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I appreciate the nomination and the opportunity to present my 1988 Trans Am. The winners thus far this year and all the nominees have had fantastic third gens. I'm always amazed at the work many of the TGO members have done to maintain and improve their vehicles.
Here's my story...
After graduating from college in May of 1987 I started thinking, or really dreaming, about buying a sports car / muscle car. My dad had always been a GM guy and thus that kind of made me one by default. The Ford Mustang was really the only other option at that time in the class of cars I was considering, but it didn't do much for me and I just gravitated toward the Camaros and Firebirds. I especially liked both the IROC and the Trans Am models. I took both for test drives and spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the brochures. Both were great cars and really couldn't go wrong in my opinion.
Ultimately I think I liked the interior a little better on the Pontiacs as well as a few things on the exterior including the pop-up headlights and the rear spoiler. So after working up a budget to save enough for a down payment, I ordered the car I wanted from a local Pontiac dealer in February 1988. The anticipation over the next 8 weeks was nearly unbearable. The car arrived around the 3rd week of April and I was ecstatic.
When I finally got it home I just wanted to drive it. I never thought about how long I may have it or that I would have it now for 29+ years. That first summer I put 12,000 miles on it. When November came around I put it into storage as fortunately I still had my old 1975 Olds Delta 88 that had previously been my parents car. So needless to say the Trans Am has never seen snow or salt that come with Wisconsin winters.
The next year I put on 6,000 miles, and each year after the miles diminished. My wife and I got married in 1990 and we did drive the Trans Am up to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior for our honeymoon, but after we had kids there were a number of summers where I never even took it out of storage. That was tough. Getting it back out in the spring is always a great feeling with much anticipation. So this year I finally got it out of winter hibernation on April 30th and the car is running and performing perfectly.
As for the car itself, it is a 305 TPI with a 5-speed manual transmission and the WS-6 suspension package. T-tops, power everything, and AM/FM with cassette. The car just hit 49,900 miles this past weekend. Until recently, everything was still stock with the exception of the tires (which were finally replaced a few years ago), the alternator (that finally died three years ago), and the water pump that I just replaced last summer. Paint and all interior items are original. I did install new after market speakers last fall as the factory speakers had started to crackle, but the head unit is still original. The speakers are still concealed and I the size matches the stock speakers so as to avoid cutting anything.
I mentioned "until recently" the car was stock. I have a 20 year old son who I taught to drive this 5-speed manual transmission in a big parking lot before he turned 15. He is his own person who has become mechanically gifted and has really taken an appreciation for third gens as well as other cars from the 60's and 70's. With encouragement from my son, I have decided to have some fun again with the car and perform some minor performance upgrades.
As such we are just finishing removing the stock manifold and exhaust and installing Dyno Don's headers along with a Magnaflow catalytic converter and complete Magnaflow 16829 cat-back system. No pictures just yet - sorry. Next year we may tackle a new cam and related upgrades, but for now we are looking forward to a little HP boost with the headers and exhaust.
The color of my '88 Trans Am Maui Blue with the silver ground effects. In the Trans Am model, this was the only year for this paint scheme. As mentioned above this is the original paint. It is a survivor!
Thanks for your consideration for this month's TGO COTM!
punkmaster98 is overseas at present, and is unable to post a submission. He has sent me some photos and info about his GTA and asked that I do a submission for his car on his behalf - which I have agreed to do. It will have to wait until tomorrow, as I am about to head to work and be away from my CPU. It will be done tomorrow.
I notice basically half the votes were in before there was even a write up. WHAT GIVES PEOPLE?!
COTM gives me the rare opportunity to vote on a car, based on WHATEVER criteria I want! ...typically, I will wait on all the write ups. To me, the blood sweat and tears, and or the story and journey of a car is what really makes me cast a final vote. On occasion, a car gets my vote on its own merit. DeezNuts94 last month....that car is just incredible! ...and it's not overly exotic, but it was done exactly to my taste. Knew it'd get my vote the minute I saw it nom'd.
KFSullivan is THIS close!!!! ...THIS close to getting my vote, but I'm gonna wait to see what else turns up!!!!!!!
The Car is an '87 GTA.
It was originally red but the previous owner painted it gunmetal grey. The color combo between the interior and exterior has grown on me because I've never seen it before, so i left it as such.
The drive train is a mild cam lq4 6.0 from a 2005 express Van mated to a built 4l60E with 3200 FTI Street Brawler stall. The rear end is a fabricated from a Ford 8.8 off a '98 mustang and the 10 bolt from my '92. The drive train combo was originally in a '92 Firebird that I daily drove throughout college and for a short period after. Eventually I needed a new shell as winter driving had taken its toll on my '92 and this was purchased as a donor.
Pocket converted the harness over from '92 to '87 and made it plug and play. The harness is wired for both auto and stick and though the auto is installed the clutch hydraulics and pedal are mounted in the car as well.
Subframe connectors fabricated and installed by TGO member, MW66nova. Bigbrakeupgrade c6 brake kit in the front helps make coming to a stop much better over stock.
Thanks to the help of many other TGO members for both LS swap help and general tech advice, and a lot of hard work, I've been able to make this car a solid driver. Thanks for the nomination. Hope to cross paths cruising in the future.
COTM gives me the rare opportunity to vote on a car, based on WHATEVER criteria I want! ...
