['ol Pinion head]

Eastern in OKC north of I40 & the OK River was renamed Martin Luther King Blvd in the early '80's. Nearly a 5 mile stretch of it was a very crime intensive area, still not somewhere I'd want to cruising through at night. Quite a few locals call it Martin looter King. Before Remington Park horse track was built many homes were razed on the north end. Used to have a friend who had a small dirt floor shop & lot across from the race track. The city came down hard on the property owner & my friend was out.

[Mister Pontiac]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

If you don't have your ticket out of here, I recommend that you get yours soon.

They are available, free of charge. You can pick yours up at John 3:16 and Romans 10:9,10.

That's a big 10-4!

[ponyakr]

Uncle Si's new book "Si-cology 101" is hot off the press. Wal-Mart has piles of 'em. TJ bought one for a gift and one for us. She's been readin it aloud so we could share a laugh or two from it. There is a lot more to Uncle Si than what you see on DD. Although there is lots of humor in the book, it is also an autobiograpy. We think it's good reading, and recommend it with a big thumbs up!

Hey, you need to read this book, Jack!

[ponyakr]

Lots of guys are restoring old Pontiacs. Here's a 35 year old painting of the ole ponyakr and his Pontiac. TJ painted this in 1978. It's been hanging in my Mom's house for a long time. I recently brought it back to hang on the wall in our house. TJ cleaned it up some, then took this new pic of it. She said "Ya know, that ain't bad. Even if I do have to say so." I agree.

As you can see, this was back in my fat Elvis days. But hey, at least I was young then. It's special to us because it reminds us of several things. The 1st thing, of course, is that this was my 1st Pontiac, a '69 RA3, 4-spd, GTO, which has turned out to be the only new car I ever bought.

It also reminds us of the success and the fun we had racing our old Pontiacs. The year this was painted, was the best year of racing we had. We won 15 races that year, several of which were winner and R/U the same day. And it reminds me of how much fun it was, beating all those Chevys. Have I told ya'll lately how much I enjoyed beating those hi-dollar Chevys with arrogant drivers?

It reminds us of the shop I called the "Speed Barn", in which I spent so many enjoyable hours working on Pontiacs. It was only about 50 feet from our front door. And when we looked out that front door, we always saw lots of Pontiacs, some running, some not. It reminds me of another place they call "Pontiac Heaven". The last three pics show some of what we saw out our front door.

The name on the car, which I never got around to using, reminds me of how busy I stayed all week trying to make sure we'd be ready to race every weekend. It also reminds me, again, of how much I enjoyed beating a Chevy, whether it had a mouse motor or a rat motor!

And last, but certainly not least, the year it was painted, is the year TJ and I got married. So, you see, this painting is a reminder of just how truly blessed I've been!

[ponyakr]

As I recently looked back thru a paper sack full of old pics, I found some more to share.These 2 pics tell some things about where I came from. Of course, all you guys who've read my story, know that this is my old '69 GTO. But I'd like to point out a couple of other things from this pic.

1st, notice the slick RF tire. That's a tire I used on the car for the tow, to and from the drag strip in '73. You can't wear a modern radial tire that slick. The tread will seperate from the carcass. But the old bias tires could be worn down to the point where the cord is showing, and still be rolling. Maybe you've heard the term "that tire is so thin, the air is almost showing thru".

Next, notice the dent on the front of the PS fender. I got that one night when I was still in colege, working at the Pizza Inn. I had it backed in, right in front of the big picture window, beside the front door, where I could keep an eye on it, while I made Pizzas. Well, a nice lookin young co-ed from the nearby college, had brought a car load of her friends with her, for a night of pizza and beer.

And she parked right beside my goat. I suppose maybe she had a couple of beers too many. Cause when she backed out, she turned the wheel too quick and caught my RF fender, putting a nice little crease in it, as you can see. But, being the nice guy I am, I let her slide, not wanting to get her into any trouble. After that, I always parked around back.

About 2 years later, me and another guy from my home town were working on a construction job in Tyler, Texas. Well, this was still BC, so after work, we wanted to partake of some tasty beverages. But Tyler was dry at that time, so we had to drive about 20 miles or so to the closest wine shop.

But when I pulled up in front of the store, I suppose I was in too much of a hurry, cause I just barely ran into the pipe barrier they had out front, to keep people from running into the building. Now if the goat had a regular bumper, like most cars back then had, there would not have been any damage at all. But as ya'll know, the nose is all the bumper a '69 goat has. So the pipe caught the lower valance panel and pushed the turn sig/park lamp back some, as you can see in the pic.

Notice the tree beside the goat. It's a Magnolia. I don't know if they have these up north or not. This one is still goin strong. It's quite large now, and is a very good climbing tree. My niece and nephew climbed in it, and they both have kids that love to climb in it now.

Notice the D/S on the windshield. That was the class the RA3 motor ran in, back in '73-'74. For '75 I changed to std 350 hp motor specs, so I could run E/S, which had a higher index.

And the 2nd pic is of my all time favorite dog "Roscoe". As you can see he was part pit bull. And he wuz BAD, when he needed to be. He is shown here checkin out the strip(highway) right beside my shop. He not only patrolled the strip, but, unfortunately, brought all road kill, into the yard, including skunks. Yeah, he wuz a real stinker sometimes.

He went on every horse ride TJ made, and had to protect her from lots of dogs they encountered along the way. After their 1st confrontation with Roscoe, the next time him and TJ came by, they just stayed in their yards and barked. He and our other yard dogs were always glad to greet us when we got back from a race. They would line up in a semi circle and enjoy the treats we brought them. Their favorites were chicken bones and pizza.

