We all know that saying – “One woman’s treasure is another man’s treasure.”
Wait… That’s not a saying? Well, it should be. Forum member njsteve bought this 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 as a project for his son and him to work on. Its previous owner was a woman who had more than an inch’s worth of invoices for oil changes, which were performed every four months.
“Sadly it seems that the GM dealers were taking advantage of her and doing every crazy fluid flush and cleanse just about every time the car showed up in there service lane. They would perform the $169 ‘6,000 mile service’ every 2,000 miles. The car only has 61,000 miles on it.”
Steve and his boy have spent some quality time together changing the rear hatch’s lift cylinders and cleaning this ebony F-Body. He taught his son how to clay-bar the paint. The young man soon realized the frustrations involved in trying to keep a black car clean. His father also informed him about “the safe way to jack up the car and where to place the jackstands.”
Way to go, njsteve. Parts and upgrades can get expensive, but father-and-son time working on a bad-ass sports car is priceless.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
