Greetings from North East England
10-04-2014, 12:29 PM
#1
Teching In
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Greetings from North East England Hi
I've been reading the forum for awhile now, and have gleaned a lot of useful information, so today I decided that joining as a member was long overdue.
I've been into F-bodies since the very early 90's, importing my first (a black '85 Trans Am 305) from Florida 24 years ago. Funnily enough, the man who found it for me went on to become my best friend and business partner, and to this day he and I still ship vehicles from the US to the UK... just not this type of vehicle, more's the pity. After owning three '89 Trans Am GTAs, I bought my first 4th Gen car, a two year old Z28, in 1996 from Jeff Summers at Trans Am creations. That Z looked totally stock but was an utter animal, and much, much faster than any of the other cars that were imported to the UK at that time for friends and customers. I kept it for 3 years and sorely regretted selling it ever since. I missed it more, in fact, than the '90 ZR1 that I had around the same time.
Although based in the UK, I spend quite a bit of time in Panama (the Republic, not the Florida city), which is a short and cheap flight to the USA, hence I visit Florida frequently. Rather than hiring cars, I figured it would be a smart move to buy something to use when I visit, so the notion of an
LS1 F-body became increasingly strong. I didn't want another Z28, and was set on a WS6 Trans Am, but there were slim pickings, to say the least. My company imports 60's and 70's VW campers from the USA, and one day a couple of years ago I was scouring Craigslist looking for those when I spied an ad in Ocaloosa County, FL for a bog standard '99 in Pewter, with 54,000 miles. A WS6 it was not, but it could be had for $6000, so I called a trucker friend of mine who lived a few miles from the car, hurriedly dumped the money into his bank account, and waited for him to go view it. Because I had to return home, I didn't get to see the T/A until 3 months later, at which point it was dropped off at my girlfriend's place on the West Coast of Florida.
Initially I was disappointed: The car had more cosmetic issues than I had hoped to see, and appeared to have been ill-treated later in its life, with four almost bald tires and the fronts with uneven wear suggesting how hard it had been pushed. It turns out that its one and only owner had been allowing a teenage son or daughter to use it, and it had been pretty roughly treated. Anyway, at that point I owned it, so rather than crying about it I persevered. It was certainly very fit, with a strong motor and nice autobox; all the fluids were clean and at the correct levels, so it had at least been maintained well enough. The low mileage seemed to check out, too, though I'll admit at the time I might have preferred a loved and cherished high miler.
I've put another 13,000 miles on the car during the past two years, with more than a little help from my girlfriend (who likes to use it when I'm not around, and is very much addicted to its performance). Gradually it has become a lot tidier, though it will never be a minter. I got a very nice set of light gray leather seats recently (from Jeff Summers, who is now based in Alabama..), which are being fitted next week, and a set of Koni Yellows will be arriving on Monday. I'd love to fit Strano springs, but the angle of my girlfriend's drive is so steep that I have to take the car up at a 45 degree angle to avoid scraping it, so I'm stuck with the stock ride height, short of changing the girlfriend
The car is still on its stock 16" rims, so the next mod will be to upgrade the wheels.. I'm tempted by black after looking at the various pics on this forum, but first will come the replacement of the other suspension components to match the shocks, as I'm starting to hear the creaks and crunches of clapped out ball joints and bushings and am fully expecting everything to be shot that could be shot. Next week should see a nice big bill for a thorough service (including plugs, wires, fluids, fuel and air filter, etc.) and a tune, in addition to the suspension work, but I do trust the car and have decided I want to keep her. There was a note left on my windshield last month asking for first refusal if I ever want to sell the car.. I didn't call the number.
Given my interest in these cars, I'm often asked the origins of my 'Blackhawk' nick. Actually it has nothing to do with Firehawks or indeed anything to do with F-bodies. It's a reference to Blackhawk County, Iowa, where I spent a lot of time years ago buying motorcycles for the UK in the depths of winter. At one point 'Blackhawk Autos' was a trading name of my business, and although the business has long gone, the name has managed to stick.. although it's often abbreviated to plain old 'Hawk'.
