I do not know if I ever took this car out for a test drive.  And believe it or not I think the same thing happened again with my next car.  This was mu first Fbody.  Fbody refers to, I think, the code name of the platform as GM was developing this car along with the Firebird, which it closely resembled.

As I drove it off the lot after I signed all the papers I thought "Wow, did I make a mistake?",  The Z28 was very crude when compared to the 300Zx I just traded in.  I bought this car based on a test drive I had made almost three years earlier.  Buyers remorse?  Yes.

But after a time the feeling wore off.  When I took the car home my kids instantly nicknamed it the silver bullet.  Well it did not feel all that fast to me, but the Silver bullet it was!

I loved the T-Tops and the V8 rumble.  I also liked the fact the top was painted silver like the rest of the car.  Most Z28s had a black top.  This two tone paint upset my style sensibilities.  As if I had any.

At work the first time I took a car load of compadres out to lunch in the Silver Bullet someone from the back remarked, "This car sounds like it has balls."  That was the perfect summation of an LT-1.  Sounds great but maybe not the greatest engine ever.  The dash was weird and had a very disjointed collection of shapes and it looked and felt very cheap. 

Those leather seats were very smooth and slippery and stuck to you like glue in the heat.  The six speed was great though.  The only thing about it was to save gas it tried to make you shift from 1st to 4th if you were going easy on the gas.  But in its defense it got 25 miles per gallon on the highway.  Nice.  Not bad for a 5.7 liter engine.  The secret is the Fbodies were fairly light.

Well despite all the foibles I did wind up liking the Bullet.  It had an engaging personality.  What did eventually wear me down was the car like a cheap piece of s**t most of the time.  Can I tell you horsepower makes up for that?  What finally did the bullet in was the fact that Computer Associates laid me off after 13 years for some unknown reason.  I was down in the dumps.  But I soon found a job that paid more money.  Then one day I was at the Chevy dealer picking up some part that fell off and I noticed a black LS1 6 speed in the parking lot.  I called Eileen about my find.  She was great and said something like "you go boy."   Nothing could stop me now.  I had paid off the Bullet and I knew I was going to take a bath on my 2 year old Z28, but I was hooked.

I made an offer but he salesman balked and said I could not get my dream car for that pitiful offer.  The LS1 Fbodies had just come out and they were in demand.  I was crushed and went home.  I called the salesman every day with no progress, but then one day he said.  Well let me see if I can get a little more for the Bullet.  That is how their game works!  But he knew he had a live one on the line.  I am a terrible negotiator when it comes to cars or maybe I am a terrible negotiator.  I caved.

Aloha Silver bullet, hello Batmobile II.