Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

Z51JEFF · 05-07-2010

I thought you guys might get a kick out of this so Ill post it,not Z related but just as rare.I got a story for ya.Right around 82-83 I got a friend of mine that tells me he knows this old guy that owns a 1969 TransAm.So we got by the old timers house and check out the car.Totally blew me away,I knew how rare the car was and here was one right in front of me.The owner it turns out was a race driver of some type and Pontiac gave him the car for $1.00.The guy gives us a ride like nothing Ive ever experienced in my life,and hope I never will again!We made it from Fremont to Livermore in 10 minutes,120 M.P.H through Niles Canyon.When we got in the car my friend Phil fought me for shot gun,on the return trip he fought me for the back seat,I can still see the expression on his face through clinched teeth,your sittin in front.In one of the old pictures you can see the old guy smoking a cigarette.This guy smoked from the time he answered the front door,all throught the -TEST DRIVE- to when we thanked him for his time.This car wasnt thrashed but it was drivin every single day of its life.Fast forward to the modern age.Ive always thought about the car,at one point I heard a body owner bought it and I wanted to share the pictures,no dice.So I get in the Internet and joined a few of the T/A forums trying to track down the owner,no dice.Yesterday Im cruising down Fremont BLVD................and 69 TransAm turns in front of me,it must have takin 10 minutes for that light to change,car was long gone.I start thinking,the hood was off,theres a few repair shops down the strret,lets take a look,BINGO!Turns out the current owner was a car guy that was a long time friend of the first owner,when he died........at age 92 his widow gave him the car and hes now in the process of having it restored.Im in touch with the owner and when its done Ill get some nice picture,Hello Jay!Heres some 30 year old pictures and a few I took today.Check out the paint stripe on the left side of the roof-hood,this is factory.Ive seen several old Pontiac ads and some of the cars had the same stripe screw up,it might have been the same car.The shop working on the car now had the owner keep the hood in safe storage,ITS WORTH $15,000!This car is one of 602 I think.[IMG]

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flyin ryan · 05-08-2010

Just plain F**kin' BAD A**!!!

BTW...Love the pants

ZR1Vette · 05-08-2010

Wow...luck of the draw! I wish I could find my 1973 "Trans Am"...

This was a true 'sleeper'... long story made short I was able to custom order the car (had become casual friends with a Pontiac dealership owner and they could order about any combo they wanted). He simply handed me a form and asked if I knew how to fill out meaning one with little blanks that you fill in with a pencil so a 'reader' could scan...this is early computer technology folks

. Any way, I ordered a SD455 with a 4 spd and with dual cold air intakes and limited slip... BUT that set up (not the dual intakes) was for only the Trans Am model but I wanted in the Formula version...no shaker hood or that big screaming eagle on the hood... I do not know of any other 1973 that was built in this configuration... why oh why did I ever get rid of that car

tomtom72 · 05-08-2010

Yea, you just have to love the pants!

Holy smokes

....is that a "stove pipe" 303 car?.....I remember that road test in C&D? or one of the other big mags at the time. I wanted one of those so badly I could taste it back in '69.....like some high school kid could afford that car!

Nice detective work Jeff!

ScottZ95ZR1 · 05-08-2010

Cool story! I remember you posted pics of that car months ago and how you hoped you could find it and doubted you ever would.

Wild and against the odds that it would pull out right in front of you!

I think I'd buy some lottery tickets quick.

LT-5 Music · 05-08-2010

Very cool story.

Z51JEFF · 05-08-2010

If I would have had any brains I would have kept in touch with the original owner,I might have gottin it for free.Im going to get together with the current owner when the car is done for some pictures with the Z.This guy had an odd looking Alfa Romeo in the garage,later found out it was a Zagato? that sold for $300,000 years ago.

phrogs · 05-09-2010

so no chance of talking him out of it is there!

secondchance · 05-10-2010

Really cool story!

Ltfive · 05-10-2010

Hey Jeff, I got one for ya! I worked with a guy in Houston about ten years ago. He's a big Pontiac guy, had a restored '70 Ram Air III Judge at the time. Starts telling me about a '69 Trans Am he bought new. New. Then he mentions "convertible". Now THAT got my attention. They only made somewhere between nine and thirteen '69 TA 'verts (the number is under debate). I knew about them because a college roommate and longtime friend of mine had a '68 bird coupe and then a '69 convertible bird when we roomed together. It had a built 400 and was a beast. We always joked about making a phantom '69 TA 'vert out of it, but he never did.
Anyway, I grill the Houston guy about the car, and he swears it was all just as he said. I made him bring in pics, and sure enough, the guy had a '69 TA 'vert!
He sold the car back in the early seventies when gas got bad, and didn't get much money for it! Hindsight, right! He still has records of the VIN, and there is a historical Pontiac site that knows where these cars are, and they list his as out of the country. Which is correct, because he knew that the buyer took it to South America somewhere.

