[Baron Von Zeppelin]

You guys shouldn't feel too bad about decisions made on the car in 86-87.
5800 was double what it was worth in the condition that Robertson described back then.
You would have had to live with kicking and doubting yourself for at least two decades afterwards. I would have walked away from it too.

If it had been a complete different color family scenario - like red black gold orange etc.. it might have needed some deeper consideration and heavier negotiations.

I was stalking these cars back in that time frame.
Back then, Code 24 might have actually been viewed by a lot of enthusiasts as a devalue against Code 26.

Its definitely worth its weight in todays world.
Very Very cool car

[transam1972]

BARON...I am very pleased to see this one of car getting a full restoration (unbelievable paint job)..but in 1987 $5800 in that condition was too much...I looked at a few trashed/abomination TRANS AMS from 1983 to 1985 when I finally had to settle for the car I have now (remember,,no internet!!)...58k miles..it was not molested in the way I knew how a TRANS AM could have been (still sported the original Rally IIs)..but not an original paint car (survivior is the term we use now)..yet I paid a princely sum of $5k (more than new)..for my dream car..only to discover it needed 1/4s...yet today that same amount will get you a base bird rust rocket...yet hindsight is 20/20 and had I really kept searching, that same amount could have bought me an original paint true survivior...somewhere...but where??!!..possibly/most likely another state...of course I never followed through on the resto that I then began in 1990...but I get to finally follow through in 2012 and I get a great P.Y. forum, tons of resto parts, and the help of other enthusiasts and previous threads of those who have been down the path before me...but I also had a 17k mile IROC in 1987 through the 90s to fill the void...I would have loved to have been able to enjoy the TRANS AM I have now when I was in my 30s (would have really dug gong to nightclubs and dating with the 72 T/A instead of the 87 IROC, but oh well)...by the time I really get to enjoy my T/A (assuming I make it)..I will be pushing 60...if someone had old me at 23 that the car would take me 40 years Id tell them..."your joking"...and yet if I had not bought it then..I would be T/Aless today...as I saw an ad in 1997 for a mint condition 23kmile TRANS AM for atleast $21k dollars....1/2 of what it would easily cost today...and since I am no Doctor (more like I need one)...I am thankful for what I have...and I am determined to see his through

[165th]

Here's an update on Adrian - It's one of those bad news good news updates!:

The bad news - Progress is such that a decision has been made not to rush her completion so Adrian will not be ready in time to be shown at the Trans Am Nationals. We want the car to be 'just so' and the deadline for the TA Nat's wasn't fitting that timeline.

So, with bad news came opportunity:

The good news is, Adrian has been accepted into the field and will be shown in November at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) in Chicago, and she will be featured in a special "Unveilings" portion of the show Saturday morning. This segment of the show is reserved for significant muscle cars that have recently completed concour restorations and have not been shown since the completion of the restoration.

The timing and type of featured segment of the MCACN show fit perfect for Adrian's unveiling. In fact, we've pretty much surmised that based on Adrian's history, this may be the first time Adrian has ever been shown in a car show format!

This year's unveilings has another significant Trans Am, namely a '69 Trans Am prototype so it should be a lot of fun.

Here's a link to the MCACN website 'Show Features' page.

http://www.mcacn.com/features.htm

And here's a list of the cars that will be unveiled:

[RamAir]

That's going to be a great unveiling at the MCACN, looking forward to it.

[Keats]

Greg,

Good luck. I was at MCACN show for first time last year and it was amazing. Hopefully will still see you at T/A Nats.

Dave

[W72-Bandit]

Well, that seals it,....just erased the pencil check mark I had by MCACN and replaced it with ink!

[Norwood]

I might try and make this one........

[Brewster]

Deer Season, Hope it goes well Greg!

[Norwood]

Originally Posted by Brewster

Deer Season, Hope it goes well Greg!

Haven't you killed enough of those cute little animals yet? or is it just an excuse to sit in a tree and drink beer?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0kNIBri834

[Judge273]

Sounds good! I'll buy you a beer Craig.....

[Bentwheelbob]

I might buy you a beer(s) and deliver it if you have an extra tree stand....

When are you going to show us what you're working on up there? You've been awfully quiet, but the avatar is teasing us. Will it be ready for the Nat's?

[Bentwheelbob]

On a more serious note....

