[eric_cspan]

A Message From Dennis Kirban....


Many of you either know Ames Performance personally or know the company. Ames was at the forefront of the collectible muscle car industry. Many say I was close on his heels starting shortly after he did. He started around 1977.

See below:
I just learned earlier this morning that a long time good friend of mine, Steve Ames owner of Ames Performance has passed away. He has had health issues in recent years and recently fell.
Steve Ames is well known in GM circles specifically the Pontiac brand. He along with our company were the very first two companies that saw the potential of the GTO in the late 1970s.
Steve was very very good at what he did. Reproductions he produced had to be exact.. I know as we would often have discussions on items we made that he wanted them to be correct. He was the biggest company we would sell to back in the early 1980s.
Case in point was the 1964-65 GTO splitters we made. Originally we made the part that was not very visible using tubing instead of 2 stamped tack welded Ys that the rolled stainless tips would get tack welded to. Steve would constantly want me to do them right.
Problem was to make them right required a ten grand investment and in the early 1980s I did not see where I would ever recoup that portion of my investment. Eventually I saw the light....and Steve was a very good customer of ours buying the 1964-65 GTO splitters once we made them exactly like the originals were. I would later sell out our GTO business and move on to Turbo Regals. Steve struck true to the Pontiac car line expanding into the Grand Prix and Firebirds.
He would eventually make all the radiator shrouds using the correct material where as I made them in fiberglass originally.
Back then we would compare notes as it made no sense for us or others to reproduce the same part made more sense to wholesale to each other. Others came along later Bethels Goat Farm Performance Years, Bobs Pontiac Parts, Parts Place, Year One just to name of few of the early companies. Steve remained number 1 in everyone's book.
Steve Ames would later expand to cover other Pontiac models and do a yearly event in Ohio every year. No other company has had a larger impact in the Pontiac world specifically the very start of the muscle car era than Steve.....
I am praying for him.
Your Health is Your Wealth