Hey guys, I've been haunting this site since 2007, and finally joined in 2008 or so.
I bought my first Trans Am when I was 16. That was in 2007. She was a non Y84, black on black, 403, ttop car. I loved that car to death. When I bought her, she was in sorry shape. Barely ran, blown head gasket, etc. I only owned her for a total 4 months, as I had to sell her because she required more work than I could afford to do. But the bug had bitten me. I swore I would own another 2nd gen. A few months went by, and I was able to pick up a barn-fresh 1981 Turbo Trans Am. I bought that car as a non runner. I finally got it to run, and I drove it for 2 1/2 years as my DD. Regretfully, I finally sold it; I got burnt out fiddling with all of the ECM stuff, feedback carb, etc..(dont judge me!! lol) Many T/As came and went, but none could ever match my first love. There was just something about it. Maybe the old saying about first loves is actually true... Well, Last October, I was able to sell my old F100. Two days later, I spotted an ad on C-list for a '79 Trans Am Ttop. It was right down the road, so I checked it out. It was in great shape for the money. The interior was MIA, but the body was solid. He swore the motor ran, but the car was in a place where he couldn't (and was too lazy to) jump it off with cables. He put a jump box on it, and the motor barely turned. For whatever reason, he thought the motor was shot. I knew it would run. He was asking 1500, but I offered 1000. He countered with 1350, and I bought it. The next day, I bought a battery over, threw it in the car, and she fired right up. His face was horrible. I drove her home, with no problem.
The economy has his me pretty hard ( I am a land surveyor), so the car has stayed in the same shape since I bought it. When I bought the car, I had that same old "pie-in-the-sky" gameplan. You know, the one where somehow, car parts fall from the sky, and money grows in the backyard. Well, it doesn't, so I had to re-evaluate my plans for the car. After fighting the thought of selling my dream car, I decided I would rather drive around a beat up old trans am, than no trans am at all......
