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Muscle Car Build Sheet Story

Started by HarrySmith, January 25, 2018, 05:58:23 PM

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HarrySmith

I worked as a mechanic for many years, found a few build sheets for special order cars, interesting stuff. My story is about a friend of mine & my brother. He was a friend who lived down the street. Used to "play" with my brother, then he grew up and got interested in cars. He worked at an International Truck dealer as a mechanic. Someone traded in a 1970 Chevelle SS in gold with the black racing stripes. It was a 4 speed big block. This guy at 17 bought it for a song, his Dad ran the shop! Of course he trashed it, blew the engine, put in a junkyard engine. same thing with the transmission & the differential. Then he had a small crash, ran into the back of a car at a light, not paying attention. He had cut up the dash to put in a radio and then decided to recover the interior in a pink fur! I refused to help so he did most of it. He was having a problem getting the back seat out so I helped him with that. We found the build sheet under the back sheet. Every single thing in that car was a special order! The car was a one of one! They never built another car with those exact options. I do not recall all the details, it was around 42 years ago, the engine was special high performance, custom Muncie 4 speed, special differential gearing. No a/c or radio. The list goes on & on. He cried like a baby and I laughed till it hurt!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

WEBellSystemChristian

I know a few guys like that. Okay, a LOT of guys like that!

I feel like the only 19-year-old on Earth who believes in completely stock cars. For us phone collectors, special options and details really intrigue us, so a [special] special order car like that would be appreciated by any of us. It seems like the rest of the world would just rebuild it how they want it.

------------------------------------

My old Auto Shop teacher did really, really, REALLY stupid things with cars. He did everything as cheaply and easily as he possibly could. He would rather buy 5 or 6 junk cars for the price of one brand new one.

He bought a 1967 Chevy C-10 in horrible shape for really cheap, and tried to get the students to make it into a classic truck for himself. The entire floor, cab corners, rockers, cab rear, and rear fender arches were disintegrated from rust, and I could see that the reflection of the bedsides was rippled--entirely coated in Bondo over a jigsaw puzzle of patch panels, and the previous owner decided to drill tie-downs into the outside of the bed. The whole truck was rattlecan painted.

My teacher was completely oblivious to the extensive damage to the bed, and just ordered patch panels for the cab. Of course, they were the cheapest panels he could possibly find, and none of them fit. He decided that the replacement floor pans--at ~$20 each--were too expensive. He got 1/4" scrap steel from the metal shop to weld over the rusted remains instead!! He didn't know how to weld either, so us students did all the work for him.

He was thinking about buying a "red Jeep" from a guy he knew at one point. He showed us a picture--it was an immediate-postwar CJ-2A! I wouldn't DARE let him get his hands on something like that!! I was honestly thinking about buying it from him had he bought it, just so he wouldn't destroy it. But, thankfully, he never bought it!
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

jsowers

My first car was a 1969 Olds Delta 88, bought from my uncle Harold for $750 with about 66,000 miles. Those were the days. It was 1976 and cars with big engines were not selling well. It had a 455 2-barrel and it was as close to a hot rod as I ever got. Everyone who rode with me said their dad or uncle used to have one just like it. The trunk was cavernous. That car got me all the way through college and never let me down. I didn't trash it like Harry's friend, but I did pull the back seat out once, looking for anything that fell back there, and found the build sheet. I never knew it was there. It was interesting to read.

I remember my aunt saying she never liked the car because it was hard to adjust the front bench seat. I noticed the knob was missing from the seat adjuster, so I fished around under the driver's seat until I found the knob and put it back on. Problem solved.

My car wasn't special at all, except to me. I wish I had it back. It was so easy to work on.
Jonathan

HarrySmith

I guess I still have some gray matter left making connections somewhere, I remembered a few more details last night. The car had no power windows, no power seats, no power locks, no power mirrors, no rear window defogger. All to save weight! Since it did not have any options which require it he also changed to a smaller alternator. The battery was different too, presumably smaller & lighter. It was a car made for speed!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Pourme

Harry,
Since your story comes not so long after the recent Barrett Jackson Auction weekend, I can't help but think what that car would be worth today in "survivor" condition! What a shame. Especially in the light of the fact that of all the models of Chevelles, the '70 SS us top of the heap to collectors!

Oh well!
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

19and41

Stories like that are the reason the ones that are left command such prices.  Kids waste cars,  When they get older, wiser and RICHER, they go to buy their youth back.  B/J is there to accommodate them.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

HarrySmith

I would imagine being a 1 of 1 vehicle it would probably go for hundreds of thousands. Maybe even 1/2 a million!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"