[ponyakr]

the '60's & '70's were a special time in this country. there was the viet nam war that nobody understood. all the post ww2 babies were coming of age & they were "wild in the streets". there was the hippie movement, nudist colonies, biker gangs, on the coast there was the surfing crowd, every sort of sexual activity you can think of & they all danced to the sounds of the latest rock & roll. there was pot, lsd & and any thing else they could find that would give'm a buzz or send'em on a trip. it was "tune in & turn on man" & some of them even lived to tell about it(sadly, some didn't). but for the gearheads it was all about musclecars. by 1970 there was about anything you could possibly want, from a 6cyl mustang to a 426 hemi or a shelby cobra & every thing in between. & we thought it would go on forever, but it didn't. federal regulations & the insurance companies sealed the doom for our beloved musclecars. soon those that were left were just old wore out cars that nobody wanted anymore.(but as we now know that would later change). most had been rode hard & put up wet as the cowboys say. by the mid '70's most were in purty sad shape. but at the time i thought it was great. i could buy a goat or a bird with the original 400 motor & trans & usually with a decent body for $300 or less. so i started round'in 'em up & draggin 'em in. i recall 1 such vechicle, a '70 goat ragtop,400,4sp. the windshield was busted, the top was ragged & it needed paint, but hey, it would still run & drive & for $300, what was to think about? when i got it home & T.J. saw that it would run, she said "lets go for a ride". so we dropped the top & took off up the road. it was neat. as i can remember its the only ride i ever had in a ragtop. i used the motor parts, sold the 4spd & it set for years while we were busy racin & just rusted down. thats sad but thats just how it was back then, they were just old wore out cars nobody wanted. i didn't keep count,but i'd say i probably bought maybe 50 birds including 1st & 2nd gen & at least 25 goats. i also bought tons of big cars to get 455's & th400's. when workin on a race car it was great to just go outside & get what you needed. if i could have somehow looked into the future i would now be a wealthy man-- but who knew?