[spartazoo]

When I was born, I came home from the hospital in a Vodoo Green 68 HO GTO with dealer installed Ram Air.... the rest is history.

I actually still have the HO exhaust manifolds off that car. Now if I could just find that rest of the car.

[Bob Rutledge]

Hmmmm, my dad had a 70 Olds Cutlass, so that isn't it. It had to be between the movies Brewster and Smokey and the Bandit. Also the T.V. show Rockford Files helped out as well.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by spartazoo

When I was born, I came home from the hospital in a Vodoo Green 68 HO GTO with dealer installed Ram Air.... the rest is history.

I actually still have the HO exhaust manifolds off that car. Now if I could just find that rest of the car.

When I was born... I came home from the hospital in a Fathom Blue '67 2+2..... 428, 4 speed 3.73 posi, hood tach.

[66Post]

When I went off to college in 1963 I was driving a 58 Impala 348 Powerglide. My uncle had just bought a 63 Catalina 2 door sedan with a 421 4BBL in it. After driving my uncle's car I was hooked. Should have kept the 58 Impala though.

[george kujanski]

My Dad had a '53 with the straight 8 and then a '59 cat for our family car. Took my driving test in the Cat.

My first car was a '63 Dart 4 door which I got from my older sister. After that I went looking for a '65 Dart GT with the 273 V8, white bucket interior, and manual. Never did find one at the time, but came across a '67 Lemans Sprint which had everything but the v8. Took it for a ride and was hooked.

George

[BOPcollector]

When I was very young, I recognized Pontiacs as very stylish cars. Growing up around New Castle,Delaware , there were a lot of GTOs running around the area. I could always pick those out. My parents best friends had a '66 GTO ragtop that I remember riding in. This was when I was 5 or 6 . We never had a Pontiac as a family car until around 1975 when my dad came home with an old maroon '63 Bonneville 4 dr hardtop. I distinctly remember the 421 emblems on it. The Bonneville was in good shape, but it was OLD! I didn't want to ride in it. My mother had a new Olds Starfire GT in orange. Now that car looked cool to my 12 year old eyes. But when my dad took me with him to a friend's motorcycle shop in that Bonneville, I really got hooked. Black cloth seats, CHROME, real wood, the cool see through steering wheel (the lucite) , all that CHROME, the cool looking angled hashmarked door panels and did I say CHROME? But best of all was on the interstate. I saw the speedo pegged. That car was a thrill! Yep. I have been hooked since. Then Smokey and the Bandit came out and I was to get my driver license soon after. Wow!!

[hgerhardt]

When I was younger than 5, we bought a '66 Tempest wagon. My dad did all the maintenance and had a factory shop manual. I remember looking at the pics of the tripower and decided right then someday I'd have one of those cars. In '84 or so, I bought a '66 GTO 'vert and added tripower.

[Pontiac Inc.]

when my daughter was born i brought her home from the hospital in my 80 T/A turbo WS6, that car is gone but have another T/A now. not sure what i came home in, almost afraid to ask knowing my parents, lol.
(too bad pontiac motor division is gone)

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

My Dad had a '53 with the straight 8 and then a '59 cat for our family car. Took my driving test in the Cat.

My first car was a '63 Dart 4 door which I got from my older sister. After that I went looking for a '65 Dart GT with the 273 V8, white bucket interior, and manual. Never did find one at the time, but came across a '67 Lemans Sprint which had everything but the v8. Took it for a ride and was hooked.

George

OHC-6? 4BBL? got pics?"?