[cuz68]

Are you all ok ? Long time no post.

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by cuz68

Are you all ok ? Long time no post.

Yep, we're OK. Thanks for asking ! I've pretty much told all my Pontiac story that has happened so far. I'm still workin on the '68 bracket Bird project. But it's goin slow because of finances(or lack thereof). And I still have the Safari woody for a long range project.

When I post, I'll probably do it on this thread. I finally got enuff of posting my opinions on a thread, and some of the Pontiac "experts" coming on immediately, saying how wrong what I had said was, and how outdated my ideas are. I reckin I'm just "old school". I'm the old 455, iron head, RA4 cam, Rhoads lifters, footbraker bracket racer, that all the "up to date, modern, alum head, roller cam guys", love to badmouth.

I heard a preacher say, if you bust an ole hog between the eyes, every time they come to the trough, eventually they'll quit comin to the trough. Well, I've been hit enuff to keep me away from the trough. Some say you gotta have a thick skin, on the internet. Well, I could stay and even be combative, like many on this site are. But that just ain't me. I like to "live and let live". I think everybody is entitled to their opinion, even if it is different from mine. Some seem to think this is one of those TV reality shows, where they fuss and argue all the time and try to backbite, and badmouth the others, so they'll get kicked off the island, or whatever. Well, you get the picture.

When A&E kicked Phil off of DD, I figured there would be a thread about it on PY. I was going to voice my opinion. I was disappointed to see that the thread had already been locked. That is the biggest thing that has happened in the Christian world in a long time. It draws a line, and demands that you choose whether you believe the Bible and its teachings, or you don't believe it has any relevance to us today. I started to go ahead and post my opinion on this thread, but I figured the whole thread would either be locked or completely removed, like my DD thread was before. So, I decided to just let it slide.

Anyhow, thanks again to you and all the guys who have given me help and words of encouragement ! And TJ and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone on the PY site a very merry Christmas and a blessed, prosperous, and happy happy happy new year !

[ponyakr]

How about the "Duck Commander 500" ? A NASCAR cup race in Texas April 6. I'll bet TJ never thought that the duck image she drew for the duck calls back in the '70's would ever get this much national exposure.

[Greg Reid]

Nice design work. She should be proud.

[cuz68]

That is very cool. Some folks you and i just have to look over them and go on.

[ponyakr]

As long as Clint's got DD on the car, he's my man !

[cuz68]

It is hard for me to find out when the new ones come on? I do see some reruns from time to time, Hope all is well. Randy

[ponyakr]

All is well Randy--THANKS !

As most of ya'll know, it was announced today that Joe Weatherly will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Joe won 2 championships and drove some of Bud Moore's Pontiacs back during the last few years of Pontiac's NASCAR glory days in the early '60's. He joins several other Pontiac heroes from those early days, in the Hall of Fame.

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com...-hall-of-fame/

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-r...-weatherly.htm

http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Joe_Weatherly.htm

[cuz68]

Thanks for the info, Is that a roll bar in the 4 th pic? It looks very large.

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by cuz68

Thanks for the info, Is that a roll bar in the 4 th pic? It looks very large.

Yeah, if it don't have a bunch of padding on it, that's some large tubing. But I don't see a lot of crossbracing like the modern cages have. So I reckin some big bars might be nice if you got one of these tanks upside down.

Also notice, there's no headrest. And Joe didn't wear a shoulder harness or belt, and didn't run a window net. Unfortunately those last two items cost him his life in '64.

[ponyakr]

While lookin up some Pontiac class racer info, I ran across this article from HPP. One of the racers mentioned in the article is Jack Mullins. He's the 1st big time Pontiac racer we ever saw race. I remember how weird it was, hearing the sound of the high winding 389 and Jack snatchin on the 4-speed, coming from this huge wagon.

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...ntiac_history/

TJ took this pic. I believe it was at a division 4 points race in Jackson, Miss, in '75.

[Greg Reid]

Good article. Thanks for posting.

[ponyakr]

As a follow up to the post about Jack Mullins, here is the link to a 30 minute + video of the '75 US Nats. This is the race in which Jack beat the Mopar Superstar Judy Lily in the SS final round. At the 18 minute mark, there is a brief clip and mention of this race. It is followed by the Stock final, in which a GTO was runner-up.

There are some really BIG names of the sport, in this video. Whether you are old and remember all these well, or young and never heard of most of 'em, I think you will enjoy this video. It's a real blast from the past !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ameKY5kFOaI

Judy Lily is one of the winningest female drivers ever. Mopar teamed up with her and made her a star of the sport. She won divisional championships and several national events. For those who may be interested I'll include a few pics.

[ponyakr]

Just found this pic on another thread. This car looks almost like my '69 did when it was new. The only differences I see are that mine had the RA hood/decals and a hood tach, and mine did not have the Rally 2 wheels. I ordered it with std wheels, then bought Keystone mags for it. They were popular back then. Don't know why, but I don't have a single pic of my car til after it was race only, in '73.

But I'll post pics of this car, my car, and a famous '70 GTO with Keystone mags.

[ponyakr]

I just can't help myself. I have just recently discovered this Early Bird Stocker, with a young female driver. And, I reckin that because of our history, with TJ driving the E/SA '68 Stocker, I feel almost compelled to share a little more info about the car and driver.

https://www.facebook.com/rlshipp

http://mohringracing.com/randi-lyn-s...hra-nationals/

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater