That was us/me! Updated!

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pettybludart said:
Kool story Karl,surprised I haven,t seen the car posted here before:glasses7:
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I think its awesome it has been kept quiet and tucked away......I knew about it from awhile back while talking to Karl in the old "deleted thread" and seen pics he posted there, as well as other cool cars Karl has.

To hang onto a Bird like this and not tell the whole interweb about it is a challenge for sure (If it were mine I would tell all lol), but Karl is not one to brag about his cars in that way....it serves as a great tribute to his dad. If you do get it running and drive it Karl, would you wash it? I imagine that shoe polish might come off...looks like it said something like "Winged Warriors" on the pass side glass at one time as well.....I am drooling...nothing cooler than mega rare Mopars in this "untouched" condition.
 
I can see it now Karl..."Add your own caption" lol...looks like a tough batch of Mopar dudes posing by the bird......:glasses7: :prayer: :D :happy1: :burnout:
 
I was at Fontana ,99,2000? Anyway ,the best driver that day ,Darrell Waltrip,holding of Gordon the last ten laps. Martin won. The whole point of the post: I love these old NASCAR stocks. I saw the old 63 Smokey Yunick/ Fireball Roberts car on parade. Some blonde bimbo, fired it up. Ugh! Wya a letdown. It didn't even hit ,on all 8 (compression?,NOPE.). Sad.
 
fishy68 said:
Cool story Karl... I'm surprised Pete got away wearing shorts like that back then. Them were the days you could get beat up for wearing stuff like that, LOL
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That was right before the boxer shorts "trend" started. It soon caught on... :banghead:


I was just happy that we didn't see "his junk"... :sad1:
 
pettybludart said:
Kool story Karl,surprised I haven,t seen the car posted here before:glasses7:
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I've only posted it once or twice.

As Keith said in the post below yours. I did post a couple of pictures of it in the old "deleted" thread before the thread got "deleted".

It has a few minor issues that I have to get worked out before I would be comfortable bringing it out. It has a few nicks and dings from getting accidentally bumped while working on other projects near it over the years.

The original owner owned a Maaco paint shop. He had repainted it before we got it. They did a horse **** job. It had a couple of drips in the paint on the engine compartment and they sprayed over the windshield washer bottle! WTF? You "would think" that they would have taken more care of a car like this when repainting it,especially since it was the owner's car. It only takes a few screws and a rubber hose to remove, how lazy can you be?

We had it repainted back in 81 when we first got it. The body shop that we used did a much better job than the original owner did. However it has gotten a few nicks and dings over the years that I would like to get touched up, nothing that a good old body man can't fix with a hammer and dolly.

The Roadrunner decals for the wing don't match. Somehow the place we ordered them from gave us two different ones. The body man didn't notice when he installed them. The driver's side decal has white lettering around the roadrunner, and the passenger side has black letters. :oops: They should both have white letters. It is easily fixed, but has never been done.

I'm a perfectionist. I don't like things that are not done properly. I want it done right. My brother used to tell me that a few of the body shops would not do work for me because I was too picky. I just want it done right, and it bothers me if I know that it isn't. And if they don't want to take that kind of care when working on my car, I don't want them touching it anyway. What's wrong with trying to achieve perfection? If you don't have high standards, then how do you get a good result? That's why I do all of my mechanical work myself. I don't take short cuts, I do it right or wait until I can get it right. My philosophy is to do it right the first time, so I don't have to redo it later. I hold myself to high standards and quality, and expect the same out of others that work on my cars. Half assed sounds close to "Half fast", and they can almost be the same when taking shortcuts mechanically...

I will get it fixed up in time. I will take the time to do it right. I have a few other projects that I'm working on first. Then when it is all done and worthy, I will bring it out and show it off to others. I don't feel comfortable showing it right now with a few flaws. It isn't going anywhere and will sit in the garage until it's turn comes along.

I also worry that if I do take it out, it may get in an accident and don't want to loose it. It is very rare to see one of these with this low of original miles. It is an unrestored 22,000 original mile Superbird and would be difficult to find another one with low miles. If you do, it won't be cheap. To me it is irreplaceable. That's why I chose to get this one when dad died.

I passed up a 69 Roadrunner convertible (originally a 383 4 speed car) that now has a 426 Hemi 4 speed with a Dana 3.54 axle, and was originally a Kentucky car with a very solid body. It was a very tough decision, my oldest son told me to take the Superbird. My brother tends to get tired of cars after a while and then will get rid of them to get another one. I won't get rid of this because is was dad's and I value it as much as he did and want to keep it in honor of his memory. My brother was good enough to let me pick between the two. But is there really a "looser" in this, I don't look at it that way. I think that either car is awesome and we each got something nice to remember dad by. I chose the Superbird because it is low miles and dad's favorite, and plan to keep it in the family and pass it down to my boys, like dad did with us.

