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It's been several years now since my older brother's passing, but the pain of loss is still very strong in me, and I think about him and miss him every day of my life. The weight of regret of missing out on what other things we might have been able to do together, and other projects we might have been able to accomplish, sometimes just crushes me. I look back to those distant days, many, many years ago, both of us just kids, under the hoods of our cars out in our parents' driveway, and I wish we could do it all over again.
But that's not to be.
These days, I work on my Camaro, keeping it in top condition, and do whatever maintenance I'm able to do on my '18 Silverado that doesn't require a high-dollar scan tool. Plans for the '32 have long-since been shelved, likely permanently. And while I still enjoy doing mechanical work---and I'll never let my tool box get covered in cobwebs again---it's just not the same any more.
Unfortunately, you and I have a common pain. I lost my big brother in a car accident in 1989 when I was almost 14, and he was 20. He was my idol. I have missed him every single day for the last 31 years....and i would give absolutely everything i have to be able to spend just 1 hour with him again.
My bro......he was killed in this car just 2 months after this picture was taken.
Ironwill and Dagwood, very sorry about your brothers. I know how it feels to lose someone you really love. Mine was my mother. In 1986 I bought my 2nd new car, a 1986 Firebird v6 custom order. Had to wait 9 weeks for it. My first new car was a 1985 black 4 Sunbird. In 1987 my mom passed unexpectedly, I was 21. I think of her every day since. She made life fun and she loved her kids so much. All my friends would say I wish my mom was like yours. Even cats and dogs would walk right up to her. I miss her as much today as I did back then.
So in 1988 my nice Firebird was hit while parked in front of my Dad's house. Dumb punk kid tried to blame his GF being he has driver license issues. Long story but his lic. was suspended.. I had the car fixed but the body guy was a coke head and his best body employee left. So he fixed it. Oh boy did is fix it..... He cut the car in half and attached a full rear of a 1987 firebird at the sail panels. The car was crooked when I got it back. I drove it for a year all the while saving money, to get another one. In 1989 I went to the same Poncho dealer in the spring. Feasted my eyes on a sky blue formula 350 with t-tops...yes I WANTED ONE. So in June i went back with 4K in my pocket. I sat the sales guy down, who gave a load of business to. I said I want a black t-top Formula 350 LOADED. I have 4k in my pocket and will sign now. The car was listed at $18,600 I believe. I said $16,300 and we have a done deal. The sales guy said I cant do that low. I said OK, I will let you know. As I got up he said wait, I will be right back. He came back with the owner of the dealership and the owner said to me, you have been a great customer for us. You have bought 2 cars as well. $16,300....DEAL. Plus they tossed in the scotch guard for the interior, a 3 spoke leather wrap steering wheel and an overhead console which were not options but I had them ordered. July 1989 I picked up my baby....here it is 31 year later...
Unfortunately, you and I have a common pain. I lost my big brother in a car accident in 1989 when I was almost 14, and he was 20. He was my idol. I have missed him every single day for the last 31 years....and i would give absolutely everything i have to be able to spend just 1 hour with him again.
My bro......he was killed in this car just 2 months after this picture was taken.
I'm sorry for your loss; indeed, we have a common bond. it must be especially difficult to have lost him at such a young age though.
Life is rough sometimes.
Originally Posted by Hawkeye1980
Ironwill and Dagwood, very sorry about your brothers. I know how it feels to lose someone you really love. Mine was my mother. In 1986 I bought my 2nd new car, a 1986 Firebird v6 custom order. Had to wait 9 weeks for it. My first new car was a 1985 black 4 Sunbird. In 1987 my mom passed unexpectedly, I was 21. I think of her every day since. She made life fun and she loved her kids so much. All my friends would say I wish my mom was like yours. Even cats and dogs would walk right up to her. I miss her as much today as I did back then.
I'm sorry for your loss. It's a special kind of pain to lose one's mother.
So in 1988 my nice Firebird was hit while parked in front of my Dad's house. Dumb punk kid tried to blame his GF being he has driver license issues. Long story but his lic. was suspended.. I had the car fixed but the body guy was a coke head and his best body employee left. So he fixed it. Oh boy did is fix it..... He cut the car in half and attached a full rear of a 1987 firebird at the sail panels. The car was crooked when I got it back. I drove it for a year all the while saving money, to get another one. In 1989 I went to the same Poncho dealer in the spring. Feasted my eyes on a sky blue formula 350 with t-tops...yes I WANTED ONE. So in June i went back with 4K in my pocket. I sat the sales guy down, who gave a load of business to. I said I want a black t-top Formula 350 LOADED. I have 4k in my pocket and will sign now. The car was listed at $18,600 I believe. I said $16,300 and we have a done deal. The sales guy said I cant do that low. I said OK, I will let you know. As I got up he said wait, I will be right back. He came back with the owner of the dealership and the owner said to me, you have been a great customer for us. You have bought 2 cars as well. $16,300....DEAL. Plus they tossed in the scotch guard for the interior, a 3 spoke leather wrap steering wheel and an overhead console which were not options but I had them ordered. July 1989 I picked up my baby....here it is 31 year later...
