One Year!

[pajeff02]

One year ago today a 2002 Trans Am WS.6 officially joined our family as a 10 year engagement anniversary present for my wife, well... and me too. After dinner that evening we went out for a ride in our Corvette. I had my wife pull over in a parking lot, telling her I needed to check under the hood. Upon opening the hood, I pulled out a ring box that I had hidden in the cowl.

My wife did not have a clue -- she looked at me and then the ring box. Of course, she thought she was getting a ring. When she opened the box and found a set of keys inside, she actually started to tremble. I told her, "Happy Anniversary. Would you like to go see your present?"

I had the Trans Am parked downtown in the bank lot across from my office. We pulled in and she damn near passed out from the excitement. My avatar picture is from that evening - before we went for a ride in the Trans Am we took a quick picture with my phone.

That is how I joined the LS1 ranks... What's your story?

[c5z28]

How romantic

Mine was the first I drove that did not have something obviously wrong with it.

[clg82]

Walked in when I was 17 and the parents said let's go buy you a car.....so we went to the lot and I literally said "that one looks cool" and here i am today!

[EnjoiJoe]

Nice haha

[clg82]

Nice haha

I drove it home and my mom thought it was cool cause the lights flipped up!

[KarrKraft]

That's a great story! Apparently your wife is a gearhead! I have been in cars especially 'Birds since I was little. I did get a 86 Bird witha 305 T-5 as a wedding gift from my husband. The day before the wedding we met my family who had just flew in from MA. Aswe were leaving the hotel I had seen this black Bird with 15th anniversary T/A rims with the El Camino Royal Knight hood graphic out front. I figured I would check it out before we leave. As we walked out, my husband said, "Nicole has to stop and look at the Firebird!" My mom replied, "She'll never change!" He then handed me the keys. I almost fell on my ass. He had my brother in law follow us up to the hotel in it. We stopped for "gas" because my brother in law was catching up to us and my husband knew I'd spot the Bird from a mile away. He called him to tell him to keep a father distance. I never knew.

[SHines-IT]

Walked in when I was 17 and the parents said let's go buy you a car.....so we went to the lot and I literally said "that one looks cool" and here i am today!

What year was the bird? Also your profile says your 26?

[clg82]

What year was the bird? Also your profile says your 26?

2000

[9T8W66]

Ordered mine new Jan 19 1998.
10 weeks later it was in my possesion.

[Customta98]

My friend got me into birds when i was a freshman in high school. Hes about 2 years older then me and he had a 89 Formula 350 WS6 and man that car was sweet. So I decided I would start saving money right then and there to buy my own. about four years later I had close to $10,000 saved and was going to turn 18 in aug 2003 so I started looking around for some brids thats when I saw the newer T/A's (98-02). Man I looked and looked not wanting to buy something with any more than 55,000 miles and I wanted it to be RED or burnt orange. Well my birthday comes around (aug 6 2003) and I was looking on autotrader and then I saw it a flame red 1998 Trans Am with 52,300 miles T-tops Baseline for $14,000 I almost craped just 4,000 more then I had saved to say the least I was pretty bummed but the next day I got a call from the bank saying that my grandpa had left me some money so I could go to school so I go to the bank and filled out everything they needed then they gave me a check for well lets just say It was way more then I thought it was going to be. I was really happy now so I told them to get me a cashiers check for $14,000. As soon as I had it I practicly danced back to my house (and im a bad dancer lol) called up the guy with the TA and asked if I could come over and test drive it he said sure. With in the next hour I was in Grand Rapids, Mi looking at the TA. It was love at first sight but I tryed not leting that get to me as I did not want to buy a lemon so I carefuly checked the entire car over and everthing looked awesome, took it for a drive and it drove awesome also straight as an arrow, so when we got back to his house I said out of no where "IM SOLD it was 14 right" then I handed him the check for $14,000 and he just looked at me like I was robbing him then he got a smile on his face and said "you must really want this car" and I said "you have no Idea been saving for 4 years for one of these" he just laughed and got the title and signed it over to me we shook hands and I left with my car and my older brother folowing in his 96 Mustang GT. when we got on the high way I got in the passing lane and let my brother get next to me I looked over and smiled and he knew what I wanted to do so he got equal and nailed it then I nailed it started to gain on him the flew by him with no problem. Ahhh at that point I think I was the happyest person in the wrold, Just bought a 98 Trans Am with my own money and I beat my older brother in his Mustang lol Just thinking about it still gives me chills and makes me smile.
Well thats how I got my T/A in 2003, Sorry about the LONG post but I felt you have to have the whole story or it would not make sence.