[DARKITEC]

I grew up in the back seat of a 1960 Bonneville convertible, 389 tri-power, 4 speed auto, knee knocker air conditioning and fenders wide enough that mom's dog could walk all the way round the body work of the car with the top up. My clearest memories of that car though were the severe amounts of rust the car had (Thanks to Indiana winters) and Dad selling the car for $200 a year or so before I got my license. In kindergarten, I got in trouble because I was humming the Great ones theme song by Paul Revere And The Raiders. My best Pontiac memories however were provided by my Uncle, He built Pontiac 4 and v8 powered dragsters and funny cars in the day. He was also an area rep for Pontiac and always had the newest, nicest and most powerful cars they offered. He gave us some glue you to the seat rides in an early (what at the time I thought was the ugliest orange paint I had ever seen), Judge. The next year we got a similar ride in a Blue Trans Am, and in multiple 421, 428 (probably H.O.'s) Bonneville wagons when he was towing one of his race cars. Then there was my Grandmother smoking the tires sideways while pulling out of a Safeway parking lot in her 70 something, 454 Bonneville 4 door. Dad's AMC's were never as fast and as cool looking as those Pontiac's.

[heckinohio]

I went to a drag racing event during the summer of 1960 at Mount Vernon Pacemakers 1/4 mile in Mount Vernon, Ohio. There was a maroon 1960 Ventura tripower, four speed car who showed everybody in stock class the trunk lid in no uncertain terms, his closest run in stock eliminator was 3-4 open. I went immediately to Haydocy Pontiac on Broad St. in Columbus to trade my low mile 1959 Chevy convert four speed 348"er in on a new 1960 Pontiac...........too late in the year, son......the salesman said, followed by what in the world would anyone what that kinda car anyway??? When the new 1961's came out, I was working an explosion & fire job at Bakelite plant, Marietta, & Charlie Miller came to work and told me he had seen the new 1961 cars & had ordered a Bonnelville convert. The Parkersburg, WVA, dealer, 8 miles down the road, had a limey green Catalina coupe in the showroom & I went immediately to look at it, went back to Haydocy in Cols that weekend & traded my Chevy on a Richlieu blue Ventura with 348hp 389, 3.90 Safety-trac etc. In June of '61, I ordered the all of the 421 SD over the counter pieces. Played drag race on weekends & drove 4 guys 65 miles to work on my day to drive.....only one car per working guy then. PJHeck

[Kitch428m21]

Well, you kinda scrunched the words together, but I get your story. And i like it! This is the kind of "dad" I needed back in '60.
Well done.

[DARKITEC]

I can't believe umpteen years driving Pontiac's and it screw up, it was not a Chevy it was a 455 Bonneville

[Brent Flynn]

My Dad was a Pontiac guy... Before i was born in July '69, from 1960 on, he was racing some sort of Pontiac in stock classes( in the days where you drove them through the week to work ''the good ole days''). He started with a 1957 post car...347, 3speed column, tripower and 3.90's. Ran in the 14's. Ran a 60 Cat(2bbl...not the 215hp version) and a 60 Bonneville(4bb..303hp?) in the '60s. Ever since i can remember, there has always been a Pontiac around. I remember the day... May, 1973, Dad and my Uncle flat towed the black '62 Cat(in my avatar) home with Uncle's '68 Chevelle. I believe that is the day that changed everything for me in the years to come. He gave $75.00 for it...rod knocked or was out of the pan(389). I grew up watchin him work on this car and race it quite a bit in the later '70s runnin 13.69 as a best with a '60 389 with 093 heads and late 60s cast intake and 4spd hydro. Then in '79. he put in a re-rung 455 with 670 heads and junkyard 400turbo(vega converter) and went 13.18! We thought we had a blown Hemi! It was over-geared(4.30) from the 389 and had he just put the 3.90s in it, it woulda ran a 12sec, no doubt.
We also had a 62 Cat called "Scorpion"...Lime Green color...348hp/389 tripower...it was an F/Stock 4speed car...we had it a short time and i remember it being loud. I could go on for ever about the effect my Dad(passed away July, 2006) and Pontiacs have had on my life... Just want to say, every time i fire up the '62 , i think about all the good times we had together and how much i learned from one of the coolest guys on earth.

