[Chief of the 60's]

Especially when they are looking for parts.

That has not worked since I was a kid back in '71 trying to pull a fast one on my insurance company by telling them I had a Tempest so my rate would be cheaper.

[Big Mike]

In the "early days" it was a prestige thing. GTO was king. There are those out there that try to impress with saying they own one or owned one.

I recently met a guy who said he owned a BMW. It was a BMW from the early 1970s. Nothing like today's versions. I'd say that barely qualified that he owned one.

Now, people say that they own a GTO so they can ask incredible amounts of money for it. Sadly many are clones. Some are even "decal" GTOs. Blame it on the auction shows.

My race car is a basic LeMans with all the stuff to make it fast. I couldn't bring myself to cut up a real GTO.

Then there is the ignorant crowd. I still get asked what year Chevelle I race....

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

In the "early days" it was a prestige thing. GTO was king. There are those out there that try to impress with saying they own one or owned one.

I recently met a guy who said he owned a BMW. It was a BMW from the early 1970s. Nothing like today's versions. I'd say that barely qualified that he owned one.

Now, people say that they own a GTO so they can ask incredible amounts of money for it. Sadly many are clones. Some are even "decal" GTOs. Blame it on the auction shows.

My race car is a basic LeMans with all the stuff to make it fast. I couldn't bring myself to cut up a real GTO.

Then there is the ignorant crowd. I still get asked what year Chevelle I race....

Wow! Talk about hitting that nail on the head.

[FirebirdHank]

At least a couple times each summer I have someone tell me that they "used to have a GTO exactly like that" referring to my '69 Firebird.

[Chief of the 60's]

I was actually referring to a guy looking for a '69 or '70 Grand Prix part. But after a few questions I managed to pull out of him that he was actually looking for a '69 GTO part which was totally different than a fullsize part and definitely nothing from 1970 would fit.

But yes anything, and I mean anything you have, somebody else will say they had one exactly like it. But different.

[Bobalong]

GTO parked in my driveway when I lived in town.

Dude rolls up in a golf cart "Hey man is that a 70?"
My license plate said "70GTO" and he's right there, sitting in his cart, behind the car like a Pontiac genius.
Whatever . . . .
---------------------------------------------------

Bought parts from the local NAPA dealer. When ever I went in looking for parts
I'd say 70 GTO. He always thought GTO was a sticker package so he looked up LeMans
parts. Years later I explained it to him (242)
Guess he thought I was bragging or something. It was a Gaaahhleeee (Gomer voice ) moment for him
He retired several years ago.
-----------------------------------------------------

Same house, elderly man and his wife are taking a walk. Hood is up, he looks at the engine and said
"too bad it's not factory" I told him it was. He thought I was BS ing him. Gave me the eye roll. To this day it still looks
totally factory under the hood (OK, except I recently upgraded the AC compressor) He obviously
wasn't a car guy.
Whatever . . . .again.

[dhcarguy]

Jeeeze, I will have to remember not to talk to a fisherman or a boater

[kmeyer54]

Originally Posted by Bobalong

GTO parked in my driveway when I lived in town.

Dude rolls up in a golf cart "Hey man is that a 70?"
My license plate said "70GTO" and he's right there, sitting in his cart, behind the car like a Pontiac genius.
Whatever . . . .
---------------------------------------------------

Bought parts from the local NAPA dealer. When ever I went in looking for parts
I'd say 70 GTO. He always thought GTO was a sticker package so he looked up LeMans
parts. Years later I explained it to him (242)
Guess he thought I was bragging or something. It was a Gaaahhleeee (Gomer voice ) moment for him
He retired several years ago.
-----------------------------------------------------

Same house, elderly man and his wife are taking a walk. Hood is up, he looks at the engine and said
"too bad it's not factory" I told him it was. He thought I was BS ing him. Gave me the eye roll. To this day it still looks
totally factory under the hood (OK, except I recently upgraded the AC compressor) He obviously
wasn't a car guy.
Whatever . . . .again.

I always get a little chuckle out of model year questions about my Catalina since it has original 1970 Texas license plates that say 1970 on them. I suppose not everyone knows that you can only use plates for the model year of the car or the new classic plates in Texas, but I get a chuckle nonetheless.

[Simple Man]

It's the people who insist they owned a car that never existed that get me.
The one who says "I had a new 67 GTO, that came from the factory with a big block Chevy in it, we ordered it that way. Car was so fast, the cops made me sell it."

[Fullsize455]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

In the "early days" it was a prestige thing. GTO was king. There are those out there that try to impress with saying they own one or owned one.

I recently met a guy who said he owned a BMW. It was a BMW from the early 1970s. Nothing like today's versions. I'd say that barely qualified that he owned one.

Now, people say that they own a GTO so they can ask incredible amounts of money for it. Sadly many are clones. Some are even "decal" GTOs. Blame it on the auction shows.

My race car is a basic LeMans with all the stuff to make it fast. I couldn't bring myself to cut up a real GTO.

Then there is the ignorant crowd. I still get asked what year Chevelle I race....

Excellent summary. Worse still are the people who actually do own rare muscle cars and are letting them actively rot away, but love telling people at car shows and such about how they own some such super rare one of none car.

There was a guy that used to frequent some of the same swap meets I was going to, and he routinely loved telling people how he owned five '69 Pace Car convertible Camaros, including two big block cars. Turns out he did on fact own these cars, but they were all major basket cases literally rotting away outside, all but one small block car had no drivetrains, and most were barely even restorable. It was obvious he had no plans for them, no means to do anything productive with them, and no interest other than just bragging that he owned them. These guys are all over the place as well.

