that you're seeking. You can start your online search on the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am shopping page. You can also enhance your Firebird Trans Am shopping experience by obtaining a Firebird Trans Am Parts & Accessories Catalog. Simply click the button below to download a pdf version and/or to have a printed catalog mailed to you. Happy shopping!
