Ah, the good ol' Pontiac Trans Am, among the sexiest and sleekest of muscle cars.

The mustachioed Burt Reynolds added to the car's sex appeal by making it his "co-star" in the hugely popular Smokey and the Bandit trilogy, starting in 1977.

Gavin Tims' 1973 Trans Am, at Saturday's Langley Good Times Cruise-In, looks very much the part of a cool ride.

This marked the sixth year Tims has entered the Trans Am in the annual show 'n shine, one of the largest mixed-car shows in Canada.

"I enjoy the people, I enjoy the atmosphere, and I live in Langley," Tims said.

Tims ordered the car new from a Jim Pattison dealership in June of 1973. "I ordered it from the factory," Tims said.

The car is in mint condition and is almost all original, including its bright orange paint with the iconic Firebird emblem decorating its hood. Only the tires have been changed.

So what's the appeal of the Trans Am? "I love the 1970-71 series and I ended up ordering a '73," Tims said. "I love the body style."

Prior to owning the Trans Am, Tims said he's been "a GM man all my life." He previously owned a 1971 Corvette.

The Trans Am doesn't travel very far. It sits in storage and gets driven to car shows, and has just 25,000 original miles on its odometer.

"I'm just the caretaker of it, now," Tims said. "It's just car events that we take it out to, or going for coffee now and again."

The Trans Am is a far cry from the first vehicle Tims had ever owned - a 1954 English Ford 100E Prefect.

tlandreville@langleyadvance.com