Schinella, Adams, and Davis were the Chief Engineers of Product Development and Design on Project Firebird/Trans Am at General Motors in the late-1960s, and it was Schinella that fought GM to get Nautilus Blue approved and onto the assembly line. It was an exciting win, but the bigger thrill of Dayton was a chance meeting with the original General Motors engineers who developed the Pontiac Formula in the 1970s-Herb Adams, John Schinella, and Bill Davis. He entered the GM F-Body Southern Regional against 200 competitors and won “Best Bird.”Īt the Trans Am Dayton Nationals the Blue Goose placed second in its class (five modifications or less) against 490 Firebirds-385 of them Trans Ams. “After quite humbly winning so many local car shows and watching people’s reactions, you can imagine my confusion-because this Pontiac was so familiar to me I never thought of it as anything but normal,” Elick says with a grin.Ĭonfused, but enjoying the growing list of victories, Elick decided to up the stakes. Then came the wins-so many wins that Elick sought out larger shows to even the playing field. Not bad for a model prone to rust and corrosion. “She was already in great shape, mind you-with matching numbers, no corrosion, and an abundance of factory equipment installed,” Elick said. Then five years ago, Elick and his wife Sabrina, made the decision to “restore-the-roar” and get the road-worthy car into show-ready condition. I towed Blue Goose from garage to garage, starting her only occasionally to pressurize the lubrication system,” he said. “I literally threw a blanket over the car for the next 35 years. The car accompanied him on every adventure, even serving as the “escape vehicle” at his wedding, he said.Įlick returned home in 1980, working for ATA, Delta Air Lines, UPS Air, Gulfstream Aerospace, and later the FAA, while the car sat idle. “There were times I had no idea how I got home, it was almost like she had autopilot,” Elick said. He ran the Formula ragged, speeding over sand dunes and going airborne over uneven railroad tracks with his Navy and college buddies. If I did, I would have been one of the ones that approach me at shows today, just to exclaim, I had one of those,” Elick said.
Elick spent all but a few dollars of his military stipend on the monthly payment, gas, and insurance. “I bought the 1977 Formula with all the Trans Am equipment-no birds, no stickers, no fluff, no snap-on plastic air dams-just a straight, raw, very rare Firebird,” Elick said.Īffectionately nicknamed “Blue Goose,” the Formula proved a pricey ride for the novice sailor. His dad co-signed for the deal with neither of them knowing just how significant the car would become. “With my motocross bike to trade and $300 in hand, I somehow landed a Nautilus Blue Firebird Formula for $98 dollars a month, and off to California I went.” “I kind of knew what I wanted, but could never afford a $5,000 car at 18-years-old,” Elick said. Inspired by the recent release of “Smokey and the Bandit” and the flashy gold and black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am cruising across the big screen, the Indianapolis, IN native headed to Don Sisk Pontiac with his dad to try his luck securing his own getaway car. In 1977, 18-year-old Jim Elick needed a car for his first shore duty with the U.S.
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