GrayCav56

I'll do that once I pull the pix from my Blackberry. Marcia is the car on the magazine cover that I use for my avatar. Yup, she is a covergirl. My own Cybill Shepherd!

I want to thank all you folks. "Marcia" the Corvette won her Senior Award on Saturday at Hershey. I am grinning from ear to ear! Without the help on this forum, this would not have been possible.

The wife's 64 1/2 Mustang is in the paint shop now and I too am in the overspray conundrum. I am leaning to NOT being sloppy, because the designers and engineers sure didn't want it to come out that way, plus where is the consistency on that point anyway? I'm sure SOME cars made it out of the paint booth the way it was supposed to be, with proper masking lines and such. I'm just going to say mine was one of the lucky ones.

I remember when I won my First Junior at Greensburg in 2005. I drove the car from York to my brothers house in Johnstown, did some detailing, then drove early the next morning to Greensburg. Then the heavens erupted! Monsoon city! Those poor judges had it rough that day, let me tell you. After my car was judged I huddled with a few wonderful folks inside one of the buildings talking about Edsels while the team continued their work. I visited but did not show the car in Gettysburg recently, but I think the team did a darn good job adjusting to all the rain and soggy conditions. Yes, some folks had to move and some others had to spend quite some time cleaning the mud out, but overall the organizers put on a crackerjack effort.

Boy, I hope they don't put ME down because I have a few wrinkles! I'm going to bring up the top from its cozy basement storage today and plop it on the car and make a judgement call. I ordered my alternator brushes yesterday and pick them up from Napa this morning, so that will be fixed. Last night I pulled the clock and found out the problem....the one gear shaft is disconnected and I will need to find a quick watch repair shop in mindstate PA!

It's not that the soft top is bad, but it was put on the car in the late 80's. This was before the later generation of reproduction tops that have the date coding embossed on the back window and the small tag on the back that most folks removed immediately upon returning home, if not sooner. I also drive this car quite a bit....with the top stowed, so it has the resultant wrinkles. Don't get me wrong, the top is fine....no rips, tears, discoloration or anything like that. It's just that as I have improved the rest of the car it looks less great by comparison.

Thanks guys. I'll bring the hardtop out of storage and polish her up then. Of course, first I have to learn how to replace brushes in my Delcotron alternator. Last night when I was cleaning her up I heard a rattle and found one of the brushes had broken from its copper wire and was jammed between the slip ring and the rotor. Hmm. I wonder if this is why she was cooking batteries! Never did this before, so wish me luck!

I would begin by attending a swap meet and picking up some of the factory sales brochures that were available for your year. 66 was a very good year for Chevrolet and you can pick them up for $10-$15 bucks all day long. Another source would be the various restoration parts vendors. A Caprice is a great car, and while some specific trim items may be difficult to find, most of the mechanical bits are easily found in one of their catalogs. I don't want to push one over the other, but Year One seems to always have a lot of good photographs in their catalogs.

My 66 Corvette won it's First Junior in Greensburg in 2005, and I am hoping that the improvements I have made since then will make it competitive for its Senior Award next week at Hershey. At Greensburg, I showed the car with its soft top, however the car was delivered with the optional auxiliary hard top as well. (Believe it or not this Pennsylvania car was used year round!) I'd like to show it this time with the soft top stored in its well, with the hard top installed. Is this OK by the rules? I seem to recall that the top must be "up" but don't remember if it specified which one.

I am a dyed in the wool AACA type guy with regards to originality. While I perservere to return (or maintain) my vehicles in a condition as close to that as delivered by the factory, I do not harbor any ill will towards the street rod/modified crowd. Some of those vehicles would not be around today had they not been rescued by someone with a vision of how they COULD be. I do wish that most of those modifications could be reversed in the future if another caretaker would like to bring it back to showroom new. I have no beef with most restomod projects if they keep the original parts and don't hack up the bodywork and frame to make them all fit. Just understand that those types of vehicles have their own venues to show, and an AACA meet just ain't it. I suppose my only other beef with the street rod crowd is putting Chevy engines in everything. Darn it, if it's a Plymouth, put a MOPAR block in her! If it is a 30 Ford Coupe, what's the matter with a flathead or a 289? Yeah, I know it's easier....but is easy all we are going for here? OK, I'm off my soapbox.

Thanks Jim! I'll give him a buzz. Tony

The thing I am having problem with is that I understand that on 64 1/2s there was a vinyl piece that went under the door sill to the floor where the carpet started. I'm unsure if the vinyl was attached to the carpet or just to the floor.

Does anyone have any good shots of how the paint and carpet is finished along the door sills on an early 65? I had the car Redi-Stripped a LONG time ago, and I need to see where the wimbldon white exterior paint ends and the palomino interior paint starts. The car was in mostly primer before stripping so I didn't have any good guide to go by in the first place. I also understand early 65's had a different way of laying the carpet, so any pix of that area would be greatly appreciated. If there is an early 65 in south central PA that someone would let me photograph, that would be great as well.

