The story of my first car.

Most car guys/gals wish they had never sold their first ride. I hear it at every cruise-in, show, and drag race I go to. Some middle-aged man reflecting back on the sweet times he had with a certain hunk of automobile. They always talk about rolling around with friends and picking up girls in that car... and every single one has a race story to go along with this nostalgia. Many of these people spend considerable time and money to reacquire those memories. Searching out another example of whatever vehicle started them on the path of auto obsession. I don't have that problem. I don't have the time or money to spend on yet another car right now so it's a good thing I kept mine. That car for me was a Trans Am.

Let me clarify. My very first automobile was purchased for me by my mother when I was 15. It was a copper colored 1984 Ford Bronco II 4x4... alright stop laughing. If you know anything about cars then you know about these gems. Prone to rolling over if breathed on by a large person, they were unsafe when new and more so when almost twenty years old. Add in that I eventually lifted it and put on bigger off road tires and it was a, shall we say, "exciting" ride. But this isn't the vehicle that got me going. It was transportation and nothing more at the time. The first car I ever bought for myself is the proverbial "one".

By the time I was 16 I had saved up a couple thousand dollars and was itching to get a car that would satisfy my Hot Rod magazine feuled desires. I started looking in the paper and online. It seemed that the only V8 rear wheel drive cars I could afford would be either a Mustang or a Camaro from the '80s. I was never a Ford guy and so the Mustang was out. I looked at a few Camaros but was put off by the shabby maintenance on every one I looked at.

Then while browsing the calssifieds of The Oregonian I saw an ad for a car I hadn't even thought to look for. It was kind of like the Camaros I'd been browsing but seemed to stand out to me in some way. It was a 1985 Pontiac Trans Am. I had to go see it. Right away. I called the number and was greeted by a warm female voice. The lady informed me that her family was moving out of the country and that the Pontiac was the last thing they had to get rid of before leaving. I got the address which, luckily, wasn't far away.

I pulled up and saw the 'bird draped in fading red/orange paint. The ground-effects and decals were silver and the interior was grey cloth. It was an automatic with a carb'd 305 and t-tops. I was kind of bummed it wasn't the TPI injected motor but it was in great shape and ran well. After a quick test drive to make sure it wasn't gonna fall apart, I bought it for $1500. It only had 65k miles and had been owned by this same family for like 10 years. Their teen daughter had been driving it lately which explained the mashed fender and wrinkled quarter panel. I drove it straight to the DMV and got the paper work started.The next few weeks were spent fixing small issues and bringing the maintenance up to par.

Over the next couple of years I worked on it slowly. I added Edelbrock headers and a nice Hooker cat-back exhaust. It sounds mean and pissed off! Tho the bark doesn't really match the bite at all. It's quick and fun on the freeway but it's not a drag racer with only 155 horsepower from the factory. I had all the body work done and it was resprayed back to bright red including the ground effects to make it look more like a late '80s GTA or something. I thought it looked better then the two-tone. I added black bird decals and painted all the screens in the hood and fender vents black. Now she looked as good as she sounded. I had the seats recovered and added new carpet along the way also. After installing a nice cd head unit and speakers I was ready to drive it everyday. And I did for a couple years. She's never let me down or left me stranded. She never fails to get thumbs-up on a nice day. It's a totally different expereince than driving my NIssan everyday.

I've owned a few different hot rods and trucks and such over the years but I've always held onto that Trans Am. That's the car that gave me the key to the world of performance automobiles. I've never been the same. Since I was 16 I've always owned at least 1 GM F-body, usually 2. I've had Camaros and Firebirds alike but always come back to this one. She's been parked in my mom's garage for a coulpe years now. 2009 will mark 10 years that this car has been in my life and I think it's about time I put in a little work and get her up to code again. I miss her.