50th YEAR FOR OUR 1969 GTO

NOVEMBER 2019

50TH YEAR OF THE 1969 GTO

Hard to believe!

Our GTO  certainly looks better than we do!  

I haven't taken any recent photos as we didn't go to any car cruises this year (2019), which is also disappointing.  

UPDATE:    A DISASTROUS EVENT - THE PANDEMIC - STARTED  IN MARCH 2020  AND IT CAUSED ALL SOCIAL ACTIVITIES TO BE CANCELED ALL OVER THE WORLD  FOR THE 'FORESEEABLE  FUTURE, 

as I feel I have covered most of the details of my GTO, I am going to end the blog with this post and get it published into a book.  (Onne copy). 

IT may be interesting to the family to have it in print from to hand down to the next generation s,

I also feel  that the  future of car cruising and shows are also threatened by the rush to eliminate fossil fuels and the cars that run on them may in the future even be outlawed?  

was  a shock that one of the most  popular WEEKLY car cruises in the area (since 2005)   suddenly closed  down in 2018 , as they were having difficulty finding volunteers.. It had a long run, and in fact there were at least 1,000 cars on display every week.   This was not a once-a-year Cruise  - it was every Friday evening  from May through September.   So you can understand that they needed a lot of people to keep it running They did a great job and it was a wonderful family event  -  almost like  a County Fair atmosphee with the tented food booths  and car vendors plus games for the kids .   

And we certainly didn't mind that they allowed well behaved  friendly dogs to the event  We don't have a dog but my wife,got her exercise by walking all around the area and, enjoyed seekKng out all the dogs and their owners as well as talking to our friends who owned the cars.  

We are  lucky we had this cruiset for as long as we did.  Other than one or two local annual cruises, whuch were also heavily attended by both car owners and spectators, the weekly FRIDAY cruise was our permanent event.  Although  gasoline prices hept rising,  it was still possible for us to make the 20 mile round trip each week.

I will be adding a more recent photo and will also continue reminiscing about owning the car all these years.

We watch a lot of 'car restoration' TV programs, and it is obvious that these muscle cars are getting rarer all the time, especially those which are not restored  in any significant way.  Obviously, getting parts will become more and more difficult.   And finding qualified specialists to work on these automobiles will also be difficult.   The big Auto Auctions shown on TV will help to keep interest in these automobiles alive. but there is concern about being 'allowed' to drive them, as laws may be passed concerning emissions and fuel consumption. Time will tell.

The following is a general article about the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 GTO, which is interesting.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2014/02/10/gto-50th-anniversary

We think the 1968-.1969 body was a great   streamlined design.  The hidden headlight are so distinctive and the Endura bumper was so innovative.   We actually owned two othericonic about  models of Pontiac, including a 1964 Tempest (white with red interior) and a 1967 Tempest (red with black interior) and vinyl roof, so we do have an interest in and nostalgic feelings for both of those models.  

Of course, our '69 actually IS a GTO.  And even though it is a 4-speed, it still gets eclipsed by 'The Judge'.  But, we are very happy with our 'plain' GTO! 


END OF POST

Special Birthday Surprise

AN EARLY 75th  BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FOR ME,

 plus the 48th ANNIVERSARY  of our GTO !

Back in late August 1969, I was 26 years old  and was driving our
brand new GTO out of the car dealership for the first time.
  (The 1970 models were soon to appear in showrooms in the US)

The year 2017 would have seemed so far into the future 
that it wouldn't even have computed in my brain,
Yet, here we are  in August of 2017!
Those 48 years have gone by in a flash!
 

 

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE IN OUR GTO !!

I have two brothers, Dave and Bob, who are a lot younger than I am (in fact nine and eighteen years younger - They were ages 18 and 8 when I bought the GTO and of course grew up with the GTO. also. 

They are now, in 2017, 66 and 56 years old and are grandparents, which is difficult for me to wrap my head around.

My brothers and our cousin Mark surprised me with a special pre-birthday event (actual date is in November) by going to dinner and dessert with our wives to two iconic 'drive-in' spots in our area, and my brothers insisted on taking turns driving the GTO, since they have only done so a few times over the years.   [Our cousin is o the GTO's chief mechanic and problem solver and has driven it many times.]

 It was decided that the wives would drove their normal cars and meet up with us. 

 

The weather was cooperative, and the convertible top was still down from a car show the day before (see previous post).    

