Do you miss it?
 

Now that my '70 LS5 has gone to a new home, I will be starting a search for my next car. Do you ever miss your first car and try to find another? My '79 Trans Am that I bought brand new when I was a senior at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We flew out and picked them up at the factory and then drove back.

'

Cool pic and story, how many of you flew out/drove away then?:flag:
Is your Original car just MIA and possibly still existing or known dead/gone/scrapped?
:beers:
~ Pete

.

About 150 of us flew out and picked them up at the factory in Pontiac, MI. We flew out right after finals ended our 2nd class year (juniors) as only First Class cadets (seniors) were allowed to have cars back then. We were met at the airport by a fleet of luxury buses and then driven to the factory where a marching band played the Air Force song and we had lunch at the corporate HQ. We were so excited we could barely eat lunch. After a few corporate speakers, we ran out to the storage lot where the cars were lined up in formation. We all drove back together in small packs. 150 college seniors with brand new Trans Am's or Formula's. They had banners all over the place that welcomed us. Truly a cool time in my life. There was even a plane flying over with a 'Welcome USAFA Cadets" banner flying over. That was an annual tradition back then.

The car is long since gone, no idea were it is today. Most of us put in aftermarket radios back then as the factory units were lousy. Pioneer Super Tuners and Jensen 6 x 9's were the hot ticket. Mine was the 403 Olds engine with an automatic as you could no longer get the Pontiac 400/4 speed due to emissions changes. Still, a great highway car.

Cool story!

Way cool, thanks for sharing!:worship:

Great story. Would be cool to find your original car. You just never know.

I have wanted to track down a '64 GTO I had in 1986, it was a former drag car. The trail is cold, I never saved the VINs of cars I had back then. I heard it's in Oak Park IL.

Put an ad On Craigslist for Oak Park? :hmmm:

Great Story :)

I am very fortunate to still own my original car.....I have owned it since 1978.

Dan

Cool story! I am fortunate to have attended an AF Academy Graduation, great experience, and thank you for your service!! :flag:

I am fortunate to still have my first car, '67, since '67.

Bill W

----Don't miss mine either. My Dad gave it to me with the proviso that I would keep it when I was 14. 1948 Willys Jeepster. I haven't even had it out of storage this year and it makes me sad as it's really a fun old bugger that I have done a driver style resto on in bits and pieces over the years. I really should do some suspension work on it as it loves to change lanes for no reason at all! Funny part,,,,My dad trade a Maytag washer and dryer for it in 1955......Bill S

'

If you have the Vin, try Googling if you haven't already also asking your current Insurance Co. if in their system.
When at your Vehicle Licensing Office for other reasons, ask nicely while offering a piece of paper w/ Vin clearly noted right after they ask if anything else they can help you with today.
If Plate known but not Vin, note Plate # + Year/Make/Model/Body style etc on the paper and be ready w/ pen in case a nice lady tries for you and offers any results.

Love to hear more of the Factory Drive-away story also see any pics you can share.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

Great story. Did you all buy thru the same dealership/ salesman? That would be an awesome sight to see 150 of those rolling in to town.

Helluva commission for that dealership/salesmen if he did.
They're still probably talking about that today..

Great stories! I’m fortunate to have my first car since 1989.

Yeah that '64 GTO former drag car was my first car that I purchased. It had a white top, most of the body was kind of a purple, had "Insanity" pin striped on the quarters. One fender and the hood were an electric blue, I saw the donor parts car they came off of. I sold it to a guy named Rick who later told me he repainted it red, which it was originally. It had a SBC Chevy with a slightly busted block where the starter goes.

