This was the first fast car that I bought and I got it a year after I was married in the early 2000s after owning my 1994 black Camaro for three years.

I’ll never forget when I decided it was time to step up to an LS1-powered Camaro. I started getting all the vehicle classified magazines (yes, I’m old) and started searching through them and online. But as this was the early 2000s times were different and it was difficult to find a lot of places who put listed their inventory like we have today. I called my dad as he was a car enthusiast as well, we found a day and hit the road to check out all the dealerships. My preference was to get a Camaro but I was more than willing to get a Trans Am if the deal was right. On our way to the larger dealerships, we saw a 2000 black Trans Am sitting in the corner of a small lot so we swung by to check it out. Sadly it was an automatic which was immediately deal killer, it HAD to have a six-speed manual transmission, T-Tops, and be stock.

We checked out a couple of GM dealerships without luck but as we passed a large Ford dealership with rows and rows of Mustangs we saw a lone Camaro sitting in the middle of the lot. We stopped in and found it had all of the exact options I wanted, low miles, and was unmodified. We took it for a test drive and we both knew I was going home with it that day.

After getting home my black 1994 Camaro was set on backburning and I immediately went to work making it mine. The modifications came fast, in fact, all the modifications listed below were done within a two-year span.

My best memories in the car were taking long random cruises with no planned destination with my young bride on warm summer evenings with the T-Tops off. A close second was all the great car enthusiast friends I made over the years. We went to countless car shows, took long road trips together, and I even ended up hosting my own car shows and dyno days. That time will always be the happiest time in my life and I’d give anything to be able to turn back the clock and go back.

She was always reliable, in fact, I never had a single issue with the car and that’s saying a lot considering how many modifications it had. She was a daily driver for most of her life with me finally getting a beater car to drive during the long midwestern winters we face here.

Here’s a list of the modifications:

Appearance:

• VFN Sunoco Hood
• Freedom Design Spoiler
• Black Billet Grill
• Z06 Style Z28 Emblems
• Berger Rear Panel
• Custom Dick Harrell Side Stripes
• 5.7 Emblem from GTO
• Export Taillights
• 20% Window Tint

Performance:

• Whisper Lid & Ram Air
• K&N Filter
• EGT/AIR Delete
• Hooker Longtube Headers
• Off Road Y Pipe
• GMMG Exhaust with Corsa tips
• ASA Cam
• LS6 Valve Springs
• Hardened Pushrods
• 4.10 Gears
• 150 Wet Shot of Nitrous
• Hurst Shot Throw Shifter with Lou Short Stick
• Lingenfelter 10 Bolt Girdle
• Custom Tune
• Goldline Lowering Springs
• Subframe Connectors
• Struct Tower Brace
• Strano Sway Bars

Interior:

• Custom Leather Seats
• Custom Floor Mats
• Clarion 7″ Touchscreen DVD Player
• White Faced Gauges
• Custom Rear Seat Delete
• Hurst Leather Shift Knob
• Autometer Gauges
• Sound Deadening Throughout
• Infinity Perfect Speakers and Sub
• Kicker Amps

As I’m sure you can tell I LOVED this car and no matter what vehicles I end up with later in life I’ll never enjoy one as much as this one. I had every intention of keeping it forever, in fact, I remember telling people I didn’t want to be one of the people I talked to often who told me how they use to have a nice car and regretted selling it. Unfortunately for me, I decided to listen to my brain and not my heart. At the time my wife and I were renting a condo and decided it was time to buy a house. While we were approved for the mortgage and had money to make a down payment I knew the smart thing to do was to sell it to free up extra cash so we could refill our savings account and have more cash on hand in case we needed to use it on the house. While this was the “smart” decision, doesn’t make the loss any less painful and I fully regret it.

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