What was 'that car' ?

[XcYZ]

I thought this would make for a fun and interesting thread...

What was that car, the car and/or experience that made you take the path that you are on?



I'll get it rolling....

My brother had a car, as did my cousin, friends in high school, etc, but... the single sharpest memory was when I was 16. One night I was sitting around in front of a small town popcorn stand (are there any of those around anymore? lol) with a few friends when a 69 Camaro rolled by. It was yellow with black stripes and running Centerline Autodrag wheels. It was a bad ass car, looked absolutely perfect rumbling by under the street lights on a warm summer night. That's how a car was supposed to look, and that's how a car was supposed to sound. I can remember it like it was yesterday.



Am I being nostalgic because it's the end of the year? Yeah, probably. Lets hear your story; what made you a car guy.

[Tom.A]

For me it was not any one car, rather it was my Dad. I grew up around them. I am pretty sure I was the only 5 year old dropped off at my school in a 1941 Ford Coupe, cragers and with 283 Chevy complete with a cross ram and no hood Me and my brother would always run to the window when we heard a rumble looking to see what he had bartered or traded for. My mom just came to accept it. He passed about four years ago, but even through my adult life he would show up at my house with something. It's funny even at 38 years old now ,every time I hear a rumble coming down my street I still catch myself thinking to look for Dad

[silver63c10]

Pretty much same as you, Tom, I was at the race track while my dad ran a rear engine dragster when I was a month old, and spent a good portion of my life in our parts store/machine shop growing up. Kind of inevitable, I guess... He wrecked the racecar when I was 5, and we rebuilt a 63 Chevy truck as my first vehicle when I was 12, and now have put nearly 4 years into a 79 Camaro for a toy.

I think the car that probably did the most to me, though, was an 81 Camaro that my mom drove daily when I was in elementary school. Dark blue, well built 400 and a 9" with loud exhaust, I wanted to drive that car so bad...get my second chance now with our 79, I guess

Thus the obsession, though..kind of runs in the family, pretty much all of the last 2 generations have made their living doing something involving cars.

[jephs422]

That's an easy one for me.

A four door 69 Dodge Dart.........Sawzall convertible

I had watched my dad race cars as long as I could remember and I had always wanted to join him on the track. Even before I got my drivers liscense I had come home from work at Dominos Pizza to find the biggest pole of crap 4 door dodge in the driveway with my name on it. And It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Torn up yellowish bench seats front and rear. Only the fornt doors worked cause the rears were welded shut, and the top was cut off via sawzall.....so, it was a sunny day car only, LOL. I can remember that car doing the FATTEST peg leg burn outs known to man kind.

That's the car that made me the car nut I am today.

[class67]

For me it was my neighbor........when I was kid, one the teenagers next door had the baddest 67 Camaro that sounded awsome (all cam'd up), not that I knew what that meant at the time but I do remember that sound. His house was kind of the "hang out" and all of his friends had Chevelle's and Nova's, Chargers etc.... Now keep in mind that this was in the mid or so 70's when you could get away with pretty anything, well....the cars that were always around the are still stuck in my mind, Chevelle's and and Nova's with Tunnel Rams sticking out of the hoods and Super Wides out back (hey it was the 70's ) and I thought that was so cool. Anyway from the time I was 7 or so I have had a thing for cars, not just because of the neighbor and his friends but those are just the images / memories that I always flash back to.

[Flash68]

When I was in high school there was this guy with probably the nastiest street car in town, a burgundy 68 Firebird with a Pontiac 400, Ram Air III heads, big cam/carb, etc. and nitrous. It was super clean from what I can remember and got me hooked, which led me to buy a bomb of a car (even though I scored) - a 74 Nova body with no motor/tranny for $150. I befriended the Firebird guy and he helped build my Nova to a decent street car. I always told him I would eventually buy that Firebird from him years later. I would have too but he sold it several years ago before I got the cash or ability to do a project like that. Ironically, I now have a 68 F-body, just not a Firechicken.

Good times....

[Beegs]

Originally Posted by tom_a

For me it was not any one car, rather it was my Dad. I grew up around them. I am pretty sure I was the only 5 year old dropped off at my school in a 1941 Ford Coupe, cragers and with 283 Chevy complete with a cross ram and no hood Me and my brother would always run to the window when we heard a rumble looking to see what he had bartered or traded for. My mom just came to accept it. He passed about four years ago, but even through my adult life he would show up at my house with something. It's funny even at 38 years old now ,every time I hear a rumble coming down my street I still catch myself thinking to look for Dad

Tom...great story, brought a tear to my eye.

