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The other side of the Law

Almost anyone I am around more than once a week will tell you that I am Trans Am crazy.  Add in the fact that I love talking about them and you’ll see why everyone tells me about every second generation Trans Am they see.  When a new friend or stranger asks me about my Trans Am, it is usually accompanied with “what do they look like again?”.  It is then apparent that the person listening to me doesn’t have a clue and I calmly ask; do you remember Smokey and the Bandit?  Immediately a smile comes across their face and is followed by comments about speeding, beer, the funny sheriff or just “I remember now”, which is the most common reply to my question.  It has become very clear to me that almost 99% of the non-Trans Am population stereo types our cars with law breaking and all out spirited fun.  Except for occasional blast to 100mph from time to time, they are usually only right about the spirited fun.

I’m sure it’s also safe to say that on the other side of the spectrum Smokey and the Bandit stereo typed law-enforcement as slow bumbling fools.  For the sake of not offending the men in blue for whom I respect and have great appreciation for; I’ll just say in 1978 one Sheriff took great pride in dismissing that perception.  The method in which He went about it put the Trans Am in a whole new light for me.  His name was Sheriff J.D. Stewart of Catoosa County Georgia and he just happened to be a true blue Pontiac’r.  When most law enforcement departments were ordering big Ford and Chevy patrol cars, Sheriff Stewart called up Pontiac and ordered Trans Ams outfitted with the W72 performance package and WS6 suspension.

In the time of Bandit wanna be’s running up and down the highways of the country, this Sheriff figured the best way to catch someone was to have the best car on the road.  But, a Trans Am as a patrol car?

One day TAC regular Ken Allenback of Canada submitted two photo’s taken from a magazine.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the above pictures.  At first I had no idea about the article or that Trans Ams were even used in law enforcement.  In a day of ‘DARE’ and ‘Beat the Heat’ programs its common place to see a Trans Am or sports car outfitted with decals, lights and sirens.  But, just imagine what it must have been like seeing one of these intimidating cars in your review mirror.

The actual article from the 1979 Car & Drivers
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At the start of the article the author describes the moment when he first saw a Catoosa County Trans Am.  I’m pretty sure this is what he saw.

Thanks to Dennis Padgett for allowing TAC to use the two above images in this article.  He holds the copyright to both images and written consent must be obtained before use will be allowed.  Please click here to contact him for legal permission.

All of the Trans Ams used by the Catoosa County Sheriffs office were non-ac W72 400-4spds coupes without hood birds at a minimum.  They were all cameo white with carmine red standard interior.  I’ve read there were 6-8 ordered originally, which are the 78 year model obviously and followed up by 4 more in 79.  Pictured below were 8 plus 3 lemans.  From what I’ve been able to research the Sheriffs 78 was stolen at one point and totalled and another was wrecked.

Exactly when the first TA was purchased could be debated without sales invoices and you can’t get that without PHS and you can’t get that without the VIN.  So, I digress.  From the pictures accumulated on various internet sites the 78 TA’s were equipped with rally II’s and not the WS6 snowflakes.  In the picture below you can clearly see the rims and one oddity.

   

When the 79 models were ordered the only apparent change seems to be the addition of the WS6 wheels and I would assume 4wheel disc brakes.

  

At the point where I’m writing this article these Trans Ams must have seen some action that required repairs, as the 78 pictured above appears to be wearing front wheel flares from a 79 model.  The 79 appears to have a fuel door from a 81 model.  Perhaps these items were lost in high speed pursuit.  Whatever the case these officers had style and took law enforcement to the next level.

Once these pieces of Trans Am folk lore were brought up the community as a whole came to one consensus.  We wanted to find one.  Sad to say that has never happened.  It was rumored that the Son of the late JD had his fathers 79 in his posession, but that has never been verified.  Sometime in 2010 a TAC member posted a craigslist link to a Trans Am that was supposedly a old catoosa county TA.  The ad was removed within hours and all chances of its verification and subsequent restore were lost once again.

That brings up another question.  When will someone clone a Catoosa County Sheriffs Trans Am?  To do it right wouldn’t be difficult, but up until recently the interior was a mystery.  Here is a picture I discovered along with many more that shows exactly how the interior would appear.

