I posted a thread a while back about how I was on the net and found a picture on the Winged Warrior site from when the Superbird club had a meet at Talledega Speedway and I thought that I was in the picture.
IT WAS ME!!!
I emailed the contact for the site asking if I could get any better pictures so I could zoom in and see for sure. She replied and stated that she would look and get back with me. I remember her name from long ago also.
She emailed me back the other day with some more pictures. I zoomed in on one of them and I know for sure that it is me and "the gang" that went to the meet. "The gang" included; my cousin Pete, me, dad, my brother, and our friend Jerry (who later became our brother-in-law after my bro finally married his sister). So now I can say that everyone in the picture is part of our family.
The picture that is posted on the site shows me going into the trunk of our car. I blocked the back window and the license plate, but you can tell it looks like me and is wearing a white t-shirt with black shorts (go ahead and yuk it up from those 80's shorts).
In one of the four pictures that she sent me, I zoomed in and can see an orange Superbird with white lettering on the back window, but can't see the license plate good enough to tell. My dad used to write things on the windows with white shoe polish. I went into my back garage yesterday to look and the writing is still on the back window of the Superbird! It says, "Capt's Car". Captain was our dog at the time and dad didn't think that he should bring him on the trip (they may not have allowed pets at the hotel). So dad wrote his name on the back window since he could not be there with us.
Captain was a great dog. He was a Dalmatian mixed with an English Setter. We got him from a local shelter named Paws when he was about 1 year old. He had a big black spot/patch around his right eye, similar to Petey from the Little Rascals. Dad and I trained him together to break his running streak when we first got him. He was then able to go without a leash, as he would obey us if we called him. We used to bring him to car shows with us, he loved to ride in cars. My dad built a special platform for him out of wood and carpet so he could look out the front window of our conversion van when we first got him, and he loved to ride on it and look out the front window while we were driving.
We first bought the Superbird back in 1981 from the original owner. He bought it brand new in 1971 (it was a "lot rat") and drove it until 1976. Then put it away for a while. He then licensed it again in 1979 and drove it to the Indy 500 race. Then drove it once in a while until we bought it in 81 with a little over 20,000 original miles.
While driving it home after buying it, we talked about not letting Captain in the car as it was in such good condition and his fur would get caught in the loops of the carpet and was hard to get out, even with a shop vac. Captain started acting funny for two weeks and we couldn't figure out why. Finally dad suggested that his nose was "out of joint" because he didn't get a ride in our "new car". So we got him in the Superbird and took him for a short ride, and he was back to his old self after that. He thought that we were mad at him because we didn't give him a ride in the car.
We brought Captain to all of the car shows with us, including Mopar Nationals. Many people liked him. He was friendly and would not bite, and could go off the leash. If he wandered too far, we would just call his name and he would come back to us. He loved meeting all of the people at the car shows and they got to know him and would look for him with us. Dad's favorite Direct Connection girl, Linda, really liked him, but that is another story.
So dad didn't bring Captain to Talledega because it was such a long trip. So dad wrote his name on the back window, so he could be there in spirit.
Here's a group picture of all of us in front of the Superbird on Talledega Speedway, waiting for the parade lap to start:
View attachment Sprbrd Tall A01 C2.jpg
Here is the same picture pointing to me in the white shirt and black shorts. From left to right is: Jerry (in-law), my brother, dad, me, cousin Pete. Look at Pete's goofy boxer shorts:
View attachment Sprbrd Tall A01 C2 me2.jpg
Here's the photo that is posted on the web site:
View attachment wwnboagroupphotos2.jpg
Here it is with me highlighted going into the trunk:
View attachment wwnboagroupphotos2 b.jpg
Here is the same picture that is bigger, that she sent me yesterday:
View attachment TRACK 02.jpg
Here it is pointing to our car:
View attachment TRACK 02 B.jpg
Here's another picture that when I zoom in can see the writing on the back window:
View attachment TRACK 03 B.jpg
Here is a picture of the back window that I took yesterday showing the "Capt's Car" that dad wrote on the back window.
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 RR Wndo A02 B.jpg
Here is a partial side view of it sitting in the back garage today:
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Rt Side A01 B.jpg
Here is a picture of the speedometer yesterday showing the original mileage as it sits:
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Speedo A04 B.jpg
We had parked the Superbird for a few years after getting burned out going to so many car shows. It sat for around 5 years before the Talledega meet. That meet was the last time that the Superbird was out since. So that was the only time that the car was out for at least 25 years!