View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Lt Wing A01 B.jpg

View attachment Sprbrd 031314 Rt Wing A01 B.jpg
 
Very good story

You just never know what is in some garages.

Who would think a car would sit for 25 years covered up

BE CAREFUL when trying to get it running right. A friend has a 440 6 pak bird and when taking it to a local cruise in it caught fire. Very minor damage but could have been fatal. His is also a low mile but don't think that low.

So do you happen to know Dave Jones? He owned so many wing cars posted a picture of his yellow SB pulling his 73 Tahiti 455 jet boat back in the day. Had couple of Hemi daytona but seems to know where most wing cars are.

He was probably at Taladaga when those pictures were taken. Think he would have had his red 69 Hemi Daytona
 

meathead66 said:
Me too, ever run into the guy (can't remember his name) with the red Daytona around these parts? He lives in our area.
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No haven't met him, but I've seen his car. It was on the Harlem show last summer.

I still haven't bumped into you yet either. We should meet sometime.
 
WildCat said:
Very good story

You just never know what is in some garages.

Who would think a car would sit for 25 years covered up

BE CAREFUL when trying to get it running right. A friend has a 440 6 pak bird and when taking it to a local cruise in it caught fire. Very minor damage but could have been fatal. His is also a low mile but don't think that low.

So do you happen to know Dave Jones? He owned so many wing cars posted a picture of his yellow SB pulling his 73 Tahiti 455 jet boat back in the day. Had couple of Hemi daytona but seems to know where most wing cars are.

He was probably at Taladaga when those pictures were taken. Think he would have had his red 69 Hemi Daytona
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No, I don't know Dave Jones. (wasn't he one of the monkeys?).

No, I haven't met him. If he was at the meet, I may have seen his car or bumped into him. There were a couple of red Daytonas there. We were close to one on the track, on our right, but I can't remember if we met him or what engine was in the car next to ours.
 
This is a REALLY cool story, Karl. It's too bad Fabo never got a ride in Capt's Car. I do have a question, though. If this was a show for wing cars, why is there what looks to be a 68 Torino GT at the back of the cars in this picture? I've pointed it out. If I'm wrong, let me know but that's what it looks like.
 

Attachments

That would have been either a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II or a Ford Talledega. They were also NASCAR special editions and were in the clubs. If I remember correctly, there were two clubs participating in this event, the Daytona/Superbird Auto Club, and the Winged Warriors. I believe that after a while, they "expanded" one or both of the clubs to allow the Fords in because they were also NASCAR special editions. (The winged cars were more popular in the clubs).

The lady who sent me the pictures and her husband had a blue Superbee that was at the back of "the pack". They had two Superbirds, but were both in the shop getting work done at the time, so they brought their Superbee. I don't think that the club was going to not let you go on the track. as long as you were a member and had a "worthy" old car of that vintage. I think that we did actually meet that lady and her husband. Their "Bee" was at the back of the pack, about 7 cars behind us. We were talking with them at the track as we were lined up waiting for the parade lap to start.

If it wasn't for the Talledegas and Cyclones, the Superbirds and Daytonas would not have been made. Chrysler thought that the 68 Charger/Roadrunner was going to be better, but Ford did their homework and the Talledegas and Cyclones were more aerodynamic and faster than the Charger/Roadrunners. Then Chrysler had to "step it up a notch" and then designed the Charger 500, which could only reach 195 MPH. They weren't happy with that, as the goal was to break 200 MPH. It would have taken 17 more horsepower for every 1 MPH increase to get it to 200 MPH, so they started looking at aerodynamics. So then they added the nose and the wing. I have seen a drawing of a Daytona that had two vertical "bars" between the vertical wings that was one of the proposals to the executive managers. They said, "If it will break 200 MPH, build it, I don't care what it looks like."

The Daytonas came out in '69. Richard Petty tried to get one from Chrysler and was refused. They told him that he was a "Plymouth Man" and could not have a Dodge. Richard Petty then went to Ford and raced a Talledega in '69 for about 6 months until the Superbird came out for 1970, because the Plymouth could not compete against the Daytonas, Talledegas, and Cyclones. That put the pressure back on Chrysler to finish the Superbirds to get Petty back in a Plymouth.

The first time that the Daytonas raced NASCAR was at Talledega, and they were running 199.xx MPH for a lap average. Bobby Isaac eventually set the NASCAR speed record of 201.699 MPH for a four lap average. Then took the car out to Bonneville Salt Flats in NASCAR "trim" (single 4bbl on a Hemi) and set 24 world speed records including the flying mile/kilometer at 217/218 mph. The speed record held for about 13 years before being beat. However, the Daytona could still have the speed record today, if they had better tire technology back then. If they pushed the cars to their full potential, they would need new tires every 4 laps.... You can't win races having to pit that often...

