The Macho T/A Returned The Fire To The Pontiac Firebird

The name may have been a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but the vehicle was in dead earnest. Created by two brothers who were frustrated by the state of performance as defined by Pontiac in the late 1970s, the limited-series Macho Trans Am is as collectible today as it is rare.

Brothers Dennis and Kyle Mecham had a simple business plan: They would buy new Trans Ams, make some modifications, and resell the cars through their family’s Pontiac dealership near Phoenix, Arizona. In their first year, 1977, their batch of 26 Macho T/As sold as quickly as they could produce them in the dealership’s service bay. Encouraged, they moved to an offsite facility in 1978 as DKM Design and began supplying other Pontiac dealers, with production soaring to 204 cars.

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Front Fender callout with serial number

Photo: Jeff Koch

DKM performed some non-invasive surgery on the factory-issued 400-cu.in. V-8, richening the jetting of the stock Quadrajet, reworking the distributor to bring in 36 degrees of advance at just 2,500 rpm, and opening the sealed shaker hood scoop to let more cold air rush into the stock airbox. The exhaust system was extensively modified, with a set of off-the-shelf Hooker headers connected to a 2.5-inch dual exhaust with a crossover pipe and two catalytic converters. In the interest of free breathing, the mufflers were left behind. In its July 1978 review, Hot Rod magazine said the Macho T/A “sounds no louder than a stocker, which runs one converter and a pair of mufflers.” Dennis Mecham estimated that the work freed up about 50 hp.

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – engine bay with Shaker installed

Photo: Jeff Koch

The Mechams didn’t just shut the hood and call it a day. Suspension modifications included a 1.5-inch drop of the front end, the installation of Koni adjustable shocks all around, heat treatment of the front coils, and the substitution of 60-series tires for the 70-series on the 15-inch factory wheels. An Audio Mobile system designed by Jim Fosgate – yes, the same Jim Fosgate who invented the car stereo amplifier – bathed the occupants in 50-watt-per-channel stereo sound. Color combinations were up to the buyer, with painted-on graphics that were about as subtle as Randy Savage’s trademark sunglasses. A brushed aluminum plate on the center console bore the car’s identification number, which was repeated on the fenders and rear spoiler. In total, the Macho T/A package added about $3,000 to the Pontiac’s sticker price.

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Console plate

Photo: Jeff Koch

The sassy name was the brainchild of Dennis Mecham. “At that time, macho was the ‘in’ word in the Southwest,” he told Mike McNessor, the editor of Hemmings Motor News, in a 2008 interview. “Everything was macho. In desperation, I said, ‘Why not call it Macho T/A?’ It was almost tongue-in-cheek. It may not be the best name, but how can you forget it?” An owner information sheet produced by DKM suggested that Macho T/A owners give each other a friendly wave: “After all, there are only a few Macho T/A’s in the whole world. Let the snobs drive the Porsches and Corvettes; they need that, all they ever see of us is taillights.”

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Hurst shifter handle

Photo: Jeff Koch

Hot Rod magazine brought the Macho T/A to the drag strip and came back convinced. Their 14.29-second ET at 98.79 mph was considerably better than the stock version’s 15.20 at 96 mph, which up to that point had been the best performance the magazine had gotten from a stock 1978 automobile. “What the customer gets is, in effect, a brand-new Trans Am, delivered right from a Pontiac dealer with everything he needs to blow a stocker right into the weeds,” Hot Rod’s Dave Wallace wrote.

Wallace gave a thumbs-up to the car’s improved moves, too. “Throw in a dealer service agreement (sure to include special provisions concerning non-OEM components and obvious operator abuse) and you’ve got about the best Poncho performance bargain since the Super Duty days,” he wrote.

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Interior

Photo: Jeff Koch

DKM began offering a turbocharged V-8 option in 1978, using a kit developed by H-O Racing that used a Rajay 301E unit to force 7 pounds of boost down the Quadrajet’s throats. For $6,500, buyers got all of the other Macho T/A upgrades, in addition to a horsepower boost pegged at 50 percent over stock. The Turbo Macho also got a trunk-mounted battery, meatier Goodyear tires, and special graphics on the front fenders and rear spoiler. Eight were sold in 1978, and another 22 in 1979.

More stringent fuel economy standards meant that Pontiac had to trade in the Trans Am’s mighty 400 for a turbocharged 301 in 1980, and that spelled the end for the Macho T/A. Like the last lighter held aloft at an REO Speedwagon concert, one of the last glimmers of 1970s performance had been snuffed out.

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Rear 3/4 high

Photo: Jeff Koch

Fewer than 450 Macho T/As were produced over three years, but these individually numbered cars have always been recognized as something special, helping the survival rate. The Macho Registry (machoregistry.com) knows of 207 survivors and is still looking for more. We’ve seen asking prices as low as $14,900 for a decent example, and as high as $78,000 for a car described as “meticulously restored.” At auction, selling prices seem to have been in the $30,000-$50,000 range over the past five years.

Specifications – 1977-’79 Pontiac/DKM Macho Trans Am

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Lower Door Callout

Engine: OHV V-8, 400-cu.in., four-barrel Rochester M4MC carburetor, 270-290 hp at 3,600 rpm (est.) 320 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm

Transmission: Borg Warner Super T-10 four-speed manual

Suspension: Front, unequal-length A-arms, coil springs, telescopic shocks, anti-sway bar; Rear, live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, telescoping shocks, anti-sway bar

Brakes: Front, 11-inch disc; Rear, 9.5-inch drum

Wheelbase: 108.2 inches

Curb weight: 3,750 pounds

Price new: $9,610

Value today: $24,900-$74,900

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Rear seat and half-cage

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Rochester carburetor

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Glovebox signed by Dennis Mecham

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Hood stripe, top-down

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – H-O Racing Specialties

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – DKM horn button

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Tachometer/Clock

Pontiac/DKM Macho T/A #16 – Wheel/Tire