There's something to be said for being the only owner of a 30+ year-old car.
In 70+ years on this rock, I've learned a thing or three. One of them is that we all will face tough times, disappointments, and personal losses. However, we're not defined by the failures we've had, the troubles we face, nor those losses, but rather, how we deal with them moving forward.
Thank you Ironwill. Its sad when a person dies at a young age like your brother as well. Been around for 54+ years myself. No one said life was ever easy. What makes it great is the people we love around us. When they are gone, so are part of us, forever. But remembering them, telling people about this a is good and honorable thing in their memories.
That car is my baby. I wanted a Firebird since I was a young kid. I love Firebirds. Huge Pontiac fan as well. Great we have a place to share our stories, and help one another out. Great folks on here!
Decent weather prompted bringing the Camaro out the other day. I took the opportunity to snap a couple of current pics.
Posted this one to document the current mileage.
Bad weather (snow, freezing rain) is on the way---along with the road salt used in abundance around here---that will likely keep the car in the garage for a while. I still haven't gotten around to getting new tires mounted on the original 16" wheels (in storage) and returning them to the car, which I plan to do at some point.
Unfortunately, you and I have a common pain. I lost my big brother in a car accident in 1989 when I was almost 14, and he was 20. He was my idol. I have missed him every single day for the last 31 years....and i would give absolutely everything i have to be able to spend just 1 hour with him again.
My bro......he was killed in this car just 2 months after this picture was taken.
Sad to lose a brother so young.
I haven't had that sort of tragedy in my life. But reading this today brought to mind my Dad, who died on this day at age 88 back in 2007. He's never far from my thoughts.
Reading this post on this forum brought to mind kind of a nice memory of him. I had a 1990 medium Maui blue Formula and one day at my parents' house, the radiator hose split and was leaking in their driveway. It was slow enough that I was able to put water in and drive it to a dealer that wasn't far away from there. When the car was repaired later that week, I needed to pick it up. So I drove back to my parents' house in my 2004 Cadillac CTS and my Dad and I went to get the Firebird. Since both of my cars were now there, my Dad had to drive one of them back to my house for me. I figured he'd prefer to drive the Cadillac and that it would likely be much more comfortable for him, being about 86 at the time. But no, he wanted to drive the Firebird. This made me rather nervous as my Dad at this point was shrinking in height. As he followed me home, I was nervously watching him in the rear view mirror, and was wondering just how much he could see sitting rather low in the car.
At one point, he didn't make a traffic light and so had fallen behind me. But a short time later I saw the Bird flying up the hill behind me to catch up. When we got to my house, about a 12-mile trip, he got out of the car and had very obviously enjoyed himself. My Dad worked for GM, loved cars, and bought lots of them, but he was more of a luxury car guy. In his later years, he still changed cars all the time, but drove fairly basic stuff like Cavaliers, Grand Ams, Sunbirds, and Prisms. I don't think he had ever driven a car that felt quite like a Formula. The memory of him lifting himself out of my Firebird with a smile on his face still makes me smile.
A little late, but please continue to give us updates/pics (I have a spot for 86's). We so enjoy your stories. The way you tell them, you could be reading ingredients off a soup can and it still would be enjoyable. I remember alot of the times and changes you have described, and it stirs up many memories of my own from the 70's & 80's and even 90's. I just finished reading this for a second time, all the way through, and I know you told your story, but I'd love you to continue with more, you are a great "storyteller" and they are very entertaining to us car guys. There was 5 of us in my family, but only 1 brother. We grew up in the Peoria, Il area, so I can definitely relate to changes of the city through the years, how things were then, relative to now. Haven't talked to my brother in years now, over I don't even know now, makes me think maybe I should reach out one last time, see where it goes...
