Burt Reynolds, James Garner-driven Pontiacs head to auction

By Stephen Edelstein December 3, 2014

It may not have survived long into the 21st century, but Pontiac was on fire (literally) toward the end of the 20th century.

A Firebird Trans Am with a screaming chicken on its hood and Burt Reynolds behind the wheel became a pop culture icon in 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit, while James Garner drove a more subdued-looking ’78 Firebird the The Rockford Files.

A Bandit-style Trans Am owned by Burt Reynolds and an actual Rockford Files car will cross the block at the Mecum Auctions event in Kissimmee, Florida, this January.

They’re among 25 valuable muscle cars from the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum collection that will be featured at the auction.

Muscle-car collector Tim Wellborn has been displaying cars from his collection at the museum since it opened in 2010, but he told Yahoo! Autos that it’s time to let a few go… so he can shake things up and buy some other cars.

That’s good news for wealthy children of the ’70s. The “Bandit” Trans Am comes complete with CB radio and original “Snowflake” wheels, plus Reynolds’ personal license plate: BANDT22.

There’s a 6.6-liter V8 under the hood and a three-speed automatic transmission. If the engine is in its stock configuration, pollution controls have likely taken most of the muscle out of this muscle car. Still, with just 15,881 original miles, the car should be in immaculate shape.

With its gold paint and whitewall tires, The Rockford Firebird has a decidedly different style. It’s got a 350-cubic-inch V8 and automatic transmission, and with just 11,862 miles it looks pretty good for an aging T.V. star.

If you’re a Reynolds or Garner fan, the Mecum Kissimmee auction runs January 16-25.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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