what year(s) was this model produced and what options were included is the package?

Never was a Factory"Bandit edition" made. you are seeing to many reruns of a bad movie.

I thought they did make some but I dont think they were factory I think some aftermarket company made them

Bandit IIs are aftermarket. Choo Cho Customs from Chatanooga built these cars. They were just appearance options thrown at the car. Pinstriping, embroidered seats and different rims were all they were.

I think it was just '87 ... or '89 ... can't remember right off.

I almost bought a "Bandit II" before I bought my vert. Sure am glad I went the direction I did. I was VERY disappointed when I found out it was just an appearance package. A guy in my town has one (#64 I think) with 74k on the clock and he wants something like $8,500 for it. Crazy.

so all that's part of these cars is just a sticker and some seat covers. thanks for the info.

Unfortunately so, but I'd say they will still be a little more valuable than a plain T/A in the future.

All of the Bandit II cars that I have ever seen on 3rd gens have been base firebirds with an LO3 or the V6. I have yet to see a converted T/A...

John

are you guys refering to smokey and the bandit 2?

They also had the fake (non-functional) hood scoop with a few other appearance features. We've got a few members here who have those Bandit II conversions by Choo Cho as scottmoyer mentioned.

Below is a Bandit II from a member here on TGO:

They made them 88-92 in the third gens and I have seen some 4th gens. There were 500 in 88-89 600 in 90-91 and 700 i think in 92. They were nothing more than an apperance package. GFX's striping, non functional shaker hood, double exhaust tips on each side. Embrodered seats and floor mats, brushed aluminum gold color around the gauges, # plaque on the dash, mesh wheels, the one above is missing the front GFX on the front bumper. Made by Choo Choo Customs and was a dealer order, not a factory production run. I currently have 1990 # 18 of 600, They were made to duplicate the 79 Bandit cars. Choo Choo also made the Pro am which as simillar GFX. The last one I saw on Ebay had 140k miles on it and it brought $4500. If I hadn't owned mine for 13 years I sure wouldn't go out looking for one, I guess it just caught my eye when I was 18 and didn't know any better.

An aftermarket conversion will be worth more money then a real Trans Am?

So then by that logic I could get together with a few buddies and buy up several run of the mill thirdgens and slap on some vinyl and have something embroidered in the headrest, then have the local trophy shop make up some cheesy brass plaques for the dash and I could sell them for more money? I doubt it. I'd guess that the true enthusiasts will view these cars as more of a joke then prime material for Barrett Jackson.

File it under the same heading as the roadster convertibles. The only aftermarket conversion that seems to be worth anything are the MSE T/A's and then only because they typically were a performance oriented package, not just stickers and stripes.

Drew,
I agree with you on some points but not all.

It appears that the Autoform Convertibles are catching a pretty penny these days, 14K for a Autoform 85 Camaro or T/A is not unheard of, that same car with T-tops is catching $8K...

SOME of the packages are a hit or miss as far as collectability. I would think the Convertibles before 1987 that will hold the most value would the the Autoform "Roadster" ones, considering they were sold through dealerships as new cars and apparently still retained the ful warrenty. The other convertibles like the Metrix3 and the Hi-Line also seem to be doing well but not as well as the Autoform. Although I like the top down with it up I think it looks odd the way that the top comes down onto the side of the car with snaps.

From 1987-1992 the ONLY convertibles to get would be the ASC's. Obviously since they were the only "Official" verts. The Pontiacs may suffer slightly because they were not Official, however everyone gawks over the one or two 89 TTA's that were converitbles... go fig.

The MSE t/a's had an advantage over most of the other conversion cars of the period. ONLY MSE to my knowledge created a car with a better engine in any kind of volume. Also they had a TON of advertisements out there in various magazines to get the word out. I think all of the advertising in the day may be helping the values of those cars.

As for the Choo Choo customs... I would not think that they will be substantially more desirable than the run of the mill car. slightly at best, not because of any other reason that the cars were a cosmetic upgrade. If they changed the engine, or did special things to other portions of the car than the body I would suspect it would have helped it more.