Topic: 2002 Collectors Edition Trans Am

[Hitman]

Here is an interesting Email that I got that I thought I would share in the Forum here:

From Deborah
Your sight is outstanding, grea job. I own a 2002 CE Trans Am, automatic
w/t-tops.   It was always a dream of mine to own a TA and when the 2002
edition came out and it was the end of the line for the TA it was the perfect time to purchase one.  I have owned the TA since October of 2002 and only use it on day's of sunshine and good weather.  Otherwise my TA sit's in the garage safe from the world that we live in.  I am hoping that you can answer a question for me.  As you know Pontiac only made 2000 CA TA in 2002.  My question is, where do I find the # of my TA?  I have asked a # of people including the dealership and not one person knows the answer and I am hoping that you do.  

Thank You,

Deborah

My Response:

Deborah,

   Thanks for visiting my website, I am glad you liked it.  I to was bitten by the Trans Am bug and hope to someday own a Collector's Edition to have in my garage, but for right now, I just have to look at other people's cars.  Unfortunately, Pontiac did not really keep a database that I know of for cars that rolled off the line.  I know there is a Database for Corvettes like that that can tell you how many others were made with that option and what number your car was when it rolled off the line, but that database was put together by a private individual and not GM themselves.  I know some people have talked about putting together such a database for Trans Ams, but to this date, no one has yet.  The Collector's Edition cars rolled off the line sporadically so there is not a sure fire way to tell exactly what order your car was when it came off the line.  Theoretically you can start your own database of Collector's Editions and start keeping track of numbers to give you a rough idea of when.  I see these cars for sale on places like Ebay and Collector Car Trader Online and such and start keeping track of them.  For example, I found these online for sale on Ebay by doing a quick search.  I found 11 2002 Collector's Edition Trans Ams with the VIN numbers of:
2g2fv22g022138323
2G2FV32G222136014
2g2fv32g522124939
2g2fv32gx22126671
2g2fv32g422126178
2g2fv32g922139959
2G2FV32GX22125004
2g2fv22g622146328
2g2fv22g322136792
2G2FV22G422114297
2g2fv22g022139231

   So right there in a search that took 10 minutes I found 11 out of 2000 cars.  Now, the VIN numbers are in numerical order how they rolled off the line, so out of these 11 cars, you can put them in order like this:
1. 2G2FV22G422114297
2. 2g2fv32g522124939
3. 2G2FV32GX22125004
4. 2g2fv32g422126178
5. 2g2fv32gx22126671
6. 2G2FV32G222136014
7. 2g2fv22g322136792
8. 2g2fv22g022138323
9. 2g2fv22g022139231
10. 2g2fv32g922139959
11. 2g2fv22g622146328

And of course you would get your VIN number and insert it in numerical order in this and start creating your own database.  Now, this might take some time and I am sure you will not get all 2000 Trans Am, but here we eliminated 12 of them right?  The 11 found online, plus yours.....  Maybe this would take a year, maybe less, maybe a lot more, but if you take some time in it and visit sites that have the cars for sale and also visit some Trans Am forums and ask for people who own these cars, you might get a lot of them knocked out and have a good idea of what number Collector's Edition car yours was when it rolled off the line. Hope this helps a little in your search.  If I find out anything more in the meantime, I will let you know.  Thanks again for visiting.

Anyone else have any ideas?

[TRAN5AM]

That is a great idea. Hitman and Deborah are on the right track.

Deborah can easily track that information in an Excel spread sheet. That way as new numbers are discovered, they can be added to the list, and easily sorted.

I would suggest that Deborah go to eBay, search for the VIN's that Hitman found, and record the auction numbers. Then at the end of the auction, she can contact both the buyer and seller, to add more information to her database.

Another thought would be to contact Pontiac Historical Services. I know they charge $35 to look up one VIN, but maybe they would be willing to work with Deborah for this project. The second to worst thing that could happen is that they say no. The worst would be not asking!

[evilways]

they may be able to supply the paint itenerary for the 2002 production run and you'll be able to tell which cars are which by the Collector's yellow paint code for color switchover...just a thought.

[Solar78]

I have what might (No it is) a dumb question...
Did the 2002 Collectors Editions only come in Yellow?

[mrbandit]

Yellow was the only color for the CE and was the only model to come with black anodized WS6 wheels.  The concept of the CE was first seen on the 99 annv. TA that had the same look with only white TA's and blue decals.  It also had one of a kind wheels, but they came with blue anodized centers.