1978 Pontiac Trans Am For Sale With 94,000 Miles And Gold Finish Is Here For Your Rockford Files Fantasy

We all grew up watching our heroes, both fictitious and real, and their choices. If you're a car enthusiast (and if you're here, that's likely), you almost certainly paid attention to what they were driving. James Bond had his parade of Aston Martins. Magnum P.I. had his Ferrari 308 GTS. James Garner's Jim Rockford of "The Rockford Files" was no different. Instead of an overly flashy Ferrari or an 007-esque Aston Martin, Rockford preferred a much more American offering: a Pontiac Trans Am Esprit. Want one like Jim Rockford's? Now might just be your best chance for a while.

As it turns out, there's a gold 1978 Pontiac Trans Am, the sort of machine James Garner's character would have called an automotive home away from home, at MGM Classic Cars. And with around 94,000 miles on its odometer, this one has plenty of television-style shenanigans ahead of it. Oh, and before you ask, it has the beloved "Screaming Chicken" on the hood.

Okay, so it's not the exact same aureate shade as the 1978 model from later episodes of the television series. We'll give you that. Then again, gilded 1978 Pontiac Trans Ams aren't exactly falling off of trees these days. See, Mr. Rockford preferred a custom-painted Sierra Gold Trans Am Esprit over darker hues. That's not quite the case with this gold-but-not-quite-the-right-color Trans Am.

This one is a Gold Special Edition finished in a Solar Gold with a complementary beige and tan interior; not a lot of color contrast on this 1970s classic. Under the hood, or at least most of a hood, is a Pontiac 400-cubic-inch V8. As you'd want in such a car from the time, the engine and hood are a shaker configuration. It was a 1970s-as-hell way to let would-be challengers know that you're packing a fire-breathing engine. Or, you know, the 180-horsepower or 220-horsepower you'd find in a 400-cubic-inch V8 Trans Am of the time. Fire-breathing enough for a Malaise Era car, perhaps.

It's a pretty common mill for the car, and this one marries up to a three-speed TH350 automatic transmission. No rowing through the gears in this Trans Am. Fortunately, this example is a clean Nevada title with around 94,000 miles on the clock, as well as the original window sticker and build sheet. Options for this surviving classic include factory air conditioning, power windows, a tilt steering wheel, and power steering. Breathe easy; it comes with those unmistakable Gold Snowflake 15-inch wheels. As for its interior, the dominant palette is a Camel Tan Velour, which you can easily see in a parking lot with the T-tops removed.

Even though this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am isn't Mr. Rockford's beloved Sierra Gold tint, it likely would have won James Garner's favor. See, in six seasons of The Rockford Files (1974 to 1980), Garner's leading man drove a 1974 to 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. Or, you know, Firebird Formula 400s dressed down to look that way. So Garner could have been driving a 1979 model, but the updated Trans Am was off the table. Why? Garner reportedly didn't care for the updates Pontiac gave the Trans Am Esprit for the 1979 model year. Rather than keep the trend going, Garner's unlikely detective stuck with the pre-updated Trans Am Esprit in the characteristic shade of gold.

For 1979, Pontiac refreshed the second-generation Trans Am with a new front and rear end. The move was a success, and the updated Trans Am set a sales record. Certainly enough of a sales success to avoid landing on the list of 5 '70s sales flops that became classics anyway. It did, however, mark the end of the line for putting Jim Rockford in a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. Want this one? It'll take $49,994 to live out your Rockford Files fantasies. That's not far off from the market average right now, either. As of this writing, the average sales price for a 1979 model similar to this example is $49,763. But how can you put a price on your gritty 1970s detective show reveries?