[keith k]

My dad was into performance cars in a mild way, I'd say. The '66 Bonneville 2dr hardtop my parents bought new and kept until 1979 was the car that's responsible for me being so into Pontiacs. Dad also had a '66 Mustang w/ 289 for about 10 years - my friends in elementary school and junior high thought that one was the coolest. But the one that's my "favorite", because it's what I learned to drive in, cruise in high school, drove to the senior prom, etc. was a '77 Chevy Caprice. Dad ordered it with the healthiest motor, a 350 4-barrel, the optional axle ratio (3.08), and the F41 sport suspension. I don't remember what the hp rating was, but it felt quick at the time, and pretty much outran everything anyone in my circle of friends had (I grew up in Northern VA - not much hi-po stuff running around there back then). And with the F41, it really handled well. The picture below is after I mildly restored the exterior of the car in the mid-90s... it was originally 2-tone gold with the dark gold on the sides and the cream on the top surfaces. I made it 1-tone cream. Shortly after this pic was taken, it got totaled while it sat in the parking lot at my office - some idiot flying through the lot got T-boned and ricocheted into it...