[ponyakr]

hey, good luck with the driveway job--hope your painting experience turns out better than mine did. i'm sure i've probably already related those. if any of my racers ever get a real paint job(other than what i give em out of a spray can) i definately will have the whole job done by someone else--somwhere else--i don't even want 2 deal with the sanding dust, maskin tape mess or the primer & paint residue all over everything in site. i despise every aspect of anything 2 do with a paint job. but thankfully there are those who love it & take pride in doing it right! i'm interested in your vinyl top. just curious--did the car originally come with 1? or did you have a car earlier with 1? or do you just like the looks of them? i've already mentioned that i like the look on a lot of the old muscle cars. are you going 2 try the install yourself? from what howard told me, its a purty delicate operation! i remember the 70 goat that i mentioned(the 1 that i put a 400 in for the guy who thought his 455 was bad, but just had a bad lifter)was yellow w/a black vinyl top & black int. it was a nice lookin ride. ps just remembered 1 more thing about that goat--cb's were real popular back then in our neck of the woods & this guy was really into em--so he put a huge whip on the back--looked 2 me 2 be at least 8-10 feet long. 2 me it just looked wrong on a nice 455, 70 goat. but think what a dull world it would be if everybody liked exactly the same thing. personally i think henry ford had the rite idea--paint every car black--black is beautiful! but, hey, thats just me

[ponyakr]

ok--here's the low down on howards paint job. just used normal red oxide primer. 320 grit paper was the finest he used for sanding. used NAPA brand Crossfire acrylic enamal. the color he wanted was '74 pontiac persimmon, but he said this co had consolidated some of the gm colors & the closest thing he could get was a bronze metallic. he just mixed it exactly according 2 the instructions. he used a regular hi pressure pump & a moderately priced gravity feed gun from eastwood. & he gave me 3 good helpful hints that mite help beginner painters. (1) use maybe 3 LIGHT coats--heavy coats will cause the metal flakes 2 sag! (2) don't pull the tape until the paint is absolutely dry! (3) this 1 he read somewhere & it works--if you don't have a paint booth always ground the car! if nothin else just drive a metal rod in the ground & connect the car 2 it with jumper cables. this discharges the magnetism that can pull dust out of the air.

[Greg Reid]

Thanks for the painting tips. I'd never heard that about grounding the car. Interesting thoughts for sure and dust is a big concern around here. I'm in the sticks too...
I'm one of those guys that likes bodywork....so, no problem there.
As for the vinyl tops, I generally prefer cars without, but this one came with one from the factory. Plus, I had to do some pretty extensive metal replacement on the roof and I was afraid the repairs might show though the paint down the road.
I do like them on some cars....For instance, your friend's Firebird above, I think, looks better with it than it would without it. My car will probably look better with it too since the exterior and interior are all one color. The black vinyl should break that up a little.
Here's a more recent pic of my car-

[ponyakr]

howard said he didn't really want a v-top , but, like you he had done some work on the roof & didn't think it would sand out smooth. said after he got through with all the primer & sanding , all the bad spots were fixed & he could have got by with out the v-top, but he had already bought it, so went ahead & put it on. he had another word 2 the wise about v-tops. he said in the old days when there were a lot of v-tops they had some good dressing 2 keep them lookin good--but he doesn't know of any now. he used some sort of dressing that made it look bad--had 2 re-do--so the 1 in the pictures is the second take. said he just keeps it clean now--no dressing! but maybe you know of or can find out about some good product for the purpose.

[Greg Reid]

I forgot to answer one thing you asked...about whether I was going to put the top on myself or not. Don't know yet. I think I could do it but I've heard that it's really hard to get it straight with only one set of hands...So, I may farm it out. I have to do everything by myself here.
As for keeping it looking good, every vinyl top I've had in the past, I used Armour-All but I have heard some bad things about it over the years. That's a ways off for me though. Got to get her painted first!

[ponyakr]

