Unholy 89

Does anyone have any info on these cars including pics?

TAdan

There is no specific "Bandit Edition"

In 1983 T/A's were available in black with gold trim. Many people refer to this as a "Bandit Edition" due to the similar appearance to the cars used in the movies.

The car used in S&B 3 was a "regular" black and gold 82 T/A. It was not a Recaro car.

The only true black and gold limited edition car in 83 was the Recaro T/A. Which was black and gold, and featured Recaro seats. (Unique sail panel emblems, door handle inserts, seats, and gold wheels).

Unholy 89

Somebody made a "Bandit" edition in 1983. Had a supercharger on it and a 1/4mile time of 14.2 @ 102mph. Heres the articles.
This car looks much better than the blk and gold recaro your talking about. I can't stretch the photos of the articles large enough to read who built the cars. I built two '77 SE Bandits and would love to find one of these.

TAdan

Ah thats right. I was thinking of the factory offerings. IIRC it was a company out of Cherry Hill NJ.

Unholy 89

Thanks Dan, any more info on how many these guys made. That thing looks sweet

TAdan

It was a company called TransAm Specialties.

Here is a webpage concerning the package in 81. Obviously they offered the package until 83 atleast...

http://www.78ta.com/banditedition.htm

91rsowner4life

here a web site i found eXotic F-body Webpage do a here there tons of info here about bandit trans ams

aaron7

iTrader: (7)

Supercharged and only 300hp... and it made it into a magazine...? weird

TAdan

91rsowner4life...that is actually a Bandit II built by Choo Choo Customs...totally different company. It was just an appearance package for base model Birds.

aaron7...at the time the base LG4 T/A was rated at 150 horse...double the hp was magazine worthy at the time.

3rdgenparts

iTrader: (8)

I'm not trying to be a douche bag,But you have better luck winning the lottery,Then finding one of those cars they are VERY VERY RARE

Mr. TurboTA

They also did a Bandit Edition back in 1981, with a transplanted 455 engine in it.
They also put out a brochure for the '83 version. I have one, but no scanner.
They came autographed by Burt himself, and were numbered.

Hope this helps,

George

Unholy 89

Yeah, kinda what I figured. Thats the first one I'd seen. Sweet looking front and rear spoiler though

okfoz

From what I remember talking to "Hitman"
For each of the movies (except possibly Smokey & the Bandit III) they used the current model production Trans am car. Pontiac then offered a package that had the extra stripes, gold accents etc to match the movie car.

Hitman (Hitman's Pontiac Trans Am Page ) does conversions and restorations on 2nd gens. He is considering getting into 3rd gens eventually because he recently purchased an early 1989 GTA (might be a T/A cant remember).

John

Unholy 89

Yes thats true for the actual movie, they were standard production SE's.
The SE package was on the market before production started and that ended up being the car chosen. I had two '77 SE's that were identical to the ones in the first movie. But this '83 was an aftermarket build from what I've been told, possibly from IIRC or TA Specialties. I have an email to Brett at TAS to get further info. If I remember correctly, Hitmans car is a '78, not a true '77SE car which was used in the movie. A lot of people will put the 77 decal (German lettering) on the 78's, but a true 77 car had basically no lip on the snowflakes and Hurst T-tops, not fishers. I wish I still had my last one, heres a pic.

TAdan

Pontiac never backed a "Bandit edition" T/A. Black and gold LE T/A's showed up in 76 for Pontiacs 50th anniv. From 77-81 the Black and Gold SE package was offered. These were the cars used in the first two movies.

These were SE T/A's, not "Bandit Editions".

The Bandit edition was offered by TA Specialties as mentioned above. The link I posted is to the Hitmans webpage.

Again in 82/83 in S&B 3 the car was simply a B&G T/A...

Due to the movies, and the popular color scheme many people refer to B&G T/A's as "Bandits".

Unholy 89

100% correctamundo

okfoz

I think Mr. Turbo TA was referring to Trans Am Specialties making a 455 version and having a brochure, not Pontiac.

John

TAdan

Actually I am pretty sure George was the first one to tell be about Trans Am Specialties and their Bandit Editions...

Sorry for the confusion

85 T/A WS6

The car you reference here seems to be a former Recaro Edition.

91rsowner4life

first off sorry if this is a little off topic. but does anyone know what happened to the Smokey & the Bandit III cars from the movie? or is there a way to get the vin #'s for thoes cars?

Mr. TurboTA

Well,
The first movie really used 1976 Trans Ams with facelifts to match the 1977 years. One car was a 455 powered 4 speed.
The second movie used 1980 Special Edition Turbo Trans Ams, with NOS (nitous) installed.
The last movie was a regular black and gold Trans Am.
As for TA Specialties,, back in 1981, they made a Bandit Edition Trans Am, with a 455 engine, 5 speed, roll bar, 170 speedo, and you could get Recaro seats too!
Not sure how many were made, but you could buy parts separate to make your own version.
I have and have only seen a catalog for this year. I have not seen a brochure for this year car.
Then, in 1983, they made their version again, still calling it a Bandit Edition. You again could get Recaro seats, and I believe a 350 engine. This car was signed by Bert himself.
They had a brochure of this car, showing Bert in his Bandit attire, on and around the car. I have this brochure.

Hope this clears things up,

George

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

Yah, that's like calling any and every thirdgen with a power bulge hood a "Knight Rider" edition...