 

 

 

My brother Bob took this great photo of the Endura bumper, which was given a new coat of paint by our cousin in 2009.  It's a perfect match to the Mayfair Maize color.  He removed the bumper (no easy task), painted it (took several days)  and obviously put it back in place  - perfectly.   The original paint had been chipped here and there, and this renovation made a big difference to the appearance of the car.

 I'm so fortunate that my GTO is still in good shape after 48 years, but I can't take full credit, as my cousin's considerable mechanical skills (and painting skills)  and knowledge of automobiles, plus his great advice, has been invaluable in keeping it 'on the road'   I forgot to mention that he also replaced the carburetor,!  How lucky for me  that I didn't need to search high and low for someone who had that skill.  

FIRST STOP - THE CURBSIDE SERVICE DINER

At the first location, we ordered dinner - to be brought to our cars.  In fact, you can eat only in your car.  The curb service 'diner' building is used only for preparing the food, even though they enlarged it in 2004 (done up in retro '50s style with lots of 'chrome').  It still is used only for the preparation of the food, so you have to eat in the car! 

They serve a variety of sandwiches, hamburgers and salads, plus freshly made, and their famous French fries.   

The orders are taken  by a gal who comes to your car  (as always), but instead of a notebook, these days she enters your food choices into an electronic tablet, and the order is received instantly by the kitchen staff.  Then before you know it, the server is bringing your food on a tray that she carefully attaches to your car window.  

My wife and I have been coming to this establishment for at least 40 years, and countless times in the GTO.  But we haven't been there lately, partly because of the caloric counts of the food!  (In the old days, we could eat whatever we wanted!)  

This establishment is located in an area where there are frequent car cruises, so after the cruises the classic cars always head here, and it really is like stepping back in time.   Usually there are some classic cars there on Friday nights and weekends.   However, this was a Monday night, and the GTO was the only classic car there.

SECOND STOP - FROZEN CUSTARD !

After eating our excellent dinner, we all headed to a frozen custard 'stand' about a mile away, which also dates back to about 1947, but the small building  has now expanded to a huge building - also on the same spot.  And over the years they've added picnic benches in the parking area, plus a special picnic area with a covered roof, which is where we all enjoyed our dessert and had our own 'party'.

Their original recipe for the creamiest frozen custard on the planet keeps generations of families coming there year after year.   The building was only one-third this size when we were young!  Quite a success story, well deserved.

 

It was great to celebrate my milestone birthday with family and friends!  And I have the satisfaction of knowing that my real birthday is still a few months away! 

Annual Local Car Cruise

Here are some photos from our recent local hometown cruise, which was held on Sunday, August 27, 2017.

We have missed attending this annual cruise only a few times since it started around 1997. We were not able to attend in 2014, but we returned in 2015, 2016 and this year, all thanks to Cousin Mark's long-time friendship with Ron, and his involvement with the GTO for MANY years, for which he has been its Chief Mechanic.   Nothing like having an automotive expert in the family!

For example, several years ago, the carburetor was in trouble and Mark's expertise brought it back to life.  He is one of a very few people today who know how to fix an 'old' carburetor!    And a few years later he utilized his automobile painting skills to remove and expertly repaint the important (and historic) Endura bumper, which after some 40 years had developed some chips and thin cracks - a common situation for this unique design innovation starting with the 1968 GTO.  It created quite a 'buzz' at the time, in the automotive world.  This design eliminated the usual chrome bumper and added a safety factor.   

 Here is a great article about it the Endura bumper:

https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2006/07/Endura-Front-Bumper/1296846.html 

Here is Mark's car, the famous 1974 Bricklin, 

which is often mistaken for a DeLorean

because of the gull-wing doors.   It is a very rare car,
and it's amazing that we have one in the family!  
Mark was able to overcome many of the car's issues
which caused its 'poor' reviews.  It's certainly a beautiful
design and is a show-stopper!   

Both the Bricklin and DeLorean had production problems and

were manufactured for only two years, although the Bricklin
had models designated 1974, 1975, and 1976.

(Bricklin 1974-75; DeLorean 1981-83)

 

However, the DeLorean has been 

immortalized in the

'Back to the Future'  movies;

therefore, everyone thinks the gull-winged Bricklin is a DeLorean!

Actually the Bricklin is much more futuristic-looking 
with the 'nose' of the car having 

 hidden headlights cleverly incorporated 

into the distinctive sloped bumper.   

An exceptional article about the Bricklin can be found here:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1974-1975-bricklin-sv1.htm 

However, an earlier gull-wing door car was 

actually produced in 1954 - the Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

An amazing design!  

This car cost $11,000 in 1954,  (out of range of average wage earner)

and is worth at least a million today! Very rare!