A little late, but please continue to give us updates/pics (I have a spot for 86's). We so enjoy your stories. The way you tell them, you could be reading ingredients off a soup can and it still would be enjoyable. I remember alot of the times and changes you have described, and it stirs up many memories of my own from the 70's & 80's and even 90's. I just finished reading this for a second time, all the way through, and I know you told your story, but I'd love you to continue with more, you are a great "storyteller" and they are very entertaining to us car guys. There was 5 of us in my family, but only 1 brother. We grew up in the Peoria, Il area, so I can definitely relate to changes of the city through the years, how things were then, relative to now. Haven't talked to my brother in years now, over I don't even know now, makes me think maybe I should reach out one last time, see where it goes...
Thanks
Thanks for the comments.
Those were heady times; growing up in the Golden Age of high performance was unlike anything kids today will ever experience. Indeed, I've already related my own story; at my age, it's not likely to continue with any new cars. The '86 will remain exactly as Norwood built it as long as I'm breathing. Other than the few miles put on the car as it was loaded onto the carrier at the factory, and subsequently unloaded at the dealership where I bought it, I'm the only person to ever drive it. I'm planning to eventually get around to putting new tires on the factory wheels (they still have the original, pooched-out Gatorbacks on them), and re-installing them just to take some new pics to post here.
It's unfortunate, but as I see it, real, grass-roots hot rodding is, for all practical purposes, dead. No one around here---and I mean no one---has an older performance car. There was a guy living up the street from me who used to have a teal 5-speed RS 3rd gen, but he moved away several years ago. There was a guy with a blown big-block '66 Chevelle who'd occasionally drive past my house, but I haven't seen him or that car for about 5 years now. The whine of that 8-71 blower as it preceded the car was unmistakable.
It's even rare to see any newer Mustang, Camaro, Corvette or Charger/Challenger on the streets here. The last time I saw a tri-five on the street was maybe 10 years ago. And a Model A-based hot rod, or a '32 three window? Not a chance. I'm not lamenting the "good old days" here; as far as I'm concerned, I'm still living them. I just feel bad for young kids who will never experience the thrill of working with their hands, building something out of a pile of parts, facing and solving problems in the process, and then being able to get in it and drive it across the country---or down a quarter-mile. Times change, and with them, the interests of youth change too.
Back in the '60s, most service stations offered car repairs, and many, like the station at which I worked after leaving GM dealership service department work and before getting into the auto parts business, became de facto 'speed shops.' Gas sales at the pump paid the overhead, and the bays provided the profits. There were a few such places around besides where I worked, and they turned out some pretty fast cars. One of the quickest street racers at the time in my end of Columbus was built by a casual friend of mine working at a competing service station. It was a 2-door '63 Chevy Nova with a killer small-block/tunnel ram setup, 4-speed, and 12-bolt rear. He had a hard time finding anyone to race him at some of our late-night street races unless he gave up a car-length-or-two spot at the starting line, but he still almost always won.
One of my closest street-racer friends also had a '57 Chevy. The car wasn't much to look at, with a red-primered body and a somewhat raggedy stock interior, but we built a pretty stout 327 for it, backed by a Muncie 4-speed and a 4.88 (IIRC) rear end in the stock housing. One cold Friday night during a street-racing event out on an isolated section of what was to become the 270 Outerbelt, during a race for $50 (a considerable sum for us back then), he blew the rear end. He had a new 4.88 hog in the trunk, and the other guy agreed to 'double-or-nothing' if we could get the car fixed on the spot. We jacked the car up, pulled the busted hog, rolled it down the hillside along the road, scooped out all the broken pieces, and bolted-in the new assembly. We scrounged up enough gear oil, and he ran the guy again, beating him and winning the $100. Later that same year, he was racing the car at National Trails, and blew the engine at the top of 2nd gear. Upon engine disassembly the next day, we found the crank broken right under the middle main cap.
One of these days, I'm going to drive back out there to that section of 270 if I can find the exact location, and try to find that broken carrier.
This was back before my late brother and I rented a garage, so the above-mentioned friend and I, along with a couple other guys, rented a 2 1/2-car garage located about halfway between each of our houses so we had a place to work on our cars. It soon became a popular hangout for local hot-rodders, this being aided by the fact it was located almost right behind the most popular local pizza joint in the area. Every Friday and Saturday night, if we weren't out racing, we'd be in there working on someone's car. There were even two local police officers, not much older than us, who'd also occasionally stop by in their cruisers while on duty, just to hang out for a while. Out of respect for them, we made it a point to never street race in their jurisdiction, and in return, they'd keep an eye on the garage when we weren't there; the place was filled with tools, parts, and spare engines.
