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. 

Car Cruises

We have attended many car cruises since 1980, and over the years have added various items to attract attention to the car. 

Drive-In Speaker - that works!!
One 'recent' addition is a drive-in speaker that actually 'works'!   Here is a photo of it.   (more photos below)


My GTO, sitting next to my cousin's 1974 Bricklin at a car cruise in 2010, with the drive-in speaker (as it looks today) .  Story below.

Note:   Click all photos to enlarge.

Background story

I purchased an old drive-in speaker unit around 2007 or 2008 at a video store that was closing in our area.  It was being displayed  as an 'antique' item from  'days gone by' at the old drive-in theaters.
I inquired if the display was for sale, and we agreed on a price.  

The original metal pole and large base (originally cemented into the ground at the drive-in) was, of course, heavy to carry around.   Its weight and one-piece construction made it difficult to put in the back seat (no room in the trunk because of other stuff that we carry), so I took it to only a few cruises during the summer of 2008.

Photo taken in 2008. 

Speaker was purchased from a video store. 
It had been  used as a 'nostalgic' static display.

In the store,  the individual speakers were attached to the pole with a white telephone cord (obviously not the original cord from the drive-in). 

Making Improvements!
In September 2008, my cousin Mark and I attended a cruise together.   Mark kept studying the unit all afternoon, and then said the famous words:  "Let me take that home.  I'll do something with it."
 

Here is a photo of Mark (center) seeing the speaker for the first time, and offering to 'do something' with it!

RECONDITIONED DRIVE-IN SPEAKER UNIT - 2009
In July of 2009, Mark called and said he had finished working on the unit and would bring it to the next show we were going to attend together.  My wife and I will never forget how astounded we were to see what he had created!  We were speechless!  

Mark had done the following:

• Separated the speaker holder from the original pole and base, and substituted a much lighter but sturdy, hollow PVC pipe for the metal pole.
   
•  Removed the heavy metal base, and made a an amazing new 'base' (box) out of metal sheet.   This ingenious box now encases an actual car radio and CD player, AND after removing the pole, the box can be carried by handles he attached. 
• Ran wires running from the radio/CD player up through the PVC pipe and into the speakers via jacks.   Therefore, we can either play the radio or CDs through the speakers!   Plus it has a remote control! 
• Polished the speakers so they looked brand new.  They still have the name of the drive-in on them. 
  
  The entire display can be taken apart in sections and can now go into the trunk.

 

We just couldn't get over how amazing this is, and the amount of work he put into it!

The speakers and CD player get a lot of attention, as parents and grandparents explain how they watched movies on the giant screen of the drive-in theaters, while they sat in their car.

There still ARE a few drive-in theaters in our  area; but today you use your car radio set to a certain frequency to pick up the sound from the movie. 

The speakers are a nostalgic reminder of our youth and even the decades before, when this was the techology available.  However,  they didn't always work too well, if at all.  And many were damaged by drivers forgetting the speakers were still hanging on their car window as they left their parking space! 
 .  
Photo showing the front of the CD player in the new base.

Again, click on photo to enlarge.

 

Features of My GTO

My GTO has the following features:

 I did not pre-order the car, but it had all the

features I would have wanted. 

The color - Mayfair Maize
This was just right for us - a lighter yellow, and not 'extreme' as some of the muscle cars were.   My wife particularly liked the color because it is similar to her father's 1953 Studebaker, which had a revolutionary, avante-guard, sleek design.  (The Starlight Commander had a low profile and got a lot of attention wherever it went.   Curiously, there seem to be very few at the car cruises.)

 Interior:  
- Black vinyl, with bucket seats,
- lift-up cover on storage console between the seats.

Convertible top 
- Black vinyl (and is the original)

Engine
- 400 cu. in.
- 350 horsepower
- One 4-barrel carburetor

Transmission
- 4-speed Manual (Hurst)

Wheels
- Rally II
- Tires that came with car were red-line  Uniroyal
   Present tires are B. F. Goodrich w/white lettering

Seats
- Bucket vinyl seats

Radio
- AM only (was standard equipment; FM had to be ordered)

Other Options
- Hidden headlights - vacuum powered
- Driver-side adjustable exterior rear-view mirror
- Vanity mirror, passenger
- Trunk release button in glove box
- 24-hour rally clock in dashboard (presently not working)

Purchasing Our GTO in 1969

AUGUST 1969

It was August 1969, toward the end of the 1969 car season, when the 1970 models were soon to arrive on the showroom floors of all the car dealerships.   

To put the time in historical perspective, the famous Moon Landing had just occurred a month earlier in July of 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out onto the moon's surface. The Viet Nam war was still raging. It was also the era of the hippies and Woodstock.

 

I was in my third year of  Army Reserve duty. In my civilian job I was a payroll

accountant at a major corporation in Pittsburgh (my wife also worked at the company). 

We owned a 1967 Tempest (red with black vinyl roof and interior).    It was the first car I ever 'ordered' to my specifications.   It had a 'slanted' rear antenna that retracted, and a 4-speed manual transmission, with the gearshift on the floor - not unusual, except we had a bench seat in front!

 Even though the red Tempest was only two years old and I was quite happy with it, I just wanted to see if there were any deals at the Pontiac dealership on new 1969 models before the '70 models arrived.  I wasn't really serious about buying a new car, since we just finished paying off the red one! 

My wife and I were about 25 years old and had been married for five years.  In 1962 when we were dating, I bought a new 1963 Corvair   then traded it in for a 1964 Pontiac Tempest right after our wedding in '64;  and I ordered the red 1967 Tempest in Sept. '66.

 

It was not unusual in those days to keep buying new cars in order to maintain a

warranty and to keep up with the latest car models that seemed to change every year.  

