BACKFIRE

Letter of the Month: Family Heirlooms

“I have a 1976 Trans Am, 455 four-speed car that has been in a couple pictures from the past Musclepalooza event coverage features, which are always nice to see in the magazine. This car has been in the family since new, being passed to me in the mid-’90s by my brother Vince, after he purchased an ’87 Grand National brand new. I grew up with the Trans Am, having been born in 1975. Through my late Teens, 20s, and on, I’ve been a regular at car shows, and I have run the Trans Am for some time at Lebanon Valley Dragway, but it has been mostly a car show/cruise car  for some time now. Still, I keep the drag radials and shift light at the ready in case of a street encounter — that will always be a part of me. You can never shake drag racing once you’ve been a part of it. I still have the desire to go through tech and make a few passes each time I take it to show at Musclepalooza.

In 1997, my friends and I went through the engine at their shop, Vitetta’s Auto, in Alcove, New York. The family members are long-time friends, and they see many of the local street