Musician shares how he spent 20 years trying to track down 1979 Trans Am he bought aged 19... and the heartwarming end to his hunt

A successful jazz trumpeter traded his tour bus for a beloved 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that took him 20 years to find.

Joe Gransden, 53, wept tears of joy when he laid eyes on the 'miracle' car which he bought at 17 but was forced to sell two years later to afford college tuition. 

The once-sleek 1970s vehicle was sitting under a tree in Arab, Alabama and had been reduced to a rusty shell. 

But beneath the rubble, there it was - the unmistakable buff mark he had put on the fender decades prior.

Gransden bought the car back for $6,000 and had it restored. Mechanics likened his near two-decade search, which involved enlisting the help of private investigators, to 'finding a needle in a haystack.'

Joe Gransden, a successful musician, finally found his dream car, a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, after years of searching

The car had been in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit" and Gransden had lusted after it ever since. Gransden had to sell his car in order to pay for college, but he never forgot about it

Gransden's journey began in Buffalo, New York, where he saved up to buy his dream Trans Am at 17. 

It was a time capsule of late-70s cool, especially since it was featured in the movie era of 'Smokey and the Bandit,' solidifying its status as a muscle car icon and doubling its resale value.

But with a blossoming musical career on the horizon, Gransden needed to sell his gas-guzzling car to cover tuition costs to continue to study music at Georgia State University.

'I really needed a Honda,' said Gransden. 'In Atlanta a nine-mile-per-gallon four speed Trans Am was not the way to go, [but] I really didn't want to sell that car.'

Robert Baitis bought the car in 1993 for $7,500 but he then sold it onto his mechanic in Alabama for $9,500.

In the meantime, Gransden toured with the Tommy Dorsey big band, battled cancer and become a father.

But the musician, now slowing down his successful career as a bandleader, horn player and singer, was determined to find the car that symbolized his teenage dreams.

With only a fading memory and lacking a vehicle identification number, he enlisted the help of a mechanic and a private investigator.

The search led them south to Alabama, following a trail of multiple owners and dead ends.

He eventually found the car in terrible condition in Alabama, but with the help of a mechanic was able to restore it

The Firebird Trans Am was a popular car in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was featured in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit," which helped to make it a muscle car icon.

Finally, a stroke of luck – the original owner, a German immigrant who had relocated years ago, was located through a distant relative.

The reunion wasn't a picture-perfect scene from a car commercial. The Trans Am. was found sitting under a tree in a small Alabama, where it had been ravaged by nature for the past 15 years.

Yet Gransden broke down in happy tears because he knew it was his car.

'The buff mark I put on the front fender 30 years ago was still there!' he said. 'It was in bad shape but the bones were there, the sheet metal was there.'

He eventually bought the car back for $6,000 and had it shipped to Florida for restoration.

The restoration process that followed was a test of patience and perseverance. Gransden entrusted the Trans Am to Rick Deiters, a renowned Trans Am specialist in Florida.

Deiters said: 'This car is a miracle. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.'

After a successful career as a musician, Gransden decided to try to find his old car

He enlisted the help of a mechanic and a private investigator, and was eventually able to track it down in Alabama. The car was in terrible condition, but Gransden was able to have it restored

But the pandemic stalled parts acquisition, and a fire ripped through Deiter's shop. Miraculously, the Trans Am emerged unscathed

Four years after the search began, the restoration was complete as modern engine now roared under the hood.

Gransden added: 'It feels complete. That journey is complete.'