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Team Chevelle Member #380 GoldIts September 1998.
I have an old college buddy named Steve from Philadelphia visiting for 3 days. Steve has always been a car buff. Had a 68 (or so ) GTO before I knew him. While we were in school, he drove a '70 290 Hp Javelin. We used to go out and bang gears in his car since my '60 Chevy inline 6, 3 on the tree, Impala certainly couldn't.So we're talking about the old days and the Javelin when I tell Steve that I've got to buy another car because my son is turning 16 and will be going away to college and that he was going to take my 89 supercharged Cougar, which has seen better days anyway.
I'm telling Steve that there is NOTHING on the market in any sort of a reasonable price range that turns me on.. too many complex systems, no real power, front wheel drive and though they are comfortable, they just aren't fun…why can't you buy a fun car anymore I asked him…
I tell Steve that I'm gonna have to settle for an Eldorado but that I would buy a Northstar car that was a few years old to get the price into the low 20s. So Steve says "Rich, why don't you get yourself an old muscle car? You know that's what you've always wanted so why not get what you want." Well I was shocked…I replied "Hey man, I'm 44 years old and I don't wanna be driving around in some old rustbucket even if they were cool BACK THEN"
You see, I've been so busy with my career and family, that I had completely ignored the growing numbers of restorations that were being done. When I would see one on the streets I would remark that it was cool and someone did a nice job taking care of that car not knowing at the time that you guys with the restoration talent have been doing frame off (what the heck was a frame off…I had no clue) restorations all along and I was just missing the boat.
Steve leaves for Philadelphia but before he goes he buys me a hardback copy of "American Muscle Cars" by Randy Leffingwell. So here I am thinking about the good old muscle cars and flipping through this book.
On the cover is a 1970 GTO Judge convertible. This reminds me of the OTHER muscle car I rode in quite a bit …. my brother in law's 1970 convertible GTO Ram Air IV, 400, 4 speed that wound 2nd up to 80 MPH. Man I LOVED that car!!!
That GTO is gorgeous but so is this Baldwin Motion 1970 SS Chevelle on page 111. Dark Green with white SS stripes. Of all the cars in the book, that 70 Chevelle definitely has the nicest lines and is just plain overwhelming….. and I LOVE that dark green with white SS stripes…..man, what a combo!! Sharpest car in the book!
Throughout the following days I find myself drawn to that book and somehow always end up back on page 111. I would love to own ANY car in that book…. but that Dark Green Chevelle with White SS Stripes really IS the best looking muscle car in the whole book.
Man, that color combo is really growing on me!!
The book boasts an LS6. Now at the time I didn't know an LS6 from a 4 cylinder. You see, when these cars were made and running on the streets, I never had money for such a luxury. I was in school and that was my sole priority. Yeah, I loved the cars my friends had but I knew I couldn't swing one so it was easier to not know much about them so as not to increase the drool factor.
I started reading anything I could find on old muscle cars. The Turkey Rod Run in Daytona was just 8 weeks away so I decided to go to my first show. In the meantime, I went around town finding and talking to the guys who restore cars. I soon came to realize that a restoration was big bucks if well done. Maybe even more that the low 20's I was looking to spend. I also started looking for cars on the Internet. There were several nice sounding cars on the internet but the thought of travailing around the country to look at cars, with the possibility that several would be disappointing after travelling 1000 - 1500 miles was a lot to confront. Then, if I actually found THE CAR, do I dare drive it home?? Or is another trip required with a truck and trailer to get it home??
Seemed like a difficult task at best, to find, and actually take possession of a nice Chevelle.Well, the Turkey Rod Run (over Thanksgiving weekend) was overwhelming. I had no idea there were SO MANY beautiful cars to be had. A friend I was with told me how to differentiate the 70, 71 & 72 Chevelles by their headlights. I really like that Chevelle year with 2 headlights instead of 1 so when I came across a dark green 70 with 454 badges and White SS stripes (sound familiar???) I was very interested. It had a for sale sign on it to boot. The owner wasn't anywhere around so I peered in the windows. White interior .. nice… everything looks very good… 2 plaques indicating it had won at a local show as well as 1st Place at the Peach State Bow-Tie Oct 11-12, 1997. BUT THE CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC…YUCH!!