05-07-2010	#1
Z51JEFF Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Fremont,Ca Posts: 3,051	Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. I thought you guys might get a kick out of this so Ill post it,not Z related but just as rare.I got a story for ya.Right around 82-83 I got a friend of mine that tells me he knows this old guy that owns a 1969 TransAm.So we got by the old timers house and check out the car.Totally blew me away,I knew how rare the car was and here was one right in front of me.The owner it turns out was a race driver of some type and Pontiac gave him the car for $1.00.The guy gives us a ride like nothing Ive ever experienced in my life,and hope I never will again!We made it from Fremont to Livermore in 10 minutes,120 M.P.H through Niles Canyon.When we got in the car my friend Phil fought me for shot gun,on the return trip he fought me for the back seat,I can still see the expression on his face through clinched teeth,your sittin in front.In one of the old pictures you can see the old guy smoking a cigarette.This guy smoked from the time he answered the front door,all throught the -TEST DRIVE- to when we thanked him for his time.This car wasnt thrashed but it was drivin every single day of its life.Fast forward to the modern age.Ive always thought about the car,at one point I heard a body owner bought it and I wanted to share the pictures,no dice.So I get in the Internet and joined a few of the T/A forums trying to track down the owner,no dice.Yesterday Im cruising down Fremont BLVD................and 69 TransAm turns in front of me,it must have takin 10 minutes for that light to change,car was long gone.I start thinking,the hood was off,theres a few repair shops down the strret,lets take a look,BINGO!Turns out the current owner was a car guy that was a long time friend of the first owner,when he died........at age 92 his widow gave him the car and hes now in the process of having it restored.Im in touch with the owner and when its done Ill get some nice picture,Hello Jay!Heres some 30 year old pictures and a few I took today.Check out the paint stripe on the left side of the roof-hood,this is factory.Ive seen several old Pontiac ads and some of the cars had the same stripe screw up,it might have been the same car.The shop working on the car now had the owner keep the hood in safe storage,ITS WORTH $15,000!This car is one of 602 I think.[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

05-08-2010	#2
flyin ryan Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta or Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 2,742	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Just plain Fkin' BAD A!!! BTW...Love the pants __________________ There are no limit's mans ingenuity, just as mans ingenuity will never conquer the forces & behavior of this planet...Smokey Y.

05-08-2010	#3
ZR1Vette Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Reston, Virginia Posts: 939	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Wow...luck of the draw! I wish I could find my 1973 "Trans Am"... This was a true 'sleeper'... long story made short I was able to custom order the car (had become casual friends with a Pontiac dealership owner and they could order about any combo they wanted). He simply handed me a form and asked if I knew how to fill out meaning one with little blanks that you fill in with a pencil so a 'reader' could scan...this is early computer technology folks . Any way, I ordered a SD455 with a 4 spd and with dual cold air intakes and limited slip... BUT that set up (not the dual intakes) was for only the Trans Am model but I wanted in the Formula version...no shaker hood or that big screaming eagle on the hood... I do not know of any other 1973 that was built in this configuration... why oh why did I ever get rid of that car __________________ Michael :cheers: [I][SIZE="2"]1990 RED on RED #566[/SIZE][/I] [I][SIZE="2"]WAZOO MEMBER[/I][/SIZE]

05-08-2010	#4
tomtom72 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Jacksonville, FL USA Posts: 4,645	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Yea, you just have to love the pants! Holy smokes....is that a "stove pipe" 303 car?.....I remember that road test in C&D? or one of the other big mags at the time. I wanted one of those so badly I could taste it back in '69.....like some high school kid could afford that car! Nice detective work Jeff! __________________ 1990 ZR-1, Black/grey, #2233, stock. ZR-1 Net Reg Founding Member #316 & NCM member

05-08-2010	#5
ScottZ95ZR1 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pendleton, IN Posts: 647	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Cool story! I remember you posted pics of that car months ago and how you hoped you could find it and doubted you ever would. Wild and against the odds that it would pull out right in front of you! I think I'd buy some lottery tickets quick.

05-08-2010	#6
LT-5 Music Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: NY State Posts: 87	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Very cool story. __________________ Skip

05-09-2010	#8
phrogs Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Kalamazoo MI Posts: 1,745	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. so no chance of talking him out of it is there! __________________ JOHNNY P Currently own 90 ZR-1 #845 DRM 500 engine package 90 #226 Parts car Hit me up if you need anything.

05-10-2010	#9
secondchance Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: McLean, VA Posts: 3,707	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Really cool story!

05-10-2010	#10
Ltfive Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Jose Posts: 43	Re: Found it,the needle in the haystack after 30 years. Hey Jeff, I got one for ya! I worked with a guy in Houston about ten years ago. He's a big Pontiac guy, had a restored '70 Ram Air III Judge at the time. Starts telling me about a '69 Trans Am he bought new. New. Then he mentions "convertible". Now THAT got my attention. They only made somewhere between nine and thirteen '69 TA 'verts (the number is under debate). I knew about them because a college roommate and longtime friend of mine had a '68 bird coupe and then a '69 convertible bird when we roomed together. It had a built 400 and was a beast. We always joked about making a phantom '69 TA 'vert out of it, but he never did. Anyway, I grill the Houston guy about the car, and he swears it was all just as he said. I made him bring in pics, and sure enough, the guy had a '69 TA 'vert! He sold the car back in the early seventies when gas got bad, and didn't get much money for it! Hindsight, right! He still has records of the VIN, and there is a historical Pontiac site that knows where these cars are, and they list his as out of the country. Which is correct, because he knew that the buyer took it to South America somewhere.