So there you have it.  A piece of Trans Am history is out there waiting to be discovered.  There were other law enforcement agencies that utilized Trans Ams, but none with such character and personality.  The reading of this article begs to challenge, what was more intimidating….the cars themselves or the men driving them.  They both commanded and received respect.

To the late Sheriff JD Stewart we tip our hats to you.  You will forever be remembered for your service and style.

Special mention to www.kirbycarmichael.com where some of these irreplaceable pictures were found.

Aftermarket 2nd Generation Birds

In the mid 70’s increased emissions regulations and rising gas prices put the squeeze on automakers. This squeeze led to smaller engines and less performance. The fall of the performance era opened up a new market for the aftermarket industry. Companies like VSE, DKM and Motion Performance were able to give the die-hard performance customers what automakers could not. The packages that were created gave customers a wide variety of choices to either increase handling, increase performance or both.
These aftermarket companies gave us the ultimate and feared street machines of their day. Now twenty plus years later they have become some of the most sought after and rarest of all second generation Firebird models.

Here is a brief overview of what these aftermarket companies produced.



During the late 60’s Pontiac had the best of the best on its payroll. Each auto manufacturer was obsessed with having more and better cars then the next company. One of the engineers Pontiac had on staff was Herb Adams. He worked on many projects with Pontiac like the Super Duty 455 and Ram Air V programs, but is most well known for his work on the second generation Firebird suspension.

After some years Herb broke away from Pontiac and formed his own company VSE or Very Special Equipment. This new company was all about performance and handling. Pontiac, seeing that Herb was still indispensable contracted with VSE to evolve the Firebird suspension. In 1977 eight highly modified Trans Ams were built for Pontiac in a bid to start a new IROC racing series for the Firebird line. Pontiac was unsuccessful in their bid, but those eight Trans Ams would shape the Firebird suspension for the next 25 years. The suspension modifications found on the eight Trans Ams would soon become the WS6 performance package. Herb who was also a avid racer and race car builder saw even more potential in the Firebird and continued the evolution on both the performance and handling platform. From this came the . The modifications that resulted from Herb’s development would include items like a new aggressive graphics, 180 degree headers, dry sump lubrication system, rear wheel disc brakes, racing seats, Holley carburetors, larger sway bars and much, much more. VSE offered different stages of modifications allowing customers to create as race ready a Trans Am as they desired. In 1979 Herb wanted to prove the drivability and performance of the Fire-Am by entering the Daytona 24-hour race. To prove the Fire-Am’s drivability Herb drove the car he was going to race from Detroit to Florida. Unfortunately the Fire-Am only lasted 18 of the 24 hours, but was in 19th place out of 40+ cars with an average speed of 155mph before the harmonic balancer broke and ended the race for him.

In the Movies

If you are anything like me you get excited when you spot a 2nd generation Firebird in a movie. I don’t know why, because they usually all get destroyed. Then again it’s probably because they are AWESOME! Anyhow, I decided to put together a list of movies that feature or starr our beloved firebirds. I’ll include a short description of the film or firebird role in the movie along with a rating.

*Movie comments are the sole opinion of the Trans Am Country webmaster.

Movie Information
Released 1977
Starring 1977 Y82 SE Trans Am
Comment A movie that keep you laughing the
whole time. If you haven’t seen it, go straight to the store and
rent it right now!
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1978
Starring 1978 Trans Am
Comment A decent car movie if you don’t
mind the script.
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1980
Starring 1980 Y84 SE Trans Am
Comment The Bandit is back. Not as
good as the first movie, but who doesn’t like looking at a Trans Am
for an hour.
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1993
Starring 1974 SD455 Trans Am
Comment A remake of the Cult Classic.
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1997
Starring 1978 Trans Am
Comment  
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1986
Starring 1978 Trans Am
Comment Not your usual car movie. If
you’ve seen all the new stuff give this a try.
Rating


Blue Thunder
Movie Information
Released 1983
Starring 1981 Turbo Trans Am
Comment Excellent action movie
Rating


Sleep Walkers
Movie Information
Released 1992
Starring 1978 Trans Am
Comment Very freaky! The Trans Am is in the
first half of the movie, so you can turn it off early.
Rating


Rocky II
Movie Information
Released 1979
Starring 1979 Y84 SE Trans Am
Comment It’s Rocky (Yo Aidrean, I love
you)
Rating


