I grew up like so many others addicted to the many USA Films & TV shows that featured so many makes & models of American vehicles usually showing them cruising or involved in exciting car chase scenarios that caught the attention of millions & I like so many others decided that the cars produced for the UK & European market such as: the Ford Cortina just did not do it for me & seemed lacking in the excitement department.
When I realised that ownership of an American car was not an impossible task and they were within the reach of anyone whose enthusiasm for these machines was so overwhelming as mine I set about the search for my very first USA manufactured vehicle.
Almost immediately my search began in Ernest & within a month I found myself driving home my first American Car a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, unfortunately that was the one & only time I was to drive the car during the first two years of ownership.
Unfortunately the car was a wreck & required a huge amount of restoration & resulted in my having to spend a small fortune on importing parts from the USA including Body panels.
Over the following months I fully restored the car completely before selling it on in order to finance the deposit for a house. The year was now 1991 and I had to endure life without a 'real car' until I could fight my passion for these cars no more and in 2003 for the second time I realized my dream & bought the car that is featured in this profile.
 The car is a 1981 Trans Am with a 301 cubic inch motor & not the 400 Big Block but the guys on the forum are helping me out with that issue with many offers of help & advice.
This particular car was the first one I viewed which was a Bonus, nothing is worse than to travel all over the Country to view vehicles that might be advertised as: Mint, Excellent Condition etc only to find they are from as advertised, fortunately for me this particular Pontiac was mechanically sound and very clean with no rust at whatsoever. I bought it from a great guy in Derbyshire who was a 'Firebird' nutter (Darren I hope you got your Bandit) we agreed the deal and off I went for an unforgettable drive home.
Two years later and the TA has never let me down, it has had bits and pieces done such as: shocks, bushes and other wear and tear items & is fitted with a kick ass Stereo which was high on my priority list for cruising sounds.
During all this time I had never been part of the American car scene but eventually decided to join the A.A.C.I and I wish Id done it years ago, it has added a whole new level to my Yank Tank ownership.
Thanks for reading my profile & I hope it goes someway to converting 'None' believers that ownership of USA cars & being part of the club scene is the only way to go.
Keep Cruising. Steve AKA: GATOR on the AACI Discussion Forum
UPDATE: The car has now gone to a new home and forum user mikeyv8 is the new owner
Prez: Brief Spec
- The overall Body design of the 1981 Trans Am remained pretty well unchanged from the previous year & retained the stamp of approval from Burt Reynolds & the Bandit era but the Firebirds engine selection was modified a little for 1981, the Formula model was now fitted with a standard 265 ci (4.3 litre)V8, which was optional on the Base and Esprit models.
- The Trans Am had a 301 ci (4.9 litre) Four Barrel V8 with Electronic Spark Control.
- Both Trans Am & Formula were optioned with a: Turbo Charged 301,V8.
- Total output for the Trans Am (V8) was 33,493. Base Firebird: 20,54 (V6/V8) Esprit: 10,938 (V6/V8) and finally the Firebird Formula (V6/V8) just 5,927 units.
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