Richard Rawlings Buys A Rusted Trans-Am For $6,300 In Cash | Fast N' Loud

That's what I really like about Dennis he knows what he's doing he knows what he's buying good man gets score

"it's a $75K car restored"--will cost $100K to restore!

You should do a follow up video with what happened to some of these diamond rust buckets see if they have had life put back into them

I know that Dennis Collins has been in the game a long time, but based on this clip, seems like he’s never negotiated a car deal in his entire life. Pretty much gave 10k for a VIN plate on that second car because that’s all that’s left

The passenger in the truck has the numbers wrong. In 1976, there were 319 SE cars that had a 455 in them without T-tops. There were 110 SE cars with a 455 and T-tops. There were 533 SE cars with a 400 and T-tops and 1,628 of them with a 400 without T-tops. Total SE production in 1976 was 2,590 units. In 1976, they would have been Hurst T-tops. GM sent the car out to Hurst Performance to have the tops installed. In mid-1978, T-top production was brought in house to Fisher Body which was of course part of GM. There were production issues with the Hurst tops, that is why there were were only 643 of them made with T-tops in 1976 (again 533 with T-tops and a 400 and 110 with T-tops and a 455). For non-SE 455 cars in 1976, there were 7,099 of them made. You could get a black car in 1976 that wasn't an SE. It would have the "swirl" style decals as shown with the first car. The SE cars in 1976 had the gothic/German style decals as shown with the second car. Since many of the cars were cloned/created over the years, the decals should not be used to determine if it's a real SE or not. That would be done through the build sheet, the original invoice/paperwork, or a Pontiac Historical Society report. Hurst tops would continue through mid-1978 when the Y84 (the Black SE with the Fisher T-tops) was introduced and then the decals went to the "block" lettering style. BTW, there is no such thing as a "big block" Pontiac V8. Pontiac did not use small and big block designations. The VIN on the first car breaks down as 2 for Pontiac, W for Trans Am, 87 for two door coupe, W for 455 V8 with four barrel, Pontiac produced, 6 for 1976 model year, N for Norwood, OH assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The cowl tag decodes as ST76 for 1976 model year, 2FS87 for Pontiac Firebird, N for Norwood, OH assembly, 19N is Black custom trim interior, 19L and 19U are for upper and lower Starlight Black exterior paint, A51 is for bucket seats, 06D is the fourth week of June 1976 production, WS4 is for Trans Am, BLK is for secondary interior trim color of black. That is also incorrect about WX being only a 1976 455. In 1975, the 455 was also a WX code. It was also used for a 400 in 1969 to 1971 and on a 326 for 1966 and 1967. When you see a "W" on a Pontiac V8 suffix code like that, it denotes that was originally a manual transmission application (Y is automatic, although other codes were used, but W and Y were the most commonly used). Date codes, part #s unique to the 1976 455 and lastly the VIN stamp on the engine matching the dash VIN would determine if it's the original engine or not. The VIN stamp on the engine would be something like 26N123456 where that's 2 for Pontiac, 6 for 1976 model year, N for Norwood, OH and the last six digits on the engine VIN stamp should match the last six of the VIN on the dashboard if it's the original engine. One thing he did get right on the second car....He got the production numbers right on that one, assuming it's a 455 and it's a real T-top SE. No, the cowl tag and VIN will NOT tell you if it's an SE or not in 1976. Some SE cars (later years mostly) will have the SE code on the cowl tag, but not all, and it was optional for them to stamp it, so that's not the best way to go. The only sure fire way is to find the build sheet showing the Y82 code, having the original sales invoice showing that (with the matching VIN) or getting a Pontiac Historical Society report showing the Y82 code. Other than that, it's just speculation until it's proven. Where do these people get their information from? LOL.

There are literally 10+ of these I can name in my area alone sitting or still going or being restored and NOT clones. They look nice! All black, The bird on the hood, t-tops- and that badass exhaust style

It kills me everytime I hear someone say big Block Pontiac. I repeat. There's no such thing. All Pontiac blocks from 326 to 455 are the Same size.

Dennis is honest with the people and thats how it is tator chip lol

This car will cost more to restore than what it would be worth if it was like new and always kept garage.

The only reason the second car was inside the garage was so the HOA wouldn't tow it away!