i'm workin on a new 68 bracket bird project. in planing for a little more cooling than we use 2 have, i've decided 2 run a 7 blade flex fan. when i told howard about it, he said that he had 1 he'd give me--complete with spacer & bolts. he went on 2 explain why he had this set up. when he 1st restored his 68, he put the flex fan in it, but took it out because it made so much noise. i told him noise wouldn't matter to me cause with open headers i wouldn't hear it anyway. that reminded me of the old days again. after TJ's 1st full season of runnin E/SA in a 68 bird, i changed a few things & made it into a street ride for her. instead of th400 w/9" convertor, it had a muncie 4-speed. instead of 4.56 posi, it had a 3.08 1 wheeler. instead of open headers, it had 2 1/2 pipes w/thrush glasspacks--the pipes stopped in front of the rear end. it was a little quieter than open headers when idling i suppose--but not much! hey, in this neck of the woods if you had a musclecar it had glasspacks--the only thing optional was whether 2 run the pipes over the axle, in front of the axle or turn em out in front of the tires. 2 run stock mufflers was considered WRONG & even sissy. & i don't even remember hearing of such a thing as a turbo muffler. a few souls tried side pipes for a while--remember those? back then we didn't have cd's or even cassettes--we had big ole tapes called 8-tracks. i thought TJ mite like 1 in her bird--but she said "nah, if ya can hear the radio, it ain't a hot rod!" ya'll see why i love that gal? she wuz a hot rod honey fur shore! didn't have air, so when weather allowed, it was windows down with sweet music flowin in with the breeze! & she got by with it except for 1 incident. it was a traffic stop for license check--& she saw it 2 late 2 avoid it. she thought maybe if she was careful not 2 rev it up any & just try 2 idle along he wouldn't say anything--WRONG! the trooper said "mam, would you pull your car over on the shoulder please. when he came over he said "mam, would you rev up your motor for me please?" she did it slowly & not very hi, thinkin she might get buy--wrong again. he said "mam, did you know that glasspack mufflers are illeagal in the state of LA? she said no--but he assured her they were. as i recall the ticket for illeagal muffs was $25. & she got a warning(more of a threat) 2 put real mufflers on it rite away. but she never had any more problems with the law. yep, we shore had some fun with them old ponyaks!

[ponyakr]

here's TJ,s street bird again

[Greg Reid]

I grew up near a military base. Got turned around at the gate in my '63 Impala by the MPs for my glass packs and pipes angled out in front of the rear tires. This would have been in 1974. Oh, for the good ol' days.

[ponyakr]

i suppose because of my backgroud, i love march madness. don't watch regular season games, but i love 2 watch the big dance. i really enjoy those 1st round match ups when david takes on goliath. most of them are no contest & i just turn 2 something else. but sometimes the low seed underdog will really give the big dog a scare. & against all odds sometimes the little guys play over their heads, the big guys have an off nite or whatever & a 15 seed actually beats a 2 seed & sends them home early! but when that happens, nobody really expects them 2 win in the 2nd round--its never happened--that is not until this year! it was on every news cast today(along with the big news from sundays nascar race)--a little school that nobody ever heard of, pulled it off! for guys like me who always pull for the underdog--it just don't get much better than that--a 15 seed is going into the sweet 16 for the 1st time ever & they have made the national news broadcasts in doing so. & there were some other upsets also--i've really enjoyed the big dance this year. but if you have bothered 2 read this whole post & are wondering--( what on earth does this have 2 do with your pontiac story?)--i'm glad you asked!

[ponyakr]

my favorite underdog story has 2 be david & goliath. nobody but david & God himself thought david had a chance against the giant. if you ever want 2 know how a man of faith is supposed 2 talk & act even in a situation that looks impossible--this is the story 2 carefully examine. i want do that for you here--i'll just say that david said exactly what the outcome would be (based on what he knew about God)--then he went ahead & acted in line with his faith & words. the outcome?--exactly what he'd said!(1st samuel chap 17) so how does this story relate 2 my pontiac story? even the king told david he didn't have a chance against the giant who was trained in warfare from his youth.--some told me we couldn't hope 2 win much against the old guys who'd been racin for years & had mega bucks invested in their cars. then the king put some of his armor on david (no soldier would go into battle without proven armor)--they told me if i really wanted 2 win, i'd have 2 run a chevy like most of the top guys were running. but david took off the armor & went with what he knew would work--& i rejected the advise of those tellin me 2 run chevy & stayed with what i knew would work--thats rite--my old low budget pontiacs. i'd already beat enuff chevys 2 know it could be done, so i thought sorta like david when he said " this uncircumcised philistine will be like 1 of them (a lion & a bear he'd killed while herding sheep) seeing he has defied the armies of the living God") he went on 2 say that the Lord who had delivered him from the paw of the lion & the bear would also deliver him from the giant. so when the battle started--david ran toward the giant & his army (all his fellow chevy buddies). david told the giant exactly what was going 2 happen--& thats exactly how it went down! 2 me its the ultimate story of the underdog winning. as i've said before--by the year 1978 we knew without a doubt that we would not face any opponent that we could not defeat with our ole pontiacs--regardless of how much money they had invested, what a great lookin paint job they had or how ferocious their engine sounded. thank God for bracket racing--its the great equalizer. & thank God for pontiacs--our weapon of choice!

[6x400gmc]

Awesome story!

Britt

[ponyakr]

the giant killers again--we had a blast!

[ponyakr]

sometimes i like 2 look back over some of the pages in my story. was just doing that & ran across a post by someone who asked "are these pages to a book?" the 1st thing that popped into my mind was "no--these are pages of my life!" this ain't fiction. this stuff really happened. at 1st the flack i got from the bad boys on the racing section was really discouraging(2 put it mildly)--but now i must admit, i'm glad they did it--if not, i would probably have never dumped the whole load on here. so--thanks guys--even if you meant it for harm--thanks anyhow--i have really enjoyed sharing & reliving these old memories. but i would like also 2 once again thank all you guys who have given me positive feedback & words of encouagement--especially in those early days when i was seriously considering just forgetting the whole thing & chalkin up my py time as just a bad experience & avoiding this site from then on--THANKS!

