The Mishap of a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am Water Bandit
We’ve all had our “Oh, crap!” moments—I remember running over my own foot when I used a screwdriver to bridge the starter solenoid in my 1967 Camaro when it was still in gear. I also saw a buddy’s hood nearly ripped off when he failed to latch it all the way. Stuff happens, and if you’re lucky, the damage is minimal, and you learn a lesson. However, sometimes those lessons cost a bit more, when luck takes a vacation, and things go as badly as possible.
This is, sadly, the latter version. Greg Kimble had a blue 1979 Trans Am with an automatic back in the day that he took his wife on dates in. Well, he decided he wanted to relive those days, but this time with a four-speed manual car. After a year of searching, he found the perfect Pontiac, but it was red instead of blue. Other than that, the numbers-matching W72 WS6 1979 Trans Am was perfect right down to its original carburetor. Kimble excitedly bought the car out of Maine and had it shipped to him.
As Kimble told HOT ROD, “I got the car, but I couldn’t drive it for two weeks while I got my paperwork, inspection, and tags sorted out. I was really excited to get to drive it and remember the good old days!”
Kimble decided he wanted some nice pictures of his new Trans Am, so he drove it to the marina for some shots. “I went downtown for some pictures and then to the boat dock. There was a big, older boat there, and if I parked just right I could get it and the bridge in the background,” recalled Kimble.
It was at this point that his happy day ended. After parking just right, he set the parking brake and hopped out of the TA to take some pictures. Well, our guess is that the parking brake was faulty because the car started to roll towards the water. Kimble tried to get back in the car to stop it, but the rolling Pontiac picked up speed and ended up in around 18 feet of water!
To make matters even worse, the Trans Am flipped over while it sank and landed on its T-tops, causing the whole roof to be crushed in. The rest of the damage sustained was due to the recovery efforts.
A picture Kimble took of the interior afterwards clearly shows the parking brake pushed in, but he takes full responsibility for not leaving the four-speed manual transmission in gear. “I had only driven the car about 30 miles and was so hyped-up with excitement that I made the mistake of not leaving it in gear when I got out,” he admitted. It was a mistake any of us could make, but unfortunately, his mistake occurred on a hill that led to a watery demise for the Pontiac.
Sadly, the Trans Am was totaled by his insurance company, and Kimble’s dreams of once again taking his wife on drives in his Trans Am are on hiatus while he saves up to try and find another one. He really wants to take the waterlogged TA to the Trans Am Nationals since the car makes for a good cautionary tale about how small mistakes can lead to huge consequences. As is typical on social media, he’s faced criticism for his error, but we’re sure it was only from those who have never made a mistake. We commend Kimble (who is now called “Water Bandit” by his friends) for owning this and hoping that others can learn something from it.
Photos provided by Greg Kimble
