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my Granny and the GTO...... (Page 2)
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ProwlerOnline, Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler Discussion Forum
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my Granny and the GTO...... (Page 2)
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| This topic is 2 pages long: 1 2 This topic was originally posted in this forum: Tires, Rims Discusssion |
| Author | Topic: my Granny and the GTO...... |
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tangled up in BLUE Prowler Junkie Posts: 11086 |
posted 01-27-2004 09:02 PM
....flash back to the spring of 1968......I was 16, had a new job at a local grocery as an apprentice meat cutter, and bought my first new car.... ....I ordered a new '68 GTO convertable in the early spring and it arrived just before school was out for the summer....I was a motorhead and was quite proud of the new GTO.....my grandfather had passed away and my Granny had moved in with us a few years earlier....she had a way of slipping me a dollar bill everytime I passed thru the house.....back then it kinda kept me financially solvent....the GTO really sucked up the gas and the extra stray dollar meant a night of cruising the streets..... ....one sunny afternoon, I was leaving the house and I asked her if she would like to go for a ride in my new car.....the weather was perfect and the top was down.....Granny had never driven, and had rarely even ridden in a car, they never owned one for the last 50 years of their lives....me being young and still stupid, we took off from the house like Don Garlits was at the wheel...power shifted thru the gears, blew past 100mph in just a few blocks.....slowed down, and headed back up the next street making another Banzai run in the "Mighty GTO"......tires screaming, exhaust exploding with sound...I WAS LIVIN' LARGE.....about that time I looked over at my Granny, just to make sure she wasn't missing any of the excitement.....she was leaned back in the bucket seat as still as could be with her eyes closed.....scared the crap outta me, thought I had killed her.....she was "just enjoying the ride" she said, but I never forgot the look on her face when she opened the door and got out.....she was sure glad to be back home  .....we laughed about that ride for several years.....I never drove fast with her in the car again....she still slipped me a stray dollar bill everytime I saw her till the day she passed away... |
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Bob Miller Prowler Junkie Posts: 4576 |
posted 01-27-2004 09:50 PM
Really nice story and really nice Goat. But I have to tell you that back in Kansas City, Missouri, where I grew up, I blew the doors off a few Goats with my '68 Chargers (I had two, a 440 and 383). A '66 Goat blew me away though. Fun days for sure...
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tangled up in BLUE Prowler Junkie Posts: 11086 |
posted 01-27-2004 10:02 PM
The GTO was faster than my '55 Chevy, but I really had to drive it hard to beat any of the MOPARS.....it was too heavy to be competitive on the streets......ten months later, I traded it for a '69 Chevelle 396/375 hp and it was back to the races....I went looking for all the cars that had beaten my GTO and got my pound of revenge.....the Chevelle was a pretty hot ticket till the engine let go ....the real street terrors in our area were the '69 396/375 Deuces(Chevy II, Nova)and there were some 340 Darts with headers/cams etc that were pretty much unbeatable....geez, just reminds me of more stories.......................another day....This message has been edited by tangled up in BLUE on 01-27-2004 at 10:14 PM |
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ALLEY CAT Prowler Junkie Posts: 36093 |
posted 01-27-2004 10:37 PM
Bell - I had a '67 Firebird 400/335 4speed. Never had any trouble with the goats, but those Novas mostly got me good at launch time. Similar story on the dollars. My granny would give me a silver dollar every sunday for just stopping over. Always spent those silver dollars, most dated in late 1890's and early 1900's,,,,real smart kid  Did you ever make journeyman meat cutter? |
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Mike Krehel Administrating Kat Posts: 3047 |
posted 01-27-2004 11:59 PM
Great story Larry! I had a 68 GTO when I was 17, but as far as I can recall granny never rode with me... But if she did, I probably would have had a little extra spare change for gas. LOL! I worked after school and on weekends for a TV repair shop and it was all I could do to pay for my GTO. It was a great car for it's time and the new GTO's don't do it justice! On the way to school one morning I was at an intersection behind a potato chip (Charles' Chip) truck and there was another car behind me. I caught a glimpse of a car coming down the hill near the intersection at a pretty fast rate of speed. The next I knew he had jumped a curb just prior to the intersection and was headed directly towards me. With no where to go, my life flashed before me! He T-Boned me and I after a couple of minutes, I woke up with my car about 30 feet away in a convenience store parking lot. I had difficulty breathing for about the next ten minutes, but after that I just felt a little sore. I was scared to death of going to the hospital and besides I had to get to school! LOL I really loved that car, but my parents insisted I get something more substantial. I bought a 69 Grand Prix with the insurance settlement money, but thinking back now I should have gone to the hospital because I've had lower back problems ever since. Well, now with the 2 children all grown up and me in my second childhood I found a fully restored 67 GTO about 3 years ago that Judy and I both fell in love with at first sight. Thinking about it now, I really like the 65-67 GTO body style more than the 68's and beyond and will never part with this beauty! Me in my 68 about a year before the crash: Me looking in amazement at the car after the crash:
A few shots of my newly restored 67 GTO:
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butchcee Prowler Junkie Posts: 7476 |
posted 01-28-2004 12:38 AM
Lucky to be able to tell the tale Mike. Were you able to lean away from the door so your head wouldn't smack the glass before impact? |
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tangled up in BLUE Prowler Junkie Posts: 11086 |
posted 01-28-2004 02:31 AM