[ponyakr]

"it ain't over til its over"--when i 1st heard those words--i thought they were sorta dumb! i suppose until you've just kept on trying, even against huge odds or adversities--until somehow almost miraculously you finally overcome the odds & taste victory--then you can't fully understand the spirit of those now famous words from yogi. tonite i started watching the b-ball game between michigan & kansas. it looked like a blowout--michigan was 14 points down. i stopped watching--watched pinks all out instead. later, during a commercial, i thought i'd switch back 2 see if the next game had started yet. but 2 my surprise--the michigan game was still going on & was in ot--wow! & michigan held on 2 win it. if they had given up when they were down--there would have been no ot & no victory. the lesson here?--no matter what your facing in life--DON"T GIVE UP--put your faith in GOD--act on his word & go for the win--"it ain't over til it's over"--unless you give up!

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Been reading through your story - not finished reading it all yet.
Cool memories of a lotta neat stuff you guys did together .
Thanks for taking the time and keeping all the old pics - and even taking pics at all.
Most of us here all had the same weakness of never taking pictures of hardly anything.

Couple comments -

Is this Crystal Gayles lil sister ?




Was TJ ever a guest star on Charlies Angels ?

[ponyakr]

the speed channel had a pinks all out marathon tonite. the 1st 1 was what i believe was the very 1st 1 ever held--in texas in 2006. i noticed a nice lookin, black, '70 bird made the final 16. it had big PONTIAC letters on the windshield--so i was hoping it had a pontiac motor. needless 2 say--that bird became my favorite--instantly! but 2 his dismay & mine, it would not start for the 1st round. i felt that old far 2 familiar sinking feeling--cause i'd been there & done that! thru the years, we lost several races simply because a hot motor would not start. in the old days i never heard of a gear reduction starter for a pontiac. i'd ask around & try 1st this & then the other so called "hi-torque" starter--only 2 have the same results. it seemed that the solenoid was the main problem--just couldn't stand the heat. but a few years before we quit a new starter/alternater man moved 2 town. he seemed like a good guy & always had the radio tuned in 2 the local gospel station. we started doing business with him for our fleet of trucks--with good results. so i talked 2 him 1 day about my pontiac starter problems. he said he could probably rig up something that would help me. he pulled out a couple of starters & began 2 show me the differences. just because a starter is called hi torque don't mean it is. the 1 he said actually put out the most torque was originally for a 500ci cadillac, if i remember correctly. said he could put a pontiac nose on 1 of these & it would probably work--it did. he said if that wasn't enuff he'd rig up a diesel starter (the old converted small block style if i remember correctly). thankfully that wasn't needed--cause it would have been really heavy. so that brings up the ?--what did you guys who were racing before the mini-starter do for a racing starter?

[ponyakr]

TJ said "thanks for the compliments". she's a little older now, & her hair is a little shorter--but in my opinion she still don't look half bad! LOL

[Stuckinda60s]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

so that brings up the ?--what did you guys who were racing before the mini-starter do for a racing starter?

I used a push-button as a starter switch to bypass the ignition switch. I'd leave the ignition off and start the engine turning with no spark. It always turned over like a champ, even if it would drag terribly if I used the ignition switch to try to start. I was running right at 11 to 1 with RAIV heads. If the engine was hot, you would swear it was trying to fire with no spark and going to catch at any second, but wouldn't truly fire until the key was turned on.

Happy Easter!

[ponyakr]

i also used a start button as well as a ford type solenoid in line before the stock one, which is what most recommended at the time. but after using them awhile , the so called hi torque starters would fail 2 turn the motor over fast enuff 2 start. when the ignition switch was flipped on it would just quit turning over. the caddy starters that were built would usually keep turning it over long enuff 2 crank. these new mini starters are much better! my summit brand cranks my drag & dirt cars easily even when hot. we've always run 72cc or smaller iron heads on our 455's. sure wish they would have had these around in the old days. would have avoided a lot of frustration, lost races & $$$

[ponyakr]

guess who was the only lady 2 show up in church on Easter sunday wearin wrangler jeans & cowgirl boots. i'll give ya a hint--her initials are T.J.--thats rite--tho the other ladies & their daughters were decked out in their Easter outfits--in walks TJ in her traditional(for her) & by no means new denim wranglers with matching jacket, aqua colored Fatbaby(wide round toed) cowgirl boots with matching colored shirt & indian style neckless with beads that matched the shirt & boots. what do you think those other ladies thought about it? well, they might not have thought 2 much of it, but they didn't say anything negative 2 her about it, cause by now they know her well enuff 2 know that she's the "real deal". she's been riding & loving horses since grammar school. & they also know that she's a real Christian who lives it everyday--not just on Easter sunday. if that can't be said about you--maybe this Easter season is a good time 2 change course & set your sites a little higher.