Original owners
 

Hey guys and girls, how about we start a thread devoted to original owners on the yenko site that bought their cars brand new and could tell their stories that led up to them buying their cars?

Original owners thread
 

Great idea!

Dad bought his goat brand new, still owns it. Still enjoys it any chance he gets. Bruce has seen the car at the local cruises.
He had the choice between this and an orange 69 L78 chevelle. The salesman at Chevrolet wouldn't deal on the price so he went down the street to Marsh Pontiac and drove this right off the showroom floor. Went back to the Chevy dealer and showed the salesman. LOL

If you look at this months edition of readers rides, you'll catch a glimpse of it in the backround.

https://youtu.be/Ah_LjF_Sxow

Hey Larry-


We can certainly do a Members Ride on the GTO, too!:biggthumpup:

You would certainly make dads day. If there is one thing he likes to do it's talk about his car. He has a lot of stories to tell, lol.

Cool. We can set it up before it gets hot...LOL :beers:

Here are a couple articles about my dad’s GTO:

Short: http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...63431&viewad=B

Medium: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hot...ll-family/amp/

Long: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524

Wow, beautiful GTO.

Wow Keith what a wonderful experience you had growing up. Your dad lived a breathed muscle cars and racing, and passed it on to you.


I have to laugh because my father used to get angry at me for always working on my cars. He felt a car is only for transportation, and getting from point A to B.
I'd be out in the garage pulling engine or restoring this or that and he would walk by and shake is head. I think the more it irritated him the more I got into cars LOL. Although I was already into muscle cars, my mentor was Bill Scott who the chief mechanic on the Grandsport corvette/ Penske race team, who I met by chance at our local NAPA retailer.


Keith your father left and amazing legacy and very much appreciate you sharing it with us.
:3gears:

Read the stories, thanks for sharing really enjoyed them. Is there a Van or Keith Jr.?

That Goat is one very cool and special car.

Thanks guys -

Yes - I have two sons.

K

While I'm not the original owner I have talked to the guy who was. He and his father were actually on their way to look at Corvette's in Houston when they decided to stop at River / Oaks Chrysler / Plymouth. On the showroom floor were both a Hemi & an A12 Road Runner's optioned alike - A4 silver exterior / pewter & black interior / black vinyl top / console auto. I asked why, if his father was purchasing it for him, would he have chosen the A12 over the Hemi? Reason - the lift-off hood made it look more bad ass! They never did make it to look at Corvette's at all.....

I bought my 1968 Corvette from the original owner that had it in his possession for 50 years. He had just had it judged at Bloomington Gold last summer and put a for sale sign up after the show. Bought it when he was 20 sold it to me when he was 70.

My brother in law Jack purchased a 70 Chevelle new from Bob Johnson He saved all his $$ and on April 5 1970 his sister Diane gave him a ride to Scuncio Chevrolet and he paid cash for the car of his dreams, He attached his vanity plate JACK-C on the rear and drove off the lot grinning ear to ear. He truly cherished his Chevelle that he worked so hard for. In 1971 I would go with Jack to New England Dragway in Epping N H, I was the kid riding shotgun in charge of the 8-tracks. As he raced down the 1/4 mile on those Uniroyal Tiger Paws I would be in the stands dreaming that maybe one day I would get a chance to run the JACK-C Chevelle down the 1/4 mile . On the way home Jack would request the I throw in the BeeGee's . It would seem just as we crossed the state line the song " When I Get home To Massachusetts " would play. Funny thing after 40 years I still think the Bee Gee's sound Gay. The car was parked in 1979 and still sits in the garage till this day. Jack passed away 5 years ago after a long battle with MS. About 3 years ago my sister had new garage doors installed so I pulled the Chevelle out for the first time since 1979. After the new garage doors were installed the car still wearing original plates and paint was pushed back into the garage. I hope to have the car running in 2021 and maybe my 40 year old dream will come true.

That is badass. Sad to hear about the b-n-l.

Here is our 69 L78 Nova I ordered and purchased new April, 1969. Note on the order form I laid out a whopping $25 deposit. LOL Ordered the Nova as it was cheaper then a Camaro and since Jenkins had done so well in 68 with his L78 nova I was sold.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7815/...b49f6fc2_z.jpg


Wife drove it the first two years we had it so it was the grocery getter and then I drove it for one year before taking it off the street to drag race for several years but only ran heavy bracket so no roll bar or cutting but the green nova would go high 11's consistently so I would leave the trans in "D" (no manual shifting the turbo400) and it would shift around 5400 rpm.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7864/...78bb10f0_z.jpg

And how it looks today with just over 32K miles.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7823/...6797420b_z.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7920/...b5b0c51e_z.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7816/...6c928a2d_z.jpg

Sold the car in April, 1983 with just over 24K miles and purchased it back 30 years later in June 2013 with 31K miles. Guess what goes around comes around!

Chick, that is a GREAT NOVA!! I saw the car many times when Grady owned it. That's very cool it went full circle.

Rich

I first saw the car in the Solid Lifter Showroom display @ Carlisle, when we Vintage Certified the car. Great car and even better caretaker:beers:

Dang Chick, those are some impressive (and consistent) times. What work had you done on the engine/exhaust/suspension/tires etc.?

That's a great looking Nova..

Hey Chick, why does the paperwork say rear antenna?

And how much did they charge you for undercoat?...I can't make that amount out.

Thanks Sam! Had a Tarantula Manifold with 800 double pumper, Hooker Headers, 4.88 gears, Winters stall converter, and a few other odds and ends. Never broke anything and contribute that to the well built Turbo400 trans. Always showed a fair amount of mph for what it was so it was making decent HP I believe. Everything I took off to race was put back on the car including the original exhaust system in 1983. What was cool was when I sold the car in 83 I gave everything with it, pop, order form, BOS, 72 dated license plate, etc., and when I bought it back everything came back with it including my original title I had signed off April 9th, 1983 with just over 24K miles. Sweet!

Thanks Rich (fun meeting Grady back then), Darrell, and Steve for the compliments! For anyone that does not know Steve and the Vintage Certification Team they are just first class and the best as far as I'm concerned.

Jon, the sales person who was very mature (I was only 20 when I ordered it) and had been selling cars for years knew very little as I told him I wanted a rear antenna and he put it on the sheet. Heck, I sure did not know! I also told him I wanted a 4.10 rear and note he just put on the order form 4.10 rear preferred. Guess what, it came with the 3.55 standard rear.

The undercoat cost $50 and boy they made money off those back in the day. One of the local guys still selling Chevrolets told me he might have undercoated our Nova as he was in High School at the time and undercoated evenings and Saturdays.

Here is a quick story! I was working 3rd shift at a mfg. plant and selling cars full time when I was 20 and 21 years old at a Buick/Pontiac Dealership. Friend comes in on a Saturday I'm selling cars and yells your Nova came in Chick and I'm going geez, hope the owner did not hear that as we had a 69 Trans-Am Firebird and they had offered to sell it to me as a demo. I know should have but was married and had a child with another on the way. Across the street at the Chevy dealership (Sterner Chevrolet) they had a 69 Camaro pace car they could not sell. Oh the stories from back then.....