AC..... ....my meat cutting career was cut short by other interests.... after high school I studied to become a computer programmer....then joined the USAF and never cut meat again.....I was stabbed in the back in the cooler at work one day by a buddy of mine(we were playing with the big knives)....we had a game where we threw the long knives at the hanging quarters of beef....thought we were cowboys I guess.....Catman threw his knife and it skimmed off the hind quarter and stuck in my left shoulder...it was fairly deep......scared the crap out of us, thought we would be fired.....so he pulled the knife out of my back and we poured rubbing alcohol on it and I worked the rest of the day in quite a lot of pain.....the boss never knew where all the blood on my shirt came from, because we were usually smeared with it anyway from carrying the quarters all day long....I also was knocked into a meat hook and impaled while working there....my buddies and I would beat the crap out of each other with the big bologna rolls in the meat cooler.....I was hit so hard I slipped on the wet cooler floor and I hit a meat hook on the way down with my back and got stuck on it....again, my buddies pulled me off the hook and we continued to work.....scared we would lose our jobs......damn, that one did hurt....still have the scars from that job and all for $1.65 per hour |
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tangled up in BLUE Prowler Junkie Posts: 11086 |
posted 01-28-2004 02:39 AM
Mike.... .........my GTO was a 4spd and the same color....Vedoro Green.....we called it Army Green back then....when I sold the car it was only 10 months old, but it had been beaten to death....the hood was bent from the sticky hood hinges, it had 2 trannys, 3 clutches, a rear end replaced, the engine had a stretched rod,it also had two bent wheels and a smashed exhaust system from being airborn and landing too hard on a sidewalk......it also had various abrasions from playing car tag around town at night and it was on its 5th set of tires and only had 18K miles on the odometer.....it even had a bullet hole in the rear quarter where I had been shot at by a angry neighbor......the GTO was torn in half by the next owner on a bridge abutment....he was hospitalized for months after the crash.....the car was hauled away in two big pieces and lots of smaller pieces.... ....looks like you were VERY lucky to still be among the breathing..... ....I was always a big fan of the '65 GTO.....just never got around to owning one.....I used to drive a buddies '66 Tri Power quite a bit.....it was a royal blue 4 spd......we would trade cars for the day every once in a while....the carbs would get stuck wide open on the '66 sometimes.... This message has been edited by tangled up in BLUE on 01-28-2004 at 02:51 AM |
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Bob Miller Prowler Junkie Posts: 4576 |
posted 01-28-2004 05:02 AM
Mike - your "new" Goat is the same Goat that used to beat my 383 Charger. You've really got a beautiful car there and I envy you!!! |
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Stray Cat Prowler Junkie Posts: 1605 |
posted 01-28-2004 09:01 AM
Larry, Great Stories - I still need to get over and look/drive one of your vipers. Just been way too busy and have barely even been on the board. Ed keeps me up-to-date through email. Thought you and Mike might enjoy the pictures of two of my other cars below. The Firebird I have owned since I was 18 (26 years) and I JUST purchased the GTO from a friend. I could not pass it up. Mike, Looks like your a a very lucky man to be alive..... Your car is beautiful. My GTO is Palmetto Green and my firebird is of course Verdoro Green. Firebird was restored in Dallas (I helped found the Dallas Area Pontiac Association, or DAPA) I lived there 12 years - love Texas. It has won the Trans Am Nationals here in Dayton twice. Was restored in 1990 and still looks great. Take care, John
This message has been edited by Stray Cat on 01-28-2004 at 09:06 AM |
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Stray Cat Prowler Junkie Posts: 1605 |
posted 01-28-2004 09:07 AM
And here is the GTO Engine..... For some reason I could not get it in the previous post. Regards, john
------------------ 2001 Orange, Mopar Exhaust, MTD Intake, Front and Rear Mud Flaps, Chrome Shimmers, Orange Prowler Logo Valve Caps, Ceramic Brake Pads, Prowleronline.com License Bracket, Eric Wolf Chrome Trans Cover, Mopar Hitch and Trailer. |
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ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 |
posted 01-28-2004 09:55 AM
John, good to see you are alive and well. We have missed you guys at the last few get togethers. You need to show up. Richard has a new phone or something, maybe a pda or a computer or something. He will show it to you. lol. Hope you guys can make the next one. TBA in the near future. |
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DR PROWLER Prowler Junkie Posts: 4079 |
posted 01-28-2004 10:12 AM
Great story,Larry! I also love the picture-"Dirty Harry",watch out you've got competition! |
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Gary C Prowler Junkie Posts: 12017 |
posted 01-28-2004 10:53 AM
I hope your pocket protector, 11 pens and pencils didn't get damaged????  ------------------ contact Bill Pemberton at Woodhouse |
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Mike Krehel Administrating Kat Posts: 3047 |
posted 01-28-2004 01:45 PM
quote: I wasn't wearing my seat belt and the impact threw me into the passenger seat. The lower portion of the drivers seat was crushed almost in half. I often wondered what would have happened had I been wearing the seat belt. |
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Bcoffman Gray Ghost Prowler Junkie Posts: 2418 |
posted 01-28-2004 02:04 PM
When we first started getting our first GTO's I thought they were OK. But only OK. That 389 v-8 was really too much engine for that lightweight Tempest chassis. They were a really fast car for their time. But the car reall hadn't been engineered for that much torque. Fast, but not too safe. When the new 66's came out, they had stissened the chassis up some and it helped the handling. But the car would walk sise to side when running on the old slab pavements. The biggest improvement in the GTO came with the 68 model. It was designed for the horsepower and torque by then. That was always my favorite of all the GTO's we had. The diff in handling between the 64-67 Goats and the 68's was night and day. Sorry for rambling. Drove hundreds of GTO's in those days. Some pretty wild cars. Fasted was a 72 with the 455 H.O. and Ram Aire pkg. Speedo had 140 on it and it would go right on past the 140 and peg on the back-side of the 0. |
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