There was a '64 Corvette coupe with a straight axle front-end and a built small-block with fenderwell headers that I'd occasionally see on the street around my end of Columbus, but that car never showed up at the drive-ins where the racers hung out. That car was supposedly pro-built at a shop in Florida, but I only ever got one quick look at it close-up. Lots of basically stock Chevelles, GTOs, and road Runners were everywhere. There was one kid, the son of a prominent local lawyer, who had a a new 427 Cobra (yes, a real one, dark blue with Halibrand wheels and very loud side pipes), who hung out at the drive-ins, but would never race anyone. He constantly boasted about taking the car to the Holman-Moody race shop in Charlotte and having them go through the side-oiler, adding even more power to an already way-overpowered lightweight car. Indeed, it was a beast, but the only time I ever saw it being raced was at National Trails a couple of times. He eventually sold the Cobra and bought a new big-block Corvette. He took that car to National trails one Sunday, and when he thought he had the trans in first, he dumped the clutch in reverse, and went backwards through the big 'National Trails' sign board at the back of the staging lanes.
There was another close friend with a really nice Butternut Yellow '57 Bel Air, small-block/4-speed with Torque Thrust mags. That was his daily driver (he worked in the Parts Dep't. of another Chevy dealership on the other side of Columbus). He bought a clean little '63-'64 Chevy II 6-banger that had been traded on a new Chevy at his dealership, and we proceeded to drop-in a 427 big block. We spent a year working on that car in his garage off and on, replacing the front subframe with a tube section and straight front axle, and shoe-horning in the big motor under a fiberglass tilt front-end. We 'radiused' the rear wheel wells to mount slicks, and took it to the drag strip on a 'test-and-tune' Friday evening. The car suffered from a skewed front-to-rear weight distribution problem; back then, we didn't know enough about chassis tuning to ever get it to hook-up properly. He eventually got frustrated with the setup, and we pulled the big-block, replaced it with a small-block, and he sold the car. He eventually parted-out that 427; I wound up with the block and crank.
Had another friend with a '56 Chevy 2-door with the original 265. We did a lot of work to that car to get that small engine to run really well, with bigger valves and head work, a hotter solid-lifter cam and kit, intake and Holley, hotter ignition, a 4-speed trans and lower rear gears. That was a nice car, all-original paint and interior.
Yet another close friend (mentioned in a previous post; I bought my first car, my '57 Chevy, from his mother) bought a 6 cylinder/stick '55 Chevy, with a snappy new green paint job and chrome-reverse wheels. He drove it that way for a while before tiring of the lame 6-banger, so we took a trip to Wirthman's, and found a good 283 out of an Impala along with a V8 bellhousing, flywheel and clutch. The following weekend we yanked the anemic 6 and dropped-in the 283 along with a 4-barrel intake and carb. We had it running that Sunday, and the next day, we took it to Florida for a week of vacation. The car ran just fine.
About a year later, against my advice, he traded the Chevy on a '62 feulie Corvette that had been sitting on a local 'sports car' used car lot (Farber Motors, IIRC) for several months. The car just didn't run like I thought it should, but he bought it anyway. A couple months later, it began to smoke, and was losing what little power it had. He decided we'd rebuild the 327, so he bought all the parts---rings, bearings, gaskets, etc., and we pulled the engine the following weekend. Removing the heads, we got a surprise, and the first indication of why the car seemed underpowered---the "327" that was supposed to be in there was a worn-out 283 with the fuelie setup slapped on it. He went back to the car lot to complain, but you can imagine how that went; the owner told him the cars he sold carried no warranties.
Anyway, again, against my advice, my friend decided we'd just rebuild the motor he had rather than find a 327 to rebuild, so he returned the parts and exchanged them for 283 parts. We had the block bored, the crank turned, and the heads gone through at one of the local machine shops. We got the motor back together and back in the car, and I spent some time learning about Rochester fuel injection. It actually isn't nearly as difficult to work on as it's reputation (at the Chevy dealership at which I would eventually work, I did any needed fuelie Corvette repairs that came in) , and the car ran pretty well for what it was. I cautioned him to drive the car easy for the first couple hundred miles to break-in the rings, but heard a week later from another friend that he had taken the car out on the highway and run it wide-open. Not long after that, the car was running poorly again, and using oil. He and I kind of drifted apart after that, and I don't know what ever happened to that Corvette, or him. If he's still around, I hope he eventually learned to take good advice.