It was a big deal back then too. Always made the local news plus there was usually a full color picture on the front page of the Denver Post or Colorado Springs Gazette. The class before me had a huge spread on it as their cars were lined up in the staging area to look like a giant jet fighter. Way cool. The vast majority of the cars were Trans Ams and were bought through Colvin Pontiac in Denver who was the lead on this deal and arranged the factory pickup. They had a young rep from Colvin come out to the Academy all decked out in Pontiac Gear with a Pontiac Racing type jacket on and he got us all pumped up about the 400/4 speed versions. Sometime during the order period, we found out that was no longer possible so we split between the 301/4 speeds and the 403 Olds with the automatic. I think we got them for like $50 over cost which was unheard of back then before the internet. I'm guessing Colvin got between 75-100 of the orders and the rest were done by local Pontiac dealers across the country as many guys got them through their hometown dealers, but we all picked them up at the factory at the same time. It was like a big party and Pontiac was all over it. I think the year we did it (May, 1979) was the biggest selling year for the Trans Am. I remember we ran into a pack of my classmates driving new Z/28's on the way home on either I70 or I80 and we had a hell of a time. The Academy would inform all the highway patrols in the different states that we were coming to deter us from racing on the highway, but we did not care. Young guys with fast new cars. Yeah, we lit them up for sure.

I only miss my first car whenever I see a 70 Chevelle. I wasnt allowed to keep mine because my dad wasnt running a junkyard and it was "never going to be a cool car like his 63 Impala". I was in high school, driving 60 miles per day between school, work, and home and needed something that got 30mpg.

YES I do miss my first car. I'm 55 and bought a Black on Black, red interior 1968 GTX convertible, 440 4sp Dana 4.10!! Well came to find out it was a clone. This was in 1983 that I bought it. I was 17 in high school. Man I had fun in that old Plymouth. Here is the car from back in 1985:

I always kept in touch with the 3 owners after I sold it. But the last guy died and gave it to his daughters. I didn't have any way of getting ahold of them. Then in 2016 the car went up for sale, and sold to a guy in Maine. I'm in Ontario Canada. Well I was able to go through Lost Musclecars on Facebook and they located the car and I have been talking to the current owner. Not sure what he want to do yet, he knows it was my FIRST CAR. First picture is the for sale add. The 2nd is what the current owner sent me last month:

At least its still around!!:3gears:

Yes it is. It's not like I was going back to the 60's as it was only 1980's. Still it's actually a long time. AND it might make it's way back to me as I will be in the market in the next 12+ months. Will offer to buy it, or a real numbers GTX rag top.

I'm quite a bit younger than most of the folks here, so my first truck was a 1996 Dakota. I sold it to a buddy, and he blew it up. I miss it a lot.

However...

Before that, when I was 9, my father bought a 1995 F-150 XL. This was 2008. In 2011, he bought a 2005 Ranger FX4, which actually ended up inspiring me to buy one a few months before I sold the Dakota. But I loved that F-150, and so he was going to keep it for me initially, but I let him sell it.


Fast forward to 2017, I'm a senior in high school, and I found out a classmate's mom ended up buying it from the man my dad sold it to. I immediately begged my dad to let me buy it, but seeing the rust, and knowing I had my Dakota but not a job, he said no way.

Then this spring, another friend tells me the classmate is wanting to sell the truck, do I still want it?

Well, dad's gonna kick my ass if I do this, so let's see if Darren wants it (he's the one I sold the Dakota too). He and his fiancée bought it, and had it for a couple months.

Then it happened. The trans started acting up.

At this point, it got away when I was 12, it got away in High school, and it kept popping up. It was fate. I was not letting it get away again.

I've got a long way to go, but ten years later, it's back home.

So, the first that wasn't actually the first because I never got to drive it*? I don't miss it because it's sitting right outside!

*Except for one time, when I was 9 or 10, dad let me wheel it around in an empty parking lot so it's actually the first car/truck I ever drove)

The trans? I've dropped the pan, popped a new filter in, and filled it and added Lucas Trans Fix. The only issue seems to be a rough 1-2 shift, and I think it's a sensor and I have a specific one in mind. Other than that and the rust it's every bit as good as it was when dad had it.