[pajeff02]

That's a great story! Apparently your wife is a gearhead! I have been in cars especially 'Birds since I was little. I did get a 86 Bird witha 305 T-5 as a wedding gift from my husband. The day before the wedding we met my family who had just flew in from MA. Aswe were leaving the hotel I had seen this black Bird with 15th anniversary T/A rims with the El Camino Royal Knight hood graphic out front. I figured I would check it out before we leave. As we walked out, my husband said, "Nicole has to stop and look at the Firebird!" My mom replied, "She'll never change!" He then handed me the keys. I almost fell on my ass. He had my brother in law follow us up to the hotel in it. We stopped for "gas" because my brother in law was catching up to us and my husband knew I'd spot the Bird from a mile away. He called him to tell him to keep a father distance. I never knew.

Yes, she is a gearhead. My wife bought the Corvette when she was 21 -- don't tell anyone, but that was about 23 years ago. You have a great story too!

[SHines-IT]

2000

Ahh, I sometimes forget how old our cars is... Lucky got a new Trans Am, lol.

[JohnnyBs98WS6Rag]

The Hunt for WS6

This story really began when I was about 10 years old, having already been exposed to all the marketing hype of the Musclecar era, by 1971 the air was beginning to be let out of the tires. Horsepower was dropping and prices were soaring along with the price of gas. Of all the cars that burned a desire into my mind, the Pontiac GTOs and Firebirds with their “Ram Air” engines were most firmly planted in my psyche. And I always loved the thought of dropping the top on a convertible and cruising w/ the breeze in my hair. It was at that point in my life when the dream formed that someday, I would be able to walk into a Pontiac dealership and drive off in a brand new, Ram Air, rag-top Pontiac. But already the prospects of that dream were getting dimmed by the fact that the (then new) 2nd gen Firebirds were not available in a ‘vert body style. Then a year later the last convertible GTO rolled off the line. Decades of disillusionment followed as one by one the musclecars were emasculated and for a period, convertibles were not even being produced! I had all but given up on my childhood dream ever coming true.

Following my divorce in 1997, I was in the market to trade the '92 LeBaron convertible I bought my ex-wife years earlier for something more "manly". It had to be a V8 RWD convertible w/ a manual transmission. This meant I was looking for a Mustang, Camaro or Firebird (Vette's were out of my price range and I wanted 4 seats since my son was still too young to safely ride shotgun). I drooled at the prospect of the new for '97 Trans Am WS6 that was finally offered in a vert, but I knew I could not afford a brand new car. But at least with the new WS6 'verts now being produced, the possibility of living my childhood dream was revived! If only I could afford that new car..........

Well, my search continued for something that I could afford. Reading up on the new Mustangs and Camaro/Firebird, it became clear the LT1 in the f-bodies would smoke anything Ford put under the hood of a Mustang. So I set my sights on a used Z28 or Trans-Am 'vert w/ a 6-speed manual trans. Little did I know how rare this combination would be and how difficult it would be to find. It seemed every used f-body 'vert I could find had an AT, while Mustangs 'verts w/ a MT were plentiful. This frustrated me and reminded me how frustrated I was with GM when years earlier they offered a 5.7L V8 in the Z28 and GTA T/As, but NOT w/ the 'vert body style, and not even w/ a MT. In fact you couldn't even get a MT in a 'vert even with the base 5.0L V8. While the 4-th gen f-bodies offered a 6-speed MT with the 5.7L V8 in a 'vert, you'd rarely find one!

