[jwcfbd]

A couple of years ago I got the bug to buy a 67 or 68 Firebird. I looked for a few months and finally found one I had to see. I called the guy up and talked to him for almost an hour. I asked all kinds of questions and got the answers I was looking for. That weekend I got on a plane and flew from GA to WA to get my new car. When I finally got a chance to see it that is when the truth came out. Bondo all over the place (first question I asked). The rear 1/4 panel to the rocker was solid. After that it just went down hill. The car did run great but I just couldn't see past the Bondo. What a wasted day and trip this turned out to be. I work for Delta so at least the flight didn't cost me anything. When I started to check on return flights they were all booked. Great now I'm stuck. I went to the 7 11 to get a coke and decided to pick up the auto trader. That is when I saw it. 1967 Convertible Firebird. 400/4 speed. I had to see it. I called the guy and set up an appointment to see it the next day. I got up, drove over to the guys house just as he comes rolling in the driveway in the Bird. I was in love. We talked for a while and I looked over every inch of the car and couldn't see any signs of Bondo anywhere. We then took it out for a ride and sure it needed some work but I had to have it. Knowing that I was going to drive it all the way back to GA I asked him if he would be willing to drive it that far. The look of panic on his face was priceless and I started to laugh. I told him of my plans to drive it home and that I just wanted to see if it would make it. "Oh sure no problem at all it runs like a top." I paid the man and took the car to Walmart. I had a new battery installed (it cranked a little slow) and got the oil changed. I was off. Now the real fun begins. I drove long into the night and once I finally started to look for a place to rest of the night everything was booked. So I put the top up and tried to sleep at the rest area. Firebirds are not very good cars to try to sleep in. After a few hours I was back on the road. Now I had about 10 hours of driving behind me and all looked good. I stopped for gas and when I went to leave the car wouldn't start. Even with the new battery the car still cranked slow so I figured that the starter took a dump. I broke out the tools(yes I brought a tool box with me ) I got under the car and hit the starter a few times and nothing. I tried to jump the starter post and it worked. So I was off once again. Now every time I need gas I had to leave it running or it was back under I go. After countless hours on the road I was getting close to Denver, CO. My grandparents live there and my Dad was in town also. All of a sudden I hear this strange noise. It was here and gone in a flash so I didn't know what it was. I keep driving with the radio off and nothing. A little further down the road there it was again. Now I'm getting concerned. I pulled over, looked the car over good and saw nothing. Back on the road this happened a few more times and just as I hit downtown Denver it went soft in the backend and started making bad sounds. I pulled over again, looked it over one more time and still found nothing wrong. I was only about ten miles for my grandparents house and decided to try to make it. As soon as I started to roll the rear end felt like it dropped and started to wiggle. I last a rear axle bearing. Called Dad, the tow truck and finally made it to the house. The next morning we started working on the car. After may trips to different auto parts stores we got all the parts needed to fix it. We got the bearings replaced and got the rear end all closed up. Next we started on the starter problem. Once removed I found the mounting flange on the starter cracked almost all the way through. I put the new starter on and tried to start it but nothing happened. At that point my Dad started in asking if there was a neutral safety switch on the car. "No, there is not it a 67 they didn't what stuff like that back then" famous last words. After a few hours of trouble shooting and tracing wires I was getting mad. Dad again asked about the safety switch. So now I'm just laying on my back under the dash and that is when I saw it. This little black box on the bottom of the steering column with wires sticking out of it. Oh no it can't be. I pulled the wires and connect them and had dad hit the key. Yep, it started. The car was converted from an auto to a stick but the guy never swapped out the column. 15 hours prior I was annoyed by the gear pointer on the column being off center so I moved it. This made the car think it was in gear so the switch was doing it's job. I saw red and my Dad just started rubbing it in. So now the car was back up and running again. Back on the road again and on to TX where my sister lives. I made that leg of the trip without any problems. Then after a few days it was the last leg home and I made it.

Sure I had a few problems but when I look back I drove (at the time) a 35 year old car that I had no idea what kind of history it had across the country. It took me a few more days then I planed and cost me big in the father / son humility department. It took me around 35-40 hours and about 3000 miles to get her home but it was worth it. I have had the car for almost three years now and love it. I will always remember the trip home with it and all the looks, thumbs up, honks and people that came up to me whenever I stopped just to say nice car. It was a once in a life time experience that I don't plan on repeating. Once was enough for me.