As a child, I used to watch American cop shows featuring V8 vehicles including and not limited to Starsky & Hutch, The Rockford Files and the Dukes of Hazzard. Films at the time included Smokey and the Bandit, Mad Max, Vanishing Point, Thunderbolt & Lightfoot, Bullitt, The Canonball Run to mention a few. The filmed vehicles inspired me to own a V8 one day.
Having been to Santa Pod a few times, once in a friend’s 1981 Pontiac Firebird and another time in Mustang MK2 5.0, strengthened the desire to own a V8. I loved the burble of torque from these powerful engines compared to the mainly mainstream cars on the roads.
When I was around 23, in the days before the World Wide Web, I began purchasing guide books covering models such as the 70’s Pontiac Firebirds. I extended my research via books, club memberships and any gathering literature I could lay my hands on at the time. I initially hoped to purchase in the near future a 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Subsequent TV shows such as Knight Rider which featured a third generation Pontiac Firebird opened my eyes to options of alternative models. This third generation Firebird looked an attractive proposition as it was younger in years and would probably be more resilient as a daily driver and commuter.
I scrutinized the pages of the weekly printed Auto Trader (remember no online version yet). A great read for a car enthusiast. I had a budget of no more £3000, which I calculated from saved funds and using my credit cards if necessary (not the best or sensible option!) I kept a lookout for any Trans Am’s for sale around my budget up to a reasonable distance away for viewing. The year was 1990. Weeks went by without a suitable model for sale for me to consider. There were more left hand drive American vehicles on the roads back then so various models did come up for sale and the Auto Trader magazine had a separate section for American and left hand vehicles.
A couple of possibilities came up but they were many miles away so it was a toss up whether to take the time and fuel to visit or just wait. I was busy with work commitments, so I left these for possible consideration if they were still for sale in a week or two.
One Saturday afternoon when I was working, on my tea break, I browsed the local town newspaper vehicles for sale section. I couldn’t believe, a 1986 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in black and silver, with T-tops and the 5.0 litre HO engine was for sale about 2 miles from where I lived. Was this meant to be ? The advertised price was £3900. This was over my budget, but could be negotiable I thought. I telephoned the advertised number. A lady answered and explained that it was her husbands car and he had passed away. I arranged a viewing in the next couple of days and she explained that she would ask a male friend to meet me and deal with the viewing.
I visited the address given after work a few days later. I was anxious as I was sold on the car already without seeing it. It was the specification I wanted, it was local and it could fall into my budget if I was lucky. I met the lady’s friend. He took me for a test drive, he drove. I wanted it. Once parked back up, I did the usual exterior, interior, engine compartment, boot, or trunk I should say, and underneath looking for rusty sills and the like. My budget was approximately £3000. I explained this and hoped the proxy seller would be interested. He wasn’t. He wanted £3600. Damn! I had to think of a plan B quickly. I wanted this car. So I said that I would have to leave it then, but I would possibly be able to raise another £300 in a couple of days making it £3300 if he was interested. I left him my number and I said I would ring him back then and see what’s what and if he still had the car. I drove away gutted. I thought I probably would not be the next owner. I needed to raise that extra money (which was a lot back then) and hope he would drop more on the price.
This F-body, third generation offering as it was known, was definitely more aerodynamic looking than the previous generation. Carburettor based, the 5.0 litre engine only gave 190 HP but the pull away from the automatic gearbox felt dramatic and powerful. The long bodied rear wheel drive set-up was obviously twitchy in the wet and you to handle with care. It was a heavy car, just the glass was a considerable weight contribution, the removable T-tops that went into a bag in the boot, the large windscreen and the nearly all glass hatchback supporting itself.
I managed to raise I think another £330 bringing it to £3300. I rang the number back and got the lady again. I explained my latest offer. She said the car was mine. I was over the moon.
I owned her for approximately 5 years and committed the round trip of 40 miles each working day to the office. My colleagues thought I was mad but I enjoyed using it and achieved around 25 mpg.The first time I took it for a MOT to my usual choice of garage, they advised that the Trans Am was too heavy for their ramps and recommended that I try a commercial vehicle MOT station.
I subsequently booked her in at an appropriate garage that looked after the local council’s vehicles. The MOT tester personally owned a second generation Trans Am himself which was great and he certainly knew what he was looking at when testing it. We are still friends today, some 34 years later and he runs his own specialised American car garage now.
With exception of some required front suspension bushes and new exhaust sections, I did all the maintenance and servicing myself including replacement of the usual consumables such as brake, batteries, alternator and the likes of ancillaries that wear out.
Of course, it wasn’t the most practical of cars, especially when the T-tops were stored in the shallow boot space. I did own a family car too for the practical life tasks. Features on this Trans Am included pop-up lights, which are now a retro thing of the past. Other marques and models such as the Porsche 924, 944 & 928, BMW 8 series, Corvettes, Ferrari 348 and Lotus Espirit incorporated this feature. The T-tops in vehicles are super rare, un-necessary today as folding roofs exist in various guises. The 85mph speedometer that was fitted, was a US government ruling thing that the vehicle manufacturers had to comply to. If you did get an opportunity (on a private road) to exceed the UK legal limit, you were then unaware of your velocity reading.
The usual burble of the V8 engine was present that has a habit of making car enthusiasts smile whilst driving. For me, this was the start of my V8 owning journey. I still own and drive V8’s today. Of course that will change in a few years, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.