Catching Up on Car Cruises

BEAVER CRUISE, Saturday,Aug. 5, 2017

It has been several years since I have  added new posts. We have attended only a few cruises since 2013, so I am adding some photos here to keep a record.

Here are some photos from the recent  Beaver cruise on August 5, 2017.   Through the efforts of our cousin and his son-in-law, we were able to attend the cruise, and we are very grateful and appreciative!   

The weather was perfect, and we believe it's the highest-attended cruise ever in Beaver.  One of the great features is that they allow the cars to parade up and down the main street of the town all day long.  You can leave your parked spot, go for a ride, and return to your spot.  Of course, it all depends on the cooperation of others parked around you!   You may be 'locked in due so many cars trying to vie for a spot.    But this annual cruise has become a very popular event in town, and everyone wants to be there!

Happy 48th Birthday to our 1969 GTO !! 

We actually purchased it around this time in mid-August 1969 and drove it out of the dealership sometime around Aug. 25.  We took it for its first 'long ride' on Labor Day 1969.
We also remember visiting our brother while he was moving into college for his Freshman year.

We will never forget seeing it for the first time.  We visited the Pontiac dealership just to 'look at' some cars, and found the showroom empty because they were getting ready for the 1970 Pontiac models to arrive.

This GTO had already been removed to the basement of the dealership, which is where we viewed it,  Even under low-light conditions, it looked beautiful.
We signed some preliminary papers on the spot, then had to wait to pick it up a few days later.  Memories are a little vague about taking it for a test drive.

The above photo is SIGNIFICANT because it is the first time we have had the convertible top down in several years - possibly since 2009.

It's pretty amazing that the electric motor that powers the top is still working.

Unfortunately, we haven't 'polished' the tires for a while, so they look a little 'dusty' here!

And it's been several years since we attended the Beaver cruise, but we have attended the cruise in our home town for the past two years.  (see below).

Of course, we have to put out the food tray.

And the animals!

The goat didn't make this trip!


















Here is a familiar car!

It always draws attention!

Here we are across from each other.
We were lucky to get these spots.

I will soon add photos from the local cruise we attended the past two years.

Winning a Plaque at a Local Show

Here is the plaque we won on Sunday, July 8, at a judged local car cruise

This is an annual car show, held on the main street of a big town, and it's always well attended. 

It is also a 'judged' show, and I sometimes don't enter because there is a lot of competition and the chances of winning are slight.  (There is sometimes a general 'muscle car' category covering a wide range of years. which makes it difficult to win. )

Interestingly, one of the reasons my GTO gets points taken off in judged shows is that when it was new, I had extra undercoating put under the hood of the car and in areas of the engine compartment.  I feel that the GTO has  survived so well for 40-plus years because of the undercoating, but the purists think it takes away from the 'showroom quality' of the car.

My displays of the drive-in speakers and the food tray always get attention and it 's fun to see grandparents explaining to their grandchildren what these items were for, back in the 'old days'. 

We attended the show with cousin Mark (and his 1974 Bricklin).   We had oldies music playing through the speakers, which was also appreciated by the visitors.  Mark, of course, deserves all the credit for making the speakers so spectacular a display. 

Mark's Bricklin usually does won a plaque, and even though he attended the awards ceremony, he didn't hear that my car won anything.  So it was a big surprise while we were packing up to leave that someone came looking for us to tell us we had won a plaque!  It took a few minutes for us to track down the 'keeper of the plaques', but he indeed have one for my GTO. 

Unfortunately, because of the confusion of all the cars leaving and the volunteers being in the middle of packing everything up, we still don't know  why we won one!   There was only one other GTO (a white '68) and it was perfectly restored (and did win).    I feel that my GTO should win for being a 'survivor' and being 99% original, and some judged shows are starting to include a 'survivor' category.     

In any case, it was a great end to a fun day.

Food Tray

 
Food Tray - purchased in 1989

(This post written by Kathy)

Contents of tray, all 'fake', of course!   Hamburger, hot dog, French fries, ice cream soda in glass, and soda in tall metal container.  The 'soft ice cream cone' is in its own holder on the window.   The ice cream soda is a wax candle,  that somehow is not affected by the heat.  The metal container has 'whipped cream' and a cherry.  (More photos to come)

We found the food tray in 1989 at a garage sale, and it's amazing to realize how many years have gone by since then (over 20 years).  This was at a time when putting a tray on your car for display at a car show was not at all common.   In fact, it was quite a while before we saw another car with a tray displayed.  They are much more common to see now. 

