Assembled in December of 1978 this well-equipped Trans Am was ordered by an 18-year-old enthusiast named William Leland III. Naturally Bill Jr. as he was known to his friends was like most other adolescent males at the time smitten with Smokey and the Bandit. However what made him different from other gearheads was the fact that he realized pristine examples of these cars would eventually be hard to find. Bill Jr. being raised in the hobby had already acquired a well-paying job in the parts dep...artment of Westboro Massachusetts' Pell Pontiac. One day he finally got up the nerve to ask his dad Bill II to co-sign a loan. Bill II happily agreed as long as the loan didn't exceed $10K. That accord resulted in this $10009.45 Trans Am SE. Bill Jr.'s plans were simple: the Pontiac wasn't to be driven or subjected to any undue wear and tear... ever. When he borrowed a dealer plate to drive his prized possession roughly 20 miles to his parents' house the car had six miles on its odometer; and roughly 26 miles is as far as the unregistered Trans Am was driven for the next several years. Bill Jr. eventually married and bought a place of his own so he once again borrowed a dealer plate and drove the car roughly 20 more miles to his new residence. And that's where the Pontiac stayed for the next 17 years. Sadly Bill Jr. was diagnosed with terminal melanoma cancer and would pass at the young age of 42. Before he passed he signed the Title of the Trans Am over to his father. Bill II borrowed a tag and brought the car back to his home where after being driven only 65 miles in 24 years it would be parked and covered. Far from forgotten the car was fired and shifted about once a month over the next decade. In 2013 it was passed to its third owner as a reference grade 65-mile survivor. And in 2014 it made its public debut at the Pontiac-Oakland Club International All GM Car Show where it earned a much-deserved Survivor Award.
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