[brians]

Found Dennis Kirban’s 1985 GTO Heaven tapes in an old box, before it got any worse, converted it to DVD. So, with Dennis’ permission below is the link to it.

1985 GTO Heaven

Anybody recognize their car past or present? Did not see my 69 on there but my father’s 68 black GTO is at 26.55 and 38.20 marks.

Thinking about it, my father was younger then I am now when that was filmed.

[Old Goat Racer]

20:30 My license plate on my '65 GTO GROWL 1

I took some video as well. Taped a conversation with Paul Zazarine. He talked about the "Pocket Rocket"

[Lightfoot]

Nice time capsule.

I spotted the 1980 Grand Am /El Camino conversion show car @ 42:32.

Oh, there it is again @ 49:49 in full view. Sweet.

[Old Blue 66]

Verry cool. I wonder how many of those people still own their GTO's?

My friends 72 Sundance Orange GTO with an original Ducktail spoiler is at 17:52. He still owns this car and its even nicer now than when it was in the video. Its the only original one left.

[Old Goat Racer]

Still got mine. 32 + years

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by Old Goat Racer

Still got mine. 32 + years

Cool.

[MikeNoun]

That was a great video! Thanks for posting!

Paul, just for the record, that 72 GTO (John S) was not unrestored, and the spoiler is not factory installed. That was just what was known about that car as of 1985, just after John purchased it. Still a very cool car though! By the way, is John still involved in the club? I know he had kids, and with that his cruise nights and club events seemed to have stopped entirely. I used to meet up with him at several cruise nights about 10 years ago. Last time I saw him was about 5 years ago at the Cruisin' Tigers show.

Mike

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

That was a great video! Thanks for posting!

Paul, just for the record, that 72 GTO (John S) was not unrestored, and the spoiler is not factory installed. That was just what was known about that car as of 1985, just after John purchased it. Still a very cool car though! By the way, is John still involved in the club? I know he had kids, and with that his cruise nights and club events seemed to have stopped entirely. I used to meet up with him at several cruise nights about 10 years ago. Last time I saw him was about 5 years ago at the Cruisin' Tigers show.

Mike

Mike, Your about right with John and his involvement with the car. Since the kids came around the GTO see almost no road time. He working a ton of hours too. So the GTO sits waiting for him to have the time to get involved again. I talk to him every once in a while.

The spoiler from what I understand IS in fact a factory applied unit. Its one of two that made it out of the factory and the other is supposedly sitting in a barn out east somewhere with one of the fins broken.

John and his dad restored the car sometime after he got it. I dot know when though. But it was a very long time ago.

[Andre]

Great video. Now who remembers getting a package of cookies made by Dennis's dad if you bought parts at Christmas time.

[brians]

Originally Posted by Old Goat Racer

20:30 My license plate on my '65 GTO GROWL 1

I took some video as well. Taped a conversation with Paul Zazarine. He talked about the "Pocket Rocket"

If you can ever upload it please do and post a link. I would love to see it.

If anyone has some of the major shows, please link it. Seems to be many more old drag films around then shows and personally would like to see both.



There was another tape of the 85 convention in the box that someone must have taken. It includes footage of the cruise. I know I did not take it as I was in the cruise. Might have been a friend of my fathers? Watched a portion of it last week, tried to rewind it and it broke. If I can get it repaired, I am going to convert it. Those old VHS tapes obviously do not last.


Found my judging sheet also from the 85 convention. Those guys were brutal!
Hey, I was only 17 at the time - could have scarred me for life




Anybody that was there – Remember a guy that showed up in a 1969 RAIV Trans Am that he had just found in a barn where it sat for years?

First one I ever saw and just stared at it. I remember it being slightly rusty and very dirty but completely untouched. If I remember right, he stopped at the convention on his way home from getting it.

[rexs73gto]

I was there & I have mine 73 still. The guy I think your talking about may have been Barry Martin with the RAIV T?A but it wasn't rusty & he had had it for about 3-4 years at that time. He had been out street racing on friday night when he stopped in about 7-8 o'clock. I was there with my 73 GTO & I feel a bit slighted by the tape as there were no pic's of my 73 GTO. As usual I was the only 73 at the show. I think I was the only 73 at the shows from 84 to 88. I remember having a conversation with Jim Wagners about how he thought the 73 was the ugliest GTO that they made but he did say mine looked great because of the rear spoiler on the rear made it look complete. He told me that when they were doing the 73 GTO it always reminded him that it looked like 2 guys had designed it , 1 for the front & 1 for the back & they just met in the middle & made a car. But again he did like mine with the rear spoiler on it. Now because he was one of the main guys to push the Can Am maybe he got some of his idea for that car from my 73 GTO with the rear spoiler back then. Also there was a guy there from IL. who had his 74 GTO there & his licence plate said NO NOVA, I don't remember his name but I have seen the car at a few shows later to. I know everyone wants his or her car in the vid. but it would have been nice to see it in this one just because it was the only one there. Oh well......

