[north]

Boss, have you heard from Rick Wright? haven/t spoken to him in probably 20 years! I know John of Purely had health issues back then.


My Ventura wagon has an interesting story. I"m the second owner, the original owner was a pilot who had his own hanger which is where he kept the car.

He won the car on a Good Morning America type TV show in the fall of 1968. Actually he won a new 69 Firebird fully loaded with white wall tires and a radio! But they gave him the option to buy any new Pontiac and just pay the difference, over the $3,000 price of the bird. He took the Wagon instead which had a $5,000 sticker so it cost him $2,000.

He passed away in 2014 at 100 and his son is at a loss why he chose the wagon. He says he never used it as a regular car and never used it as a wagon. The mileage (20 something k) was all monthly Sunday two drives in the country to keep it in running order. In 2014 it still had its original tires.

Maybe he thought of it as his lucky rabbit's foot. He didn't seem to excited about winning a car as I have letters from the PMD zone office in Portland (Oregon) trying for a few months to get him to contact the dealer to collect his prize.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by north

Boss, have you heard from Rick Wright? haven/t spoken to him in probably 20 years! I know John of Purely had health issues back then.

I believe at this point they both have passed. Not long after they had finished the RA V Judge project John's son passed away and the heartbreak that went with that loss ended up killing the business.

Here is a copy of the title from when Rick owned it dated 1987 - almost 30 years now.

[FireJudge]

Purchased 1968 Convertible Firebird in January 1993. Bought it in Central IN. It was sold to me as a 400 4spd. I ran the numbers and it was a 400 4spd. I purchased it and then sent in for the PHS. It came back as a 350 3spd. Originally it was Verdoro Green but it is red now. Only paid 5K for it and it has been a great car.
Purchased 69 CR Judge in November of 2013 from NW IN. I took the Title to the BMV and ran into a problem. The guy I bought it from never titled it. He bought it without an engine. He had a correct block purchased from Butler Classics. He had the #48 heads from another project. The car had the original Tranny and rear end and is still wearing 60% of the original paint. Back to the BMV problem. The Maryland title had "Gift" in the selling price. Since the guy I bought it from never titles it and the bill of sale had this guys name on it their was a problem. After a few hours the BMV agreed to issue the Title with Exempt on the mileage. I am OK with that. I looked up the guys name on the Maryland Title and found a phone #. I called it and got lucky. I asked the guy why it had "Gifted" in the selling price. He told me his son was in a bind and needed to get a loan. He gifted the Title over to him for a loan but he was not suppose to take the car. This gentleman had 12-15 cars and did not notice it was gone before it was to late. He was able to tell me he purchased the car from a divorcing couple in South Carolina in 2003. That is all I know.

[importsmasher]

I have shared my 66 GTO convertible story several times on this site....short version...my parents bought it new, I wanted it when I was in kindergarten, bought it when I was 16, and still have it. I have the original window sticker, Protect-O-Plate, and pictures of the car the day they bought it.

My 73 Firebird Formula was inherited from my uncle. He traded a 73 Ventura (with a Buick 350 in it) straight across for it in the mid 80s (85-86). It was his daily driver through college. He was gathering parts to restore it when he passed in 1995.

I also had a 62 LeMans I picked up in 1997. It had sat in someone's back yard since 1970, because they thought the block was cracked (it was the aluminum 215 V8). The husband died in 97, and the wife was preparing to sell the house, so she had it pulled out to the front yard, which is when I saw it. I asked if it was for sale, and she said she was waiting for a junkyard to come get it. I offered to match the yard's offer of $100, and she accepted. I bought it planning to part it out, but decided to try getting it running (it had 74,000 miles on it). I cleaned the carb, changed the oil, and lubed the cylinders, and it fired right up, even on 27 year old gas (the smell had me choking in the garage after a few seconds). Then I added water to the radiator, and it started leaking from the side of the block. I thought, "ok, that's what they meant about the block being cracked." I climbed under, and it was leaking from two of the freeze plugs. I changed the freeze plugs and the problem was fixed! I replaced the radiator that had rotted out, and hit the road. I put 90,000 miles on that car before I sold it when we moved to Utah. My understanding is that it went to England. One of only a few cars that I miss.....

Importsmasher

[north]

Boss, sorry to hear they are gone. I recognize the address, I really liked those guys, remember their monthly booklets with the girls in the centerfold?

[Frank R]

I was the second owner of my 68. The original owner gave me all the original paperwork. I had the original sales contract, finance contract, vehicle inspection checklist, protecto plate and warrantee book and the owners manual with the salesman's card stapled to it. He also gave me a dyno tune slip from 1970, most of the old registrations, service receipts. I found the build sheet on top of the gas tank when I pulled the car apart.