Greg - Good news/bad news huh? Sorry for the delay, but man what a coming out party. Good luck with everything, we all can't wait to see the car complete.

Here's what you need for the unveiling. I saw these in a thread on here recently and snapped up a couple. They really are nice. Very high quality, but more difficult to handle by yourself than a regular car cover.

Again, good luck and best wishes.

[165th]

Man, that is sexy! Can you post a link to the person selling those?

Fortunately, I convinced Covercraft auto covers to sponsor a cover for The show. Yay. They recognized pretty quickly that in a car show of 500 cars, there was going to be 7 with car covers still on them till well into Saturday morning. They jumped on it.

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by Brewster

Deer Season, Hope it goes well Greg!

Now there's a man with his priorities set straight!

BJ

[CAM400455]

Looks like Adrian has called me to attend my 1st MCACN! Can't wait to see her!

[transam1972]

SUPER CAR COVER

[165th]

While waiting for the next round of restoration pics, here's some additional history and period pictures of Adrian. I cannot believe the amount of documentation I have amassed on her, and I am so lucky and blessed for everyone that has been so helpful with the research and contributions on this effort. Thanks go to Bob Wicker, Alan Pound, Dori Asbill Pierce and Pete Ganis Jr. to name a few.

Adrian shipped from the Norwood Ohio plant on April 3, 1972 with an original delivery destination of Friendly Pontiac in Temple TX, as noted on the PHS. Friendly Pontiac was a failing dealership in April 1972. The dealership had gone ‘out of trust’ with GM meaning GMAC financing had been stopped. There were almost no new cars on the lot and precious few used cars. Friendly sold the dealership rights to Farris Pontiac one month later in May, 1972. Due to the financial troubles plaguing Friendly Pontiac in April 1972, it is very likely Pontiac had ceased delivering vehicles to Friendly, and re-directed the delivery of Adrian to another dealership.

Pete Ganis had a working relationship with Carl Womble, the Pontiac District Zone 21 Zone manager. Carl often relied on and coordinated with Pete to move new car inventory from failing dealerships to Pete Ganis Pontiac in Dallas TX. Carl also knew Pete enjoyed driving Trans Am’s. Adrian was probably the only car on the GM transport scheduled for delivery to Friendly, which likely resulted in Carl re-directing Adrian for delivery to Pete Ganis Pontiac.

It was common practice to place dealer badges on all new cars arriving at the Ganis dealership. Pete Ganis Jr. was responsible for installing the badges on new cars as a part time job and remembers how tedious it was drilling in the new paint for the screwed fasteners on the badges. Adrian was no exception, as the Pete Ganis dealer badge was clearly present on Adrian’s tail panel in circa ’98 period pictures. Since Pete Ganis favored Trans Ams and often drove one as a demonstrator for a period of time before selling to the public, Pete probably drove Adrian from April ’72 until sometime in ‘73. In 1973, Andy Steed purchased Adrian from Ganis Pontiac and was Adrian’s first owner.

Thanks to a Forum member here on these boards, Adrian has a new Pete Ganis Pontiac Dealer badge. This badge will be placed back on the car by Pete Ganis Jr. just as he did 42 years ago (with molding tape instead of pins and nuts ) at the conclusion of the restoration. Here's pictures of a painting of the original Pete Ganis dealership and the dealer badge.

[165th]

In 1975 or '76 Andy Steed sold Adrian to Woodrow Carson(WC) Asbill. WC enjoyed the car as you can tell by these pictures of Adrian in full Hot Rod dress, including the Cragars and traction bars. These circa '76 pictures were provided by WC's daughter Dori Asbill Pierce. In later years WC used Adrian to herd dairy cows back to the barn, often driving the car in the fields. WC was tragically killed in an truck accident in the early '80's. Two owners later and the car was off the road for good in '98 when the frame off restoration gone bad led to the purchase of her in 2006 by Steve Schappaugh.

Something interesting to note the license plate in the circa '76 photos is the same plate that was on the car in '98 when she was taken apart on the original frame off gone bad. The tag expiration date is '92, giving thought that she may not have seen the road much after '92.

[The Boss]

So somebody special ordered the car & color but never got the car?

[W72-Bandit]

Call me crazy Greg, but you should put a set of fat and skinny Cragars on it as well as the yellow slapper bars for the MCACN debut!