my first Trans Am i got in high scholl was a 1976 i paid $150 for it with a blown motor,it was an oringnal goldenrod yellow car with tan interior 400 auto,but when i got it, it had about four coats of diffrant color red on it,i got a 400 out of a 77 grand prix and then had the car painted black,i kept it for about three years and moved on to my next TA.
the second TA i had was a 88 GTA notchback 350 TPI, flame red metallic with tan cloth i had this car for several years untill i lost my drivers license for speeding and had to trade it in for a pickup(insurance was too high after i got my drivers license)
then i went though a long dry spell with no birds got married and had a daughter,then i had a couple camaros a 78 type LT and an 80 Z/28, but they just wern't TAs so i sold them when i found my 79 TATA that i still own.
in the last ten years i have owned another 88 GTA, a 78 W72 trans am fisher t-top auto car, an 1980 turbo formula, and a 1996 triple white trans am convert.

i now owned a 1967 firebird, an 1979 TATA, a 1991 GTA and a 2002 Trans Am collector Edition.

Interesting Firebird story collector.

I guess my Firebird stories kinda like this:

1st Trans Am I drove was a 1974 455 Trans Am, like new in 1986, I was 17 and the original owner wanted $4000.00, It might as well have been $4 million because I didn't have it.

Finally in 1989 right before my 20th Birthday I bought the 78 Trans Am that I still have to this day from the original lady owner with 76,000 miles on it for $1200.00.

Fast forward to 2000, In my search for another 1974 Trans Am (My personal Favorite body Style)...I love the shovel nose and flat rear window. I came across a rather road hard 1975 Trans Am, buccaneer Red 400 car. It was pretty decent project and although I wanted a 74 I settled for this car. After keeping it and piddling with it for about a year I just wasn't happy. No offense to 75 owners, because I love all the 2nd Gen's, but I just never likes the odd grilles with the parking lights in them in 75 and most of all I wanted a flat rear window car. So after paying $1200 for the car and spending $1000 on parts, I sold all of it for $1200.00

Fast forward to 2004 and I finally found a super solid Cameo White 74 455 Trans Am in a guy's back yard for $1000.00 and I am working on it as I get time, but I think finally next year Lord Willing It will start seeing major progress.

Finallly in 2005 I found a 22,000 mike 79 W/72 4 speed car, pristine is an understatement. I bought it for $14,000 and kept it a month or so before selling it on ebay. I would have liked to keep it, but my heart just wasn't in this car. It belonged to a collector who really isn't into driving his car's and that's just not me.

So there you have it...those are the Trans Am's I have had in my 39 years.

Very nice stories fellas! Very nice indeed! I love reading the history behind each and every current vehicle. It's hard to let go of one that you're attached to and move on to another.

So glad you had smarts to come back to Pontiac. I've seen so many "car lovers" that switched to Camaro, because they are easier to buy car parts for. WIMPS!

Feb. 14th (that's Valentines' Day), 1998 - a day that will live in infamy. That was the Saturday afternoon I actually uttered the words to my wife, "it followed me home, Honey, can I keep it? Puleeeze?" It is the day my obsession with all things Firebird began in earnest.

Back up several months. Bob, a friend and coworker of mine, had formed up TACH - the Trans Am Club of Houston - and asked me to help him with the design of a suitable club logo. I'm a reformed Mopar man and Bob a reformed 'Vette fanatic. He had picked up 3 Trans Ams recently - a '76 Firethorn Red painted primer black, an '81 turbo Bandit and a '79 TATA 400/4-speed. My most recent 'hobby car' had been a '74 Fiat X-1/9 that was built for autocrossing. My wife had talked me into getting rid of it for all the broken parts and frustrating utterances that came from my mouth whenever I worked on it.

Anyway, I had been several years without a fun car and my work on Bob's logo project sorta rekindled old flames. And there was a fellow offering to sell two Trans Am's that was advertising in the new club's newsletter. Apparently, his wife was in the same boat mine had been regarding the Fiat!

Long story short - Bob drove me out to the country to look at the fellow's cars. We were in the TATA and his first words were something to the effect of 'you don't need a car like mine'! He had a blue '79 403/auto and a gray '80 301 with T-tops. I gravitated to the removable lids. The car was in rough shape asthetically, but all the parts were there and it was mechanically sound. The owner was a mechanic with one of the largest rural GM dealerships in the area and so he kept the cars in pretty decent running shape. But they sat outside in the elements and had suffered for it. I offered him $750 cash for the gray car and to my surprise, he accepted without complaint. Perhaps it was the nasty glare I saw his wife shoot him as if he better take the money.

So that is how Gray Ghost came into my posession. I replaced the entire interior with pieces from ebay, as well as odds and ends under the hood. It's been a lowball/lowbuck project over the years and most of it has been accomplished by myself and the able advice and effort of fellow clubmenbers, especially from Bob. I owe him more on this than I could ever repay. But along the way, I've found my automotive passion. There is still work to do, including some recent issues that have cropped up. But Gray Ghost is here to stay. Besides local shows and cruises, I've driven her from Houston TX to Pensacola FL twice to attend the annual STARS (Southern Regional Trans Am Show) twice. I love road trips!

Last summer, my collection doubled in size with the addition of LadyHawk - my 2002 SLP Firehawk. It wasn't as big a bargain as Gray Ghost, but the miles on her made the purchase price reasonable. And I love having the two in the garage next to my wife's 1965 Mustang Convertible - a car that has been in her family since new!