How a 1973 Trans Am with just 3,000 miles on the odometer found its way to Nebraska

"It gets exciting around here when we find one," says Dave Hall, owner of Lincoln-based Restore a Muscle Car.

The rare bird this time was a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am Firebird — white with light blue accents and black leather interior — that had a grand total of 3,000 miles on the odometer.

After getting it detailed and serviced, it still looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor — 51 years later.

Believe it or not, the 3,000 miles is not the lowest odometer reading Hall has acquired. He has bought three 1970s model cars with fewer than 100 miles.

"Every now and then you find one and it's always a big deal," he said.

The 1973 Firebird was found below the living quarters of a Pennsylvania house in a walled-off area — a former garage that was turned into a laundry room — covered in sheets for protection.

The homeowners always knew it was there.

They put it there.

But as time — decades and decades — passed and the layer of lint grew thicker, the car became nothing more than a fixture, a part of the landscape.

Until it was discovered and bought — and then sold to Hall, who drove to New York, picked up a trailer and then made his way to a rural section of the Keystone State to haul it back to Lincoln.

Before starting the car, some meticulous work was done on the engine. The oil pan was dropped, the fluids were flushed, every joint was lubricated, the bearings were greased and the carburetor was rebuilt.

"It took a couple of days before we thought about starting it," he said.

Meanwhile, the body was gently washed to remove 51 years of dust before a coat of wax was applied, which brought back the classic car's original shine.

Some would call it amazing that within 50 feet of that Trans Am's parking stall in Lincoln rest two others, same year and color.

Hall gives a shrug of the shoulders. You don't gravitate to the world's most well-known Trans Am restoration shop without attracting several of the highly regarded Pontiacs.

The shop — two large metal buildings aimed at doing everything from rebuilds to paint jobs to engine repair — is loaded with a little bit of everything from the American Metal Era. Impalas. Camaros. GTOs and Mustangs. 

If you want to see an elderly man become reduced to those hormone-driven, testosterone-fueled days of his teenage horsepower past, just let him loose inside Hall's shop.

"These cars bring back the youth in us," said Hall, who is in his early 50s. "We have clients that range from their 30s up into their 80s. Muscle cars or classic cars are what helped bring back our youth.

"They help keep us keep that drive going to handle the day-to day-grind. ... There's so much nostalgia involved with all of this."

For Hall, becoming a world-renowned leader in American muscle car restoration seems like a natural progression from his own days of youth.

The Lincoln East High School grad cruised to school behind the wheel of a 1972 Trans Am.

"That was like my Friday car," he said. "Mine was blue with a white stripe. I always liked the body style. I always loved the Trans Am."

Now Hall must decide what to do with his latest acquisition. There's a good chance it will be displayed at a few car shows before going on the auction block.

He sold 12 cars at the prestigious Barrett-Jackson auctions last year and said the 3,000-mile Trans Am would likely sell for "six figures at auction."

"It will be a nice showpiece for someone who has a collection of cars," Hall said. "There's a nostalgia thing with it. That's kind of the driving force with the whole American Muscle thing."