![]() I don’t know when the 305cu in Pontiac motor it originally had was replaced.”īeing a Californian car, we suspect it would have been loaded with anti-pollution smog gear and the strangled 305 was potentially ditched early in the car’s life. All I did was check and clean everything, but I did fit a B&M Quick-silver-shifter. “I put some performance headers on it but the previous owner had the engine rebuilt and it seemed fine so it went back in, as did the TH350 three-speed gearbox. Joe’s Trans Am retains its original power steering and power brakes, but the engine is now a 350cu in Chevy small block. Whenever I take the car to a show, I let his family know since they like to see it on display.” Sadly, Mick passed away in 2021, but apparently mine was his favourite of the cars he’d worked on. “I wanted a flaming bird of prey and local tattoo artist Mick Parker spent two days airbrushing and blending in the bird with its fire background, even adding a few damaged feathers. My friend Joe Webb did the paint, we rigged up a booth and I chose a slightly more vibrant blue than stock it’s close to original but one shade nicer.” Then it was time to add a Firebird to the bonnet. “I know it was built in Van Nuys, California in 1979 with four-wheel disc brakes and was blue so that’s why I had it painted blue again, even though everyone I ever spoke to said paint it black. “I don’t have any previous history for the Trans Am,” continues Joe. Graham Orpet from Tepro Classics (01508 528427) gave up every spare minute to assist and with Dad’s help and even my two-year-old son Joel getting involved we got it finished in 2016.” Back in Blue By the time Dad returned to the UK the car had been stripped, zinc-coated and was ready for paint. There was still no way I could do the whole thing in 12 weeks though. I’d been buying parts from Robin Gray at Autopontiac (02088 945930, co.uk) and he was giving me lots of helpful advice too since, although I work on classic cars, this was my first American vehicle. “I put in new suspension and Polybushed it. I pulled the engine out and that’s when the rebuild became a full-on nut and bolt restoration. My parents were in Spain for a few months and Tanya, who is as big a petrolhead as I am, suggested we get the car finished as a surprise for their return. “Dad had mentioned he hoped he’d have the chance to drive the Pontiac again and that gave me the reason to get it done. It was September of 2014 before Joe began work on his Pontiac again. We got the car into primer then my wife Tanya announced she was pregnant with my firstborn, I was also trying to renovate our cottage and Dad had become ill with cancer, which he thankfully recovered from, so the Trans Am went on the back burner.” It’s a rubberised part and difficult to strip since anything caustic could melt it, so that had to be stripped slowly by hand. The nose cone paint was peeling following previous accident repair. We wanted it mint, so Dad stripped it back to bare metal using paint stripper and elbow grease and we had an old chap locally cut out the rot then weld in new metal and lead fill-in. “Everyone around knew the car and it had become a bit famous locally, but rust was starting to take hold around the rear window and the wheel arches. With the Trans Am repaired and with an MoT, Joe used it for a couple of years. “IF YOU WANT TO HIRE BLUE THUNDER FOR AN EVENT, OR FANCY ONE OF JOE’S OTHER CARS, A DELOREAN OR CHRYSLER 300C HEMI, YOU CAN FIND CHEVRON CARS ‘BLUE THUNDER TRANS AM’ ON FACEBOOK OR CALL 07909 983009.” I went straight over and brought it home, then was so eager to hear the V8 I drove it around some waste ground without brakes, just stopping on the parking brake.” “I really wanted the car so I phoned him again and he finally agreed to sell. “I agreed immediately, then for the next six weeks the seller kept changing his mind.” At this point many of us would have considered giving up, but not Joe. It was solid, never welded, with next to no rust and, for me, total love at first sight.” The Trans Am was on axle stands because the wheels and brake pipes were removed and it had sat unused for two years, but it was only £1600. Then in 2003 my dad Joseph heard about a car for sale in Great Yarmouth, about 45 minutes away. “I started searching all over, but every example I looked at was rusty and after a while I just lost heart. “Smokey and the Bandit was what influenced me to buy the car,” admits Joe. Joe London really began wanting a Pontiac Trans Am after he’d watched a certain Seventies movie, and there are no prizes for guessing which one. Having purchased his dream 1980 Pontiac Trans Am, Joe London began restoring the car and added a few individual touches along the way – as you do!
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