The Inside Track

May 2012
The Inside Track
Scott van Tamelen, WMFC President
Our summer weather pattern has returned, and
with that comes some well needed seat time in
our Firebirds again. We’ve got some upcoming
events planned, and I hope many of you can
make it to one of them.
The first event is going to be the May WMFC
monthly meeting combined with our Memorial
Day Parade…….Yes, yes I know it’s kind of late
notice for a Memorial Day event, but remember
it’s only a couple hours in the morning and it’s
a great opportunity to reunite with your
Firebird friends.
past the parade has started at 10: am, and Dave
Kuyers has confirmed that remains the same
for this year. The plan right now is to meet
between 9:00-9:15am at the Burger King in
Hudsonville and then head over to the starting
point as a group. Hope you can join us on this
special day of recognition.
I’m also working on something for the 2012
Fall Color Tour more details will follow as I
confirm a few more items & ideas.
While we’re waiting for the parade to start
we’ll discuss a couple other events I‘d like to
get on the calendar. One such event would be to
arrange a weekend cruise, something where we
hit some back roads and cruise together as a
group. So if you can make it Monday May 28th
that’d be great, the more input we can have the
better something like that will be.
As for Memorial Day, we’re planning to attend
the parade in Jamestown, Mi. We’ll be meeting
at the Burger King in Hudsonville and then
traveling to the parade route as a group. In the
Newsletter 1
WMFC Membership Renewal
You’ve probably been wondering what’s up
with our membership renewal for 2012??
Here’s where I’m at with that: Because of the
large membership growth we had last season
about this time I figured it best to make the
annual membership coincide with that influx of
new members.
I’m hoping to have a business PayPal account
set-up by the end of the week for WMFC. If I’m
successful in that you’ll see on option on the
website to pay by credit or debit card.
The annual dues are again only $20. I also have
the membership lanyards ready to distribute.
So as you attend your next WMFC event make
sure to ask me for yours.
Moving forward WMFC Membership renewals
will be June1st of every year. New members
who join mid-year (after Nov 1) will benefit
from an extended 6month membership, as
their membership renewal won’t be required
until the following year. Here’s an example of
what I mean:
Make all checks payable to the West Michigan
Firebird Club.
WMFC Website ?????
If you’ve visited the website recently you’ve
probably noticed there hasn’t been much
changed lately, and you’d be right!! (I think the
Christmas theme gives that away.)
Somehow our password got jeopardized? Due
to that neither Derek, nor I can get logged in. I
have contacted GoDaddy.com and they are
correcting the situation. We should be back in
operation again in the next day or two.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may
have caused some of you that frequent the site
for up-to-date information.
Jim Rockford joins WMFC on Nov 14, 2012 pays
his initial membership at that time. I don’t feel
its right to charge him again already in June
2013. So we’ll extend his renewal to the
following June 1st (June 1, 2014 in this
example).
Hope that makes sense to everybody if not
shoot me an email or give me call and I’ll try to
explain my reasoning behind the madness.
As for all current members: I’ll email
everybody again to let you know when the
PayPal acct has been set-up. If you prefer not to
pay via PayPal you can forward payment to our
Membership Coordinator:
WMFC Membership
C/o David Kuyers
2487 24th Ave
Hudsonville, Mi 49426
Newsletter 2
Firebird History
What’s a Comp T/A Trans Am??
The Comp T/A Trans Am was built to
help GM showcase the upcoming Ram Air WS6
option, and ended up commemorating the 25th
anniversary of BFGoodrich’s premium
performance tire in the process, the Comp T/A.
Here’s brief write-up on how that came to be:
day version of the "Pontiac Tirebird", so with
the help of Jim Mattison (and some others) they
came up with a show vehicle. They first
displayed it at the Detroit AutoRama where the
lack luster reception had people stating that
"Pontiac couldn't even spell the name of their
own vehicle correctly."
SLP (of Firehawk fame) produced these
ultimate Trans Ams for the '95, '96, '97 model
years. Combined production amounted to 164
units, making the Comp T/A one of the rarest
Birds made in recent years.
A goal to produce only 200 Comp T/A's was set
in 1995, but due to outside circumstances only
72 vehicles made it across the assembly
line. GM claimed due to "request from its
dealers and consumers, the limited edition
Comp T/A was again available for 1996".
