Hawthorne, California & the Beach Boys

Great compilation of hard to find Beach Boys stuff, and a '64 Grand Prix on the cover.

Sometimes I Wish Milwaukee Recognized How Cool It Really Was

For Father's Day the family and I went to the Izod Indy 225 at the Milwaukee Mile--Grandma, looking for something to do, came along, too. What a fantastic experience. The stands were less than half full at the start of the race, but exceeded that as the race went along. The race had its share of crashes, action, and speed. It was great! Even Grandma gave it a "9" afterward.

Anyway, I got to talk to a pretty cool guy from MNelson.com who is from Indianapolis. Sounds like he (and they) was the Official Merchandiser for the race (had some pretty great stuff that can be found here: http://281957d.promoshop.com/featuredproduct/index.aspx?DPSV_Id=515716 ). The promoter for the race was also from Indianapolis. I kept asking myself why the Milwaukee, and Wisconsin, community can't get behind this race track--the oldest, and coolest, in the country. I wondered how a guy from Inianapolis could capture the spirit of "The Mile" on his brown and blue vintage-styled shirts (shown on the link above)--really "got it"--while most folks that live here are indifferent. Man, I hope our locals "get it" before "The Mile" is no more. It could be so much more. Which begs the question: Why, with all of the talent in Milwaukee, couldn't someone locally market and promote the place, and the race, better to the community? So what do others think about Milwaukee, while we are indifferent? See this Blurb:

http://motorsportsmarketing.blogspot.com/2010/08/milwaukee-mile-is-great-track-in-great.html

Milwaukee Mile Weekend

With lots of racing at the Mile (something that wasn't so certain just last year) this weekend, here's some great footage from 1955:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J77d1bku020&feature=related

So Who Originally Owned the Grand Prix?

I tracked down who I thought was the original owner of the Grand Prix in California a couple weeks back. Nancy, now in her 80's (although you'd never suspect it talking to her on the phone), remembers the car well. I always sort of assumed that because her name was on the California title, that she was the original owner. It turns out that she bought the car used (my original California title shows it was registered by her on December 24, 1964). She and a girlfriend went to a house in Beverly Hills to buy it from no other than, it turned out, "the Banjo King," Eddie Peabody. "They were very private, and suspicious of us girls," she told me. Eddie was considered by many "the greatest Showman of his time." She remembered that the car was extremely fast, and had great air conditioning. Ultimately, her husband (who had upwards of 30 cars) gave the car to their son. She said she would try to look for pictures--she thought there might be some around. As for Eddie:

Eddie Peabody had a Wisconsin connection--he lived in Madison in the 40's and 50's. Here he is shown with his new Lincoln Continental, receiving the title from Lucien Hanks, General Manager of Kayser Motors, 1501 Monroe Street, Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo from Wisconsin Historical Society).

Eddie's music can be sampled here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_DZPTjVieY

And here's a great history of Captain Edwin Ellsworth Peabody:

http://wn.com/eddie_peabody_the_king_of_the_banjo_,a_picture_video?orderby=published

Historic 41

Very cool that Ol' Historic US 41 is getting the respect and attention it deserves:

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20110602-historic-41,0,5979607.story

Learning the Metal Trade

Spent the night at Greg's learning the fine art of patch panels. Greg's old Chevy truck is the perfect candidate for practice. His buddy Ted is an expert at this stuff, with projects including motorcycles at a large local motorcycle employer--starts with "H." This will certainly help put the replacement trunk in the Grand Prix (obtained from a 1963 California Catalina a couple of years ago, and taking up a great amount of space since arrival). A plasma cutter on loan from cousin Richard is going to be fun to work with.

Just Because

Just because Kenny Wayne Shepard announced an upcoming Pabst Theater performance, and the weather is nice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6N4WbXRu-c&feature=player_embedded

"Pontiacs No More"

Heard a great little tune today on Public Radio called "Pontiacs No More" by a local folk guy named John Stano. Great song, especially the lyrics reminiscing about the '60 Ventura.

http://www.johnstano.com/index.html

A Banjo King Grand Prix

Found out who bought the Grand Prix originally (hint above). More later.

Almost Have A Front Suspension

A little motivation, a little help from my friend Greg, and the kids distracted in the house, and the front suspension is almost done. The rusty, grimy, 47 year past has been refurbished and reinvigorated. All new ball joints, tie rods, shocks (GM NOS Pleasureriders), coil springs from Eaton Spring, bushings, centerlink, and rebuilt steering gearbox from Lares make for something looking almost new. The coil springs were a challenge, but with the right spring compressor, and a lot of trial and error, finally got those puppies in.
The wheel wells and radiator support, after being acid dipped, are getting black chassis paint at the body shop--as is the dash and steering column in gloss black. Once the front end is wrapped up, I'll move to the rear end and swap out the pumkin. The 3.64 Posi should be a nice improvement over the 3.08 open. In the process I'll have to pull the axles and replace the bearings and seals. Also have to weld the gussets for the rear sway bar so that I can get that thing on. Going to be making a road trip to the Boston area to pick up the complete 4-speed (Borg Warner T-10) setup I purchased out of a low mileage '63 Grand Prix donor car (embarassingly) over 2 years ago.

A Day in Chicago

Recently had a couple of hours to pass in Chicago while my wife was at a trade show (I was her ride). Beyond the excitement of driving on Wabash under the "L" (the scene of the famous Blues Brothers high speed chase scene), stumbled across a couple of things that were cool.

