Hail and Farewell Part 2

Wow. I really don’t know where to begin. Well in 1997 I got to Ft Hood from Germany and needless to say I was in need of a car. Around that time Civics were all the rage but for some strange reason I was always drawn to the style and torque of American cars.
So I fished around a few lots and there it was in all of its Bright Red glory. The 1997 Pontiac Grand Am GT, Sunroof and all. (Any and everyone that really knows me knows that I would be the last person on earth to actually buy a bright red car, as red was my LEAST favorite color) It was at the time a huge 4 cyl car by all accounts at 2.4 liters. Brash and not shy on power. It was listed at 150hp and 150 ft.lbs of torque but bone stock it ran 15.4 in the ¼ mile so I figure that for some reason Pontiac felt it necessary at the time to downplay the actual numbers. (Yes I had the pink slip from the track to prove these claims) I put 6000 miles on my car the first month that I owned it.
Well if there ever was a labor of love then this car would become my obsession. At the time no one was really doing any modifications at all to anything outside of the Honda/Acura crowd. It would be a few years before the Dodge Neon and others would start seeing aftermarket support. So I did what any other car nut would do…………….I improvised.


First things first. It was TX so Window tint isn’t an option, it’s a necessity! So of course I went with the titanium blend that has a silver sheen during the day and is black at night. Then there was the installation of the Iceman Intake, the painting of the valve cover to match the car along with the brake calipers. I began to tidy up the loose wires in the engine compartment with yellow wire loom. The next mod was the strut tower brace to prevent body flex in heavy corners. Then came the JET air/fuel module (that was later stolen along with the aftermarket radio. Ignorant bastards probably thought it was an EQ). While in GA for school I had a set of BMW M3 mirrors color-matched and installed. Upon my return I had a set of Intrax lowering springs installed to set the car 2” lower than stock then bought a set of 17” Konig Appeals in Onyx (no one in Killeen had them at the time). I installed cross drilled and slotted rotors in the front. By the time I finished with the suspension I could take “the loop” at 70mph (the loop is a stretch of road as you leave the Ft Hood Hospital exit that’s rated at 25mph. With the PROPER suspension I was able to take it at 70 mph with no tire squeal what so ever) Later came the second Sony Xplode Head unit with the 2 Legacy 10” subs with the 1000 watt Power Acoustik Amplifier. While I was in Korea I would come back on leave and Install brand new black carpet, BomZ Racing seats and had the dash, center console and door inserts red.

The thing that I look for in a car can be summed up in one word………..comfort. I mean if I am going to spend about 2 hours a day in traffic in my car then it should have all of the toys and entertainment that one would want. It should be comfortable to sit in for hours without having to get out and stretch. Basically I should feel as if I am one with the car. I could drive from TX to GA and only need to stop for gas. Never feeling out of place or getting those phantom road pains. Just let the windows down, open the sunroof and go.
Well as fate would have it, I would remain in Korea for 5 years. During that time my car would be looked after by various individuals who would keep watch in between deployments. Well as most of you know, letting someone “borrow” your car is always a BAD IDEA!!! Not just in the conventional sense but BAD from ALL angles. Needless to say the story gets rather hairy from here.

One broken AC compressor (between $800-$1200 for repair) a speeding ticket (going 89mph in a 70mph that was NOT mine) in the glove box pretty much told me everything that I needed to know). So there sat the GA, inoperable for no less than 18 months in a storage facility. Upon my return to the states I would not have time to wait for the repairs so I purchased the VW and drove to GA from TX all in the hopes of sending for my red child in TX.




That idea never panned out and now I am on my way BACK to Korea so in all fairness it felt that since the car was paid for and was not in BAD condition overall that it would better serve someone else. So I put it on Craigslist. Initially I was going to take all of my modifications and sell them individually while scrapping the car but something strange happened when I opened that storage unit and looked at my baby again. I began to wipe off the dust that had accumulated over the last 18 months to reveal what was essentially still a showroom finish and realized at that point that I couldn’t see it sitting next to a 1976 Pacer in Cletus’s Junk Yard left for dead.

On Craigslist I was asking for $900 for everything but the speakers and amp. A lifelong friend of mine from KC told me that he was looking for a car for his Daughter that was about to graduate so I told him that if he came to TX from KC to get the car I would only charge him $500 for the car with a clear title (since he would spend a good amount on gas the price drop seemed reasonable.) So now I can rest easy knowing that my long labor of love is in good hands. Hell If I could I would fly up and help put her back together.


Thanks for being there for me all those years. For being the one steady element during those hard times. Thanks for getting me not only from A to B but from A to Z. You were always in the background, always on the road and always dependable. When I picked you up from the dealership you had 6 miles. Now I leave you with over 120,000 miles of memories.

Thanks.