IT WAS ME!!!
I emailed the contact for the site asking if I could get any better pictures so I could zoom in and see for sure. She replied and stated that she would look and get back with me. I remember her name from long ago also.
She emailed me back the other day with some more pictures. I zoomed in on one of them and I know for sure that it is me and "the gang" that went to the meet. "The gang" included; my cousin Pete, me, dad, my brother, and our friend Jerry (who later became our brother-in-law after my bro finally married his sister). So now I can say that everyone in the picture is part of our family.
The picture that is posted on the site shows me going into the trunk of our car. I blocked the back window and the license plate, but you can tell it looks like me and is wearing a white t-shirt with black shorts (go ahead and yuk it up from those 80's shorts).
In one of the four pictures that she sent me, I zoomed in and can see an orange Superbird with white lettering on the back window, but can't see the license plate good enough to tell. My dad used to write things on the windows with white shoe polish. I went into my back garage yesterday to look and the writing is still on the back window of the Superbird! It says, "Capt's Car". Captain was our dog at the time and dad didn't think that he should bring him on the trip (they may not have allowed pets at the hotel). So dad wrote his name on the back window since he could not be there with us.
Captain was a great dog. He was a Dalmatian mixed with an English Setter. We got him from a local shelter named Paws when he was about 1 year old. He had a big black spot/patch around his right eye, similar to Petey from the Little Rascals. Dad and I trained him together to break his running streak when we first got him. He was then able to go without a leash, as he would obey us if we called him. We used to bring him to car shows with us, he loved to ride in cars. My dad built a special platform for him out of wood and carpet so he could look out the front window of our conversion van when we first got him, and he loved to ride on it and look out the front window while we were driving.
We first bought the Superbird back in 1981 from the original owner. He bought it brand new in 1971 (it was a "lot rat") and drove it until 1976. Then put it away for a while. He then licensed it again in 1979 and drove it to the Indy 500 race. Then drove it once in a while until we bought it in 81 with a little over 20,000 original miles.
While driving it home after buying it, we talked about not letting Captain in the car as it was in such good condition and his fur would get caught in the loops of the carpet and was hard to get out, even with a shop vac. Captain started acting funny for two weeks and we couldn't figure out why. Finally dad suggested that his nose was "out of joint" because he didn't get a ride in our "new car". So we got him in the Superbird and took him for a short ride, and he was back to his old self after that. He thought that we were mad at him because we didn't give him a ride in the car.
We brought Captain to all of the car shows with us, including Mopar Nationals. Many people liked him. He was friendly and would not bite, and could go off the leash. If he wandered too far, we would just call his name and he would come back to us. He loved meeting all of the people at the car shows and they got to know him and would look for him with us. Dad's favorite Direct Connection girl, Linda, really liked him, but that is another story.
So dad didn't bring Captain to Talledega because it was such a long trip. So dad wrote his name on the back window, so he could be there in spirit.
Here's a group picture of all of us in front of the Superbird on Talledega Speedway, waiting for the parade lap to start:
View attachment Sprbrd Tall A01 C2.jpg
Here is the same picture pointing to me in the white shirt and black shorts. From left to right is: Jerry (in-law), my brother, dad, me, cousin Pete. Look at Pete's goofy boxer shorts:
View attachment Sprbrd Tall A01 C2 me2.jpg
Here's the photo that is posted on the web site:
View attachment wwnboagroupphotos2.jpg
Here it is with me highlighted going into the trunk:
View attachment wwnboagroupphotos2 b.jpg
Here is the same picture that is bigger, that she sent me yesterday:
View attachment TRACK 02.jpg
Here it is pointing to our car:
View attachment TRACK 02 B.jpg
Here's another picture that when I zoom in can see the writing on the back window:
View attachment TRACK 03 B.jpg
Here is a picture of the back window that I took yesterday showing the "Capt's Car" that dad wrote on the back window.
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 RR Wndo A02 B.jpg
Here is a partial side view of it sitting in the back garage today:
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Rt Side A01 B.jpg
Here is a picture of the speedometer yesterday showing the original mileage as it sits:
View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Speedo A04 B.jpg
We had parked the Superbird for a few years after getting burned out going to so many car shows. It sat for around 5 years before the Talledega meet. That meet was the last time that the Superbird was out since. So that was the only time that the car was out for at least 25 years!