I called a friend in Georgia who tells me that this show has "a lot of nice Chevelles" so the Peach State Bow-Tie is apparently not another small town event. Guess that means that as far a restorations go, this car is reasonably well done.
Okay, the phone number on the for sale sign is local (about 35 miles away) so I figure I will go talk to the guy since I gotta start to learn the ropes ( knowing full well that I wasn't interested in an auto but also that I wouldn't buy the first car I saw)… so this would just give me some experience.
Another brother in law (Jay) used to have his own restoration business but he didn't survive doing them full time… so now he just did restorations on the side. Well, Jay and his family were planning a Christmas visit in about 4 weeks. I figured that's a long time to wait to go see this car as it may well be sold by then. But, I decided to wait for Jay since I wasn't REALLY interested in buying this one and I wanted to take Jay so he could teach me what to look for.
So I called the owner , George, and got all the details over the phone…asked all the uneducated questions I could think of. I also kept looking for other cars on the Internet. This is where I started to really learn about engines, options, tranny's, rears etc and especially prices. This is where I also learned that no original LS6 had A/C. Adding A/C is too much alteration so I must go with an LS5 ( not so bad since my brother in laws Ram Air IV was similar Hp to an LS5) or an A/C car that has a built engine. A daily driver has got to have A/C in Florida!
Jay arrives and we go to see this dark green 70. Well when I walked up on it in Georges garage, this car was larger than life. George's driveway is up hill about 3 feet. So when I was at the road I was at about grill height… George had backed the car into the middle of his 2 car garage so there was plenty of room around it…. From 25 feet away and at eye level that front grill looked just plain awesome. As I approached, it just got better. The car looked great! In fact, better than I had remembered.
Jay looked the car over. George jacked it up and under we went. Jay is showing me the painted frame, body/floor panels, wheel wells etc …. new hoses, new fuel lines, new fuel tank, new springs, etc etc new, new, new, new!!! Down comes the jack and we sit inside …just simply beautiful…except for that damn AUTO!!!
The car had A/C which is a must… so its not an LS6. George says it's a little over 400hp and has an RV cam (yeah, ok…what's that???). Before we leave I ask George to go over everything that was done with Jay. I wanted Jay to see everything that George was talking about so he could decipher the jargon to me later. By this time I really like this car, but it is out of the question because it is an AUTO (I have never owned an auto…YUCH!!) and, after all, it's only the first car I've looked at. But DAMN, she is BEAUTIFUL!!!
We thank George and head home. Of course, on the way we are discussing the car and I ask Jay if he would do one for me …same colors, same everything…this car was JUST WHAT I WANTED …except for that damn AUTO …and what it would cost to do one? Well, Jay is smart and not anxious to do business with family. But he tells me that he couldn't do a car that well for under $40,000 and that the $25,000 asking price was a great deal.
By the time we got home (45 minutes) I had bought the car (in my mind) and it was just a matter of working out the actual price and other details with George. And figuring how to get a stick in place of that auto. We drove back the next day and looked the car over again and shook on the final deal. Yeah, its an AUTO, but it was so overwhelming in every way, rite down to the EXACT color I wanted ( and it was only 35 miles away) that I couldn't turn it down. I JUST COULDN'T! I took delivery on December 24, 1998. Is that a Christmas present or WHAT??
Now let me tell you, this car has become my new hobby. I have met a world of new friends mostly on TC but also at shows etc and you know what?? I'm loving that AUTO !!! That thing really hauls!!! AND you guys tell me its bulletproof to boot!! Just do me a favor and don't tell Steve how much I have come to like the AUTO!!! He might just think I wussed out!
Only problem now is that I've got the the Hp bug….and the well publicized "RV CAM BLUES". Oh well, new hobbies stimulate new interests and so it goes. So I guess it won't be a Low 20s car forever. Ed says about 6-7k for that Bigley rat.
As much pleasure as I get from the car, I get more pleasure from my TC friends to whom I am appreciative of your time and patience in educating me and making this whole venture so much MORE fun! I have met some of you and look forward to meeting others…Anyone coming to Florida please email me!!!