[LeGoaT/As]

O.K., July 4th weekend, 1982. I was seventeen. Our family was visiting my aunt and uncle that lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia (we lived in SW Michigan). The adults sent my brother, sister and my cousins off to High's to get ice cream. I said I would like to get some too and they said I think you would rather go with us. So I did. We went to a trailer park and there was a '72 Lemans sport, blue w/ white top &interior, all the rallies (including the one in the trunk) 350/350 and about as stock and rust free as it gets. After a few minutes of talking and paying $600.00 we left with the car, I thought it was a pretty good trade off for ice cream . I drove the car the 700 miles back to Michigan. I still have the car. After our wedding in 1989, Melissa and I left the church parking lot side ways with the best man and the maid of honor in the back seat and we haven't looked back. After years of accumulating more Pontiacs, my son now has a '71 firebird that we will be working on when we get back to the States this summer, we will see how far he goes with the Pontiacs.

Lynn

[FHummel]

Originally Posted by FHummel

Early days of my driving experience started with a 1940 LaSalle 4 door sedan. 346 cubic inches of cast iron V8 and 3 on the tree. I'm a car guy already being exposed to the early performance of the Cadillac-LaSalle opera coupes of 1937 vintage - my dad loved those cars because of their performance. We're talking post-war (WWII) and new cars were not readily available to the average person because of struggling to make a living after the war ended. But dad came upon a couple of the '37s which I rode in. 1954 and with a fresh driver's license and newly purchased 1940 LaSalle I began my own car saga. This was a beautiful black 4 door and only had 37,000 miles on it - however it had an underlying problem that caused me to wreck it in the spring of 1955 (I'm leaving out details to keep this moving). Next came a 1948 Ford coupe followed by a 1951 Mercury coupe until I went into the Air Force in 1956. No cars allowed for airmen basics so the car stayed at home and my parents ended up selling it while I was gone. No problem. I met my wife (still married after 52 years) while on permanent base in Mississippi where I remained as a radar instructor until I exited the AF in 1960. I know, where is the Pontiac? Be patient, it's almost here. I went home on leave and bought a 1951 Olds 4 door - that thing really ran good especially after I swapped an old man even for his 4 barrel for my 2 barrel (he wanted better gas mileage). I came out better on both scores - better performance and better gas mileage to boot - that thing got 20 MPG on the highway on regular gas! The best I ever got was 17 MPG with the 2 barrel.
Traded that car off for a 1952 Caddy 4 door which I traded on a 1955 T-Bird in 1959 - now we're getting somewhere! That was one of the best cars I ever owned (the fun-factor) - installed lakes pipes and a tripower setup and ran B-Sport at the drags. I don't remember the times for the 1/4 mile but it went through the traps at 96 miles/hour. This was good enough to make the early Corvettes shy away when they saw me register and I often had to make by-runs (the 'vette guys decided not to run me). I still have a trophy for New Orleans Day at the dragstrip in the spring of 1960. Moving on - my wife and I moved back to NJ (my home state) in late 1960. Finally (here comes the first Pontiac) in the spring of 1962 I decided it was time to part with the T-Bird and began a search for the next car. I found a beautiful 1961 Pontiac Ventura hardtop - black with tri-blue interior, bench seat, 4 speed, 348HP, tripower, Saf-T-Track rear - with 12,000 miles on it. THAT ONE I really do wish I could have kept (who knew they would become one of the most sought after Pontiacs ever?) and had the best time beating up on one of my buddies who spent a wad of cash on a new 1962 Ford 406 with tripower and a 4 speed - beautiful hardtop car in black with red interior. Bill could not understand how I always beat him (I'm talking 'sanctioned' street racing here). I finally pointed out to him that his gorgeous '62 406 was much heavier than my '61 and the power to weight ratio was the key.
Well I'll cut this short with a summary of Pontiacs owned since then: 1958 Catalina convertible (sold the '61 to get money for a down payment to buy our first house and replaced the '61 with the '58). Next Pontiac was a new 1967 GTO, 4 speed hdtp, then a new 1971 GTO hdtp 4 speed, 455HO (wish I still had that one also). Then a long drought for Pontiacs until I retired, then had the time and money to start collecting and acquired a beautiful 1967 Firebird 400 coupe, then a 1961 Bonneville, which I modified, then a 1962 Grand Prix factory 4 speed - added a tripower to that one, then a 1964 Grand Prix factory tripower. Sold off most of the cars back in 2006 and acquired a 2005 (leftover) GTO with 6 speed stick which has since been traded on a 2007 (leftover) Solstice GXP with 5 speed stick - love it!! I still also have a 1970 GTO, 455 HO, 4 speed hdtp that my son and I did a frame-off for him about 7 years ago and since have taken it over from him. It just sits in the garage.
Well, that's the 'short' story of Pontiacs in my history. Hope you weren't too bored.
Frank