[Fullsize455]

Originally Posted by Simple Man

It's the people who insist they owned a car that never existed that get me.
The one who says "I had a new 67 GTO, that came from the factory with a big block Chevy in it, we ordered it that way. Car was so fast, the cops made me sell it."

And then there's the race stories from way back when. I met a guy once selling his '65 Tempest, with a 326/Powerglide with some headers, a big Holley carb and some manner of mild cam. He rabbled on and on and on about how he used to beat up on every big block Chevy in town, and it would bark the tires at 90mph when it shifted into second(it had a shift kit, after all), and he had the motor balanced so well that it would rev to 8500rpm. So outrageous that it was hard for us to contain our laughter, but we did so because it was a good deal and my buddy wanted to buy it. When he pulled the 326 for a 455 swap, we tore it down and it was all stock bottom end, absolutely nothing special, and the rod bearings had obvously taken a severe beating from detonation. But hey, we still get a kick out of recounting the stories he told and how he told them!

[mgarblik]

My favorite was my 66 2+2 convertible 421-HO 4-speed. Virtually every time I drove it 2 or 3 people would say they had one exactly like it, except , (it was a 4 door, it had a 389 2 bbl., it was an auto, it was a Bonneville, on and on). I generally just tried to be polite and say yea, they were great cars, you should have kept it.

[carbking]

There is another side to this coin.

There are now so many "internet experts" or even worse, "magazine experts" that know everything there is to know about everything.

I DID have a custom built 1963. No, it wasn't a Pontiac; but was another GM product. I used to talk about it, but was told too many times by the know-it-alls that it couldn't exist. Now, rather than share information about a really exceptional car, I simply say "yeah, it was a blue convertible with a white top, lots of fun." I sold it in 1966. Wish I still owned it, so I could sell it again at one of the big auctions.

But, yes, there are a lot of posers out there.

Jon.

[02Hawk]

Last weekend I was backing my Judge out of the garage after completing all my guy (joe jobs) projects. My neighbour was having a garage sale and a hipster trying to impress his lady loudly told me my car was the nicest Road Runner he had ever seen....I smiled and said thanks. Driving away, I could hear the neighbour's 18 year old kid correcting the guy.....

A couple of years ago I was sitting in the staging lanes in my 70 GTO, it was the final in Pro after already going 7 rounds. My opponent was a real good racer so I was getting my crap ready to run and was checking everything in the car. Got the wave to head for the burnout box and an old trucker I knew guided me into the box. I did the burnout and rolled up to poke the first bulb. As I was checking gauges before moving, the old trucker, grabbed the passenger door opened it and yelled " I got my first piece of tail in the back seat of a Goat". He slammed my door, I staged and had a 1.70 light and lost the race. While on the return road, he and a bunch of track rats were laughing like hell at me driving past. I now lock that door.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

I recently met a guy who said he owned a BMW. It was a BMW from the early 1970s. Nothing like today's versions. I'd say that barely qualified that he owned one.

For those of us who drive vintage BMWs, one from the 1970s is better than the new ones.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by Bobalong

Same house, elderly man and his wife are taking a walk. Hood is up, he looks at the engine and said
"too bad it's not factory" I told him it was. He thought I was BS ing him. Gave me the eye roll. To this day it still looks
totally factory under the hood (OK, except I recently upgraded the AC compressor) He obviously
wasn't a car guy.
Whatever . . . .again.

Comments like that always crack me up. I'll usually answer something like "gee - that's too bad. I was really hoping to impress some stranger who just walked by."

[Squidward]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

I was actually referring to a guy looking for a '69 or '70 Grand Prix part. But after a few questions I managed to pull out of him that he was actually looking for a '69 GTO part which was totally different than a fullsize part and definitely nothing from 1970 would fit.

But yes anything, and I mean anything you have, somebody else will say they had one exactly like it. But different.

I think part of his hesitation to reveal GTO ownership is that many people throw on a "designer premium" to the price of a used part. I've seen it happen MANY times. A 70's bullet mirror at a junkyard is a dime a dozen from tons of generic models, until you need one for your Trans Am. Then you get gouged.

When I run into one of those "used to own one" know-it-alls, I make the show all about them. I will ask questions about the car they "used to own" until their well runs dry and they clam up. Sometimes it's fun when you sense BS to see how committed they are to maintaining the lie.

[brut4s]

One day at work I was crushing thru craigslist in comes a inspector and looks at the car I was looking at he says that's a beautiful Camaro iI an had one just like it.... I was looking at a Firebird! Morons I tell ya!

[The Champ]

"Why do people still B.S. about owning a GTO?"

Well, some people did own a GTO. It's a great car and for those that did - it brings back fond memories of their younger years.

Sure, there are some BS stories out there. But that's just part of life.

Last night at a cruise in, I had a very nice 20 minute conversation with a guy that used to own a '65 GTO back in the late 60's. We had a great time discussing my GTO and other cars that we both currently own.

[ho428]

Originally Posted by 02Hawk

Last weekend I was backing my Judge out of the garage after completing all my guy (joe jobs) projects. My neighbour was having a garage sale and a hipster trying to impress his lady loudly told me my car was the nicest Road Runner he had ever seen....I smiled and said thanks. Driving away, I could hear the neighbour's 18 year old kid correcting the guy.....

.

In his defense it probably was the nicest Road Runner he'd ever seen.