I’m David DuSold and this is the story of me and my 1978 Pontiac Trans Am.

I come from a family of gearheads. My entire professional career, starting in my dad’s shop at the age of 3, is cars. My late Mother, my Father, my brother and I are all passionate about automobiles, and as a result I’ve spent my entire life around high performance machines.

I was a small child when I first met this car. It was a black 1978 Trans Am with a gold bird on the hood, just like Burt Reynold’s car in Smokey and the Bandit with the license plate “BRIS TA 1”. I told everyone that someday I would own “BRIS TA 1”, much to their amusement.

Several years later, I’m a 17-year old running an errand for my dad’s shop on Halloween day and I hit an unexpected detour from construction. On my new route on some unfamiliar side street, I see a Trans Am being pulled out of long-term storage with a “For Sale” sign in the windshield. It’s “BRIS TA 1”!

I immediately drove to the shop, and talked my dad into letting me borrow the money to purchase the car. We went over, struck an agreement, and took ownership then and there.

“BRIS TA 1” was mine. The car was not drivable at this time due to broken rear leaf springs, held together with hose clamps! And, terrible air shocks. And, the tires were bald. And the wheels were in pretty rough shape. She had seen better days, but to me, she was the glistening unicorn I’d been dreaming about for years.

It took several cold months over a Chicago winter to bring her back to life and catch up on all the service and maintenance, but that spring our adventure began. This was the first time I experienced true automotive joy, and is still to this day one of my happiest memories.

That summer, my group of car buddies was growing. On the track, my rival was Bob “Chic” Lewisnski and his 1966 GTO. We were neck and neck at the dragstrip with mere hundredths of a second separating the two automobiles at the end of the quarter mile. Behind closed doors, my dad and I planned out the build to end the rivalry. It was ambitious, but it would bring her to her full potential. With this build we decided she needed a new name, and immediately ordered the plates. When they arrived, I went over to Chic’s garage where many of us gearheads and motorcycle guys would gather to bench race and tell tall tales of years gone by. I opened the envelope and handed Chick the “EVIL 455” plate. The cat was out of the bag, we revealed the full build of the Trans AM in progress. My dad and I, with help from friends and family, spent a lot of time working on the Trans Am, and the build was finally completed in 1997. “EVIL 455” was born.

The Indian Uprising Car show held at the McDonald’s Headquarters was the first time she was shown in public. We took top honors at that show, then went on to win countless other awards in our show career. Every event I went to, I was learning what needed more attention and how to refine the build. I was hungry for knowledge, and to perfect my skill set. I made a lifetime of friends throughout the build process, racing, showing, and refining this automobile. Kevin Turner dubbed me “Jackstand Dave” due to me removing the wheels, and suspending the automobile at almost every show it attended.

In December of 2000 I was hit by a drunk driver and suffered a significant spinal injury. A month later in January, I was in another total loss collision. These occurred in the middle of EVIL 455’s annual maintenance, and with me injured the Trans Am sat for several years partially disassembled.

The pain from my injuries derailed my career and my ability to work on cars. But eventually I was able to work through the pain well enough to get back to my prized Trans Am once again.

In 2005, my friends, family and I got “EVIL 455” ready for Autorama (our local I.S.C.A. show), where we took top honors. Then, at the Pontiac Southern Nationals we won the High Performance Pontiac Magazine editor’s choice Award and best in class. Our story was featured in an article in their magazine captioned “Malevolent Obsession”

After all the excitement calmed down, I became soberingly aware of my physical limitations, and put “Evil 455” in storage once again. A couple of months later, my father called me and asked me to show the Trans Am to a client that was interested in having Buttler Performance build 3 engines for his GTO’s. I was happy to oblige, and we met at the storage location. Although it’d become an excruciatingly painful experience, I still felt proud climbing over the rollbar and firing up “EVIL 455” again. I looked at the client and he said, “Sold!” I laughed it off and said, the engine is not for sale. He then said “Not the engine, the car”. I again informed him that “EVIL 455” was not for sale. He started listing higher and higher amounts, until my resolve waivered. I had planned to never part with her, but the reality of my diminished physical capacity and not being able to work was on my mind. He wrote that last number on the check, and told me when it clears to deliver her to his restaurant in Frisco. TX.

I’ve had 138 cars, and to this day this is the only deal I truly regret.

I have since gone on to rehab my injuries, and live a productive life at near full capability. I am an accomplished automotive restorer, and custom builder by trade. I’ve worked to build my shop’s reputation for nearly 15 years, and for me it all started with “BRIS TA 1” / “EVIL 455”. She still comes up in conversation almost daily.

Last week, I got a call asking about her from someone overseeing an asset liquidation. I immediately drove over to the warehouse to see “EVIL 455” for sale. She’s been neglected, but is everything I remember.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope to raise the funds to buy back and restore “EVIL 455” to her former glory. The skills I acquired and friends I made with her was the strength I needed to avoid depression and pull myself back up after my injuries. Paying her back for that would be a truly life-changing and cathartic experience.