The story
Pontiac introduced the Trans Am on 8 March 1969 as option package WS4, by Over-Drive's date and code; Wikipedia gives the same code.12one source
It came with a heavy-duty three-speed, a 3.55:1 axle, heavy-duty springs and shocks, a one-inch stabilizer bar, power front disc brakes and variable-ratio power steering, by Over-Drive's list.1one source
The package cost $725 by Consumer Guide and Over-Drive, or $1,083 by Wikipedia; the ruling leans to $725. Consumer Guide notes that it took the Trans Am three years to overtake the GTO as Pontiac's most popular performance car.23sources disagree
How to spot a Trans Am
White with blue stripes
Every Trans Am was white with blue racing stripes, tail panel and decals.13
Hood inlets the driver could close
A Trans Am-only hood with air inlets that could be closed from the driver's seat.3one source
Fender vents
Rear-facing fiberglass fender scoops over holes that vent the engine bay.13
Deck-lid spoiler
A 60-inch air foil across the rear deck.13
Production by year
How many Trans Ams were built each model year.
As a table, with notes
| Year | Built | Note |
|---|
| 1969 | 697234 | 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles (our sum). Ruling |
Engines
Pontiac's option codes, from Wikipedia's engine table, which cites Sessler's Firebird Red Book. Over-Drive gives L30, L76, L74 and L67 for 1969; for the 400 it prints W-S6, not W66. «Std.» is the standard engine. Pontiac's AMA sheets name the engines by model, not by code.
| Years | Code | Engine | Rated |
|---|
| 1969 | L74 | 400 H.O. V8 with Ram Air, 4-barrel (standard) | 335 hp13 |
| 1969 | L67 | 400 Ram Air IV V8, 4-barrel | 345 hp35 |
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict behind the figures on this page. All rulings.
Settled
How many 1969 Trans Ams
Our ruling: 697: 689 hardtops and 8 convertibles (our sum). Consumer Guide gives 697 three times, in its specification box, in its model article and in one sentence of its profile, and once «697 coupes and eight convertibles», so it disagrees with itself three to one. Wikipedia, citing Sessler, and Over-Drive's table give the split 689 + 8. We cannot show those sources are independent, but none stands firm on another figure.
What each source says (3)
Open
The price of the 1969 Trans Am package
Our ruling: Unresolved, leaning to $725. Consumer Guide and Over-Drive give $725 over the base car; Wikipedia, citing a 2013 Hemmings Motor News article, gives $1,083. Over-Drive's own Trans Am hardtop row, $3,556, less $725 gives $2,831; less $1,083 it would give $2,473, $308 below the 1968 hardtop's $2,781 (our arithmetic). What else the $1,083 included is not known.
What each source says (2)
Open
Trans Ams with the Ram Air IV
Our ruling: Unresolved, leaning to 55. Consumer Guide's text and Over-Drive say 55 Trans Am coupes had the Ram Air IV; a photo caption in the same Consumer Guide profile says 63.
What each source says (2)
