When gasoline became more expensive and in short supplies in the late 1970s, insurance companies started mandating automobile manufacturers to reduce horsepower and engine displacement. Times dictated better gas mileage over raw horsepower and speed. 

This led to the demise of muscle cars, which had played a prominent role with all manufacturers in attracting the 18- to 36-year-old gearheads and racing enthusiasts since the early 1960s. However, there was one last big push for factory hot rod pony cars by Ford with its Mustang and General Motors with the Camaro and Firebird. 

John Morrow’s 1979 Pontiac Trans Am Bandit was the last of these cars that featured various options – and not only in terms of big engines and horsepower but also in sportiness. His car also represented the near end of multiple engine, suspension and sporting packages. Different engines were offered depending on the transmission selection, and different interior colors dictated different exterior accent colors. Additionally, the shape and styling of the seats were determined by whether they were leather, vinyl or cloth.

The 10th anniversary of the Trans Am was celebrated in 1979, when 116,535 with special packages were produced, making it the most ever sold in a model year. John’s car came with a GM TurboHydramatic 350 automatic transmission, which dictated that the car had an Oldsmobile 6.6 liter (403 cubic inches) engine producing 220 horsepower. Those that were equipped with the Borg Warner T10 4-speed manual transmission came with the Pontiac 6.6 litre (400 cubic inches). However, Pontiac stopped producing the 6.6 liter motor in 1978 but stock-piled them for 1979. Therefore, all 1979 4-speed Trans Ams actually came with a year-old engine as compared to the automatics coming with 6.6-liter engines.


John’s car is unique because it has a black exterior with a red interior – most came with a black interior. And on most Trans Ams, the color of the screaming Firebird hood decal usually corresponded with the color of the car’s interior. However, John’s car – while having a red interior – has a gold screaming Firebird. The car also came with leather seats, which dictated that the seats narrowed and squared off at the top, as opposed to the vinyl and cloth seats that were just rounded at the top.

John sought out this particular car from the onset in 1979 and hired an auto broker to find the exact style he wanted. His broker led him to a dealership in Detroit, where John flew to and bought the car, which has a sticker price of $8,700. He drove it back to Indy with the T-tops out. 

The car, which has only 37,000 miles on it, was immediately taken to Ziebart but has never seen the road in winter or bad weather. 

John took third-place honors in the 2008 Central Nine Career Center show. He likes driving his car to cruise-ins and The Suds in Greenwood.

Motorama, General Motors’ traveling car show from 1949-61, featured the company’s new models and a concept car to whet the appetite of future customers. 

The 1953 version launched the famous Corvette line of Fiberglass automobiles, and GM was hoping for similar success by introducing the Corvair in 1954.

However, the public’s and critics’ assessment of the Corvair was not kind, and GM chose not to go into production with the model. Soon after the show season ended, the car was destroyed; all that remained for history were photographs.  

Sixty years later, car enthusiast Mike Terry of Greenwood and master Corvette restorer Brett Henderson from Pendleton, collaborated on re-creating the car. They worked on the car almost every Sunday for four years until March 2015, when it was finally ready for the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance & Ault Park Auto Show in Florida.  

The restoration began with a 1954 Corvette donor car, whose pre-existing front fenders, hubcaps and interior dashboard were used. Everything else had to be re-fabricated from photographs.

There was no record of the engine used in the original vehicle so they obtained a 1953 concept one from Steve Kline, another car enthusiast. That 265-cubic-inch V-8 engine with its original carburetor was refurbished and fitted to the engine bay. 

The windshield, windows, doors, roof and rear end were custom made, with the most difficult challenge being the trunk lid. More than $6,000 was spent on the Crystal Red Metallic Corvette paint color. The car was finished off with the original push-button door locks.  

Since gaining all that exposure at the show, Mike has been trying to respond to all the requests for magazine and newspaper articles, as well as appearances with the car. Scheduled dates include three more Concours events this summer and the Corvette Funfest in Effingham, Ill., and the Corvette homecoming in Kentucky this fall. 

The car will be displayed over the winter at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.   
By the way, Mike and Brett were proud to bring home Top Ten and Best Re-creation awards.   
Until next time, happy cruising!