My Pontiac Story

[Keith Seymore]

Not GTO related, but Pontiac related:

April 2010:

It's that time of year; I suspect dads all across America are being asked to drive their kids around "in an old car", and my house was no exception.

Last night was my turn - took the kids for a ride and then dropped my second oldest daughter at her Senior Prom. We managed to get a few (silly) shots amidst all the seriousness:

[Keith Seymore]

This is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now; ever since I found the old tow bar hanging on the wall at Mom & Dad's house.

I put a hitch on the Grand Prix over the winter and finally got to try it out today -









That's how we used to roll, back in the day!

K

[Keith Seymore]

June 2010:

Yesterday was the Widetrackers Chapter of POCI spring "Dustoff" car show; among other things this was to be the fifth and final presentation of the "Van Seymore Award" in memory of dad -

About 120 cars, representing several different Pontiac and special interest clubs, were in attendance:



In spite of the threat of rain, I brought the Grand Prix:






Here is the trophy for this year's Award, provided by the Widetrackers:





This year's winner was the fabulous '61 Catalina owned by Dennis and Mary Koss. This car was formerly owned (and the restoration financed by) Detroit rocker Bob Seger. Very tastefully done with a black and grey mild custom tri-tone interior, Vintage Air underdash A/C unit and '62 console. The car is said to contain Bob's cigarette ashes in the ash tray (...I suggested they should try to sell them on Ebay as "Bob Seger's Ashes"). This car was also chosen as "Best of Show" by popular vote.









The Koss's are the only "two time" winners of the award, having won previously in 2008 with their 1962 Catalina "Royal Bobcat" tribute.

A complete set of photos can be viewed here: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...eply&p=4016176

[Keith Seymore]

August 2010:

We talked about the Widetracker's Dustoff show (above); if memory serves that event was immediately followed by the "Eyes on Design" concours event, held at the Edsel Ford Estate.

George Turner and I were representin' the GTO crowd at that one:



Complete set of pics for that great event can be found here:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=636713

That was pretty much immediately followed by the "Concours de Elegance" at Meadow Brook. Tickets were provided by collector/restorer Joe Bortz, who wanted me to see a couple of his MotorRama show cars -



What Joe didn't realize is that he was really financing my trip to see this little guy:



That thread, complete with more pictures of A/FX racers, is located here:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=639846

This week is, of course, Woodward Dream Cruise week. The actual event is Saturday, which I will have to miss due to a personal scheduling conflict, but I've been getting my fill through the week. We were out twice Monday night, and then again last night. Today I will be taking some out of town guests on my patented "abandoned factories" tour - visiting some notable Detroit area ruins and finishing up at the Pontiac Assembly Center, where all three of my Pontiacs were built.

[Keith Seymore]

One more thing:

I also had an opportunity to take some "old/new" photos at the GM Tech Center during the GM shutdown -








........................





They weren't "framed up" as perfectly as I had envisioned but, in my defense, let's just say I wasn't given as much time to work with as I would have liked...

K

[Keith Seymore]

This found it's way back to my house the other day:



Dad never regularly used a cane, even in his old age, but he did make this one as sort of a novelty item. I believe he found the T handle at a swap meet and mated it to an existing shaft.



He wasn't afraid to use it, either, to clear a pathway in a crowded mall or car show, or to protect his arthritic feet and ankles. That T handle is heavy and, believe me, it hurts if you find yourself on the wrong end of it!

(lol)

K

[Keith Seymore]

We were just discussing "hop up" tricks on another thread, and I was reminded of something that would fit here as well:

The discussion was installing "weaker mechanical advance springs" in a reworked distributor -

Remember those cloth hand towel machines that were in the men's rest room of the day (the ones that were a continuous loop)? You'd give them a little tug like a window shade, and they would present the next section of "clean" towel for your use.

Dad and his buddies discovered that there were little springs inside those, that were perfect for replacing the mechanical advance springs in the distributor.

He said, at one point, you couldn't find a bathroom in Pontiac or at Chevrolet Manufacturing where the towel rack worked. They'd just go "bzzzzzttttt" and the whole length of towel would end up on the floor......

[Keith Seymore]

June 2011:

One of the PY forum members Bonneville Joe started a thread about taking his car back to it's original delivering dealer from some pictures and I thought "hey, I can do that, too!".

So - since this is Father's Day and I can do pretty much whatever I want, I drove the GTO over to 400 N Main Street in Royal Oak, formerly Royal Pontiac (and more recently formerly Jim Fresard Pontiac) for a photo shoot.

The building is actually being considered for a Kroger supermarket ( I have also heard they may tear it down), so I wanted to get some photos before that happened. These are intended to be primarily documentation of the existing buildings, but if one or two turned out to be somewhat artistic...well, that's a bonus I guess.

One other ironic thought: during my growing up years, when we were at Royal a couple times a week, it was a 50 mile ride. Now, as an adult, I live about 4 miles from this hallowed ground.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Ever gone into work on your day off, just to see what was going on?

K

[Keith Seymore]

Dad driving Pete Seaton's car (far lane) B/FX Final Round, Indy Nats 1963. Jim Wangers in the Swiss Cheese Cat in the near lane:



And here's how the day ended -



K