Well, the '70 GTO is gone (sold to someone in Canada), and the '07 Solstice has been traded off for yet another Pontiac - one of the last - an '09 G8 GT - and one of the best (IMHO) ever built. This car has it all as to comfort, handling and power/performance (well, not the most powerful - there's still the G8 GXP - hmm?). So far I've put over 14,000 miles on it since last February and plan to keep it a good long time. Panther Black Metallic with Onyx/red leather trimmed interior. May be interesting to note that my very first car was black (the '40 LaSalle and then the first Pontiac - '61 Ventura -was also black) - this G8 may end up being my very last car.
Frank

[kiwigto]

FHummel. Not bored at all. Not sure how far back the first post was initially posted (2005?) but I found it really interesting

[FHummel]

Originally Posted by kiwigto

FHummel. Not bored at all. Not sure how far back the first post was initially posted (2005?) but I found it really interesting

Glad you weren't bored - I certainly wasn't bored through the years. This was posted in September 2009. Oh, and I left out one Pontiac - a 1976 TA that I acquired by trading for it with a 1982 Buick Park Avenue. Had to do a fair amount of work on the TA (rebuilt the engine, repainted the car white with the blue bird on the hood, etc), but it turned out well and I drove it about four years before selling it off.
Frank

[shank0668]

Well..
I am 14 and back in the 80's my dad had a 76 Trans Am. Some reason I always liked Corvettes, and he had one then, and now. But now i really started getting interested in Pontiacs, went to Trans Am nationals, and was given a fiero. I really want a Trans Am, and I am hunting for a project for me and him. One day I will have one.

[straycat]

I was a Chevy guy in the begining as most of the town was with the top dog being a 63 Impala 09. But one that was different and caught my eye was a 62 GP. Still ran a 56 Chevy myself. A HS friend was swapping 09s into the Chevys but out of nowhere he gets a NEW 66 GTO for HS graduation. Red with black top, 360hp tri power, 4speed. Like WOW, this thing is fantastic. I'm now into reading everything about Pontiacs I can find. But my UNCLE called mid 1966 but I'm still reading Marty Schorr overseas (remember Nunzi with his fro?) That Car & Driver car of the year (68 GTO) sealed my fate. At the reup meeting the officer says with the money I would get I could get a new Vette. Sorry it's back to The World for me and looking for a Pontiac. Well after returning home, getting a job and hooking up with an old friend it's time to get a car. Down to Maxon Pontiac in Union, NJ, the salesman says I need that 67-4 speed but I want a 68. So like thousands of others I get a 68 Verdoro Green goat 350hp. Not as interested in performance, guess I wanted to impress her. Well now the guys are starting to get out and buying performance and having to keep up it gets Upgraded constantly starting with trips to Gasoline Alley in Paterson then to Motion Performance on Long Island. Well it was pretty fast and none of the Ford or Chevelle guys could keep up. One of the only faster cars was Mr Ed a vets built 68 RA II then a local L88 Vette. I kept the car until 73 when I broke a lifter bore and traded it for a 73 LeMans Sport Coupe 400 that soon got a 455. Years later I found my current 68 on a hillside and rebuilt it, raced it, now mostly drive it occasionally, while racing the 62 Catalina I finally found.