My search continued until the day I used some free tickets from my friend Bob to get into the ACD festival in Auburn, IN on Labor-Day weekend in '97. His uncle Larry owned Corvette Connection in Freemont, IN and specialized in new and used 'Vettes. He had a big tent in the car corral full of used Corvettes, as well as a few new C5 'Vettes which were AWESOME. Since the tickets were good for the entire weekend and I was only going to use them for one day, I went to his tent to return the tickets to Larry so someone else could use them the next day. As I was leaving a polo-green Z28 'vert sitting over in the corner of his tent caught my eye. It looked lonely in that tent full of 'Vettes and I wondered how it ended up there. When I went over to check it out I discovered it had a 6-speed! It was a '94 with taupe interior, black top and only had 17,000 miles and was FOR SALE!! Not wanting to telegraph my excitement to Larry, I waited until I had a chance to ask Bob about that car. I found out that Larry had purchased the Z28 directly from an auction where GM was selling it's executive cars in '95, and for 2 years Larry and his neighbor on Clear Lake (the owner of Clear Lake Marina) had "traded" the Z28 for a Ski-Nautique and the marina owner's wife drove the car for 2 years, storing it in the winter.

Later the following week, Bob and I drove up to Clear Lake to test drive the Z28. What a blast! We took a short drive around the lake and I was thoroughly impressed with the torque and thrust of the LT1. The car was in perfect condition. I even preferred the looks of the Z28 over the Firebirds, mainly because of the quirky-looking pop-up headlamps on the Firebird that made them look sad when the lights were on. I swung a deal there on the spot and returned a few days later w/ the cash to pickup the car and title. I received the original GM title, neither the GM exec that originally drove the car, nor Larry had titled the car while it was in their possession. I later found out that it was one of 515 '94 Z28 'verts w/ a 6-speed, and it was equipped w/ an engine block heater, DRLs (daytime running lights) and automatic headlamps which were both standard equipment for cars intended to be sold and licensed in Canada (GM later made DRLs standard on US cars). This was the rarest car I've ever owned, so I splurged and gave it my first personalized license plate, "6 SPEED Z". The first modification I did to the Z28 the first week was to disconnect the pesky skip-shift solenoid. I quickly sold the LeBaron within a month. I got such a good deal on financing the Z28 and selling the LeBaron that with the cash left over I purchased a winter beater so I could keep the Z28 off the winter salt, a '84 Nissan "King Cab" pickup w/ tons of rust.

After searching for months and finally finding a true muscular 'vert that was a blast to drive, I was in HEAVEN. Well, at least I was until that cool fall morning in Oct of '97 when on the way to work with the top down and the heat blasting I drove past the Pontiac dealership. They had a new red '98 Firebird sitting on the pedestal. My jaw dropped. I stabbed the brakes and pulled in for a closer look. WOW, what an improvement in styling! The hood looked like it had ram-air! The salesman came out to talk and I asked him if that new Firebird had ram-air. He said no, that’s just the way they were designed. I noticed the new front fender air extractors, COOL! Nice nod to the 2nd-gen T/As! I asked them if Pontiac was offering a "Ram-Air" package in '98, the salesman said that he did not know because they had not announced anything about one yet.

I continued on to work, still happy in my Z28, yet I couldn't get the thought of the new '98 Firebird styling out of my head. I began to research the '98 Firebird lineup and discovered the V8 was changing from the LT1 to the awesome new LS1 that debuted in the '97 C5 'Vettes. DAMN! 305 HP! As much as the SS and WS6 LT1 engines! The more I read about the new '98 f-bodies, the more I kicked myself for being too impatient and not waiting until I could afford a new car. I took some solace in the fact that the new '98 Camaro styling wasn't as appealing as the earlier years. Oh well, maybe if I wait a year or two and get a barely used '98..........???

Then there was that fateful day in Feb '98, Daytona 500. It was on TV for the first time, and I was watching. Pontiac's infamous "Hungry" commercial with the new black WS6 eating a hole through a red Ferrari at a stoplight and burping at the end. My jaw was on the ground. I was sweating profusely. OH MY FRIGGIN' GOD, I HAD TO HAVE THAT CAR! I couldn't sleep at night. I lost my appetite. I couldn't think of anything else other than that black WS6! While I still wasn't thrilled with pop-up headlamps, even with the headlights on & up, the new '98 Firebird styling looked MEAN & NASTY rather than sad like the '93-'97s. I began searching for and reading as much information I could find about the cars. 320HP! SWEET!