A car payment was accepted as a permanent part of the budget.    

However, my wife was not enthusiastic about purchasing a new car in 1969.  She wanted to save the money for a house, and very reluctantly agreed to go to the dealership, with no intention of buying a car.  It was amazing to see the showroom actually just about empty of all cars!   

However, the salesman said he had a '69 in the basement.

He didn't say what model and didn't act particularly enthusiastic about it. 

(Maybe he acted that way on purpose! )

Little did I realize what I would see as we went down the steps to the basement.

 

There sitting almost in the dark, with one or two lights shining on it, sat this beautiful yellow and black GTO convertible, with four-speed manual transmission on the floor!  

 I was totally stunned!   It was everything I could have wanted in a car.

 

Actually, I hadn't been looking for a GTO.  They were  expensive, and I figured it would throw our budget too far out of whack.   (However, insurance wasn't as much of a problem for 25-year-old married men as it was for single men.)  

And once we saw this car, even my wife knew we wouldn't be leaving the
 dealership without signing papers and taking on car payments again!  More accurately,
she knew I was not leaving the dealership without buying this car!  

So a few days later, after we signed all the papers and the dealer got the car prepped, my wife and I drove out of the dealership in our gorgeous new GTO convertible (top down, of course) . We marveled at seeing the sky as we drove.   Of course, I was thrilled with the four-speed transmission and the  powerful sound that was coming from the engine!

As we enjoyed our ride back to our apartment (the 1st floor of an older home, with no garage, unfortunately), we never dreamed we would still have the GTO all these years later, and that many of the miles we would put on it after 1980 would be to travel to 'car cruises', which weren't even around in 1969!

As of this writing,  we have been going to car cruises for 30+ years! 

Car Shows v. Car Cruises

Our first 'car show' was in 1980.   The GTO was only 10 years old, and there was an advertisement in the paper for a 'car show' about 2 hours' drive.  We thought we were going to the show as 'spectators' to look at cars from the '20s through the '50s..     But they insisted we put it with the show cars, to be 'judged'.  They were welcoming all 'muscle cars'. 

We didn't win anything (the undercoating took away points), but we enjoyed being there, talking to so many 'muscle car' owners.  Little did we know where that was going to lead. 

There were only a handful of car shows in our area at first, (it was difficult to get judges),  but 'cruises' now number in the hundreds, with no official judging of cars.  Everyone just enjoys showing off their cars. 

We finally did buy a house in 1973, with a proper garage to park the GTO, which was still our only car.   It had been through several winters parked outdoors.  However, it was protected in parking garages in the city during the workweek.)  I also had it heavily undercoated, which worked against it at car show for points, but it wouldn't have lasted this long without it!

This blog will be about our past and present adventures with our GTO!

One further note:  We discovered a few years ago that our car was built in Baltimore during the week of the Moon Landing, July 1969.    The factory must have had to re-tool quickly for the 1970 models to be in showroom floors in September, considering there were quite a few changes to the body of the 1970 model.  .   



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Cars Owned Prior to '69 GTO (1963-1969)

Although this blog is mainly about my '69 GTO,  just for my own benefit I will eventually be reviewing all the cars I have owned.  (It will be nice seeing them all in one place here in my blog!)

I will start with the cars owned before the GTO.

 I plan to post photos of them, but first I'll have to find them and get them uploaded into my computer.

1963 Blue Corvair Monza*  $2400
 (navy blue, matching vinyl interior)  ordered in Sept. 1962

1964 White Pontiac Tempest  $2400
(white, burgundy interior)  purchased Feb. 1964/showroom

1967 Red Pontiac 326 Tempest*  $3000
(red, black interior and black vinyl top)  ordered  Sept. '66

(*) specifc order)

The 1963 Corvair - Our first car!
As a young man graduatiang from high school in 1960, naturally I looked forward to buying my first car.  As it turned out, my fiancee (now wife) and I would purchase 'my' (and her) first car.  We met as young teenagers - 16 and 17 years of age in 1960, right after I graduated, and before she started her senior year (at another school from mine). 

We dated for two years (borrowing our respective families' cars)  and in 1962 finally got clerical jobs. working in the 'big city' of Pittsburgh, PA    Prices of cars and the wages we were making in 1962 are amusing now!  Together we made $5,000/year; and cars cost around $2,000 - $3,000.  The Corvair cost $2,400.  (By the way, Corvettes cost about $4,000 - out of our price range!)    Our monthly payments were $142 for 18 months.  Our plan was to have the car fully paid for before we got married sometime in 1964.  (As you will see below, it didn't quite work out that way). 

Naturally, we were anxious to buy 'our own' car so that we would not have to borrow our parents' cars anymore.  We planned to get engaged in 1963 (and did), and bought the ring in 1962, just about the same time that the '63 car models were appearing at the dealerships. 

In September of 1962, we ordered a red Corvair Monza with black interior (with all the options I wanted, including 4-speed transmission, bucket seats)  , and were told it would take 8 weeks to come in.  That seemed like a long time back then, in our youth!   We kept checking with the dealer, and he kept saying it wasn't in yet.  Finally after week 10 (by now it was November)  he said "Well, the red one you ordered hasn't come in yet, but we have a nice dark blue one that has most of your options." 

Opinion:  Someone saw 'our' red Corvair when it arrived (on time) and insisted on buying it.  Inasmuch as we were youngsters, the dealer thought he could make a switcheroo without our complaining.   Indeed (although we suspected the above - we weren't stupid), we took the blue car because it WAS pretty, and we WAITED LONG ENOUGH!  

*  *  *

It was my goal to trade a car every few years in order to keep the warranties current.   It was accepted that one would always have a car payment, but you'd have a new car every few years.  Car manufacturers, of course, promoted this idea! 

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