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#81
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Very cool. We really enjoy reading his book. Jeffrey reads it to me as it has become quite difficult for me to read type in general. At least on the computer I can enlarge the fonts etc.
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http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/jg093/ |
#82
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This is a great poster isn't it? Very well done. If you look closely there is a hood tac on the bird which it never had.
AND the Blackbird is the only car in the print without a license plate on it. The car always had a front plate. In local ads for the poster it states, "Mechanic & driver Addison is racing and beating a well known 1968 black Pontiac, Firebird". Hmmm, a hood tac, no license plate and no owner name.....editorial license! LOL After all Sullivan did pay for the posters to be made. Harold is going to have this poster painted on the back wall of one of his garages that is 65' wide and approximately 30' deep. Harold does have a very beautiful home with that is flanked by two of these 65' garages facing each other and attached to the home. The home and garages make up a court yard with pavers that is behind a high brick wall with metal entrance gates.
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 Last edited by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer; 03-24-2011 at 11:12 AM. |
#83
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Joe,
So you figured out why I liked the introduction? Eric
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 |
#84
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This is a great thread, Thanks a lot DR. Schiffer for all the stories that have not been told. I just recently moved to Toledo, OH. Moving here from San Diego, Ca. where I had the great oppurtunity to meet Jim Wangers and spending quality time picking his brain and spending time at his shop in Oceanside also got to see some of his cars street race a few years back. Pontiac's are my 1st love and Mopar my 2nd, I own samples of both, the "SIlver Bullet" story has always intrigued me, I had always heard about the Firebird and GTX story but reading your post has made it more clear.
It was always fun in San Diego when going to the only 2 clubs I belonged to, Pontiac and Mopar, club meetings and stirring the pot about this subject, the funny thing was that no less than 4 guys were like me both Pontiac and Mopar fans, the disscussion would get very heated in both venues. Jim would come to some of the Pontiac meetings, I would of like to invite him to the Mopar meeting one day so he could say how and what really happened on Woodward. Hope to meet you one day and see the "Blackbird" now that I live so close to the Detroit area. Thanks for the good read. |
#85
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Quote:
It is great to read your posts on here as well. The facts, info and stories are interesting to all of us and much appreciated. We are getting ready to redo Jeffrey's room and we are going to do so in a Pontiac theme. His passion for Pontiacs and specifically the Fiero is nice to see in a young person Jeffrey's age so we want to encourage his passion and support it in every way...
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http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/jg093/ |
#86
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NavyChief: welcome to Ohio Why didn't you bring that San Diego weather with you?
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R68GTO 1969 Camaro COPO 427 "RAT'S NEST" |
#87
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I tell you I am having a hard time seeing my cars sit in the garage 4 months, I am going crazy. Thanks for the welcome. |
#88
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#89
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So I guess the real king of Woodward was the blackbird?
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#90
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Chief, Go to our Royal Pontiac Of America Club site and lear about our activites. www.Royalpontiac.org. There is an application there also. We have several Ohio members. You will ba able to attend the Dream Cruise with the Club on Woodward Ave at Jim Fresard Buick. Jim Fresard bought Royal Pontiac when it was in Royal Oak in 1971. The moved the Dealership onto Woodward just a few years ago. We will meet some of Jim Wangers' old drivers and Royal employees. You'll get a real history lesson from people who were there.
I've been to Jim Wangers Ocean Side and the old Vista offices when I've been in town. I was at Jim's 80th and hope to attend his 85th birthday in June.
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 Last edited by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer; 03-30-2011 at 03:17 PM. |
#91
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Model J...as I stated in the very begining of this thread....There was a new Fastest car every night of the week. The Blackbird got beat and so did just about every car who raced around the Detroit area. These cars where constantly being improved with the lastest equiptment out of all GM divisions, Chrysler and Ford. Not to mention, out of Booth and Aaron's, Total Performance, Gapp and Rousch etc....
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 |
#92
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I was friends with and went to school for one of the mechanics that restored cars for Harold. He rebuilt the engine in the Silver Bullet when it was being restored. He now works for Chrysler. Always had wicked fast Mopars in High school, his dad has a 67GTX and a lime green 71 GTX. His name is Jeff Reif, and is mentioned several times in many Mopar publications.
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74 GTO 406 T400 74 Firebird 350 4-speed 68 GTO Convertible 400 T400 76 GP LJ 400 4BBL T400 78 Chevy 1/2 Ton Truck Oh yea I love my wife very much For some reason it got erased when I put it here last time!!!!!! hmmmmmmmm |
#93
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#94
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You have to understand the "Fastest Cars", and there were many of them, in the Detroit area were running in the low 10's high 9's in the early-mid 70's. You will find a great article about our Thursday Night "High End Club" gatherings, that began in the '50's, on I-696 in the October 1976 issue of "Car and Driver". There are several pictures of some of the cars that would run with us.
Well worth the search on e-bay. This will give you a lot better understanding of the difference of Detroit's street racing and the rest of the country's main street action..... Don't get me wrong we had many cars running that where 15 second cars to 12 seconds would also meet on Thursday night, too.
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 Last edited by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer; 03-31-2011 at 09:18 PM. |
#95
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#96
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#97
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Last two -
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#98
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Tenny,
Thank you for saving every one time looking for the article. I believe I told you that Joe left the Ford camp and now has a CTSV coupe built by Ligenfelter pushing round 800 HP. Joe always hated it when Jim Wangers would beat him. Fredie Foreman drove Jim Wangers red '75 Monza against Joe's Gapp and Roush built Mustang II pictured in this "Car and Driver" article. Joe used to say " what is it going to take to beat you Wangers?" Ahhh the old days.
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 |
#99
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Bet that V Coupe's fun, Eric! The C&D protagonists/antagonists are still around (a drivetrain, or so, later) ...
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#100
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I spotted the '67 GTX, Silver Bullett up for sale in the Classifieds one Sunday, approximately 1975, for around $3,000-$3,500 minus engine.
It was about this time I spotted an acid dipped Dodge Demon body inside Addison's Sunoco station on Woodward. The car never came out. Addison later told people that was to be the next Silver Bullet. But the body was weakened by the dipping and Chrysler Corp. was no longer interested in the street racing project. Addison didn't have the money to continue the project and scraped the Dodge Demon. So ended Addison's street racing. The cars that appeared in the October 1976 "Car and Driver" were better engineered then both the Silver Bullet and the Blackbird. Besides after all the racing action these two cars had seen with the twisting of their body's and frames these two cars were worn out. Metal fatigue slows these cars down as well. Fred Foreman, driver of Wangers 1975 Monza, calculated that the Monza ran in the low 9's high 8's at it's peak. This was much faster then either the Blackbird or the Silver Bullet ever went. The Monza, minus engine and trans, ended up with Ed Dufrene about 10 years ago after sitting for years in Wangers Detroit shop. Ed never drove the car he just took it as severance pay when he left Jim Wangers employment in California. He headed from California to Detroit. Picked up the car and took it to his new home in Florida never to be heard from again. To say Fred Foreman was upset about Ed snatching the Monza would be an understatement. After all the work he put into the car he would have loved to have bought it from Jim if he knew it was for sale.
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1968 Firebird Ram Air, "Jim Wangers' Black Bird" 1968 GTO Convertible 2002 Corvette Z06 Last edited by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer; 04-02-2011 at 03:24 AM. |
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