Car and Driver soon had an article about the '98 Firehawks which showed a less aggressive hood than the WS6s, but they also had distinctive fixed headlamps that looked really cool. These fixed headlamps really made me begin to prefer the Firehawk over the WS6 so I thought I'd hold-out for a Firehawk 'vert. But it wasn't clear SLP was going to offer the Firehawk in a 'vert. So I waited. And waited. Finally it was announced SLP was unable to get their unique headlamps to pass DOT testing and there would be no Firehawks production for '98 and we'd have to wait until '99, and then they'd have the same pop-ups all the other Firebirds would have. For me, this announcement tipped the scales back towards the WS6. Now to go get one.

I was able to re-finance my house in the spring of '98 and free-up enough cash flow that I could FINALLY afford my first new car. The stars were all aligned and the time was FINALLY right for me to live my life-long, childhood dream of walking into a Pontiac dealership and driving off in a brand new, ram-air, ragtop Pontiac! So off to the dealers I went, only to be sorely disappointed that NOWHERE could there be found a new WS6 on a lot. There were a few new T/As and an occasional Formula to be found, but I was determined to go full-boat w/ a WS6 'vert. No problem, I'll order one and it'll be here in a few weeks, right? I proudly walk into Don Ayers Pontiac, Z28 for trade outside and spoke to a salesman. "I'd like to place an order for a red WS6 convertible with a 6-speed transmission please." (Red/black has been my favorite color combo since my first car and I’ve owned several red/black cars, kind of a tradition for me I guess). Instead of the salesman saying, "Sure, right this way sir, step into my office and lets begin to fill out the paperwork", the salesman literally began laughing and stated, "Sorry, but unless you are willing to wait 11 months for it to arrive, don't waste your time because that's how long it took to get ONE that we ordered last year." I said, "You've got to be kidding." "Nope, sorry."

[JohnnyBs98WS6Rag]

I was pissed, I left in a huff, drove around the corner to the Ford dealership and was treated to my choice of 5 different colors of new Mustang COBRA convertibles SITTING ON THE LOT! I was so pissed off at GM. I've read news stories about how the f-body is "endangered" due to poor sales demand. Well NO WONDER! How the hell can you sell cars if you don't have them sitting on your lot! The competition serves up a smorgasbord of available cars for immediate delivery, GM takes 11 months to deliver, and GM cries "no one wants to buy our cars"??!!??! AARRRRRGGGUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!

I was so friggin' deflated. I was on the verge of achieving my childhood dream and was shot down in flames. I was SO tempted to say "screw GM" and buy a Cobra instead, but I knew deep down I'd kick myself every time a WS6 showed me its badge. I had no choice but to keep trying, keep searching. Then to make matters worse, one day returning home from work in my Z28, one of my co-workers blew past me in his new '98 Camaro SS. DAMN! That was the first one I've seen, first thing I noticed was the big "single-on-the-left" (SOTL) exhaust pipe and the music that emanated from it. It got me to thinking that maybe an SS 'vert wouldn't be so bad. So I began cruising the Chevy dealerships, I refused to get shot-down again by a salesman like at Pontiac, so I figured if the car wasn't on the lot for immediate delivery, I'm not going to buy it.

One day mid July of ’98 I was going past a Chevy dealership and spotted a Navy Blue ’98 SS ‘vert. Expecting it to be an AT, I stopped anyway to take a closer look. To my surprise it was a 6-speed with grey cloth interior. Salesman came out to talk and I told him I might be interested in this SS if they were to give me a decent trade-in value for my Z28. We went to his office and he had someone go look over my Z. The numbers came back with a low-ball on my trade. We negotiated a while and got them closer to what I was willing to go with, but I finally said that I’d have to think some more about the deal and left.

