Fantastic Frugal Flagship Find
I just read the Jan. '10 issue of HPP. In the article "That 70s Show," the fourth car was a '79 Bonneville two-door with Cragars. This is my car. I paid $2,600 for it with 39,000 miles and another $800 for the Cragars. I drive this car every day and everywhere!
I also have a '79 T/A Y84 400 four-speed which I believe is the last 400 four-speed Trans Am ever built. It would make a great article!
Jacob Shepherd
Westchester, OH
Jacob, thanks very much for contacting us, as it was driving me nuts that I couldn't get an owner's name for your car prior to publication of the story. Congratulations on owning two great Pontiacs. -Ed.
Two Scoops Of Tempest, Please
What a rush and shock! My 1967 Pontiac Tempest is on the cover of the Jan. '10 issue of HPP. This is the best compliment and trophy I could ever receive. It was referred to as a LeMans in the photo caption in "It's Co-Believable," but I'll excuse that!
As a point of interest, I've owned the car for 33 years and all the work has been done by me. It is never trailered; I drove it 875 miles one way to the Co-vention. The twin scoops are functional, feeding a 428. When viewed from the bottom, it is a stamped-steel hood with no modifications. The "story" is that it was found in the remains of a GM crate in the back of a closed-up dealership a friend purchased.
Brian Bellinger
Dothan, AL
Brian, thanks for the kind words, and sorry about the model name error. -Ed.
Three Times The Excitement
My kudos on the latest issue of High Performance Pontiac (Jan. '10)! What an awesome collection of Pontiac power! I was fortunate enough to have seen all three of these cover cars in the flesh (steel?) and can attest to their craftsmanship. What we need now is a computer-desktop wallpaper image of this trio as shown in the centerfold.
By the way, I find Imran Chaudary's comments about driving his one-of-none SD-455 GTO refreshing. I saw him receive a well-deserved Concours-Modified Gold award at the GTOAA Nationals in 2008, and was mildly amazed when I saw the very same car on the popular-vote show field at the GTOAA/POCI Co-vention the following year.
Speaking of the Co-vention, the coverage was a bit of a surprise for me-not because of its inclusion in the magazine, but because between my son Nick and I, we took approximately 1,600 photos, and your crew still managed to find something neither of us saw. I am referring to the two-tone '73 Grand Am owned by Phil Schaefer-amazing!
I can't wait to see what the next issue has in store from the mezzanine-level cars. Thanks for your continued hard work in keeping us abreast of all things Pontiac.
Tim Sickle
Bowie, MD
Fight To Save Pontiac
When I heard the rumors of GM discontinuing Pontiac, I thought it wouldn't happen. There was talk of it becoming a niche brand, so I still had hope. Then the dreaded announcement came April 27, 2009. I actually wrote this down in my notebook. (Black Monday! GM announces the end of Pontiac!)
Later that day, the phone rang while I was out in my garage working on my '70 GTO race car. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was our local newspaper here in St. Catharines, Ontario. At first I thought they were calling me to sell me a subscription, but on the other end of the phone was a reporter asking for my thoughts on GM's decision. I told her the rumors had been going around the end was near, and I was disappointed and saddened by the decision.
The next day I received a call from my friend Imran Chaudary. He invited me to come out to his place, as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) wanted to do an interview. When the videographer arrived, he informed us he was with the French division of the CBC and the report would be in French. Later that night, we would have a little laugh at our "End of Pontiac" spot, as it was translated to French and neither of us speaks the language.