[cuz68]

Thank you that was a old school GTO video I liked it. a lot of 65 there.

[muscle_collector]

been a while since I watched that. so late last night I thought I would just watch a few minutes of it, well next thing you know I watched the whole thing. I always like his pronunciation of words compared to here in redneckville.

[supercar]

To Rex73GTO, I would love to see pics of your 73 GTO with a spoiler. I have a 73 Grand Am and would like to have a spoiler on it.

[BOB VIDAN]

'85 was the 1st nationals I went to. Remember it like yesterday. Was there with Mark Neary and because Mark is very short and driving his Suburban, I remember riding across the country with my knees shoved under my Adams apple, back of the Suburban was crammed with parts and no seat adjustment possible. Also remember Kans, how many of you remember him, sitting out in the thunder storm, rain running off that long hair like there was no tomorrow. Ahhhhhh the memories.

[dennis kirban]

Kirban update:

I figured I could answer a few questions for people that have viewed the video on You Tube. I had forgotten that I had combined showing my parts at our house along with the 85 GTOAA convention on the same VHS tape.

Thinking back my 64 GTO I purposely had it painted satin black as I was not sure what color I wanted to paint it against a blue interior. With all the rat rods you see today you could say this was an early rat rod car!

The background on my 64 GTO was I bought it as a shell actually got it free when I purchase a 1969 GTO Judge from a guy just off route 309 in Quakertown. I sold the Judge which was restored later and shown at several national events.

The 64 GTO shell was very solid and since I was stripping GTOs/Lemans back then I waited til I had all the parts and Big Bill who shows up in the video working on my Chevy truck did all the work.

Big Bill was a my mechanic for many years and passed away in January of 1991.

We lived on Sugarbottom Road for over 30 years where those photos were taken.

My 1964 GTO sported what I think was the best of everything from later year GTOs. I even had a Grand National steering box installed. The rear was a 3.55 1968 rear engine was a 69 block with 67 heads and 66 trips. The coolest improvement was incorporating the 65-67 hood scoop into a 64 Lemans hood and having it functional.

I think the trips back then I sold for $350 a set. Hard to believe but on the shelf was 12 or 15 of the 66-67 am fm radios..

We were at the right time in the right part of the country to accumulate the parts. At the time I also owned my own towing business so getting the cars and parts was never a problem.

The first GTO that appears the red 64 owned by George Richardson out of Virginia he still has that car. I see him every year at Carlisle. His car was one of the very first that I ever seen restored and so well equipped.

The other one of note that is not on the video was the 1965 that Chuck Roberts built around the same time as George and myself.

My wife drove the 1968 that is in the video it was well optioned with dual gate hidden headlites tilt column etc. The vanity tags I still have all of them MR GTO and A MOVER I retired GTOS plate.

I went on to make about 12 different Buick DVDs as my friend until recently owned a company that makes DVDs so getting them made was very cheap to do.

Course in the late 1970s and through most of the 1980s I attended almost every GTO and POCI national meet as a vendor.

I was fortunate that a car I loved became a business for our family,

Speaking of Mark Neary he came to one of our big events in the early 1990s that we held at the Johnsville Airbase. We did a video of that as well that is now out of circulation.

Did two major events one had Davy Jones of the Monkees there and the other year I had John Buc Wilkin of Ronny and the Daytonas as a guest. This would have been 1990 and 1991.

Hope you all enjoy the memories....

denniskirban@yahoo.com

[dennis kirban]

Originally Posted by Andre

Great video. Now who remembers getting a package of cookies made by Dennis's dad if you bought parts at Christmas time.

Great memory......My Dad did that one year for my customers. He passed away April 2010. Those cookies were based on the ones that he got attending Girard College which is where he went form age 7 until he graduated. It was for homelsss boys only or for those that were poor.

Started by Stephen Girard who when he was alive I believe was one of the richest men in America.

Located in Philadelphia, PA.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

[rexs73gto]

Supercar if you go to the A-Body site you will see my car as it is my avatar pic. I shows up when ever you look at anything I post. I.will try to put it on here to so all can see it. I've had it on my car since 1980. I really does make the car look complete. When ever I go to a new show that I've never been before I always get a lot of good comments about the car & the spoiler. Along with I didn't know they made a GTO in 73.