Joe Dirt
Movie Information
Released 2001
Starring Tenth Annv. Trans Am
Comment Very funny, but not a family movie
Rating


Billy Madison
Movie Information
Released 1995
Starring 1979 Trans Am
Comment  
Rating


Break down
Movie Information
Released 1997
Starring 1978 Trans Am
Comment A mild action thriller that is
excellent for a friday night movie.
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1999
Starring 1970-73 Formula
Comment  
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1974
Starring 1972 white TA that had an orangeshaker.
Comment Justin Gristlejaw writes “good
haulin’ ass scenes and a good movie to boot.
Rating


Movie Information
Released 1980
Starring 1979 Y84 Trans Am
Comment  
Rating

TAC 4kids

A couple years back I was thumbing thru a book with a lot of black and white renderings of Firebirds and Trans Ams. I thought it would be cool for kids and adults alike to be able to color them. No more boring coloring books for me!

Year One 17″ Snowflake Wheels


YearOne continues to expand on its line of updated classic muscle car wheels, this time turning attention to an iconic Pontiac offering. The original “Snowflake” wheel was offered in 15” diameters for 1977-81 Firebirds and Trans Ams. There were two designs of the snowflake with the biggest difference being the width.  The earlier design had a 7″ width, while the second design featured an 8″ width.  The 8″ width proved to be very popular and continues to be a favorite among Firebird and Trans Am enthusiasts.  Back in the day that extra inch was a huge advantage in terms of looks and the ability to run a larger tire for performance.  By todays standards a wheel greater then 15″ is needed, but you would have to lose that classic look.

YearOne solves these problems by introducing their new cast-aluminum Snowflake wheel in modern 17”x9” sizing. The wheels feature three accent color choices of silver, black and gold.  Each color is powder-coated for durability, and have 4.7/8” backspacing to ensure a proper fit on 1970-81-vintage F-bodies. The wheels accept the original center caps, and use standard conical-seat lug nuts.

Order your set today by calling 1-800-YEARONE or visit http://www.yearone.com/.

Year One 17″ Honeycomb Wheels

YearOne continues to expand on its line of updated classic muscle car wheels, this time turning attention to an iconic Pontiac offering. The original “Honeycomb” wheel was offered in 14” diameters for 1971-72 GTOs and 15” diameters for 1971-76 Firebirds and Trans Ams. Another unique aspect of the Honeycomb is the fact that it was a “polycast” wheel, meaning a steel core was covered with a heavy rubber outer layer. Innovative, to be sure, but unfortunately the end result is rather heavy.

YearOne solves all these problems by introducing their new cast-aluminum Honeycomb wheel in modern 17”x9” sizing. The wheels feature silver powder-coated centers for durability, and have 5” backspacing to ensure a proper fit on 1968-72 era Pontiac A-bodies and 1970-81-vintage F-bodies. The wheels accept the original Honeycomb center caps, and use standard conical-seat lug nuts.

Order your set today by calling 1-800-YEARONE or visit http://www.yearone.com/.

January 2003 BOTM

1977 Y82 SE “Fire Am” Trans Am owned by Mike Kozar

Mike ordered this beautiful TA brand new and took delivery of it in May of 1977. I’m sure the SE “Fire Am” has some of you scratching your heads, but it’s for real. Mike wrote

“By 1981, the paint finish was aging prematurely, so I decided to have the TA repainted. I had read several articles about Herb Adams’ Fire Am, and decided to go with the looks and modifications of this special TA. even though I already had a rare bird. Modifications are mainly handling oriented, beginning with larger front and rear sway bars with special connecting links. Along with this went a suspension lowering kit that lowers the vehicle all around, but especially in the front to give a more “raked” look. These changes were complimented with poly bushings all over, which gives a squeaky, stiff ride, but the handling is just awesome. Other changes include re-jetting the stock carb, and special weights for the distributor advance. A true dual exhaust helps add some more HP.

The exterior is a black lacquer paint. Also painted on is all the striping and hood scoop printing, in canary yellow. It really stands out against the black. The hood emblem, the “bionic firebird” is also painted on! The only decals are the reflective fire am decals on the front fenders and sail panels. All of this is clear coate”

Now that’s one awesome Bandit!