Rich 70 SS 454
A photo background of Rich's SS is available here in 640 or 800 screen sizes.
Previous Feature Cars
April, 2001 Steven Soltez / Phil Valentine - 1964 ChevelleMarch, 2001 Don Pell - 1966 Beaumont
February, 2001 George Mitchell - 1969 SS
January, 2001 Rich Cummings - 1965 SS
December, 2000 Bill Gillogly - 1968 Nomad
November, 2000 Michael Vogt - 1966 SS
October, 2000 Gene Chaas - 1967 SS
September, 2000 T.L. Wright's "70 Pro Street"
August, 2000 Ron Mathieu - '65 Chevelle
July, 2000 - Danny Fletcher, 1970 SS 454
June, 2000 - Billy Neal, 1967 Chevelle
May, 2000 - Jesse Robertson, 1966 Malibu
April, 2000 - Steve Wininger, 1970 SS
March, 2000 - Von Cassidy, 1969 SS 396
February, 2000 - Jerry Bethke, 1968 SS 396
January, 2000 - Steve Courter, 1970 El Camino
December '99 - Bill Taylor, 1970 SS
November '99 - Jeff Dover, 1969 SS
October '99 - Jack Hengehold, 1967 Chevelle
September '99 - Jake Bauer, 1966 Chevelle
August '99 - Jeff Glover, 1972 Chevelle
July '99 - Frank Clark, 1972 Sprint
June '99 - Al McKenzie, 1967 SS396 Convertible
May '99 - Mike Crown, 1966 SS396
April '99 - Wes and Linda Colby, 1970 Chevelle
March '99 - Matthew Silicki, 1969 Chevelle Malibu
February '99 - Kevin McBride, 1971 Chevelle
January '99 - Jim Campbell, 1964 Chevelle
December '98 - Doug Hinton, 1969 El Camino
November '98 - Chris Forno, 1967 Chevelle
October '98 - Steve Goldberg, 1969 Chevelle SS 396
September '98 - Devin Raynal, 1970 Chevelle
August '98 - Mike Hurta, 1970 Chevelle SS
July '98 - Tim Hornbeck, 1968 Chevelle Concours Sport Coupe
June '98 - John McCreavy, 1970 Chevelle SS
May '98 -Craig Bricco "Home Blown"
April '98 -Pop's 69 300 Deluxe
March '98 -Jason Renschler 72 SS
February '98 -Greg Thompson - 69 SS 396
January '98 - Dan Carr - 1968 El Camino
December '97 - Chris Martin - 1966 Chevelle Convertible
November '97 - Linda and Alex Alexander - 1964 Chevelle Convertible
October '97 - Michael Minery - 68 El Camino
September '97 - Dan Carr - 72 El Camino
August '97 - Mike Smith - 68 Chevelle
July '97 - Dale McIntosh - 67 Chevelle
June '97 - Dave Kaveshan - 65 El Camino
April '97 - Michael Pettyjohn - 69 Chevelle
May '97 - Steve Hagensicker - 67 Chevelle
Lou & Diann Ebare '67 Chevelle
Mac Logan '67 Beaumont
Skip Cain '67 Chevelle
Tom Horton '68 Convertible
Dave & Karen Stuessi '67 Convertible
Rick Bucci '71
Dave Bosell '65
Luiz Tinoco '67
Tom Turner's '72
David Mullin's '68
Jerry and Sheri Rutherford's '72 Chevelle
Bill Smith's '66 396-375hp
Brian Benthin's '69 Malibu
Rich Gribi, '69 SS - ( December '95, Thank's for starting it off Rich!)
Team Chevelle would love to feature your Car on one of our future monthly articles.
If selected as a feature, we will send you a high quality Team Chevelle license plate!To take part, send a few quality pictures to us and as much information as you can (we LOVE reading about Chevelles!)
Al McKenzie, Box 68, Porthill Idaho, 83853
Note: preference is given to submitted photos, unless you have access to high quality scanning equipment, we would prefer to do the image work and touch-ups.
or: Al McKenzie, Box 231, Creston, B.C. Canada, V0B-1G0
