They didn’t all make it out
K.I.A Macho T/A’s
Unfortunately, when you produce a number of powerful muscle cars in the ‘70’s, a few are statistically not going to make it out to survive the decade. Being that Macho’s were used, abused and were just another old gas-guzzler at the start of the ‘80’s (well, they were even thrown in junkyards in the early 2000’s!), they were treated as just any other old muscle car in a period of time when a full tank of fuel cost more than an engine at the junkyard, and insurance prices cost more than the car did new.
Plenty of Machos met their end in the decades that have past, and here is a list of the reported and actual confirmed Macho T/A’s that have been confirmed to be destroyed or scrapped.
1978 #1 0 - Unconfirmed
Cause of Death: Investigation ongoing
Location: ?
Confirmation: All I have for this one is that Jimmy Means had this one listed on the K.I.A list on Firebird Gallery. There’s no other reports, photos or documentation to suggest this one is indeed destroyed, and no other information or photos on the status of this Macho.
1978 #1 13 - Confirmed
Cause of Death: Massive T-bone by the owner’s drunk ex-wife in the early 2000’s.
Location: Junkyard somewhere in Colorado
Confirmation: Last owner has parts left off the T/A and the DKM badges
1978 #1 37 - Unconfirmed
Cause of Death: Potentially re-bodied?
Location: Last reported to have been for sale in New Mexico.
Confirmation: Console badge sighted, unconfirmed if destroyed. It was reported over a decade ago that the car was destroyed or re-bodied, but there was nothing to support this. It hasn’t resurfaced as of yet, so it is still on the TBC list.
Multiple Machos by the Build-a-Bandit Serial Macho Murderer - Unconfirmed
Cause of Death: Reportedly turned into SE Copies
Location: North Carolina
Confirmation: I remembered hearing about this story years back when I was first looking to buy my first T/A. So, this guy Robert Allen McElreath who lived in Asheville, North Carolina was arrested for 30 counts of obtaining property by false pretenses as part of his “Build-A-Bandit” scam. Basically, the guy was taking money to make fake Y82 Special Edition copies to sell to people across the globe. It was even a news story that was picked up here in Australia, as he had two Australian victims who I’m trying to get in contact with for more information. The guy actually fled the state, and was picked up in Nevada, and was arrested.
Apparently, this guy butchered numerous Macho T/A’s to further his goal of making SE copies, which never ended up even being completed, so either these Machos were just destroyed, or were stripped down and turned into SE copies. The current owners of these T/A’s wouldn’t know they are Machos, as they didn’t have any of the Macho decals, but these of course can be validated as real Macho T/A’s using the VINs. Yours truly is investigating this further to determine: A. what happened to the T/A’s involved in this scam and B. are those Machos still alive somewhere as a terrible SE copy. If you have any information about this, please fill out the contact form and get in touch with us!
Links to these news articles:
https://www.smh.com.au/world/aussies-victims-in-us22m-trans-am-scam-20130604-2nni3.html
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/crime/2015/07/24/man-sentenced-asheville-bandit-car-scam/30615263/