Nacho Machos
Believe it or not, there’s a number of fake Macho T/A’s out there. I like to call these ones, Nachos as they are “Nat Cho” real Machos. Surprisingly, there’s a few Machos out there that have had their number “borrowed” for some Firebirds that are imitations of the real thing. Even more surprisingly, some people have reached out to us to advise they were being sold some cars under the guise they were real Macho T/A’s, only to discover that we could not authenticate them… as they were not real Machos. As always, if you are planning on buying a Macho T/A, please always get the documentation before buying them to ensure it is a real Mecham or DKM car.
“1978 #11”
Barry spotted this one in Texas, he was so excited that he caught up with the driver thinking there was another real Macho T/A locally to him in town. Once he saw the car closer up, he realized, this one isn’t the real 1978 #11. The real 1978 Macho #11 is a Cameo White/Mayan Red car, and is documented. While it could’ve possibly been one of the 1977 #11 cars as this one is still unclaimed, he confirmed it was a 1978 and that the owners had said to him they just wanted to make theirs look like a Macho.
“Nacho T/A #66”
This photo was doing the rounds like a decade ago, I remembered seeing this photo online and thinking for the longest time, this was the real Macho T/A #66 and even trying to find it. How I never noticed that it actually says NACHO on the back and has an extra green stripe to make it resemble the Mexican flag, I have no idea. I only figured out not to long ago, this is just a photoshopped picture of Alexandra’s 1978 #64 that was lifted off the Firebird Gallery website from decades ago. Whoever made it got me for sure!
Nacho Formula
This one popped up for sale somewhere in Florida. Apparently it was just a Firebird Formula, but there was something in the description of the listing mentioning that it was a Macho Formula. This isn’t the case, and it is not a DKM car. It’s not a 100% exact copy of the Macho striping, but it is very close.
“1979 #97”
Another one Barry spotted at a show somewhere, boy that must have been awkward considering Barry owns the real 1979 #97. This one is also a copy, and is not Barry’s real Macho #97. This is just a conventional Trans Am that had the Macho T/A decals added, and apparently some Scheel seats too. Close, but no Macho.
Non-numbered 1979 Nacho
Someone called Teige wrote in to us to have a 1979 Macho T/A authenticated. It sounded like we didn’t have this car documented, so I was excited to check in and see which number Macho it was. The first red flag was, the car was a Norwood built car. The cars sent to Mecham always came from the Van Nuys, California factory, so I had the impression from the get go that the car wasn’t a real DKM car. Teige apparently saw the car for sale in Morrow, TN, and was told it was a genuine Macho, but there was no number on the car and no tag on the console. Checking the supplied VIN number, it was a L80 403 Oldsmobile Trans Am, but the VIN did not belong to any Macho on the records.