The Daytona was the first car to break 200 MPH on a closed circuit course. They broke 200 MPH BEFORE INDY DID! And with a single 4bbl!

After dominating NASCAR for two years, they "handicapped" the winged cars and made a rule for 71 that if you were to race a wing car, you could only have a maximum engine size of 5.0 L. Dick Brooks tried racing a 305 CID engine in a Superbird for 71, but it could not compete with the power of the big blocks/Hemis and wasn't successful. For some reason, NASCAR did not like when MOPAR dominated and would not let the winged cars make the "usual" four year run like the other cars were allowed to.

I have some more stories from that meet that I will add later in this thread. Stay tuned. One of which will explain why we were toward the back of the pack for the parade lap. I have also been writing up a post about dad's favorite dog, Captain.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of the lady's and her husband's 69 Superbee. If you zoom in on the picture, you can also see a Lime Green 70 Roadrunner a few cars ahead of them. They let non-winged cars on the track at the back of the pack.

View attachment TRACK 04.jpg
 
Moral of the story: If you want your picture to be remembered almost 30 years later on the internet, have it taken in front of an iconic car.




Smart choice.
I've seen this happen. Granddad, gives the classic car to the preferred grandchild. Grandchild has no interest in classic cars and sells it.
When another grandchild wanted the car and would have been the better choice to keep the car in the family.

krazykuda said:
My brother tends to get tired of cars after a while and then will get rid of them to get another one. I won't get rid of this because is was dad's and I value it as much as he did and want to keep it in honor of his memory. My brother was good enough to let me pick between the two. But is there really a "looser" in this, I don't look at it that way. I think that either car is awesome and we each got something nice to remember dad by. I chose the Superbird because it is low miles and dad's favorite, and plan to keep it in the family and pass it down to my boys, like dad did with us.

QUOTE]
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66340SEDAN said:
I think its awesome it has been kept quiet and tucked away......I knew about it from awhile back while talking to Karl in the old "deleted thread" and seen pics he posted there, as well as other cool cars Karl has.

To hang onto a Bird like this and not tell the whole interweb about it is a challenge for sure (If it were mine I would tell all lol), but Karl is not one to brag about his cars in that way....it serves as a great tribute to his dad. If you do get it running and drive it Karl, would you wash it? I imagine that shoe polish might come off...looks like it said something like "Winged Warriors" on the pass side glass at one time as well.....I am drooling...nothing cooler than mega rare Mopars in this "untouched" condition.
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I'm considering not washing the back window for a while. It's a good thing that nobody has since then. It's also a good tribute to dad. Him and Captain were best friends. He took Captain for rides everywhere he could (but leave him alone in the car, especially on very hot or cold days).

Captain was the perfect dog for our family at the time. We were three guys, I was the youngest of 8th grade. Captain used to love to chase our pet rabbit that we kept in the back yard. We found out later that our neighbors also liked to look out their back kitchen doors and watch "the show". Both the dog and rabbit were black and white.

One day Captain was barking at the back door. When my brother opened it, he wouldn't come in, but turned around and started running to the back of the house. My brother followed him, and he took him to the rabbit who was on his side hyperventilating (sp). Captain was worried that the rabbit needed help. The rabbit ended up ok, but Captain did not want him hurt. We figured out that the dog and rabbit were good friends, and the rabbit liked to be chased and Captain loved to chase him. It was a game for each of them and it kept them sharp. (Our rabbit used to sneak out of our fence at night and come back in by morning. There would be two or three brown wild rabbits outside our fence around 9:30/10:00 PM each night waiting for him to "come out and play". We assumed that they were his "girlfriends".)

After grandma died and we moved into her house here near the forest preserve, Captain loved it. He loved to chase the chipmonks and squirrels. He caught 19 squirrels and 2 chipmonks. He was only 44 lbs, but stood 22"-23" to the shoulder. He could cut and run better than a football player. The squirrels liked to tease him and run past a tree for the next one, just so Captain would "just miss" them. A few times they underestimated him and got caught. He had good practice chasing our rabbit, who ran away soon after we moved into this house. (He may have been happier on his own in the forest preserve, or was pissed at us for separating him from his "girlfriends" at the other house. I did see him once one street over a couple of years later, but he ran when I passed by).

We were riding snowmobiles in the field behind our house one winter with him running loose. He was able to keep up with a snowmobile doing 32 MPH in a foot of snow. He was fast!

In the house near the forest preserve, there is a small creek in the front yard (there are some pictures of it in memike's thread). Captain loved to chase a basketball or soccer ball. We would kick it over the creek, and he would jump over the creek (4-6 feet) and bring the ball back. He would pop them within the first 10 minutes of playing so he could grab them better. He would "play soccer" for hours, literally. We would kick the ball, and he would jump the creek to go get it and bring it back, then shake it for a bit and drop at our feet to do it again. Sometimes he would block it by jumping in front of us when we kicked it, and block the ball with his body.

