[carpoor]

I would have to say my first experience was that my folks owned a triple black 76' that they bought brand new. It was a loaded car. I vaguely remember it, I was 3 when they sold it in 1982. After that, fast forward to 1992. I bought a black 69' SS 396 Chevelle from the owner of a local salvage yard. The engine was in pieces in the trunk, and the muncie was flapping in the breeze under the car. At 16, my mother felt it was way too much car for me. I was allowed to keep it, but only for weekend cruising. (supervised of course) I ended up with an 89' 5 liter mustang for a first car. I was in bad car accident with the mustang a few days before Christmas in 1995. I shattered my femur, and was doubtful I would ever be able to drive a manual tranmission again. I regretfully sold the Chevelle in the summer of 1996. In 2006, I had negotiated a deal to buy the car back from the guy I sold the car to in 96'. A few days before the transaction was supposed to take place, he dropped off the face of the earth. I have never heard from him since, and am still heartbroken over the ordeal. A few months later, a friend of my father's showed me my current 1972 Chevelle. I struck a deal, and it's been all uphill since. It was supposedly a real SS car, but without a buildsheet - it's just heresay. The 5th digit of the VIN identifies it as an L65 2bbl 350 car. It came with a round gauge dash, 12 bolt rear, upper control arm braces, 3/8" fuel line, a real GM domed hood, hood pins, and the fenders had SS emblems - I removed them and tried a template up against the holes, it matched up perfect. Not to say they couldn't have been drilled after it left the factory. But if so - it was very cleanly done. All of that could have been changed over the years though. The odometer showed a hair over 49K miles, and the car was nearly rust free.

I am in the process of building the car into a nice driver/racer for the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags. I have built a correct LS5 shortblock, converted the car to a 4 speed, etc. It is Danbe Blue with White stripes, the body/paint/interior is all done. Basically just finishing up the drivetrain and detailing it real well.