The car for me was a 76 camaro. A local family bought it brand new, the daughter had it first then the older brother, they always kept it mint. I watched "Mike" take the 305 out and freshen it up with a cam, headers, intake, Cragar SS wheels etc...I was always hanging around like a s**t fly asking questions.
Well I ended up buying that car with 36K original miles and drove it hard! It was my daily driver thru HS and when I started making some decent money the car ended up Ferrari red with a BB 454, built trans, 3:73 posi etc... it was a great car. I sold it many moons later to fund a V8 s10 project of all things.

It's funny...my Dad is a great guy with some great qualities but I remember growing up, he was never interested in cars and actually discouraged me at every step of the way. Not in a bad way but one example in particular sticks out:

When I got the Camaro, I ran it with the 305 for a year so and decided to build a 350 for it. After all... I had been reading every car magazine for years, I was practically ASE certified! I remember going through the whole deal: machine shop, getting the parts, assembly etc..well I finally get the thing put together, all dressed up on the engine stand. I had a smile from ear to ear. You know what my Father says? "It looks good, leave it on the stand, it will never run" Looking back on it, it makes me laugh.

I put the motor in, got everything right except the timing and I had a few plug wires crossed. My father said: "see". LOL He felt bad for me and called a friend of his. His buddy was a great guy, came right over and straightened the thing out. It ran like a champ.

When the 454 build came along, can you guess what my father said? LOL

[JamesJ]

When I was around 15, so 15 years ago a friend of ours (race car fabricator) was building a full tube Mustang 5.0 body style full out car to compete in the open road races, the car was going to have a carbon fiber body, twin turbos, the front glass was laid back, every thing was going to be custom but still look normal, and thats when I said i need something like this....

Thats why my car will not be very custom looking....

[clill]

Jim....Can I see the COPO 66 paperwork ?

[Ummgawa]

Originally Posted by clill

Jim....Can I see the COPO 66 paperwork ?

My Uncle is in Canada right now, but, he has kept all the paperwork
on all the cars he bought. He walked this particular car down the line when it was built. I traced the car from when he sold it to the next three owners and the trail went dry. I'll ask him to dig it up (It is probably in a warehouse storage that I will volenteer to go through). I have seen the COPO orderform where my Uncle Noah(My COPO cage Uncle) ordered the 427(not a tall deck mind you) 'for a bus' (they built bus chassis' there also). The motor arrived, they just switched the 427 for the 396 like it was no big deal- and for them it wasn't. It's been ten years ago that I eyeballed the stuff, but, I will just about guarentee you that he's still got it. I even have a picture that he gave me with him sitting in the car.(I'll see if I can locate it and post the picture) Beautiful Silver, knee knocker tach, no console, no back seat. no heater, no radio, no console, rubber floor mats, even the bucket seats did not have head rests. He eliminated every thing that added weight. no dum-dum, drum brakes (the one thing he debated on-disc brakes, decided not to due to the weight- said he regretted that move numerous times with manual drum brakes and a wickedly fast car),manual steering, M-22 and a 4:56, two prong steering wheel like the original I just sold on Chevelles.com. It was a single 4 barrel Holley but I do recall the aluminum Intake, because I commented about the 'snowflake" on the intake when they were tuning it up at one of or family gatherings.

I'm telling you, I have never been so scared in a car in all of my life. It was loud and mean and fast as hell. Every time I see him now I tell him he had about as rare of a Chevelle that has ever been built. Plus the COPO connection with my Uncle running the COPO cage, and him walking the car down the line himself. Too Cool.

Here is the funny/sad part. My Uncle met his wife and SHE hated the car because it "so loud and did not even have a heater or a radio". he sold it to his then brother in law, he sold it his best friend, he sold it to his brother and he sez he traded it on a used car lot for a station wagon. The lot is closed way back in the day. I had the VIN and ran it through North Carolina DOT. Nothing came up. That where the trail went dry for me. I just basically gave up.

Maybe he still has the paperwork, if he does, I'll contact you.

Shame of it all is, My Uncle that owned the car is in his 60's now and my COPO Uncle is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. They are both just about too old to care anymore. I need to sit down with them and get the full run down on 'all they saw' before its too late.