My heart was torn, do I hold-out for my dream car? Or do I settle for something less but just as fast? Not long after that my mind was made up for me. On the way home from work I spotted a black T/A coupe coming towards me. I could tell it was a ’98 by its distinctive daytime running lights. It was an overcast day and the air was hazy. I’ve seen several ’98 T/As on the road by now, but this one caught my eye as there was something a bit off about it. The tires looked a tad wider than on a normal T/A. Then as it got closer I could make out the nostrils of the WS6 hood through the haze. My jaw was on my lap and I couldn’t take my eyes off it as we passed. OH MY GOD! That was the first ’98 WS6 I’ve ever laid eyes on! THEY DO EXIST!!! That’s IT! Forget the SS, I cannot settle for anything less than a new WS6, a more wicked looking car does not exist!

So I stopped cruising Chevy lots and focused on newspaper ads and cruising Pontiac lots. The days of searching dealer inventories online had not yet quite arrived. As September approached, I began making plans for attending the ACD festival, figuring for sure someone is going to auction or have for sale a new WS6. Even if it’s not a ‘vert, at least I’d be able to see one up close. I’ve only seen one ’97 WS6 ‘vert, and that was in pictures in Muscle Car Review magazine. I began drooling at the prospect of seeing an actual ’98 WS6 up close.

Then on 9/3/98, a few days before Labor Day weekend, I was checking the classified ads in the local newspaper as I’ve been doing everyday for months now. THERE IT WAS! “1998 Trans Am Convertible, WS6, 6-speed, Triple Black, Courtesy Motors, Decatur” is what the ad stated. I practically fell to the floor, I immediately called the number, “Do you still have this car?” “Yes”. “Great, I’m definitely interested in taking a look, I’ll be down tomorrow to take a look at it.”

I went to the credit union and filled out the loan paperwork to be sure I had the credit line available. All I had to do was call the credit union w/ the VIN and they’d wire the money if the sale was a go. That night when I got home, I called my friend Bob, “Bob, I’m going to need you tomorrow to go down to Decatur with me to look at this car, you’re going to have to help keep me from loosing my cool.” “What did you find THIS time?” I’ve only been talking about my ram-air ragtop dream for years, “I found IT, Bob.” “Your kidding!” “Yes, we need to get down there before someone else snatches my dream away.” “I’ll be over at 10AM.”

I took the next day off work, I washed the Z28 in the morning before Bob arrived. I took some final pictures of my Z, as I knew in my heart it wasn’t coming home tonight. When we arrived at Courtesy, I scanned the lot looking for “my” car and didn’t see it. We pulled up to the showroom and there it was, on display, in the center of the showroom floor, in all of its black gloriousness. I said, “Bob, there’s our ride home.” “OK, don’t lose your cool, take a deep breath.” “I’m having difficulty here, Bob. That car is friggin’ gorgeous!” “No SHIT!”

We walk in, the salesman, Tom, greets me and we begin checking out the car. He shows me the window sticker and I note that it has every available option including the 12-disk trunk mounted CD changer w/ a credit for a cassette player in-dash instead of the redundant CD player. I hand him the keys to the Z28 and state that I’d like them to assess my trade-in. He passes the keys to an associate. I ask, “How did you get one? Don Ayers told me there was an 11 month wait for a WS6 ‘vert.” “Well, the guy who ordered it got tired of waiting for it and ended up buying something else. We nearly gave up waiting on it too, but it showed up on the truck last week. I checked this morning and there are only 12 for sale right now this side of the Mississippi and this is the only triple-black with a 6-speed.” “Well, black wasn’t my first choice of colors, in fact I was planning on ordering a red one.” “Would you like a test drive?” Tom knew how to navigate around a speed bump and hit me where it hurts. “Um …… yeah, OK.”

With the help of his fellow associates, they open up the showroom doors and drive the T/A outside. Bob hops in back and Tom rides shotgun. As I pulled out onto the main road, the first thing I notice is the blue tinted side mirrors. “What’s with the blue tint on the side mirrors?” “Reduced glare from all the headlights that’ll be behind you.” “I see, that’s a good one”.