1996 production was slated for only 128
(combine that to 1995's production run of 72
and you find that magic 200 number
again.) Again that projection was not
met, which could explain the reason it was
offered again in 1997.
You're probably wondering "What's the big
deal about the Comp T/A tire?" In order to
better understand why the Comp T/A Trans
Am came to be, you first have to step back in
Pontiac history a little. In the early 70's the
BFGoodrich Tire Company bought a few Trans
Am's and built a "Pontiac Tirebird" that
originally debuted their radial T/A tire (see
side-bar for more on the BFGoodrich Tirebird)
Fast forward 25yrs, Pontiac is looking for a
way to spur interest in the upcoming Ram Air
WS6 package (still a year or so away at the
time). It was suggested they make a modern
Newsletter 3
It was eventually decided to use a Trans Am
and call it the "Comp T/A". The project was
handed over to SLP, who made some revisions
to the original design giving it a charcoal center
stripe (similar to that used on the 25th
Anniversary TA) over a silver paint scheme. It
would be available as Hard-top or T-top
versions only.
The Comp T/A was more than just
cosmetic beautification; essentially it was a
Firehawk in Trans Am clothing. There were
enhancements to the suspension, exhaust, and
of course the unmistakable Ram Air hood. You
could also select from a host of available
performance options like Hurst Shifters, Level
II Bilstein Sport Suspension, Torsen Limited
Slip Differential, and the 'R1' package which
included an extra set of BFGoodrich Comp T/A
'R1' series tires mounted on another set of the
Comp T/A's silver wheels.
On the inside the Comp T/A was standard
Trans Am fare as normal, with the exception of
a numbered center console badge which stated
the production number of the vehicle. Also
optional Comp T/A embroidered floor
mats were available too.
To make sure others knew this car was
different from your average TA they affixed 3D
Comp T/A decals on the exterior door panels, a
decal on drivers side headlight door, and silver
painted Speedline wheels with decals on each
center cap.
It should be noted there has been some
discrepancies regarding what came in the
interior package. There has been talk that it
also included custom Comp T/embroidery on
the headrest, and a plaque on the passenger's
side dash pad.
It may be possible that some early production
models included these. (Although any that I
have seen personally; did not.) To make things
more confusing the later year models did not
have the production # included on their
console badges and simply stated "Comp T/A
limited edition".
Newsletter 4
All this came at a price……..in '95 the Comp T/A
carried an additional $7000 price tag over the
standard Trans Am (making it nearly $35k). In
'96-'97 that cost would drop to roughly $4000
over the standard Trans Am.
COMP T/A Production Specs
1995- 48- 6spd and 24- auto….72 total
1996- 16- 6spd and 29- auto….45 total
1997- 30- 6spd and 17- auto….47 total
-----------------------------------Total = 164 Comp T/A's produced
1995 - 30 coupe (13 Auto, 17 6-spd)
42 t-top (11 Auto, 31 6-spd)
6 w/sport suspension package
28 w/R1 tire option
1996 - 10 coupe ( 6 Auto, 4 6-spd)
35 t-top (23 Auto, 12 6-spd)
25 w/Torsen
34 w/Lubes
15 w/Hurst
26 w/Suspension
28 w/Engine Cooler
44 w/Floormats
33 w/Car Cover
1997 - 7 coupe ( 2 Auto, 5 6-spd)
40 t-top (15 Auto, 25 6-spd)
31 w/Torsen
8 w/Lubes
29 w/Hurst
25 w/Suspension
33 w/Engine Cooler
43 w/Floormats
33 w/Car Cover
3 w/R1 Tire Option
Newsletter 5
Jamestown Memorial Day Parade
Date: Monday May 28th
Time: 10: am
Location: Jamestown, Mi
Attendance: Free
Although the parade starts at 10: am will be meeting at the
Burger King in Hudsonville between 9:00 and 9:15am. From
there we’ll travel as a group a short distance to Jamestown where
we’ll join the parade line-up.
We’ll hold a brief, informal WMFC meeting then and discuss a
few of the items mentioned earlier.
Newsletter 6
Upcoming Events
WMFC Monthly Meetings:
WMFC meeting- Monday May 28th @ 9am Burger King in Hudsonville, MI 49426
WMFC Official Events:
Jamestown Memorial Day Parade-May 28th Jamestown, Mi
Bandit Run ’12- May 12 thru May 19th- Registration is open! You can register at thebanditrun.com.