I was just hoping voting took more consideration than how my cat always chooses krinkly paper over other toys. If not then there is no point to all this.
I was just hoping voting took more consideration than how my cat always chooses krinkly paper over other toys. If not then there is no point to all this.
Did you read my whole post or just the first sentence?
....but my point, which I stand by....is that you, and I, and everyone isn't bound by a set of criteria like most car shows/judging. The goal is to highlight the community's best cars. To that end, the story behind the car doesn't really mean ANYTHING. But as you can see if you read my whole post....and most other member's sentiments as well....the story DOES often impact the final choice. Sometimes though....I choose the krinkly paper. At least I don't poop in box, in your house.
EDIT - I guess my feeling is that I'm glad that ALL factors can help snag a COTM win. Maybe the story is very appealing. Maybe you just bought it, but the car is an immaculate 999 point car. Maybe it's pretty clean, but it's some real unique engine combo. Maybe you turned your own wrenches. Most of these things don't matter at a show, but here ALL things matter. Sometimes the super impressive.....sometimes the krinkly.
Did you read my whole post or just the first sentence?
Yes, I know what you're doing. The subject is about the 18 votes that rolled in before anybody could do a write-up. Historically that is about 50% of the votes. I would find that disappointing if I were a contestant this month. Same rationale why I won't vote for somebody that does not participate with a write-up.
Which brings me to the topic of voting.... I notice basically half the votes were in before there was even a write up. WHAT GIVES PEOPLE?!
I also wait until all the write ups are in. Even if I believe I know which car I'll vote for before the thread opens I wait in case one of the cars is hiding something I hadn't noticed. Unfortunately I also won't vote for anybody that does not participate by doing a writeup. PunkMaster has a valid excuse, but I can't vote for Mgg if there is no write up, I don't vote for the cars purely based on looks.
I'm a sucker for phrases like:
1. I painted the car myself
2. I made/welded those in myself
3. I spent months tracking down just the right car and this was it
4. I drive it to and from the track
and my personal favorite
5. Free drinks for whoever votes for me!
I just voted now. Im afraid if i wait for the last write up any longer i'll forget to vote! I nominated KFSullivan because his car looked great. I had no idea it was pretty much all original and that he had it for that long! Punkmaster though...wow. The gunmetal looks great and the lq4 engine is a beast. In the end i went with my original nomination although i really had to think about it. The condition and story did it for me, but either car is very deserving!
I went for the Maui Trans Am. It is very uncharacteristic of me to choose a stock car, but that's a rare color combo and it looks good. And to be fair it is a lot of work to keep a car in that good condition. Contrary to popular belief it doesn't happen just because you park it.
Bleh...it's really annoying when all the cars are amazing hah. 3 things pushed me to vote for punkmaster. His car is amazing(obviously), he is serving our country(thank you) and it tied to vote for the time being at least hehe.
kfsullivans car is maybe one of the best looking ive ever seen on here and who wouldn't want the TPI/5spd combo? punkmaster98 is serving our great country in the military and has a bada$$ GTA with a 6.0! I recently drove a Fox body Mustang with a cammed LQ4 and it was way impressive to say the least. Mgg4591, beautiful LS Camaro. Wow its a hard decision between those Pontiacs when both cars are real winners!
Well, seems like if its not one thing its another these days.
I received a PM today from punkmaster98, who is in fact overseas, wanting to make it clear that he is not in the military. He has had limited access to the internet and was informed by a friend/member that he is being presumed "in the military."
When he reached out to me for assistance with his COTM submission, he explained that he was overseas on a vessel, and I presumed that meant a US Navy Vessel. I regret not having sought further clarification in light of the fact that his presumed military service was a factor for some in the voting. I certainly didn't mean see punkmaster98 win by deception, and neither did he.
This doesn't change the fact that his GTA is an amazing Third Gen. But, with the voting this close, had this misunderstanding not been a factor, it may have changed the outcome.
As a runner-up, KFSullivan is automatically in the running for December's contest, which is always entirely runner-ups [who did not win a subsequent contest]. I do that to give great cars like his a much deserved second shot to represent, plus, it frees everyone up around the holidays to be able to just vote, and not have to seek out a fresh nominee.
Also, as an audible, I'm putting KFSullivan into next month's contest automatically, if that's okay with him.
That unfortunate bit of confusion notwithstanding, this month was a great contest. It was razor thin, just like I knew it would be. Even the lone Camaro in the group deserved the love it got, on it's merits alone, despite it's owner not participating. I was glad to see a winner and not to have had to cast a deciding vote.
I seem to have gotten an error saying the message was not sent. Hopefully it goes through and you get this. A friend send me a quote of part of the cotm thread and I wanted to just clear the air that I'm not in the military. I'm an engineer on a commercial ship that carries cargo. So I spent 6+ months over seas. Thanks again for your time and understanding. Looking forward to driving my car when i get home.
Thanks for clarifying, but Punkmaster98 has a great car and the members here vote for many different reasons. Certainly I feel no ill-will as we all do our best to present honestly and evenly. So congratulations to Punkmaster98. Great car and fantastic work!
As for next month, I'm sure the members want a fresh look at some new and well deserving entries. I can wait for the "bridesmaid" entries in December.
Thanks Linson for all your efforts in pulling the COTM together. I know it's a lot of work!
08-22-2017, 02:08 PM
I wish men who drive 3rd gens wouldn't use words like krinkly 
