I got a Craigslist alert on "455" this morning and after I clicked on it,the car I clicked on was a dead ringer for Tran Am that a man back in early 1980's offered to trade me for my first car (1972 GS-350 with a professionally BUILT 70 High Compression 350). His wife had seen my immaculate Sunburst yellow w/ black top & black bucket interior GS and told me she loved it. Her husband called me a couple days later and asked me to meet him for a possible even trade for their blue Trans Am with white stripe. He said guys were always pestering her to race with the spoilers,stripes and shaker hood. I might have seriously considered it but when I drove up to see him at the mall he quickly said he saw why she liked my car, but in order to do the swap I had to take out the radical cam I had in it before he'd trade because guys would still want to race when they heard my car thumping hard. It was my first offer and I knew even then our cars were underdogs and this mint Trans Am was going to be worth more than my "lil GS-350"so I decided not to crack open my brand new rebuilt engine on a car I loved since my brother bought the GS new(brother is 15 years older than me) and kept my baby, plus I was probably too broke to switch the car back to a tamer version anyway.https://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/6794900021.html Then came the HUGE potential score for me. My buddies and I were hanging out at the store we went to every day after school when a man in his early 50's walked up to us and straight to my car stuck out his hand and asked me "Are you John Fritz?" "Yes Sir, I am". He then said "Look I am gonna cut through the formalities.You see the Chevelle over there?" I said "Yes,that is Ami's car from school" of course he said "Well technically it is mine but I bought it for her thinking there was no way she wouldn't like a red & white convertible but INSTEAD all I hear about is your yellow Buick GS!" I could tell he was not a happy camper since his little girl didn't like her birthday present. To save face or interference from my buddies, he asked me to come over to the Chevelle he had parked away from my buddies and me so he could talk to me with some privacy. He asked me if I knew what the car was, I responded "70 Big block 454,automatic,convertible Chevelle" . It had one factory exhaust tip still on and the other side had a stupid looking cheap chrome turndown tip,the paint job even in 81 was a 20 footer since it appeared in a movie that called for a red Chevelle & they obviously didn't invest much in the paint job to convert it from the factory color. He explained to me that even though my car was in much better cosmetic condition that his was much more valuable. I knew he was right before he said it but I can still hear him "So this is the deal John,you have done a very nice job on your GS and more importantly my daughter loves your car that granted will need some restoration so I am giving you a once in a lifetime chance to do an EVEN swap for your small block,hardtop Buick for my 454-365HP convertible SS" he then added "It's your car obviously John but I can predict without hesitation that one day this Chevelle is going to be worth a LOT more money and that you will be kicking yourself the rest of your life if you don't take the deal" I thought of the tons of chevelles and other main stream cars I saw everyday (early 80's) looked across the parking lot at my fully restored beautiful GS gleaming and calculated what it would take to bring the SS-454 up to the same level. I conceded that he was correct on his Chevelle being much more popular to the masses and without a doubt would only become more valuable but I didn't like being like everyone else and didn't want to restore another car after the sacrifices I made and worked so hard to cross the finish line on with my GS. (Not actual car below but same color combo) He left with a "Thanks but no thanks" in his 454 convertible & weeks later Ami (the mans daughter) started dating one of my best friends and anytime we all were together she would park the Chevelle so we could ride any distance in the GS and boy was she pretty : ) So what is your story?
I was offered $10,000 over the sticker price for my 1987 Turbo Limited at a Turbo Regal only car show back in 1989. Should I have taken it? I mean, it is NOT a Grand National; in fact it is probably the ultimate sleeper with the Limited trim package, chrome bumpers trim and plush seats, and (of course) the landau roof. (ZZZ XXX ZZZ) And I am SURE that the guy had the money, as I recognized him from the ads for his company...He had a very similar car, so I wonder why he wanted ANOTHER?
I was at 75-80 Dragway in the mid 80s with my 4sp 71 X and a guy drove up in a flawless 69 RS/SS 396 4spd Camaro....same silver as my car. He said he lived up the hill from the track and had a telescope aimed at the track and saw my car and drove his down to talk about a trade. I passed on it.......
Basket Ball Sam's mom June offered me her Original 1970 BB automatic SS El-Camino plus a lot of cash for my X-Camino when it was first built. The car was not worth anything like what they were offering. I could not do the swap, because my dad was so proud of what I and my friends built from a pile of parts. I was also offered a ton of money for my 71 Blue GSX before it was even completed. The deal was they would fund the finish of the restoration, and then I would hand the car over to them and get a pile of cash. My answer was not very nice. I told them if they wanted a car like mine they could track it for like 10 years, then buy the car, then spend another few years gathering parts, then go thru the restoration process, and then they could have one. Needless to say, they were not interested in that. Duane
