I'M BACK IN BLACK WITH A (mostly) PONTIAC!!!

[stratman]

Traded in my Vette today for this 1981 Trans Am! 

The good news is it is a four speed!...The bad news is that in 1981, if you wanted a four speed, the ONLY engine available was the 305 Chevy. The engine puts out more hp than stock, it has been dressed up nicely, and it is numbers matching to the car.

The car needs nothing, but I may add the gold special edition (Bandit) stripes in the future.

Missed you guys...

 

 

 

 

[Ringo64]

nice to see you back in a Pontiac 

 

That bird is drop dead gorgeous, even with the Chevy engine. 

[Frosty]

stratman - glad to have you back in the Pontiac seat my friend. So do you have a name for this ride yet?

Does my little eye spy some other upgraded goodies like brakes, hood hinges in addition to all the engine bling?

What made you give up the Vette for this sweet thing? My choice (money not being an object mind you) would be to have both.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Frosty

[JUSTA6]

Welcome back to the widetrack Strat.    Great lookin ride, won't take much to make it "yours"! 

[stratman]

12 hours ago, Frosty said:

stratman - glad to have you back in the Pontiac seat my friend. So do you have a name for this ride yet?

Does my little eye spy some other upgraded goodies like brakes, hood hinges in addition to all the engine bling?

What made you give up the Vette for this sweet thing? My choice (money not being an object mind you) would be to have both.

No name yet... the working name is "Junior" as in "Black Betty Jr", lol!  I'll need another week or so to discover her name.

The engine compartment, even with that dang Chevy 305, REALLY sold me on this baby. It is super clean and tidy, and yes, there is a LOT of bling there. I don't know what upgrades may be going on internally, but externally it has an Edelbrock manifold and carb, headers, dual (guessing here haven't measured) 2.5" exhaust with "H" pipe, aftermarket alt and distributor. It has four wheel disc brakes that about put me through the windshield the first few times I used them, lol! It has flowmaster or Magnaflow mufflers and it sounds fantastic! Everything is tight... not loosey goosey like the Vette. The Vette was quicker, but Junior is no slouch and is most definitely putting out more than the paltry 150hp stock 1981 305.  

Money, or lack thereof, was the reason the Vette had to go. I was not looking for a car, but I saw Junior in a classic car dealer lot last Sunday and that was it. I looked her over real good and could find only a few tiny very minor things. It was a fair price and I knew it would not be there long with all the interest in "Bandit" Trans Ams these days, Monday I went to the bank, Tuesday it was mine! I haggled with the dealer for a good half hour to 45 minutes, I think he knew I wasn't going to leave without Junior. He really low balled me on the Vette right out of the box, but eventually I got more out of him, not as much as I would have liked, and he came down on the price of Junior. In the end, I was ok with the deal, the difference was about $2K more than I had guessed I was going to spend.

I can't tell you how super happy I am! So glad to have a classic Pontiac again. I have not truly fully recovered from my wife's passing three years ago, but this is the best I have felt in a REALLY long time.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by stratman

[Frosty]

Stratman - I am so happy that you are happy about this purchase. I can't imagine what the last 3 years have been like for you.

If you are up for a long weekend drive next weekend, I'll be in Winfield WV for a cruise-in and historical marker dedication on the 20th. I'd love to catch up with you and grab a beer with you!

[stratman]

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

Stratman - I am so happy that you are happy about this purchase. I can't imagine what the last 3 years have been like for you.

If you are up for a long weekend drive next weekend, I'll be in Winfield WV for a cruise-in and historical marker dedication on the 20th. I'd love to catch up with you and grab a beer with you!

Dang! I will be at Topsail Beach NC next weekend! Maybe I can make it to your event in Charleston this year.

[Frosty]

16 hours ago, stratman said:

Dang! I will be at Topsail Beach NC next weekend! Maybe I can make it to your event in Charleston this year.

I'd love for you to come to Charleston this year! It's October 2-6, 2019. The show's link is below:

http://www.charlestonwvcarshow.com/

On Sunday the 6th, the wife and I are headed back to Hilton Head SC for a week.

[Last Indian]

On 7/10/2019 at 8:38 PM, stratman said:

No name yet... the working name is "Junior" as in "Black Betty Jr", lol!  I'll need another week or so to discover her name.

The engine compartment, even with that dang Chevy 305, REALLY sold me on this baby. It is super clean and tidy, and yes, there is a LOT of bling there. I don't know what upgrades may be going on internally, but externally it has an Edelbrock manifold and carb, headers, dual (guessing here haven't measured) 2.5" exhaust with "H" pipe, aftermarket alt and distributor. It has four wheel disc brakes that about put me through the windshield the first few times I used them, lol! It has flowmaster or Magnaflow mufflers and it sounds fantastic! Everything is tight... not loosey goosey like the Vette. The Vette was quicker, but Junior is no slouch and is most definitely putting out more than the paltry 150hp stock 1981 305.  

Money, or lack thereof, was the reason the Vette had to go. I was not looking for a car, but I saw Junior in a classic car dealer lot last Sunday and that was it. I looked her over real good and could find only a few tiny very minor things. It was a fair price and I knew it would not be there long with all the interest in "Bandit" Trans Ams these days, Monday I went to the bank, Tuesday it was mine! I haggled with the dealer for a good half hour to 45 minutes, I think he knew I wasn't going to leave without Junior. He really low balled me on the Vette right out of the box, but eventually I got more out of him, not as much as I would have liked, and he came down on the price of Junior. In the end, I was ok with the deal, the difference was about $2K more than I had guessed I was going to spend.

I can't tell you how super happy I am! So glad to have a classic Pontiac again. I have not truly fully recovered from my wife's passing three years ago, but this is the best I have felt in a REALLY long time.

 

 

It’s really great to see you back Strat! The car looks like a great find! I love the tan interior! I have always loved the black and gold combo with a light interior, as anyone who knows me and my 69Z might guess, great choice!

I don’t know where the 305 is with mods or hp, but if it’s petty much stock you can get it up to a good 400hp, or anywhere in between if you so desired.

I can understand your feelings of the loss of your wife and I’m glad you are somewhat better. I’ll keep you in my prayers!

we are all glad you’re back, that’s for sure!

Oh yeah! The gold pinstripe like the Bandits had that you mentioned would look killer. I think they used the same 3M gold I used on the 69, it’s an 03 gold. 03 are the last two digits in the 3M number that denotes the color, the rest of the number denotes how wide the stripe, the spacing of a double stripe, etc. 

Edited July 12, 2019 by Last Indian

[stratman]

On 7/12/2019 at 12:21 PM, Last Indian said:

It’s really great to see you back Strat! The car looks like a great find! I love the tan interior! I have always loved the black and gold combo with a light interior, as anyone who knows me and my 69Z might guess, great choice!

I don’t know where the 305 is with mods or hp, but if it’s petty much stock you can get it up to a good 400hp, or anywhere in between if you so desired.

I can understand your feelings of the loss of your wife and I’m glad you are somewhat better. I’ll keep you in my prayers!

we are all glad you’re back, that’s for sure!

Oh yeah! The gold pinstripe like the Bandits had that you mentioned would look killer. I think they used the same 3M gold I used on the 69, it’s an 03 gold. 03 are the last two digits in the 3M number that denotes the color, the rest of the number denotes how wide the stripe, the spacing of a double stripe, etc. 

Thanks for the encouragement Indian! The gold SE stripes are definitely in the future for sure.