After rowing the gears and getting used to the new LS1 sound and torque band, I find an open stretch of road and stomp it through 1st, bark 2nd and wind it out. “Impressive, it pulls a lot harder and longer than the LT1.” Tom nods in agreement. I look back and Bob’s got an ear-to-ear grin on his face, then he says, “Eh, hard to tell with all this weight in here.” Bob later tells me that the expression on Tom’s face when I barked 2nd looked like he crapped his pants. “What’s that push-back on the pedal I feel, is that the traction control?” “Yeah, must be.” “How do I turn that off, just out of curiosity?” Tom proceeds to search the dash for a switch. Bob points, “ASR switch, in front of the shifter.” “Thanks.” Before I get a chance to press it, Tom says, “Turn here, I want to show you something.”

As we get ~ ½ mile down this side road, Tom says “Slow down. There’s John Lingenfelter’s home.” “Cool! He’s put Decatur on the map in hot-rod and drag racing circles.” “So you know who he is, why am I not surprised?” “Where’s his shop?” “At the north end of Decatur.”

We arrive back at the dealership and I park the car next to the showroom window while we go into Tom’s office to discuss a deal. While I’m waiting on Tom to pull some numbers together on my trade-in, I was for the first time browsing the '98 Firebird sales brochure (Don Ayers didn’t even have these when I was in there months earlier). It contained a picture of a '69 T/A w/ the twin-scoop hood, and it first occurred to me that '99 would be the 30th anniversary. I was not aware if a 30th T/A model had been revealed to the public, so I asked Tom if he had heard of anything. “No. No announcement has been made yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an anniversary model next year.” “I hope the 30th will be black & gold, white & blue was used recently on the 25th and I think its time for a change to black & gold like the classic Smokey and the Bandit T/As. Tom said, “You mean like this?” as he reached in his drawer and pulled out pictures of a pair of '98 LPE/Hurst cars that had been sitting out back waiting to be delivered to their owners. My jaw dropped, and before he could tell me much about those cars, he said, "Say, there goes one right now". I looked out the window of the showroom to see a '98 LPE/Hurst cruising through the lot giving my new WS6 a look-over. It was the only time I've laid eyes on any LPE/Hurst T/A.

After going back and forth a few times on the numbers, I got a decent trade on my Z28 and I got the WS6 under sticker. I called the credit union and sealed the deal. After signing papers and handing me the keys, we went back outside so Tom could take a picture of me standing next to my BRAND NEW RAM-AIR RAGTOP PONTIAC.

Driving back to Fort Wayne with the top down, with my old friend Bob riding shotgun, both of us wearing ear-to-ear grins, wind in our hair, I realized that that day, 9/4/98 was THE DAY that I finally got to live my lifelong, childhood dream. Not only that, but that was the day I got to see my FIRST WS6 ‘vert, my FIRST LPE/Hurst T/A, and John Lingenfelter’s home. That day will be hard to forget.

[pajeff02]

Wow! Johnny -- you were truly on a quest for your car. That is a great story and I am glad it worked out for you. Thank you for sharing.

[Mike's TA]

I had a bad feeling about the 97 Explorer I was in and decided I would start to shop around. So I went to the Dealership to "look". I spent a couple of hours wandering around the lot, seeing what might be in my price range. I decided to test drive the T/A they had. Before getting in I told the salesman, "Don't let me buy this, My parents will kill me". Well I also test drove a Mustang, and an 03 F-150. I ended up saying yes to the F-150. Well as I was signing the paperwork the salesman told me if I'm not happy with it that I have 5 days to bring it back and trade for something else.

Well, I was happy with the truck. That night I dreamt about the T/A. And the next two days, I couldn't stop thinking about the T/A. Well, I called the dealership and asked if they still had the TransAm. He said there was a guy about to have it shipped to Oklahoma so he could have a look at it. I said I am interested in swapping the truck for it, and he said that since I looked at it before this other guy called that he would hold it for me to come in.

I never regretted my decision to swap for it. Even with the troubles I've had with her.

[Silver Streak]

One year ago today a 2002 Trans Am WS.6 officially joined our family as a 10 year engagement anniversary present for my wife, well... and me too. After dinner that evening we went out for a ride in our Corvette. I had my wife pull over in a parking lot, telling her I needed to check under the hood. Upon opening the hood, I pulled out a ring box that I had hidden in the cowl.

