About me and my passion for cars

I have always had a passion for the automobile. My first encounters with cars all began with my father's hobby, drag racing. I guess you can say that I got the car bug honest.

I have a passion for all makes of American automobiles, but Pontiacs have always held a special place in my heart. My father raced a fleet of early Super Duty Pontiacs. For those of you not familiar with Super Duties, it was a special built performance package. It gave Pontiacs the leading edge in performance for many years. Pontiac crammed its special 421 cubic inch Pontiacs in everything from the 1962 Catalina, 1962 Grand Prix, 1963 Tempest, 1963 Tempest wagon, 12963 l;emans and 1963 Catalina. These cars are rare!! Only 13 SD-421 Tempest (wagons and coupes) were built in 1963. A young man by the name of Mickey Thompson helped on this project.

My father raced 3 1962 Catalinas and 1 1963 Tempest. All 4 of these cars came from the factory equipped with aluminum frontends. He set several track records with the rare Pontiacs. Although the Catalinas have been sold, the 1963 Tempest is still in possession.


My first real musclecar was a 1970 Chevrolet SS 396. It was a 350hp 4-speed car with power steering, power brakes and a 3.55 12-bolt. I have a lot of great memories of this car. My next car, actually my daily driver, was a 1968 Buick Wildcat with a 430 and turbo 400. I later built a 455 for the car and terrorized the streets with the tank.

As years passed and jobs became better, I started my own collection of cars and trucks. I currently own a 1974 SD-455 Trans-Am (one of 943 built - 731 were automatics - 212 were 4-speeds), 1974 Trans-Am tube-chassis racecar, 1965 Tempest, a 1999 30th Anniversary T/A (1500 units built for the USA - 100 for Canada), two 1963 Tempests, a 1962 Catalina 2-dr hardtop, 1984 GMC 4x4(restored), 1989 Suburban(restored), 1979 GMC (installed a 1976 Trans-Am 400 Pontiac in it!). I also own a 1993 Buick Roadmaster (my daily driver) and a 2007 Cobalt.

My first car

1970 Chevelle SS 396 4-speed

Car I wish I still had

1963 Sport Coupe Pontiac Tempest

My dream car

1962 421 Super Duty Pontiac Catalina

Car clubs I’m in

POCI
PSRFH

Favorites

• Type of racing: Drag Racing
• Driver: Arnie Beswick
• Driving song: Trans-Am - Sammy Hagar
• Car movie: American Graffitti
• Car book: The Fabulous Firebirds
• Car magazine: High Performance Pontiac/Pontiac Enthusiast/Musclecar Review
• Car game: NONE

— Profile last updated: Sep 6, 2008