pthomas

Hi. I could've sworn I was already registered here but couldn't locate an account. Anyway, I've owned F-bodies all through the last 40 years since I turned 16. I grew up when 2nd gen Camaros and Firebirds were the car to have as a cool young person, and they will always be my favorite cars. I barely dabbled with the 3rd generation (owned a 1988 Camaro RS for a few years), and I've never particularly loved the 4th gen Camaros. But I think Pontiac knocked the design of the 4th generation out of the park, especially the '98-02 models. The lack of performance of American cars from the 1980's to early 90's caused me to actually abandon them altogether for about 5 years when I saw the lines on the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 and solidified that decision when I drove one and felt power I never expected. At the time, those cars were far ahead performance-wise of what GM was offering as well as having more creature comforts, and they didn't resemble the "rice-burners" that we ridiculed in the 80's. It was probably 2000 or 2001 before I really took notice of how nice the later model Trans Ams looked going down the road, but they grew on me. There was a 98 base model T/A on the lot in 2001 when my wife at the time needed something different, so I took it for a drive and was surprised (and happy) to discover that American cars had real power again. We ended up buying that car and she loved driving it up until it was time for something different and practical. I always pretty much knew that I would buy another T/A one day, which I finally did in May this year (2023). I was able to find a 2002 WS6 with relatively low miles in good shape at a nice price. It's not perfect, but there is a lot I'm able to do myself. I've even found answers to some of my questions here where I was apparently lurking. Hoping we can help each other out here. I also own a 1980 Z28, 1980 T/A Indy 500 Turbo Pace Car, 1981 Corvette coupe, and a 2013 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible, and I'm willing to share anything I've learned about any of them to anybody wanting help.