I’ve seen trans ams sitting out on a field for 20 years being rained on with no interior, no motor or trans, no hood, no radiator, with less rust than that second car. Which is past the point of being restored for a quick turn around profit. That car needs to be re created at this point. With a new body, and just take the old cowl tag and rivet it onto the new body. Dennis is going to spend at least 10 grand in cutting and welding new body parts, fenders, floor boards, quarter panels, a Freaking Roof cut to match the t-tops, all new suspension, brakes, shocks, gas tank, 5 grand, tires, $1,000. New Deluxe Binyl interior, dash, carpet, console, headliner, sail panels, door panels, $4 grand, rebuild the motor, trans, carb, a/c, rad, hoses etc misc, $6k. And that’s if you don’t upgrade the stock 400 engine with aftermarket heads, cam, intake, pistons etc. say it’s 10k, you’re up to 30k so far... And that’s not including Labor for doing all the work, taking it apart, installing new interior, installing the motor, trans, etc. and then there’s New Paint and Stripes, easily 5 grand. When it’s all said and done pretty, Dennis is going to sink at least 40 grand, and more realistically $50 grand in receipts, plus the $10k it cost him to buy that $1100 rust bucket being held together by the glass t-tops, so he’s going to have to sell it for at least 65k to make a profit. And that’s really looking at the high end for these Bandit cars. It’s not a Ram Air IV or even a RAIII and it’s not even a SD-455, it’s just a regular 455 from the last year of the 455, 76 which made 220hp and 330 torque MAXIMUM in stock form, which was actually used to make the 1st Bandit movie with 77 hood and noses added. But unless you’ve got Burt’s Signature on the dash, it’s very hard to justify anything more than 65k, let alone the more money you ask, the harder and longer it will be to find the right buyer who will pay that. The pool of potential buyers is getting smaller and smaller. It would have to be another rich guy like Dennis who loves these cars who wants it in his private collection to sit pretty as a garage queen. Because if you think about it, for $60 to $70 grand, anybody who owns an F-body, especially a 2nd Gen will tell you that you can find a good driver with less rust for between $3500 and $10 grand, to start with, that already runs and drives and needs very little bodywork and very little engine or trans or interior upholstery to make perfect, maybe it needs paint and new graphics, say you put 10k into it, and you’re into it for $20k. You’ve got a nice new paint 76 to -79 T/A, and you can upgrade wheels, tires, shocks, suspension, better brakes, rear end gears, overdrive trans, and maybe better cam, ported intake and heads for another $10k, now you’ve got a Clone of a Bandit car, that runs as good as any from coast to coast, daily driver worthy, for between a total of $30 to $35 grand. And you can actually drive it knowing that if you get in a wreck you won’t have to stress and worry about totaling a near 6 figure 1 of only 110 ever made “Numbers Matching” original that you just spend $60 grand to re-create. The only people who can afford to take a potential total loss like that is Rich people with money to Burn like Dennis, who choose to fix an old classic muscle car instead of putting a down payment no that New Lambo or Latest Ferrari. I respect and admire him for doing that to the cars I love. But that’s not something most people who own these cars can afford to do. And that is why they stay rusty like that. Nobody has that cash or credit est and then wait a year to get it finished, and then maybe wait another year or 2 to find a buyer to come up with 65 to 70 plus grand. For that kind of money most people would rather buy a new SUV for the family, or a new Hellcat with 700+hp and all the luxury and tech of today, fuel injection, touch screens, leather interior, 200mph top speed. Etc. To make that 1 of 110 Trans Am run with those Cats of today, you need to eliminate the numbers matching part of the car with is what makes it so valuable or collectible in the 1st place. You’d need to swap a built LS7 for the stock numbers matching 400. A 6L80 or Magnum 6 speed instead of the original TH350 trans or 4 speed, a moser axle with 4.11 gears, 17 or 18” snowflake wheels like the Year One Trans Am basically, and that will increase the cost to 80 or 90 grand to built the car, which means you have to sell it for $100k or more to clear and make a profit.

Dude that guys garage 😳😳😳😳😳. Big block chevy heaven. Looks like he buys rare engines instead of stocks.

Like seeing Richard and Dennis together! Cool vibes from both Dude's I Funk with them both!!!

Bro the 2nd T/A came straight out of a JUNK yard no doubt.

