I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was 24 years old in 1986 and graduating. I worked full-time while attending college to help pay my way through school, and I wanted to reward myself with a new car.
I was impressed with the new Sunbird GT (Turbo) convertible and wanted one. After looking them over in the showroom and listening to the sales pitch, I walked out to the new-car lot to choose a Sunbird to test drive. I stopped as I saw the new-car shipment arriving on the carrier. It was loaded with Trans Ams, and right up front, on top of the cab-staring at me-was a Bright Blue Metallic T/A.
As the truck drove by, I told the salesman that I would really love to have a new T/A but just couldn't afford it. As we walked, my mind kept going back to that blue T/A. He didn't need to put on the dog and pony show. He could tell I wanted it badly because I repeatedly brought it back into the conversation. He knew how much I would miss my old F-body-I was trading in an '82 Trans Am S/E.
He began the sales pitch with how the Sunbird would still be a Sunbird in five to ten years, while the Trans Am would have the distinction of being one of the continuing sports/muscle cars for generations. He ended with the price of a new Trans Am only being a couple thousand dollars more over the loaded Sunbird. They unloaded the Trans Am and actually let me test drive it right then.
What an experience it was taking command of its 5.0 V-8 with a four-barrel carb, four-speed automatic transmission, and 2.73 gears. It was nothing less than perfect. It was loaded with all the options (even factory louvers).
I was in heaven driving that car. I will never forget driving it home later that week and cruising with the parking lights and driving lights on to get as much attention as possible. I even passed a friend from high school on the trip home who was checking out the car before realizing it was me behind the wheel.
I drove that car everywhere for several years, including 1,100-mile vacations, towing my father's 23-foot-deck boat, meeting and dating my wife, driving the kids to school, and commuting to work 100 miles round trip. It's really been reliable-the only significant work was a new intake manifold in 1996.
I had been sitting on 198,000-199,000 miles and always wanted to see my car in High Performance Pontiac. As the news came out about Pontiac's demise and HPP's interest in the 200,000-mile club, I recently started trying to accumulate a few more miles to break that mark. For the past seven or eight years, the Trans Am has only been driven 300-400 miles per year-a few car shows, the Trans Am Nationals, and occasionally my wife takes it to work on a sunny day.
I'm glad to see an interest in finding cars such as mine that have been driven and kept by their owners. I hope to keep my T/A forever and even tagged it with a custom license plate stating that fact-it reads "RTA4EVR" (Our T/A Forever)! I hope this attitude will be embraced by my 14-year-old son and other younger kids and help keep these American-made cars going strong for years to come.
It's funny how 23 years later I can get into the Trans Am and I feel like it is part of me. To this day, my '86 Trans Am is the only new car I have ever purchased. I truly don't think that thrill will ever be matched.
Don and his T/A, circa 19...
Don and his T/A, circa 1986
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