My wife did not have a clue -- she looked at me and then the ring box. Of course, she thought she was getting a ring. When she opened the box and found a set of keys inside, she actually started to tremble. I told her, "Happy Anniversary. Would you like to go see your present?"

I had the Trans Am parked downtown in the bank lot across from my office. We pulled in and she damn near passed out from the excitement. My avatar picture is from that evening - before we went for a ride in the Trans Am we took a quick picture with my phone.

That is how I joined the LS1 ranks... What's your story?

Wow.. that was sweet!

Ok.. my story...

A week before I got my license I found my "dream car" in an auto trader.. a 1982 Black and gold Trans Am.. 15,000 miles.. fully loaded.. adult owned.. etc.. Wanted $1,500.00. I was floored! So I called and called and called every day that week each time leaving a message that I wanted the car call me.. nothing.. frantically getting upset.. I went and took my test.. got my license and as we were coming home.. I see a 1985 Blue Camaro on the side of the road.. Had t-tops.. but was a v-6 and not a Trans Am.. but "close".. wanted $4,000.00.. had 69,000 miles but exceptionally cared for.

SO paid the guy and drove off with it that day... Fast forward 2 FRICKEN days.. the new autotrader magazine came out and some moron decided to transpose 2 of the phone numbers so I was dialing the wrong number!! GRR.. well, obviously didn't have another 1500 for another car so I had to suck it up and keep it till it was paid off.

Fast forward 14 years.. the Camaro is starting to give me some problems.. had a hard time keeping it idleing.. etc.. so figd it was nearing 200k the engine was prob about to go... and I wanted a "new" car.. so I started looking for another 82 trans am.. but either they wanted 20k for it.. or it was a junk heap... then started thinking if I'm preparing to spend 20k on a car.. why not get something fun like a Deleorean?? Well.. then started thinking about practically (I know I know I had owned 4 3rd gens by this time)... and looked into a "new" Trans am... Then I semi-made up my mind.. I knew it was going to be the last year (02).. it was going to be black.. and it was going to have a removable top.. just hadn't decided on t-tops or convertable.. or auto or 6-speed...

So my search started.. (I'm an impatient guy so that lasted literally 24 hours).. found an 02 Convertable 6-speed black for 26k at the local used stealership.. .. and an 02 T-top auto black for 18k... in the newspaper 8 hours away..

Looked at the stealership one. .and the female salesperson came out and started telling me.. oh and this was the last year that this option was in this car.. and the last year that this was.. and.. (Now this is 06... where we ALL know that the f-body was killed in 02 right??) SO I let her do her schpeal for a while.. then when she thought she had me sucked in, I said you DO know this was the last year for the CAR right?? She started stammering and stufddering.. then I said.. "Ok, if you can tell me the displacement of the engine in this car, I'll come in and start the paperwork." She said, "Oh, thats easy, its a V-8" I said, "Have a great day mam" and started walking away.. she goes, "But it is!!"

HAHAH So I drove over to greensboro the next day and picked up my baby. Boy was that a fun ride home! Since then, she's made it on ESPN and High Performance Pontiac magazine. Can't complain a bit.

[pajeff02]

Nice story! Have to love the crap the salespeople try to shovel at dealerships -- "ITSAV8" would have been my license plate after that one.

[Silver Streak]

Nice story! Have to love the crap the salespeople try to shovel at dealerships -- "ITSAV8" would have been my license plate after that one.

Yeah, worked at a Toyota Stealership for 3 months in NC.. learned a LOT about thie shit they do... which is why I refer to them as STEALERSHIPS.. And yeah, that plate would have been funny.. but I went with SMKY2SLO instead.. I had lots of people tell me I'm asking for trouble with that one.

[JohnnyBs98WS6Rag]

Wow! Johnny -- you were truly on a quest for your car. That is a great story and I am glad it worked out for you. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks, not as much romance as your story (you sly dog ), but very memorable. Great stories are what makes cars (and women) "keepers".