[TRADERMIKE 2012]

Mike here, perfect photos proceed as stated and throw in the Nuzi and Hurb Adams material for icing on the cake. Take your time and I will be doing the same simultaneously, from now on whoever has Pontiac Information can join in here. Stories about racing your Pontiacs and the famous people you've met over your racing years and photo attachments always gets attention.

Thanks for joining what will turn out to be a site to go to like John Wallace and others have done. This will be a living continuous Breathing moving Pontiac documented History for all to read and enjoy for the future. As we move into the future when muscle cars will be Battery motorized and we are there now. Try to use your good English etiquette and a good spell check with grammar is encouraged.

To me I never wrote a thesis because I did not finish college so I practice taking notes at home and building my own personal library on the computer. Perhaps if we had computers in the dorm, we would not have walked to the college library in the snow and rain and perhaps some more of us would have finished to graduation. I use the cell phone dictatory to quickly look up words spelling and meaning in one hand while I type. I learned here on the forum to space out your paragraphs and don't dare capitalize every word it tends to blind some readers.

Let me be the first to tell my story since I am the one that started this Thread. I was born a twin in 1957 my father was Gymkhana Racing on long Island New York as I was growing up. I can remember he had a convertible Bug eye Sprite, a European model of course. We would go to Mitchel field before they built Nasa Coliseum. After the 2 Corvettes he Raced the Lotus Elan to prove he was the best in those days in all and any he competed in.

I come from a large family and with that many brothers 5 and 4 girls we were a popular well-known family in the community. Dad taught us sports starting from a young age, I was rolling off his shoulders doing flips and penny drops off the playground High bar. The Races were going on in the Background in some parking lot near the water this day on the weekends always.

We got up early and he took the Exhaust pipes off the 1966 yellow Convertible Corvette Stingray with the 427 ci, 435 HP, Blue- Printed and Balanced Manual gearbox, work driven Vehicle. He said it was 500 HP and I believe it, as I was in it at times when they let the kids ride. On the way to the track all an every one doing the same would try to race him from light to light, OfCourse dad one, he would say" I will suck him up in my Exhaust pipe ". Thrown back into the seat trying as hard as I could to see the speedo. to read 160 mph on the straight runs, the "G-Force" was fantastic. What a rush that car with my father driving was top in the class that season. First, we got to the track and the sun was coming up, we set up the pylons and painted around the base, we went by the map my father prepared and scaled the night before. If the pylons were hit the driver was deducted time. The paint was so they could replace the pylon to the course position. I learned to be a 2 footed driver in those days and to look to the apex of a turn.

Next, Vehicle was the 1968 Silver Convertible Corvette Maco-Shark with the 435 HP Tri-power with the Triangular air cleaner. Also, Blue-printed and balanced to spec., to 500HP and Standard shift as well. I can't say for sure but that kind of work must have been done by a place like Motion Baldwin Chevrolet because he worked in Minneola and they were in the area that he worked in. As a matter of fact, I remember that he once worked as an Engineer for U.O.P and Grumman and REF Dynamics plus ran in the Sperry Sport Clubs of America (S.S.C.C.O.A).

We bought a home on Long Island in East-North Port, two story on 3/4 Acre in a circle ( Culver sac ) for the sum of $25,000, try that today. Growing up in sports playing Football from second through sixth grade as Tight End on Defense and Halfback on Offense. I had a set of Balls on me back then as well, I made 3 Spectacular plays in the last year as I was small for my age and the boys were getting bigger and I lost to under weightiness so I became a Gymnast. I will explain on Offence I was out front blocking to the right when I took out 4 boys with a cross body block for our Fullback to make the touchdown. In those days we were allowed to take our feet off the ground to block, took 3 out with my body and the last one tripped over my legs.

My coach lifted me in the air and caught me on the way down. Next event, my father told me that one day you will intercept the ball on Defense if you always do a square in maneuver as a tight end on the left side. Well-being familiar with carrying the ball on Offence I was ready for It to happen, I just never new when. one winter Game that very thing happened, as I was in the square in rout the Quarter- back threw the ball rite to me as I was in motion in, of course he was looking past me at his half back, too late I caught and intercepted and ran without looking back and scored my only Touchdown in my life was on Defense. Third event, our team in sixth grade won the division and got to play against the league's best, the Black Jersey Farm team they were called, were dressed in White.

The first string played against their best and second team played there second team. I am playing on second team as I was small and the offense pitches to the right as I do my Square in this full back running sounds like a freight train coming and he is second string. So, am I, but I stood my ground and as he committed to go around me, I jumped at his 2 legs and wrapped my arms around them and closed my eyes and found myself rolling to what seemed to be too long? My coach lifted me in the air and threw me high in glee and caught me on the way down.

I started Gymnastics in fourth grade through 1- 1/2 years into college. AS I said, Football was not for me, so I went for a sport suited for my size. Most Gymnast are smaller. We are in fourth grade and this gym instructor is the coach of the High school seniors, so us kids would set up and breakdown the equipment because the Elementary school was brand new and had the latest equipment. The gym teacher would set up an obstacle course, as part of his gym class itinerary and we all competed to go through the obstacle course the fastest.

Those of us that could became the next Gymnastics group in Junior high then we would meet him again in High school. He basically groomed us early in life which is where you want to create a Gymnast. We work out six days a week for 3 hours per when we get to college. OfCourse in between Gymnastic seasons we would Wrestle or join Track and Soccer. We played Hocky the rest of the time. I was brought up at the local Dix-hill pool and became a swimmer and Diving went well with Gymnastics.

So, we move from the Island to south Florida and I win my High School and county and won a Gymnastics scholarship to Memphis State for pre-med, where I become the best Gymnast on that team in 1976-77. While at Broward County Florida I was photographed doing an "L"- on the parallel bars in the Miami Herald where I met the best in all sports that year and Larry Zonka and several other celebrities participated in the award ceremony.

Today I am building over a 10 year span this 1979 Pontiac Trans am with a 1976 front and rear clip. See my other Forum sites for more information if you wish.