Join The Bandit Run on Facebook and Twitter for updates!
28th Annual Trans Am Nationals-August 24-26, 2012- Dayton, Ohio
Other Automotive Events:
May 26th- 24th Annual Lane Automotive Car Show (Free!!!!), Watervliet, MI
May 27th- Spring Fling Car Show- 1880 S Greenville Rd Greenville, MI
June 2nd - Veteran Car Show- 2500 Tuner Ave NW Grand Rapids, MI
June 2nd - Ionia Classic Car & Truck Show- Downtown Ionia Ionia, MI
June 2nd- Festival of Cars- Downtown South Haven South Haven, MI
June 2nd- Classic Car Show - Rockford American Legion Post 102 Rockford, MI
June 9th- Plainfield Motor Mile Car Show- Plainfield Ave, Grand Rapids, MI
June 9th- All-Pontiac GMC Car Show- 12451 Andersonville Rd Davisburg, MI
June 9th- MiFody Meet-n-Greet- Baker’s Restaurant Milford, MI
June 16th- 10th Annual Three Rivers Car Show- Downtown Three Rivers, MI
June 16th- Sparta Moose Lodge Car Show- 11510 N. Division St Sparta, MI
June 17th- Eyes on Design Car Show- 1100 Lakeshore Rd Grosse Pointe, MI
June 22nd –24th – 2012 Carlisle GM Nationals- Carlisle, PA
June 23rd - Alamo’s 2012 Classic in the Park- 8326 West DE Ave, Kalamazoo, MI
June 23rd- 9th Annual Covered Bridge Car Show, Downtown Centreville, MI
June 24th- 2nd Annual Summer Classic Car Show- Light & Life Wesleyan Church Three Rivers, MI
Newsletter 7
Other Automotive Events Cont’d:
June 28-30th- 37th Annual St. Ignace Car Show- Downtown St. Ignace, MI
July 7th- 5th Annual Adam Shafer Memorial Car Show - Lawton High School, Lawton, MI
July 17th-21st Pontiac-Oakland Club International's 40th Annual Convention-St. Charles, Ill
July 21st- 16th Annual Car Show Downtown Paw Paw, MI
Aug 3rd – 5th Ames Performance Tri Power Pontiac Nationals – Summit Motorsports Park-Norwalk, OH
Aug 11th- Del Shannon Car Show- 25 Conran Dr Coopersville, MI
Aug 12th-12th Annual Deanos Pizza Car Show, 1640 m-40 North Allegan, MI
Aug 24-25th- 28th Street Metro Cruise - Grand Rapids, MI
Sept 1st- Classic Car Show- Veterans Memorial Park Boyne City, MI
Sept 2-3rd- Cars for Cancer Car & Bike Show- Mercy Health Partners Lakes Campus Muskegon, MI
Sep 7th- 11th Annual Trendway Benefit Cruise-IN, 13467 Quincy St, Holland, MI 6-9 PM
Sept 8th- Paw Paw Wine & Harvest Festival Classic Car Show- Downtown Paw Paw, MI
Sept 8th- Cars for Kids- AmericInn Greenville, MI
Sept 9th- 18th Annual Musclecars Plus Car Show - Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
Newsletter 8
The Western Michigan Firebird Club is dedicated
to the preservation and enjoyment of the classic
Pontiac Firebird through a passionate interest in
keeping the Dream Alive.
Meetings:
The WMFC holds monthly meetings throughout the year. The times and locations may
vary, so please see the upcoming events page or check out our website for specific times
and locations. http://www.wmfirebird.com/Recent___Upcoming_Events.html
WMFC Officers:
President: Scott vanTamelen [email protected]
Vice President: Kyle Denboer [email protected]
Treasure: Mike Keen
[email protected]
Membership: Dave Kuyers [email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Cat Browne [email protected]
Webmaster: Derek Dyke [email protected]
Check out our latest events and activities on our website www.wmfirebird.com.
Newsletter 9
WMFC Sponsors
Please join us in thanking our generous sponsors by using their services
whenever possible. Sponsorship with the WMFC has many great
benefits.
Newsletter 10
WMFC “For Sale” Section
Let me know if you have something to list here. So far our track record is pretty
good most everything that has been listed has sold. Shoot me an email with what
it is you have for sale, an asking price, and a couple photos; I’ll get it listed here
for you.
Newsletter 11