What brought you to be a Trans Am fan?

Pontiac Trans Am Memories

Posted January 17 2008 12:32 PM by Chris Phillip
Filed under: Editorials, Pontiac Firebird

What was the first Trans Am you ever rode in?

Did it make you a Pontiac fan for life? What year Trans Am was it? Whose was it? And what was that very first ride in a Trans Am like? What are your thoughts and comments?

Reader Comments:

1. My first TA ride was in 80 or 81. My older cousin's boyfriend bought a gold 77 or 78 TA with a 400 auto, with yellow traction bars (she still has him, the TA is long gone!). He let my Dad take it for a drive and my brother and I sat in the back seat (I was ten or eleven, my brother was 3 years younger), and I remember watching Dad manual shift the automatic and seeing the tach and speedo needles climb, seemingly at the same rate. Dad had bought a 67 326HO 'bird brand new and I grew up with the stories of how great it was. My first car was supposed to be a 77 Firebird with a 350/auto but it sold before I could get the loan. I settled for an 80 Camaro, then a couple of 81 Lemans' and a 97 GP SE before finally getting my Formula a year and a half ago.

barneyformula - Posted January 18 2008 02:44 PM

2. The first time I rode in a Trans Am was April of 1999. I was 18 years old. I had seen this red 82' Trans Am in town for a while and had always wanted that car. It reminded me of KITT from Knight Rider. It had the Turbo Cast wheels, the offset domed hood and T-Tops. I finally stopped and asked the owner if he would consider selling his beautiful car. He informed me that it was his wifes car but maybe she would consider selling it in the near future. We exchanged numbers and 8 months later, my childhood dream car was mine. The car had a Crossfire Injected 305 with a TH200C automatic. Now it sports a 495HP 383 Stroker, TH700R4 Automatic with a Borg Warner 9bolt rearend. This year of car symbolizes my love for Trans Ams that stretches back to early childood. There is no better feeling than turning that key, hearing the sound from the exhaust, taking off those T-Tops, and going for a long cruise on a hot summer night. I am a Pontiac fan for life and my Trans Ams (I have two now) will be with me forever.

WarpVelocity9.9 - Posted January 20 2008 09:52 PM

3. About 1972 a guy I knew had a '71 455HO auto and took me for a ride down a winding residential street (speed limit 30) that most people would drive at 20-25. In the TA he ran it up to 70-75 and held it there all the way. At the time I thought TAs were funny looking with the spoilers, air extractors and backwards hood scoop, but the performance was very impressive.
A couple of years later I drove a '72 455HO 4speed and was completely sold.

1973TransAm - Posted January 25 2008 12:55 PM

4. My first T/A was a '78 black and gold Limited Ed. that my Pops bought for me from a co-worker for $1800 (my reward for mixing and pouring a 50' x 9' conrete driveway by shovel) when I was 17. The car needed front end suspension work (bad shake at 80 mph) and had two LH T-tops, but they were always off in summer (later on I fixed that problem). I was always first choice for the Jones Beach run from Rosedale, and was always amazed how many people I could fit in the car with the T-tops off. The girls did like that car!

blackbird72 - Posted January 26 2008 11:31 PM

5. My first ride was my brothers 79 Ta, All I remember is going down the highway sideways, I have been hooked ever since.

MotorCityThreads.com - Posted January 30 2008 10:18 PM

6. My mom bought a brand new 1968 firebird in 68. I was cursed from that day on.

Ram_Air_Six - Posted September 24 2008 03:55 PM

7. my first ride was in 1973 in a 1973 formula 400 4 speed stick, bucc. red and white vinyl top with white deluxe interior. My Dad bought it in Lebanon, and I took it over when I turned 18. LOVED THAT CAR !!!!!!.

Because of it now I have 1 formula and two SD TAs

SD_Youssef - Posted April 12 2009 04:40 PM

8. Hi all
My first exp with TransAm was in about 1975 the lady down the road had a 70 white TA with The blue stripe I would not leave her alone about the car about a year later i found another 1970 TA for sale just like it for about 900.00 at the time in grate shapeI was only 15 I beged my dad and worked hard and he helped me by it we rebuilt the motor and i had one hell of a first car..........

71whiteta - Posted May 14 2009 09:56 AM

9. Hi all
My first exp with TransAm was in about 1975 The lady down the road had a 70 white TA with The blue stripe and I would not leave her alone about that car then about a year later I found another 1970 TA in very good shape for sale just like hers for only 900.00 but I was only 15 at the time I beged my dad and worked hard and he helped me buy it ..We rebuilt the motor and i had one hell of a first car..........

71whiteta - Posted May 14 2009 10:04 AM

10. My first Pontiac Firebird was a 1994 Pontiac Formula. It was a great ride and looked like a brand new car even in 2005. I had people constantly ask me if I had a new car! I added a few goodies such as hooker headers, a lingenfelter CAI, Crane 1.6 Roller Rockers, flowmaster exhaust, and much more. This really woke up the LT1 and I was able to take down many new cars on the road. It was nice being able to take down Brand New cars in a car that was over 10 years old! Thanks to the internet, I was able to find help on sites like FirebirdNation.com, which only fuels the horsepower addiction once you see what everyone else is running.

Bobage24 - Posted September 13 2010 07:58 PM

11. My first experience with a T/A came by luck. I was looking for a Camaro around the year 1976. My father had to co-sign since I only 16 years old. When he noticed Camaro's were $300 bucks more than other cars of the same year and condition, he ask if there was another kind of car I would like to have instead.....I said, OK, I'll take a GTO. We went to Dave Waite Pontiac in Indianapolis to check out the used car lot for a GTO. When the sales guy said he hadn't seen any used GTO's for a few years I looked over and saw an older dude cleaning the stuff out of the trunk of what looked like a white Camaro that had a big wide blue stripe down the center. I asked the sales guy if the white with blue stripe Camaro was being traded in? He said, "Son, that's not a Camaro, that is a Trans Am". I took it out for a test drive and knew then it was far more cool than any Camaro, and if we bought it "as is" he would let it go for $1200. Needless to say, I got this 1971 455HO 4 speed T/A as my first car, and still have it to this day...fully restored. The stories I could tell.......

JPeek - Posted January 7 2013 06:03 PM

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