Just a final update... Ken's GSX, while it looked incredible, it has running issues. It would not pull over 3000 RPM. It would free-rev, but under load it would sputter HARD. So bad, in fact, that Nick blew both mufflers off the car! Nick replaced the carb, distributor, coil and fuel pump. Checked everything a hundred times, and still it wouldn't rev. We booked time on a chassis dyno and by systematic elimination we found that the coil ignition wire had 10,000 ohms resistance! It should have less than 1000. Ken had purchased a set of date-coded OEM plug wires, and apparantly the coil wire was bad. All fixed, it ran great and Ken finally loaded it into it's special enclosed trailer and took it home. Safely tucked away in the garage. The next day, last Saturday, Ken took it to his mom's for the first time in 7 years. He was very emotional. His mom came out, saw it and cried. His sister come over, saw it and cried. They all thought about their dad and how much that car meant to the family over the years. Remember, it was their daily transportation; they took it on vacation and to the store. Last night (Friday), Ken took it to it's first cruise night and he said the reaction ranged from dumbfounded and disbelief to sheer exuberance. Just pulling it into the lot he said every head turned to look and people all over the place were pointing it out to their friends as he bumped into the lot. He said there was a mob around the car all night until he left. Way to go Ken, Nick and Kenny Gold (Nick's bodyman)!
Truly. I told Yards it was one thing driving it down in PA, but a whole other thing cruising my "brand new" car on roads that I did when I was a teen. I didn't expect to have an emotional "event" when I pulled into my parents driveway, but it just happened. The last time I pulled in there my dad was still with us but very sick and even though it looked like crap, ran like crap and smelled like mouse crap, he went for a ride with me and talked with a big grin about all the things he wanted to do with me and the car when it was done. Unfortunately, that won't come to pass as he's up in Heaven now. When we got my mom in the car the first thing we did was go to the cemetery to "show dad". It may sound macabre, but it was a sunny day and he would have gotten a real kick out of it. She's no gear head and is hard pressed to exceed 30 mph, but she really loved seeing that old car restored to new. My dad bought the car when it was, I think, 8 or 9 months old from an aquaintance. It just so happens that person, now in his 80's, will be in my home town next week and if the weather is nice we're going for a ride. That's one of the items my dad had on his list to do, so even though he won't be there in the flesh, he'll join us in spirit. I plan to take several pictures with the original owner. (As an aside, even though it was registered in this gentleman's name, it was his daughter that he bought the car for. I think she lives on the West coast.) I also have an affidavit I drew up that identifies the original GSX options that he's agreed to sign. I don't have a build sheet and the resto removed all originality, but I do have the documentation with his name on it from the dealer (remember, in '71 it was a GS 455, no GSX designation.) This man came close to passing last Christmas, so I hope to take this opportunity to get his notarized signature. It's as close as I'll get to a build sheet I guess. And yes the cruise was very fun last night. Thanks to Bob Christo for saving me a spot. If I had a nickel for everytime I heard "that's a cool color; is that factory?" I'd have a few bucks in my pocket. I admit it was nerve racking to me to have people I didn't know constantly around the car. Two best lines were "It's nice to see something different from a Chevelle" and a second exuberant guy who walked up to me and said, "I got a total Woody when I saw you pull in!". He turned red and quickly corrected with, "Um, of course, I mean your car, not you...." It certainly is nice to have it home and I couldn't be prouder of the work that Nick did. In fact, as I write this the weather is pretty decent. Think I'll grab the keys....
Wow, thanks Brian! I had originally planned to do as much of the resto as possible. Number 1, it would still be sitting in pieces. Number 2, no matter what I would have done it would not be as nice as what Nick did- not even close.
Fixed o No: Ken, after being there when you first brought your X out of hybernation and again being there the day we ripped the motor and tranny out - thus officially starting the resto - and also meeting your Dad while doing that job and talking with him about when he purchased it ... then following along from when you ripped the body off the frame ... transported it all to Nick (a decision you will never regret) ... to Yardleys 2010 BPG Picnic where it was officially unvieled for all to drool upon (a bit disappointed you didn't try and out-do the WildCat burnout though) ... to reading about your family trip in your brand new X to show Dad what you accomplished (reading that last post truely brought a tear to my eye) I have to say ... ... Yardley is and always will be a JackAss !! :moonu: :bla: :beers2:
Ken, perhaps you've got it backwards? Nbr 2 usually takes longer than number 1. :laugh: Mine is like a 1 1/2. I've had help getting it into pieces! :laugh: Option 2 is the way to go unless you've got a boat load of time on your hands. Especially with that sort of craftsmanship. I fell in love with the Twilight '69 convertible he had. Does he still have it? BTW. My favorite picture in the photo bucket was the image from 1981 taken in the park. Really good stuff
A very cool thing happened today. My dad bought the GSX in '71 when it was only months old. As I cannot find the build sheet (which I think is somewhere in my Mom's house), I have been trying to track down the original owner to get an affidavit signed (I have original sale documentation and protect-o-plate). He was an aquaintance of my parents, moved away, and after trying for about six months I got an email from his son saying his dad was visiting this week and accidently left the affidavit at his house (he was planning to give it to another aquaintance of my parents to get to me). Yay! Now here comes the cool part.... The son tells me where he lives and it's literally LESS than a five minute walk from my house! Talk about small world! Anyway, we chatted and he told me he was 12 when the car was bought and sold and that for the few months they had the car he had his eyes on driving it in the future. Those ideas were dashed as his sister, whom the car was bought for, did not like it! She then got a Porsche 911. I had always heard that it was bought while she waiting for her Porsche to arrive from Germany, but that history has been corrected. Anyway, he took a bunch of pictures to torture his older sister with talk about rarity and value and then we went for a ride. I mentioned that he probably remembered riding it when he was a kid. He told me he never rode in it- it wasn't around that long in his family! He's a cool guy and two weeks ago as I was bringing the GSX home he was talking ownership of a brand new Camaro SS. He rolled it out and we talked cars old and new until my kids got bored. Anyway, here's a picture I had my daughter take with him and an "FBI" version of the affidavit I now have in a safe. It's might be as close as I'll get to a build sheet if I never find the one at my mom's house. It was a cool father's day! And I think my dad was pulling some strings up in heaven.
Wow, Ken.....amazing car, amazing restoration, and amazing story! I have apparently been living under a rock the past year or so, as I just found this thread today and read every single post. Nick and crew did an incredible job on your X! And Yards...you are the MAN. And one he!!uva friend. Not sure who believes here or not, but I do, and God broke the mold when he made you. And I mean that in absolutely the best jackass way I can! Ken, your dad is smiling up there for sure! I'm sure that more than a few of us ruff, gruff, ol' car guys had tears in their eyes when reading your story. Congratulations on your "new" X! Your have inspired me to somehow, someway get my '70 GS convert finished. I have had it since'82 and I took it apart a few years ago for a complete frame off resto. Of course, that's how it still sits:spank: Thank you for the inspiration, and for sharing your story with us all!:TU:
Congratulations to Ken (and Nick from Gran Sport Garage) for scoring concours GOLD at the 2010 BPG Nationals. :kodak: :beer :beer :beer
Nick won GOLD on BOTH cars he had entered in concours class at the Nationals. And if he had entered the 69 he bought he'd have had a trifecta. Nick's (and Kenny who is Nick's main body guru) work is impeccable.