I've been reading the forum for awhile now, and have gleaned a lot of useful information, so today I decided that joining as a member was long overdue.
I've been into F-bodies since the very early 90's, importing my first (a black '85 Trans Am 305) from Florida 24 years ago. Funnily enough, the man who found it for me went on to become my best friend and business partner, and to this day he and I still ship vehicles from the US to the UK... just not this type of vehicle, more's the pity. After owning three '89 Trans Am GTAs, I bought my first 4th Gen car, a two year old Z28, in 1996 from Jeff Summers at Trans Am creations. That Z looked totally stock but was an utter animal, and much, much faster than any of the other cars that were imported to the UK at that time for friends and customers. I kept it for 3 years and sorely regretted selling it ever since. I missed it more, in fact, than the '90 ZR1 that I had around the same time.
Although based in the UK, I spend quite a bit of time in Panama (the Republic, not the Florida city), which is a short and cheap flight to the USA, hence I visit Florida frequently. Rather than hiring cars, I figured it would be a smart move to buy something to use when I visit, so the notion of an
LS1 F-body became increasingly strong. I didn't want another Z28, and was set on a WS6 Trans Am, but there were slim pickings, to say the least. My company imports 60's and 70's VW campers from the USA, and one day a couple of years ago I was scouring Craigslist looking for those when I spied an ad in Ocaloosa County, FL for a bog standard '99 in Pewter, with 54,000 miles. A WS6 it was not, but it could be had for $6000, so I called a trucker friend of mine who lived a few miles from the car, hurriedly dumped the money into his bank account, and waited for him to go view it. Because I had to return home, I didn't get to see the T/A until 3 months later, at which point it was dropped off at my girlfriend's place on the West Coast of Florida.
Initially I was disappointed: The car had more cosmetic issues than I had hoped to see, and appeared to have been ill-treated later in its life, with four almost bald tires and the fronts with uneven wear suggesting how hard it had been pushed. It turns out that its one and only owner had been allowing a teenage son or daughter to use it, and it had been pretty roughly treated. Anyway, at that point I owned it, so rather than crying about it I persevered. It was certainly very fit, with a strong motor and nice autobox; all the fluids were clean and at the correct levels, so it had at least been maintained well enough. The low mileage seemed to check out, too, though I'll admit at the time I might have preferred a loved and cherished high miler.
I've put another 13,000 miles on the car during the past two years, with more than a little help from my girlfriend (who likes to use it when I'm not around, and is very much addicted to its performance). Gradually it has become a lot tidier, though it will never be a minter. I got a very nice set of light gray leather seats recently (from Jeff Summers, who is now based in Alabama..), which are being fitted next week, and a set of Koni Yellows will be arriving on Monday. I'd love to fit Strano springs, but the angle of my girlfriend's drive is so steep that I have to take the car up at a 45 degree angle to avoid scraping it, so I'm stuck with the stock ride height, short of changing the girlfriend
The car is still on its stock 16" rims, so the next mod will be to upgrade the wheels.. I'm tempted by black after looking at the various pics on this forum, but first will come the replacement of the other suspension components to match the shocks, as I'm starting to hear the creaks and crunches of clapped out ball joints and bushings and am fully expecting everything to be shot that could be shot. Next week should see a nice big bill for a thorough service (including plugs, wires, fluids, fuel and air filter, etc.) and a tune, in addition to the suspension work, but I do trust the car and have decided I want to keep her. There was a note left on my windshield last month asking for first refusal if I ever want to sell the car.. I didn't call the number.
Given my interest in these cars, I'm often asked the origins of my 'Blackhawk' nick. Actually it has nothing to do with Firehawks or indeed anything to do with F-bodies. It's a reference to Blackhawk County, Iowa, where I spent a lot of time years ago buying motorcycles for the UK in the depths of winter. At one point 'Blackhawk Autos' was a trading name of my business, and although the business has long gone, the name has managed to stick.. although it's often abbreviated to plain old 'Hawk'.