(long winded but I like to tell a story- sue me! :grin:)

Fortunate to still have mine as well.

Great story. Thank you for sharing it, and also Thank You for your service.

Looks like it's registered in Massachusetts.

Me too. Mom got it in September of '73, but I've had it since '78.

Dated my wife in my first car. I still have both.

K

What part of mi did you grow up? I was from Warren and wondering if I saw you cruising Gratiot back in the day?!

Flint area (Davison).

K

This picture is from Checkpoints Magazine which is published by the Association of Graduates for the US Air Force Academy. Latest edition March 2023 that a classmate sent me today. The picture is for the class of 1977 so I think those are '76 Trans Am's etc. as you always got your car in May in the year before you graduated. I was the class of 1980 hence we got 79's which I believe was the highest year production numbers for Trans Am's. We had a catered lunch in the Pontiac building and then, at the end, given a map to locate our car in the formation. None of us could eat as we were pretty excited, we slowly walked out to our cars and then ran to them! My own pictures are stored away but you get the idea. I think the class of '79 had a similar picture on the front page of the Denver Post or the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper back then. Lots of Pontiac press every year we did this. The buses in the background were used when they picked us up at the airport and took us to the corporate HQ for lunch. We had a full-on police escort out of the city like a parade with lights and sirens.

Do I miss my first car? Not only "NO", but "HELL NO". What an incredible POS, mainly because of past abuse. 54 Chevy 210 that I paid $75 for. Probably over paid.

Do I miss my second car (57 Chevy). Cried when I sold it, after having my driving privileges revoked. Yeah, I was that much of a dumba$$.

Not sure what cars are pictured in the back row, many Grand Am or Grand Prix?

What a cool period pic... "with a large crane".
Who woulda thought back then, that today, we could pull a drone out of our trunk, send it up with a remote control, have it take pics, send them to our phone and then post them to web sites ???

I wish I still had my '70 SS LS5 Chevelle. I do still have the engine in my '66 SS.

I guess I was a quintuple dumb-ass. I had my license revoked twice before I turned 18. Good thing MN wiped the slate clean at 18 and I started over with a clean record. Yeah, that lasted a long time... lost it 3 more times by 28 cause I was "having too much fun"...:dunno: Hence the reason I no longer had my LS5 after 1979.

Great picture, I'll show my friend that was a 1969 graduate, he got a GTO.

I've missed more from 2.5 years back than anything in the more distant past.

He will get a kick out of it for sure. In 1969, fast new Corvette's were the hot item at the Academy along with the fighter pilot mentality. Vietnam was in full force and fighter pilots and future astronauts loved getting new Corvettes. By the time I got there in 1976, the shift was to muscle cars and my class bought mostly 79 Z/28's and Trans Ams. Part of the recruiting pitch to go to the Academy was the ability to buy a new car your senior year. For a 17 year old kid, that was a big incentive. We got killer deals and discounted insurance rates too. Back then USAA insurance was mostly for officers or cadets at the military academes and many of us are still with them today.

I’m curious if you have any knowledge of whether your fellow classmates still own one of those original cars? Assuming you have stayed in touch with some of them.

Thanks for sharing

Not that I know of Mike. They were fun cars but not the best in quality in the late 70's as we know.

I also bought a 79 TA new. Looked very much like yours. The 400 4 speeds actually were available in 79, but they ran out of engines very early as they only had 5,000 or so. I bought mine very late in the year so I was stuck with the 403 auto. However, due to gas rationing, I was able to select from roughly 22 leftover TA's and paid $5,500 for a $10k sticker car. Black, camel, t-tops. Very cool car but you are absolutely correct that it made a terrible daily due to poor build quality and terrible gas mileage. Sold it after about 6-7 months for $8500. Nice profit for 1980. Bought a 78 280Z with the proceeds.

Graduated college and AFROTC in 1987 and spent 12.5K on a brand new '87 LX 5.0. First new car.