Special Editions that aren't really special.......

Had some people ask for more one or two year wonders that they might find at a reasonable price. I came up with a few-their not particularly rare or valuable, they just have cool options, or are just plain weird. But if you buy them right they can be a lot of fun. Here's some in no particular order of importance. # 1. 1965-67 Corvette with automatic transmission. I have no idea why Chevrolet did this-especially with the big-blocks, but you could buy a Corvette with a 327, 396, or even a 427 with a two-speed Powerglide automatic. I don't need to tell you that their performance was considerably less than the four-speed models. I find it strange because the excellent three-speed TH400 was introduced in 1965-and if you bought an Impala with a Rat motor-you got a TH400. From 1968 on in the 'Vette-you got a TH400 even with the base 300 hp 327 or 350 engines if you wanted an automatic. This went on until '71 or '72 when power ratings dropped and the small-blocks got TH350s, and the TH400 was reserved for 454 models. These Powerglide equipped '65-67 models fall into the category of  NOT rare or collectible, just weird. They aren't worth anything-( other than the fact that it is a '65-67 Stingray ) so don't pay a premium price for one. Vette collectors snub these cars like the plague so you might actually find a deal on one. On the upside, a TH350 will literally bolt right in-they even use the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke. You can even use the stock shifter and linkage-you just won't be able to manually engage low gear. With a proper shift kit from TransGo or B&M, this is a non-issue. This would give the car an incredible boost in performance over the "Powerslide" with no other changes. TH350's are incredibly tough; even in bone-stock trim they can stand up to a 400 hp engine. With very little work they can stand up to 500 or more hp easily.  # 2 1967-68 Olds 442 and Pontiac GTO "Turnpike" editions. For some reason, even though gas was like 29 cents a gallon and the musclecar movement in full swing-( Chrysler introduced the wildly successfull Road Runner and Super Bee models, Ford put 390s in Mustangs and Carroll Shelby and Bob Tasca put 428s in them ) some genius in GM marketing thought it would be a good idea to replace the GTO and 442's standard high-compression 350 hp 400 4bbl V8 engines and Muncie 3 and 4-speed manual trannys, and 3.36:1 or 3.55:1 gears with a low-compression, 2bbl 400 V8 with 265 hp,a TH400 automatic, and 2.93:1 gears. It flopped because no one wanted an emasculated GTO or 442, that looked badass but couldn't back up the image on the street, and no one else really cared about a GM "A" body coupe that got 16 mpg instead of 12, and cost way more than a base-model Malibu, Tempest or Cutlass. If you find one cheap they can be good investments-it doesn't take much to swap rear-end gears, or install a factory or aftermarket 4bbl carb and intake for a massive power gain. However they aren't worth squat-other than the fact that you may have a rust-free GTO or 442 body. # 3. 1977-79 Pontiac Trans-Am  Gold SE or Black and Gold SE. These are just a garden-variety T/A with pinstriping and maybe T-tops. After "Smokey and the Bandit" came out Pontiac sold almost 70,000 T/A's in 1977 alone. 15,000 of those were black and gold SE's just like the movie. Because of that raging success they came up with the Gold SE. But they are nothing special. # 4. 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette. All 50,000+ 'Vettes built that year had Silver annivesary emblems on them. Some also had a nice Silver / Charcoal Grey two-tone paint job and a silver leather interior-but they are just a garden-variety 'Vette, nothing special. The same goes for....#5. 1978 Indy Pace Car Corvette. These were supposed to be limited editions, but Chevrolet decided to build at least one for every dealer; since their were over 7,700 dealers across the country back then- even though not every dealer got one, today they aren't that rare. Besides the pace car paint and decal package the only special feature is the seats which are the upgraded 1979-82 style. I have seen these for sale for as low as $5999 so don't overpay for one ( unless it's an L82 / 4-speed model; most are L48 / automatics ). # 6. 1975-76 "Starsky and Hutch" Gran Torino. Because of the popularity of the TV show, Ford decided to cash in. However there's nothing special about the cars; their a garden-variety 2 -door Torino with the red and white stripe paint job and 70's style slot mag wheels. Most have bench seats and a 351M with a 2bbl, backed by an automatic. It's not like they were all 460 / 4-speeds or anything. If you want one- I'd just buy a plain Torino and paint it that way and put those wheels on it for probably a lot less than people will ask for these "Special Editions".  Hope this saves people some money. Mastermind