First real post so lets see how I do. 1971 SS 454
It has been almost exactly 30 years since I redid this for my old boss and kind of mentor of mine. It was more as a thanks for letting me work for him off and on running the body shop side of his business while I put myself thru college. It had been redone once at that time and work was slow and I was leaving when I found a 'job', so he brought it in and just wanted all the bike scratches taken out before he sold it. Of course I wanted to buy it but there was no way, so I was just happy making it nice as a way to thank him - I thought the car, and he, deserved more than a used car lot butcher job and I was the guy to do it (and I do have a small problem with mission creep, ...) so I did a nonstop 6 to 7 week run of late nights marathon complete; fully disassembled and redid most of what was wrong with the car including detailing the relatively fresh engine and engine compartment under the hood as well as a full repaint. He drove it for a few more years and ended up selling it to a good fishing buddy of ours a few years later. The next owner is also a very good buddy so I saw the car from time to time, but even though he has had it for 25 years now, he never drove it (and NEVER drove it hard - EVER). When he did, it was just putting around on dry days in the summer to a local show, or mostly to bring it down here and get it running again (after another long storage). We would get her back up to snuff but when he picked it up we all watched because he wouldn't put his foot down when he pulled away (let alone do a burnout or run it like it needed) - I love the guy to death but it might as well have been a 6 cylinder for him and I am pretty sure he never opened the secondaries. Sadly, it would get stored for another year or two before he couldn't get it to run well again, and back it would come. In the last 25 years it has probably only gained somewhere a little over a thousand miles or so (clock still sits at just over 60,500 which is the original mileage). It is a great car. Sorry I don't have better pics.
I knocked around after college for a while but really wanted to run a business like my dad, but couldn't find anything that spoke to me like playing with old cars and getting to help people when they were really in a bind after a crash by fixing theirs. When my old boss was just going to close the bodyhsop (because as a mechanic he hated it), as a last thought he offered it to me and I ended up taking it over. Now 25 or so years later I own the same little bit bigger bodyshop where I did this very same car all those years ago. I got a kick out if when a few weeks ago we figured out it had been exactly 30 years since I repainted it last.
This year as every few, it came back at the start of the summer but it was in much worse shape - mice had discovered it. It ran ok but overheated and I spent a good chunk of this last summer trying to get the new squatters out of this old friend of mine and try to get her back in shape for my fishing buddy. Mostly I was trying to convince him to keep it and enjoy it now that he and his wife are retired. We took the entire interior out to get mice nests out of, ... everywhere,... and fix the little places where they might be getting in (like the uncovered cowl vents), we put a new jade headliner in for him (that also had been ruined by mice behind it - seriously disgusting). Original seats were cleaned several times and were salvaged to as nice a level as they can be, but they are, well, ... the originals, ... but they don't smell anymore (after much effort and a few ozone treatments)! Dash lights were all replaced (only two were still working and they disintegrated when we touched them), but I'm glad we took it apart as we found a few more squatters nests in there, and to look at a fully lit dash now is so cool! In the process, we did find two copies of the build sheet in the seat springs, as well (one now framed and the other returned to its home). It smells good now, but when I drove it back to his house for him, I took one look at the garage out back that is literally falling down I said; "no way" - I told him I would store it in my garage this year. But even after all this, the car has become more of a burden to him so he asked me if I would just buy it from him. After all, I have more time in this than anyone, even though it was back when I could only love doing it and was so far in debt that I couldn't even afford the 50 dollar '79 Pinto I was driving (like every other body man, ...). Oddly, even though I have put so much into it, I have never driven it more than a few blocks. I just don't drive people's cars unless I have to (and I don't need to be tempted by this one), but I took it for my first 10 mile drive a few weeks ago and loved it - tell me another muscle car that is this comfortable. The dash lights are so cool but the light in the original radio is out and it is pretty static-y, ... but it is really nice to have music from an old radio in an old car - with an old song on that old radio, it is as close to time travel to our youth as we will ever get.
Even though it has been gone thru extensively over its life, it is still a numbers matching car with a great deal of originality. My old boss is gone some 5 years now but his pipe is still in the glove box. I couldn't stand to keep the old headliner but there was a hole in it over the back seat from way back that it was rumored to be from a high heel. We found a prom flower under the front seat that we put back, but I am pretty sure that was a different time because I know who took it to their prom and that night did not go well. Might be why the flower ended up under the seat! I have a lot of history with this car so I guess in a way it is coming home.
After 30 years I think it has held up and still looks pretty good. Lord help me I have visions of a frame off, but for now I just think it needs to be driven and enjoyed. Maybe Woodward in Detroit next year, if they have it. Time will tell, ...
Anyway, I thought some of you guys might enjoy a few pics and a story.
jeff