Having done a hitch in the Army that took me away from Columbus for 2 years, as well as two subsequent out-of-state moves in my lifetime, I've long-since lost contact with all of these guys; two of them got drafted around the same time as I did, and one of them I know for certain went to Viet Nam; I have no idea if he ever came home. We were all the same age, so I might be the only one of us to still be kicking.
About your brother:
Whatever came between you two is none of my business, but still, I urge you to try to re-establish contact with him while you are still able to do so. Life is short, no one is guaranteed a tomorrow, and regret for action untaken can last a lifetime.
Thnx. For the past several years now, it's been the only 3rd gen anywhere around here. For that matter, there just aren't many performance cars of any make or generation around these days. Looks like it's us left to carry the flag.
I wanted to thank you for the your post. being older myself i find myself looking back in time from my chair. Your post brought back a flood of emotions and memories galore. Edward.
I wanted to thank you for the your post. being older myself i find myself looking back in time from my chair. Your post brought back a flood of emotions and memories galore. Edward.
Thanks for the comments, Edward.
The automobile landscape in this country is just now beginning to go through a huge change as EVs enter the mainstream. And while that in itself doesn't necessarily signal a complete turn away from performance (even many entry-level EVs can accelerate much quicker than most ICE cars today), the means of providing that performance is fundamentally changing, and with it, the ability of joe average to modify and improve that performance.
There are a few members of this site like us, older and with long histories of involvement with building hot rods and drag racing. There are also many who are younger, some being much younger, who missed out on a golden era of muscle car performance and backyard hot rod building. While I've attempted to document mine and my late older brother's involvement for the benefit of my own memory, I've found that it has also touched others here, and that's a good thing.
Maybe in some small way, what I've been relating here can provide a window into the past of hot rods and muscle cars for those here not old enough to have lived it.
Nice car, great stories. I can't say the car scene in my area (Austin/Georgetown TX is dead. This place seems loaded with high performance cars. Though I'm not sure why, it's almost equally loaded with antique cars too. On the weekends it's crazy how many you see driving around these roads and hwys.
I haven't gone to any of the local shows/hang outs in years. The military and life in general moved me around to include TX. I recently moved here a year and a half ago and I grew up about 35 miles east of this particular area. Once my car is back up I'll be cruising the streets and doing shows and hang outs.
I see lots of new Mopar, and corvettes here. We have our faur share of coyotes, and 6th gen Camaros too.
Hot rodding was a lifestyle not a hobby and I to worked at Fred Daniens Arco a shop and gas station. The memories from when I was A young man.
Indeed, it was a lifestyle. As I've stated on this site several times already, back in the day ('60s-'70s), everybody was into cars on at least some level. Today, with only a small percentage of active participants, it can barely be called a hobby.
Originally Posted by blackgloves
Nice car, great stories. I can't say the car scene in my area (Austin/Georgetown TX is dead. This place seems loaded with high performance cars. Though I'm not sure why, it's almost equally loaded with antique cars too. On the weekends it's crazy how many you see driving around these roads and hwys.
I haven't gone to any of the local shows/hang outs in years. The military and life in general moved me around to include TX. I recently moved here a year and a half ago and I grew up about 35 miles east of this particular area. Once my car is back up I'll be cruising the streets and doing shows and hang outs.
I see lots of new Mopar, and corvettes here. We have our faur share of coyotes, and 6th gen Camaros too.
Thnx!
You're fortunate to live anywhere that still has any kind of hot rodding/car scene. It's rare that I see anything close to a hot rod here, or even a factory-stock hi-po car. The last time I saw a 3rd gen around here was at least 5 years ago. Have yet to see a Hellcat, and have seen only a couple of C8 Corvettes. There's a guy living near here who has a new SS Camaro, but I've yet to see a ZL1 on the street anywhere around. I'll see an occasional 5.0 Mustang, but always stockers.
Once in a while I'll see (hear) an import of some sort with one of those annoying fart-can mufflers on it, and that's about it.
When I was in the Army, we used to say that if you don't like where you're stationed, wait 5 minutes.
I've been trying to drive the Camaro at least once a week through the Winter, but bad weather has frequently kept it stuck in the garage. Despite cold temps today, it was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky, providing a chance to get out for a change. Stopped at a closed-down discount store parking lot to snap a few current pics:
10-03-2020, 09:18 AM
There's something to be said for being the only owner of a 30+ year-old car.
In 70+ years on this rock, I've learned a thing or three. One of them is that we all will face tough times, disappointments, and personal losses. However, we're not defined by the failures we've had, the troubles we face, nor those losses, but rather, how we deal with them moving forward.
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