I bought this car early in the formation of our collection. In fact, it was 1992. I think buying this car was as difficult as practically any in the collection, except for the 1969 RA IV Judge convertible.
At this stage, my mindset for the collection was changing from rare, low production muscle to original, low mileage cars. When a good customer named Dave Dorman in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was ordering parts, I asked him if he knew of any low mileage, untouched cars in his area. He said a guy he knew, who would only answer to David, had several low mileage Trans Ams and Camaros in another part of his state. I asked him to inquire the next time that they talked. It wasn’t two weeks later, and he called back with David’s response—a tenacious “maybe.” Dave said he would stay in touch until the time seemed more positive.
At this time, a second obstacle appeared. I had heard of a wealthy Mexican man named Jorge who lived in the province of Chihuahua and was buying muscle cars through a broker in El Paso. I knew the broker and his son and, after a quick phone call, found they knew about David and his low mileage collection.
As days turned into weeks, I couldn’t decide how to approach David. This all changed in minutes one Monday, as Dave from Tulsa called to say Jorge was traveling to the U.S. to visit several cars. One of them was David’s ‘73 Trans Am Super Duty with 6,171 miles.
At this point, I had to become proactive. I obtained David’s phone number, called him, and found him to be very cordial. He said that indeed the car was for sale and Jorge was due on Friday. I asked if I could see him the next day. He said yes and that he could pick me up at the airport. I was in touch with our travel agent immediately and on a plane for a quick round trip early the next morning.
He met me at the airport as promised. I was amazed at this guy—his appearance was impeccable, he was dressed in a suit, he was as good looking as Cary Grant, and had the personality of a perfect southern gentleman. I had never met a muscle car guy like him. As we drove to his house, he told me that he was in the state legislature and the owner of several businesses. When we arrived at this house, it was perfect—a large southern mansion with huge white pillars and a huge garage. If he was trying to impress this New England country boy, it worked!
In the garage, most of his cars were under covers. The ’73 was displayed, as was a ‘70 Trans Am with 600 miles. I spent most of my time with the ’73—it turned out to be the car in a poster I had on the shop wall. In about an hour, I had analyzed original paint depth, engine and drive train numbers, chassis, interior, trunk, and spare. The final check was the all-important original tire dates and tread depth.
I only had a short time to reach the airport for my return trip, so I spent little time with the ’70 Trans Am, since I noticed the rear seat side panels were shaped differently. One side was Firebird smooth and the other side had the recess of a Camaro. In retrospect, both Camaros and Firebirds were built at the Norwood GM plant. I feel sure that the assembly line could not stop because of a foolish inventory problem and a Camaro panel was installed to keep production lines running.
Anyway, we jumped back in the car. While heading to the airport, we both tried to negotiate a suitable price. It didn’t happen, and I headed home. David was supposed to call Wednesday to discuss the price again, but I didn’t hear from him. Suddenly, at 3:00 in the morning, he called. I was half asleep, couldn’t think straight, and we had a failed negotiation. I woke up the next day feeling like the deal was over and wondering why anyone would call at 3:00 am.
Suddenly, at 3:00 am the next night, the phone rang again. I was more alert, but we couldn’t agree until he proposed a game changer. If I paid a reasonable amount more, he would include a second car (a ’79 yellow Trans Am 4-speed with 37 miles). I said, “That’s interesting, but I didn’t see a yellow ’79 Trans Am, plus that’s not a Trans Am color.” His answers were yes and yes. I shook my head and asked what he meant. He answered that I didn’t see the car because it was one of the cars under the car covers, and yes, yellow was a non-Trans Am color. He had special ordered three yellow Trans Ams and the dealer did indeed have the factory make them in that quantity. Around 4:00 am, we hammered out a deal.
This had been a bigger escapade than I had expected. First, I had to beat Jorge. Second, I couldn’t believe the man’s appearance and super smooth personality. Third, what the heck was up with these 3 o’clock in the morning negotiation sessions? But the worst was yet to come.
Joan and I were at the Spear Fish, South Dakota, Pontiac-Oakland convention in 2008. A man from Oklahoma came up to us and said, “Hey, you bought those two Trans Ams from David down in the Tulsa area years ago, right?”
“Yup,” we both said.
“Do you know where he is now?”
“Nope,” we said.
“He’s in jail with a life sentence.” Wow! Talk about a shock. I didn’t believe it until I got home and ran a Google search. There he was—a broken man with two life prison sentences.
The car’s paperwork includes the original window sticker from Nelson Pros Pontiac, Inc. in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, the new vehicle inspection procedure, miscellaneous owner’s manuals, and several GM operator’s instructions.
Written January 17, 2015, Steve Ames
Last Edited: January 6, 2025, JA
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