One day when dad was playing soccer with him, Captain cut his paw on a corner of the flagstone rock that lined the creek. He wanted to keep playing, but dad was worried about his paw bleeding and took him to the vet. Captain needed 4 stitches to sew it back closed, but still wanted to play.

He loved to play fight with us. We would try to tap his body and pull our hands back, and he would try to "bite us". He wouldn't bite hard, just play nips as if to say, "I got you, but I won't hurt you." He was a "guys dog", loved to play rough and do guy things.

We found out once that he didn't like other people fighting. My dad and I wanted to "test the theory" so I started punching dad in his arm lightly, and dad kept saying, "ouch". Captain jumped up between us and bit at my arm (not too hard). Then dad punched me and I said, "ouch" and he went after dad's arm. He would jump up and try to stop the aggressor. It's as if he was saying, "Nobody fights around here, unless it's with me..."

He was real smart also. One of the times that he caught a chipmonk, I was right there and saw the whole thing. Captain and I were standing on our front porch, and he saw the chipmonk on the other side of the creek near a tree. He immediately ran off, jumped the creek, but went around the tree 270° instead of straight at the chipmonk. The chipmonk didn't see him until he came around the back of the tree and didn't have time to react, Captain just scooped him up and killed him.

One time when we were towing the Superbird to the Mopar Nats in Ann Arbor, MI (Chelsea Proving Grounds). We were in two vehicles, one was our conversion van. The van had four "Captains chairs" in the front, an ice cooler, sink, and a two bench seats with a table in the back that could be converted to a bed. We were a little over an hour into the trip, and our friend Jim pulled a drink out of the cooler and opened it up. Captain was sitting on the platform that dad made for him to look out the front window as he drove. Captain looked at Jim, and Jim told him, "I would give you some of my drink, but we don't have your bowl handy to give you some."

Captain went to the back and jumped on one of the back bench seats and stared into the sink. Jim them poured some of his drink into the sink and Captain drank it. (Proof that dogs can understand and reason.)

We went to the Car Craft Nationals one year in Springfield, IL. Of course, Captain came along. While walking around the show, we bumped into the Direct Connection display. It was very hot and sunny that day. The D.C girl at the time was Linda, (dad's favorite one). We stopped for her autograph, and when she saw Captain panting, gave us a cup and told us that we could get some free drinking water at the GM display across from her. We went over and filled the cup with the "big" bottled water, and then went back to thank Linda. She liked Captain and pet him for a while (luckily it was later in the day and there wasn't anyone waiting for her autograph). We talked with her for about 15 minutes and asked if she was going to be at Mopar Nationals in a few weeks, and she said that she was.

So here we are at Mopar Nationals at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Michigan a few weeks later. We find the Direct Connection area and where she has a table set up and is signing posters for a line of 20-30 guys mid afternoon. Captain starts walking past the line of guys, and then Linda sees him and says hello to him. Captain then trots right up to her and puts his head in her lap. She starts making a fuss over him. One of the guys standing in line to get his poster signed jokes with my dad, "I'll give you 50 bucks for his collar...." They all wanted that kind of attention from her... (what guy wouldn't?) We said hello to her, and then got in line to get her autograph again. She was very nice and had a great personality, not to mention was beautiful. She was dad's favorite of all of the Direct Connection girls that we met through the years of going to of the shows.

Here's a picture from that day of Linda and Captain at the Chrysler Proving Grounds (it's a picture of a Polaroid picture). You can see the "patch" around Captain's right eye (it was his natural marking):

View attachment Linda Capt MPN A03 B.jpg

Here's a picture of one of dad's posters that Linda signed for him, I can't remember which show this was from. It was either Car Craft Nationals in Springfield, IL or Mopar Nationals at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea, MI:

View attachment Linda dad MPN A02 B3.jpg

Here's the name and year of the poster:

View attachment Linda dad MPN A03 B.jpg

Here's a close up of Linda's signature to dad and Captain:

View attachment Linda dad MPN A05 B.jpg

Here's a picture of the poster from the next year Mopar Nationals (I think this one was at Indy, but I'm not sure):

View attachment Marcie dad MPN A02 B2.jpg

Here's the name and year of the poster:

View attachment Marcie dad MPN A06 B.jpg

Here's a close up of her signature to dad and Captain:

View attachment Marcie dad MPN A04 B.jpg


All of the Direct Connection girls were beautiful and nice each year. Dad just liked Linda the best. (personal preference/choice).
 
Those pictures and stories about the Superbird are priceless. I hope the car stays in your family forever :thumrigh:
 
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