The first was the "End" (or the beginning) of Historic Route 66 marked by a pretty darn non-descript sign. Couldn't help but start mumbling to myself "It winds from Chicago to L.A. ..." In heavy traffic, managed to snap a picture, but clearly had to keep moving on.

What was perhaps even cooler was the discovery of Motor Row on south Michigan Avenue, just west of the new McCormick Place. The area was once home to many car dealers which made there home in beautiful storefronts along the street. Chevrolet, Pierce, Premiere, Hudson, and Cadillac are just of few of the many. Only Joyce Ford remains (See: http://chicago-architecture-jyoti.blogspot.com/2009/09/ford-showrrom-and-dealership-in-motor.html ), and I had the pleasure of having a smoke with one of the salesmen on the sidewalk on the street. He was a wealth of information about the old street, the neighborhood, and the boarded up Club across the street from the dealership.

Seemed like an odd place for car dealerships especially with the narrow storefronts. He noted that most of the buildings still had the car lifts that moved new vehicles to the floors above the showroom. The neighborhood was once to home to famous Chicagoans, Montgomery Ward for one lived a few blocks away on Prarie Street to the east. It was also home to Chess Records (on 22nd & Michigan), the label of many a famous Blues musician. Cars were big status symbols in the day, and many of Chicago's richest shopped the showrooms along the stretch.

The neighborhood was also home to the exclusive Illinois Automobile Club--now boarded up and directly across the street from Joyce. In addition to office space, the Club had an olympic sized indoor pool and large ballroom. Apparently, it was THE place. The weathervane on the Club is still there, and, of course, it has an automobile on it. To learn more about the Motor Row check out this great Blog with lots of great pictures: http://chicago-architecture-jyoti.blogspot.com/2009/09/motor-roiw-historic-district-ii.html

Plugging Along

Can only do bits and pieces at a time, but finally making some progress on the remaining floor pans underneath.

While it is a real bear getting almost 50 years worth of grim off, it's a real sense of accomplishment when it's finally cleaned off. After scraping, degreasing, wire brushing, touching up, rust encapsulating, and priming with red oxide primer, the final "Professional Grade" undercoating goes on. This stuff dries on like fingernail polish. A little more touchup, and on to the front suspension. Donor A-Arms have been acid dipped and red oxide primed. A friend is pressing out the old bushings and pressing in the replacements. Once I get those back, I can compress the coil springs and remove the old and install the new.

It's Out, Finally

Appreciate the time a couple friends took today helping remove the old Slim Jim transmission and 421 powerplant. Engine needs to be freshened up. An original T-10 4 speed from a low mileage 63 GP donor out east will be going back in. On the back side, a 3.64 posi will be replacing the 3.08 open rearend. With all of the big stuff out, I hope to clean, wire brush, encapsulate, and undercoat the remainder of the floor and frame--which is in remarkedly great shape.

17 Seconds of Pure Pontiac Excitement

The wicked laugh at the end sums it up nicely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-zJ_gDdggk&feature=related

Sadly, this video was found through a Craigslist post that simply stated:

broke the valve in the head and ruined one head one piston and the block selling all the rest of the parts minus the carb everything else will go body parts engine parts rearend seats all of it, let me know what your interested in and ill price it for you. Engine was a 400 stock bore but tons of performance stuff

Very, very SWEET 1964 Catalinas

Sit back and enjoy the sound of built to move 462 Powerplant (with very little imagination, your olfactory senses are enlightened as well):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZgqNEJLq4A&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfDs2C86HkY


And another beautiful '64 Cat:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7j8ss025so&NR=1


And another:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZYQyhBxxQM&feature=related


And the last, a '64 Cat beating her little brother:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlYVbL4Xc0&NR=1

1963 Swiss Cheese Catalina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpjEmThal_w

The Final "Good Bye" From Pontiac; Good Buy on a Buick?

Too funny, after publishing the screen shot I got the Google Ad above it. Had to put it in here for posterity

Yeah right, buy a Buick.

Pontiac-Official SHUT DOWN

News from the AP: October 31, 2010 is Pontiac's last day:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Pontiac-maker-of-muscle-cars-apf-2786184062.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/01/am-gm-contract-with-pontiac-ends-today/

Known for Little Duece Coups and 409's, it's ironic that Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys) had a '64 Pontiac Grand Prix--similar to the Aqua-colored one that partially graced the Shut Down album. The rumor is that he didn't have it long as he was T-boned driving it home from the dealership.

Only GM could screw up this brand. But, hey, the Chinese like Buicks.

Been a While

Been a while since anything's been posted. Getting to stuff 10-15-20 minutes at a time takes a lot of time to make headway. Even still, managed to replace the front end: idler arm, center-link, tie rods, ball joints. It's a great feeling to get parts on the car that have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years. Also managed to take off the front wheel wells, radiator support, etc. Next step with this stuff, money permitting, off to acid dipping. Still looking for a good source of rubber (1/16" and 1/8") to replace the odd splash guards and seals. About a month ago, body guy announced with great pride that the doors, trunk lid, hood, cowl, and fenders are all in primer--a beautiful thing. Big project now is to get the A-Arms off, blast, paint, re-bushing. Have the new coil springs and NOS shocks to go on once that is all done.

Pictoral Tribute to Pontiac

A great little pictoral history of Pontiac Motor Division:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahQKd9DrBFY