I won a 76 but mine was sitting for over 30 years (Since August 1986) in the previous owners backyard, tires flat, dust everywhere, some rust growing on the edge of where the rear window comes down to the quarters, the usual place, it’s. A white hardtop, 400 Pontiac automatic car. Loaded with all the power options, what it doesn’t have from what was available in 1976 is: T-tops, the 455 and the y82 black and gold paint scheme with the honeycomb wheels, but with the exception of those three things, it’s all original, with 37,000 original miles documented, frozen in time since 1986 when it was parked and sitting since in the backyard under a big tree. Deluxe interior, power windows, power door locks, electric rear window defroster, 8 track, am/fm radio, air conditioning, rear seat console, 3.23 posi rear, radial tuned suspension, Pontiac 400, Rally 2 5 spoke wheels, a nice original unmolested unmodified car, with minimal surface rust, no holes, no need to replace quarters or floors, still solid, I got it for $5 grand because it wasn’t running obviously, it had to be towed.and it needs a lot of new parts to replace the old ones, it needs new tires, new paint, new gas tank, new fuel pump, new gaskets, new spark plugs, oil change, new front disc brakes, new master cylinder, Th350 rebuild, Quadrajet rebuild, A/C converted to R134 from R12, new hoses for everything obviously, and maybe a new radiator if it’s rusty inside. New battery, Those parts will add up to a couple thousand, plus the labor if I don’t feel like doing it all myself, so double it, say that costs $4k to get it running and driving. On its own power again, and that’s just if you’re keeping it stock. Then the body needs a new paint job obviously to look like new again, the sun faded the bird off the hood and it needs a new headlamp bezel, the passenger mirror was stolen, and the spoilers on the wheels are broken, add another 5 grand for new white paint, bodywork, spoilers and new decals and graphics, so now the car will look good. Now comes the interior, the dashboard has cracks from the sun obviously, need to reupholster that, the seats are torn from the sun obviously, the headliner is gone, the sail panels and rear package shelf is gone from the sun hitting it and creating a greenhouse inside, drying everything up, it’s been a California car most of its life so little to zero rust. And new carpet obviously, reupholster the formula steering wheel, upholstery isn’t cheap especially when doing seats, carpet, dashboard, headliner, especially if you want leather or vinyl wrapping. Add another $5K. So I’ll be in it $15 to $20 grand just to have a nice rust free unmolested original numbers matching 76 Trans Am White Hardtop 400 Auto car with 37,000 original miles, how much is that Non-SE Car worth like that? I want to drive and enjoy the car as my daily driver to work, or at least drive it every weekend to the Restaurant hangout and show it to my buds over beers. Not really interested in selling this one for the roiginality and low mileage preserved since ‘86. But suppose for A minute if I ever do decide to sell it, every 1,000 miles I add to the original motor and body lowers the potential price. If it’s worth $40 grand as a 37k mile original running and driving 98% rust free “Survivor” that is reliable enough to drive on road trips from coast to coast... Then I could clear A $20 grand profit. If I invested $20k and sold it for twice. But if I drive it and add 5,000 miles a year for 5 years, that’s 25,000 miles, plus 37, that’s 62,000 miles on the car, can I sell it for $50 grand? Or because it’s a Non-SE with a smog era 400 and no t-tops, and non-Bandit white exterior color, did I lower the market value by driving and adding miles to it? It can’t ever be worth more than a Bandit special edition, or any factory anniversary car, like the Silver ‘79 anniversary or the ‘80 Indy pace car or Turbo T/A. Gasoline is $4 a gallon here in Los Angeles, CA, it’s got a 20 gallon tank, it costs $80 to fill it up, and a full tank gets a range of about 300 miles if I baby it. If I have fun driving it. make it 200 miles on a tank. If it’s $80 bucks every 200 miles. 5,000 miles should leave me with a Gas bill of $2,000 every year and that’s not accounting for sitting in traffic, and idling at red lights every 100 yards here in L.A. So 5 years, 25,000 miles driven and $10,000 in gasoline spent. Can I recoup those $10grand by adding it to the Sale price and ask $50 or even $60 grand so I can double my money?

My '76 TA used to pull low 12's in the quarter mile on Oahu. Till I wrapped the rear passenger side around a stainless steal light post in Wahiawa. Rear windshield blew inward, glass everywhere, popped the driveshaft out of the transmission, punctured the fuel tank, gas leaking all over and shifted the frame 3 inches to one side. My friend scrambling to get out of the car but couldn't because the door was jammed shut. Luckily the windows still worked and he had to do a Dukes of Hazard exit. Good times... good times :-)

I don't think this is recent footage. Would like to see what Dennis did with the car.

l had a 76 black trans am 455 .l bought it in 1978 ...at first I thought this might be it but mine had red interior. l was only 18 when I bought that car for $5200...l loved that car and I outrun some cops in it one night in the Texas panhandle.l never really new it was so rare back then in rural Texas, but I never saw another one like it back then....the good ole days..

if he wouldnt take 5 grand cash i would have walked away and found one with less rust on it

My first car was a 71 firebird but I loved it.