First of all, very few authentic trays are available on the market.   

We were lucky to find one which came from a local restaurant that had discontinued its car-hop service several years before.    

Even though Ron was enthusiastic about buying the tray,  I didn't think it was his smartest idea.  Of course, it turned out to be a great idea, and it always attracts a lot of attention.

It always brings lots of smiles on the faces of middle-aged folks who remembered fondly their teenage years (or younger) when they and their parents went to the local 'car hop' places!   And even though Sonic restaurants are in the area these days, many youngsters still are not familiar with the history of car hop service. 

Parents and grandparents point at the tray and explain to their children or grandchildren how 'car-hop gals' brought food to your car in the parking lot, so you could eat in your car and listen to your radio - especially rock 'n roll music!   Different places had different ways of ordering food.  In most, the car hop came to your car to take your order, but in some, they had an 'intercom' system where the food was ordered, and then brought to your car by a 'car-hop' gal or guy.    

There is a still-popular family-owned curbside service place in our area (since 1947).  In fact, you can only order food from your car - it is not a sit-down restaurant - strictly car service.  And it's open year-round!  
The gals (still gals, not guys) come to your car and these days use an electronic ordering pad, which gets the order to the kitchen instantly.

Of course, those 'curb service' places were also great hangouts for teenagers who would cruise around and go from one place to the next, searching for their friends or meeting new kids, and checking out all the cool cars and hot rods. - and eat more food! 

Certainly the movie 'American Graffiti' immortalized that 'ritual' for all time!  The movie, which was released in summer 1973,

is now 'nostalgic' in itself.  

There is a great website/blog which has all kinds of info

about the making of the movie and what happened to all the cars.  http://kipsamericangraffiti.blogspot.com/   

Filling the tray

At the cruises in 1989 we had very few items on the 'new'  tray - possibly only some cans of pop.  Then we found the wax ice cream sundae in a real glass holder (looks just like one served at the 'soda fountains') that we purchased at the mall in a 'Wicks n Sticks' store.   Even though the 'candle/sundae' is made of wax, it has never melted in all those years!

Then around Christmas (possibly 1990), I was in a toy store and found a box for kids from Burger King, which advertised their popular food products.  It had a great-looking 'rubberized' hamburger, complete with separate pickles, onion, lettuce and tomato, plus some great-looking fake french fries!   I gave the gift to Ron as a surprise, and he acted like a 10-year-old when he opened it :).  He couldn't wait for the car cruises that year! 

It's amazing how many kids are fascinated with the tray and especially the 'food' and some even think the food is real.  Somewhere along the line we've lost a few of the 'French fries'.  (I'm assuming they were thrown away when it was discovered they weren't real!)  

A few years later, we  found some fake hot dogs - in the buns - at a pet store!

In recent years we added a  metal 'milk shake' container, that was put together by a clever friend of my brother's.   It looks like a strawberry shake, with fake whipped cream and a cherry on top. 

When going to car cruises, especially the large ones, it always helps when you can draw attention to your car with items like the food tray and the drive-in speaker!

Local Car Cruise - Aug. 2011

Below is a photo that was published in our new, local 'on-line' newspaper, taken  during the annual car cruise in our community park this past summer - Sunday, August 28, 2011, to be exact.  

To paraphrase the caption:  Ron and Kathy have been attending this cruise since its inception [in 1997], and they are the original owners of this 1969 GTO.  Kathy said they were 25 years old when they bought the car, but they're not saying how old they are now!

Although we appear to be calm and relaxed in this photo, in fact we had  had a difficult time getting to the cruise, so it's amazing this photo ever got taken.  We had started for the cruise later than we should have, due to a battery problem.   Not surprisingly, it was difficult to finding a parking spot, and when we finally did, the car battery was acting up again, so we had to leave to get it checked out.  We were lucky the local Firestone store was open on a Sunday, and we were able to have new terminals put on.  Then the car started up fine, and we headed back to the cruise.  Amazingly, at 1 pm our parking spot was still there!  We finally got our chairs out and were relaxing when the photographer from the 'newspaper' came by.  She liked the items we had on our car and asked if she could take our photo!   So it turned out to be a good day after all!

We have been attending this annual cruise since the first one held in 1997.   As it has become more and more popular, you have to be there earlier and earlier in the morning to get the 'coveted'  parking spaces in the shade, even though the cruise doesn't officially 'start' until Noon.   It is a wonderful free event for the community (and car owners),  and the fire department earns money from their food concessions.