One of the most surprising aspects of the Macho T/A story is not really the low build numbers, but how many of these have survived the years since. Of the 204 cars that were built in 1978, it is believed that as many as 180 of them could still exist, although I hasten to point out that some of these cars are in significantly better condition than others. For the 1978 model year, the Holy Grail was the Macho T/A Turbo, of which only eight examples were built. This particular car is one of those eight, and to add that further piece of exclusivity, it is the only example that was built equipped with an automatic transmission. The Macho T/A is located in Kaysville, Utah, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The BIN price for this rare classic has been set at $28,995.

The story of the Macho T/A is so interesting that it would nearly be possible to write an entire book about it. Essentially it boiled down to the ingenuity of two brothers,  Dennis and Kyle Mecham, who were selling new Trans Ams out of their father’s Pontiac dealership in Glendale, Arizona. Even though the Trans Am was still a respectable performer, they knew that there was untapped performance to be had, so in 1976, they set to work to release it by undertaking some very basic modifications to a standard T/A to help the engine breathe better. They succeeded in their endeavors, and without modifying the engine itself in any way, their efforts released an additional 50hp from the standard 400ci V8. The normally aspirated T/A was now certainly Macho, with around 270hp being churned out. The brothers circumvented emissions laws by selling the cars through the dealership as used vehicles and had formed their own company off-site, to perform the upgrades. In 1977 they produced 26 cars, and they sold almost as fast as they could hit the showroom. The brothers intended to continue producing the Macho T/A in larger volumes in 1978, but they also wanted to add some spice to the mix. To that end, they eventually built 204 cars but added a Turbo option into the mix. This was not a cheap option, and essentially doubled the price of a new Trans Am. However, there were eight people who were willing to lay their money on the line, because the Macho T/A Turbo revived muscle car memories, with a healthy 325hp now available to the new owner. The preference was for these cars to be fitted with the 4-speed Super T10 manual transmission, but there was one owner who decided that an auto was the way to go and that auto is this car.

Unlike the majority of special edition cars, the Macho T/A was available in a multitude of color combinations, so you rely on spotting the not so subtle graphics to identify a genuine car from the outside. These include the Macho T/A signs, and the decals on the fenders and rear spoiler which signify the build number of the car. In this case, this is car number 199. While this car looks extremely nice and clean, it did undergo a repaint in 2005. This is the first area where the car deviates from the original. This particular car rolled out of the Mecham dealership finished in red with black graphic, but the decision was made to change this. It is a change that I don’t personally agree with, for while this is undoubtedly a potentially nicer combination, it does destroy the car’s originality. Sure, it could be returned to original, but that’s a potentially expensive and time-consuming exercise. Having said that, in isolation, the T/A appears to be very straight, with no really obvious major faults to report.

Opening the doors of the T/A reveals a world of disappointment from my perspective. The original owner not only chose to follow the expensive turbo route, but they also chose the expensive Recaro seat option. If you’ve never sat in a Recaro, they really are amazing. Time has not been kind to those seats, and they seriously need new covers. Trust me, recovering a genuine Recaro is not the cheapest exercise in the world. The rest of the interior is generally in reasonable condition, and demonstrates some of the wear and tear that you might expect from a car of this age. The headliner is now sagging, which will need addressing, and the original Fosgate stereo is missing from the dash. In its place is a hole, so it would be a bit of a challenge to locate a correct replacement today.

The Turbo version of the Macho T/A really was something, but they could be a fussy engine when new. Today’s tuning techniques and specialist tuning equipment would no doubt improve this, but these early turbo installations that pre-dated electronic fuel injection were always a compromise. It’s when we open the hood that the next disappointment occurs. The original engine is no more, but it has at least been replaced by another 400ci V8. However, what resides here is very obviously not a Turbo T/A engine in any way. The owner does apparently have a lot of the original Turbo setup and spares, but looking under the hood of this car is a major disappointment.

In 1978, a standard Trans Am could be yours for around $7,500, but the Macho T/A Turbo would set you back around $13,000. It was a lot of money, but then, there wasn’t much rolling out of American showrooms at the time that could live with its performance. I have never hidden my love for the Trans Am, and as a car in isolation, this one is a reasonable car in need of some TLC. However, this is supposed to be a unique and very special car, and the major deviations from its original specifications will have a significant impact on its value. Due to the low build numbers of the Macho T/A Turbo, they rarely come onto the market, and the most recent one that I could find was an unrestored example which sold last year for just over $40,000. This one fits loosely within that category. However, my own personal feeling is that this T/A is going to require a fair amount of work to return the car to completely original condition. The fact that it is no longer a numbers-matching car does make the asking price a bit unrealistic in my book. What do you think?