Here's the Trans Am circa...
Here's the Trans Am circa the '70s in a photo provided by then-owner Ted Gallas.
Though Milton had owned an automatic Trans Am convertible that was featured in HPP back around 1989, this is the first of the four four-speed T/A convertibles built and is the only triple-white car. And as we learned in the July issue, Milton prefers four-speed cars.
The WS4 Trans Am option provided a 335hp R/A-III engine; high-effort power front disc-brakes; variable-ratio power steering; Custom Sports (wood) wheel; floor-shifted, three-speed manual trans; the Ride and Handling package; 3.55:1 Safe-T-Track rear; hoodscoops; fender air-extractors; rear spoiler; special blue stripes and graphics over Cameo White paint; and 7-inch wheels with F70-14 white-letter tires. Other options on this particular Pontiac are the aforementioned four-speed; pushbutton AM radio; Deluxe seatbelts with front and rear shoulder harnesses; Rally II wheels; console; tinted windshield; Walnut shift-knob; and custom interior trim.
Uniquely, this T/A generated three invoices. It was originally ordered by Pontiac executive Tom Goad to be used as the pace car for Road America and was shipped to the Pontiac Division Central Office on June 23, 1969. Then it was invoiced to the Pontiac Zone office in Pittsburgh on December 22, 1969. Ultimately, it was invoiced to Arnold Pontiac, the delivering dealer, in Houston, Pennsylvania, on April 24, 1970. Suggested retail was $4,609.34 on the first invoice; $4,736.52 on the second; and $4,677.02 on the third. The first titled owner eventually traded it in on a '73 Dodge van, and the rumor is it was later sold at a dealer auction. Wonder how much that Dodge van is worth today, eh?
After passing through another owner(s), the T/A was sold to Ted Gallas and George Marble of Ohio. Following an article on T/As published in the April '78 issue of Hot Rod magazine that stated two convertibles were built (we now know eight, of course), Ted wrote in to verify his T/A as one of the two convertibles, and he even provided the VIN. The letter was printed in the Aug. '78 issue, and he stated he bought the Pontiac with a non-stock engine in it to use as a race car. A photo of the car appeared in the Sept. '79 issue with a follow-up letter from Ted Gallas. The advice of the editor was to restore the T/A and keep it. HRM later reported that the Trans Am showed up at the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals and "stole the show."
In December 1991, it was purchased by Dick Bridges from a private collector in North Carolina. "The T/A was complete, drivable, and in presentable condition, but it was no show car," Dick said. Scott Tiemann performed a concours restoration on the T/A that now features a correct engine right down to the date codes. It was completed by January of 1994 and competed at the Detroit Autorama.
Dick loaned the T/A for display at Floyd Garrett's Muscle Car Museum until he sold it in early 2001 to a car dealer in Connecticut. It was bought soon thereafter by collector Rick Mahoney of Pennsylvania, and Milton purchased it in 2003.
Special thanks to Don Keefe for his help with the '69 Trans Am-owner history prior to Dick Bridges.