This site chronicles my current Trans Am project in the works; a 1986 Firebird Trans Am.  I got this car for my 16th birthday, and have adored it ever since.  It had only one owner before me, who put around 80,000 miles on it in about 8 years.  I drove this car all through high school and college, until I lost my mind and joined the SUV crazed crowd and bought a Brand New 2001 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition.  From about 1996 to 2004, the Trans Am had its fair share of hard times. 

In 1996, on my way to play golf early Saturday morning, I was t-boned at a 4-way stop.  The passenger side took a very hard hit that nearly removed the front fender and wrinkled the passenger side door and hood.  The 89 year-old, blue haired lady swore there was not a stop sign there before.  The car went to the body shop a few weeks later and the outside was fully restored. 

In 1997, on a date in Little Rock, AR, I made a bad judgment call, that to this day I still proclaim was not my fault.  While attempting to get to the movie theaters, I realized that I was in the wrong lane at a stop light.  Traffic was heavy, and I eased over from my lane to the left turning lane.  With little room, I was only able to move my car about halfway into the turning lane.  From further down the street, a beater Oldsmobile driven by an illegal alien, without a driver's license, without insurance, without the ability to speak English, side-swiped the driver side of the car.  The police arrived momentarily and issued me a $100 fine for an illegal lane change and sent me to court.  The other drive was towed away at my expense . . . I love our justice system.  Already several hundred dollars short and only liability insurance on my car, the accident damage was left unrepaired. 

In 2001, I moved to Colorado with my new Ford Explorer with little need for a beat-up Trans Am from my high school/college days.  I kept the Trans Am at my parents house for about a year where it set in driveway in very poor care.  I even put it up for sale, just to try to get some quick cash, but had no takes on it.  I had the great idea to have my parents bring it out to Colorado so it could sit my driveway there.  The idle time was not good to it, and it took several hundred more dollars to get a new fuel pump, new hoses, and whatever else that lousy mechanic thought he did.  Never again there!  The repairs lasted about a month, and again the Trans Am sat in the driveway. 

Finally, I moved back to Arkansas with the Trans Am towed on a trailer thanks to my great friend Jared Hobby (many, many thanks Hobbs)!  I sold the gas guzzling Explorer and focused on getting the Trans Am running to use as an everyday vehicle.  Even more thanks go out to my dad, Charlie Howell, for his work in even getting the thing running again.  Another fuel pump, new spark plugs, an engine flush, radiator flush (to keep it from running 250 degrees), new fan motor, and a much needed recharging of the A/C.  It still burns oil from leaking gaskets, but it runs back and forth to work.  

Now come the major overhauls.  I've had the dream of fixing this car up since '97, and now I finally have the financial go ahead to get it done.  But, before you see the upgrade parts, here are a few pictures of the car as it stands today.