Team Hoghead managed to make it to the Trans Am Nationals once again!!  Joe was successful in selling his 1977 Black Special Edition Trans Am on eBay and it is now with its happy, new owner in California.  So Joe drove Ford truck pulling an empty car trailer (so he can pick up a Trans Am on our way back home on Monday).  I did drive my 1978 Gold Special Edition Trans Am and joined in the FUN!!

Joe, Cameron (my son), and I began our big adventure on Saturday morning.  We got on the road at 8:30 a.m.  We had a guy in a new Mitsubishi Eclipse give us a big "thumbs up" while on I-181 in Kingsport, TN.  We stopped in Corbin, KY at South Side Auto and Truck Sales to look the the wrecked cars they have for sale.  They had a 4th generation Ram Air Trans Am that had taken a hard hit... hard enough to move the rear axle out of its proper location.  They also told us of a very nice 1979 10th Anniversary Trans Am sitting in the showroom of a Pontiac dealership in London, KY.  Once again, we were hoping to run into a pack of T/A's going to the Trans Am Nationals, but that didn't happen.  We checked into the Travel Lodge at 3:00 p.m. and headed over to the show site to get the Trans Am registered and through tech.  At registration Cameron received his own nice goody bag... great stuff for kids.  We then drove out to Tipp City for the Trans Am Cruise-In!!  Check out our Tipp City Cruise-In page for all of the fun!!  

On Sunday, we parked our Trans Am on the show field and got everything ready to enjoy 2002 Trans Am Nationals!!  Come on and see what we saw!!

Pontiac Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see, we eventually ended up with 11 Special Edition Trans Ams with at least one representing each year of production from 1976-81.

The biggest challenge was trying to get some good pictures!!  Some folks risked life and limb by climbing on top of trucks and minivans while others took their life in their own hands by standing out in the road and dodging oncoming traffic!!

Thanks to all who participated!!

Joe, Cameron, and I loaded up Monday at 8:30 a.m. and checked out of the Travel Lodge.  When I got back in the Trans Am and turned the key to start the engine...it turned over, fired, then died, and THEN SMOKE rolled out from underneath the hood!!  I quickly jumped out and raised the hood.  Nothing was on fire and we found a fusible link behind the alternator that was burnt in two.  So Joe, Cameron, and I pushed the Trans Am into the parking lot and got to work.  After removing the shaker scoop, shaker base and air cleaner, cold air ducting, interior hush panel, steering column trim panel, and A/C ductwork under the steering column...we could FINALLY begin to diagnose the problem!!  We had tools, but no volt-ohm meter (VOM).  We must be living right because a mechanic from the Toyota dealership next door drove by and then brought us a VOM and stayed for a few minutes to help us determine that we had a short... somewhere.  We pulled wires out of the wiring loom in the engine compartment and all was OK... so it's got to be under the dash.  You know what that means... standing on your head to look up under the dash.  Well I looked and jiggled the wires in the wiring harness while Joe (a.k.a. "The Wiring Guru") reviewed the wiring diagrams in my 1978 Pontiac Service Manual.  After jiggling the wires, the short went away and we could reconnect the fusible link and start the engine... which left that nagging feeling in the back of your mind, "What if it comes back while I'm going 70 mph down the interstate?"  Joe suggested that we stop and buy a fire extinguisher... that's comforting!!  Joe has to pick up another parts car in Nashville today so he can't haul us home... which was kinda ironic to have a truck and trailer that we couldn't use.  So we had decided to go with what we had and pray for divine intervention during our trip home...but the Lord did one better.  Joe, "The Wiring Guru," decided to take one more look up under the dash.  When HE jiggled the wires, Joe got a face full of SPARKS!!  Joe found another fusible link with a connector that had worn through the tape from 24 years of movement.  So, Joe re-taped this connection and we re-repaired the blown fusible link behind the alternator again and all was WELL!!

By now it was 10:00 a.m. and we got on the road headed back to East Tennessee.  Joe followed us to Cincinnati where he headed toward Nashville, TN so he could meet a guy from Arkansas to pick up another parts car.  Cameron and I headed toward Gray, TN and had no problems on our trip home.  Cameron and I stopped in Corbin, KY to get something to eat at Shoney's.  A guy came over to talk to us to see if we wanted to sell our Trans Am.  He'd seen it parked at South Side Auto and Truck Sales on Saturday and was trying to track us down!!  We told him about the 1979 Tenth Anniversary Trans Am in London, KY and he was on his way.

We did make it home around 5:00 p.m. and Joe made it home around 10:00 p.m.  Well, this return trip home is beginning to have a traditional adventure associated with it.  I guess we'll have to wait until next year to see what happens to us then!!