Wow, this thread got shifted a bit, didn't it? I think we all realize that with thousands upon thousands of members, we will have multiple issues where we disagree. Most times these disagreements are handled civilly. That is what is cool about this hobby. Some like cruise nights, some don't. Some lightly modify their cars, some react in horror when they see that. A number of folks are mechanically inclined, or can paint, or can sew interiors or have other such restoration skills. Others due to work constraints, or space issues or physical limitations just have to let others handle those chores for them. I think we all strive, at least in AACA (as well as some other clubs that I belong to) to return and maintain the vehicle as close to the day it rolled off the showroom floor as possible. As we gain more insight on what those conditions were, and as the repro market steps up to fill gaps, then we get closer to that ideal. The Judging standards change as these voids are filled. Getting back to batteries and headlights, though, I also went through several of the repro batteries before I switched to one of those described above, which is pretty much an Optima in an exact repro case. You put a few drops of water under the caps and there is NO WAY to tell this isn't a real deal. And I'm glad an earlier poster mentioned the deduction for having the DOT on the T-3s. Now I know NOT to pick up the repros.....back to the swap meets I guess. I need 3 for the Vette and 3 for the GTO!

Thanks bkazmer. They are a softer, dead sound, so I suppose PP it is.

My newly acquired 66 Pontac GTO has the rare red plastic inner fender liners. While they are all in pretty good shape, they are obviosly far from "First Junior" level. They have a few screw holes where previous owners attached mudflaps and have some wear and tear you'd expect over the years. Does anybody have any experience restoring these? I'm thinking that using some very fine grade sandpaper should smooth out some of the scratches, but I'm not sure how to fill in the holes and blend them to match the impregnated color of the rest of the plastic.

Wow Fiesta, that's a bit harsh. I agree that Pontiac has fallen hard since its glory days in the 60's...even from its strong sales with less than stellar products in the 80s, but I don't think their cars are junk. The Solstice is a capable machine, though it could use an easier top and some more storage space. The Vibe, though a rebadged Toyota, is also well regarded. The G8 is a world class machine, and if you haven't really taken one for a ride, I'd recommend it as I think it would change your opinion. I do agree that the G3 and G5 are outdated and the G6 needs a complete redo, being outrun by the Malibu and the soon to be departed Aura. The GTO was unfortunately not well received because of its first year styling. The lack of scoops and dual exhaust plus an overall "soft" look doomed it with its apparent target...a mistake NOT being made with the new Camaro. I think if the G8 had a 2 door model it would do much better. My biggest beef with Pontiac was when GM took them away from being a slightly upscale performance division and tried to compete with BMW. That was NEVER going to happen. I don't know anybody who cross shops those brands. Add to that the loss of the old names (Bonneville, Catalina, Grand Prix, LeMans, etc) for a boring G series and you have the mess they are now in.

Hey folks, Just picked up a 66 GTO Tri-Power from a guy in Punxsutawney. Decent driver condition car, with PHS certification and original motor. I am heading to Carlisle this weekend to buy the requisite manuals and books, but it always helps to lay your eyes on a restored car. Anybody have a senior level GTO in the Carlisle/York/Lancaster/Harrisburg/Hershey area that I could take a peek at and make notes? Tony Gray York, PA

Just spent another nice weekend at Corvette Carlisle and one thing hit me as I walked down the aisles of cars grouped mostly by club. There were NCRS groups, C3 registry cars, Solid Axle vehicles, Grand Sports, 40th Anniversary models, etc etc etc. Perhaps next year we should think about getting AACA Corvettes together in our own display. I saw a number of First Junior, Senior and Grand National Award winners there, so I know there is at least some attendance already. We could have a tent to sell club merchandise and line up a ton of wonderful AGNM winners to knock the socks off the folks strolling by. Any thoughts?

I saw the new logo on shirts and such at Macungie and told the Mrs that I would have to swing by the trailer on the way out so I could grab some. Of course, my mind (and body) wandered and I went down a different path out of the area and just plain forgot until I got halfway home. Luckily I work in Harrisburg and Indiantown Gap, so a side trip to World Domination HQs is only a few minutes away! I'll have to get my set soon! Tony

My pop was a die hard GM guy. Even though his BROTHER was a draftsman for Ford in Dearborn. Pop was a printer and the local Chevy dealer (Hallman's in Johnstown PA) was a customer of his and he always supported his customers by buying their stuff or shopping at their stores. Anyhow that made for some interesting family reunions. Over the years I have owned many vehicles, domestic and import, with varying results. The worst was either my 75 Cosworth Vega that ate second gear on a regular basis and had electrical problems worthy of a Jaguar; or one of a pair of 83 Renault Alliances that decomposed before my very eyes. The best was probably my 90 Geo Prizm, a rebadged Corolla that went 80K without ever seeing anything other than routine maintenance (1 of 3 Corollas I have owned). I DO think GM is giving it the old college try. My Silverado runs flawlessly and my wife's Saturn Aura XR is almost (but not quite) in the same league as many of Europe and Japan's finest. The new CTS and Malibu are wonderful cars as are the latest crossovers. I always had a soft spot for Pontiac (and before I die I will own a 66 Tri-Power GTO), and we had no problems with a couple of Grand Prix we owned, but right now they seem to be either coming up with half hearted efforts or their timing stinks. The Aztek was, to me, the ugliest thing ever to ride the road. The newer GTO just didn't have the styling that it needed. The G6 to me looks bland and the G8 may be a great car, but in the age of $4 a gallon gas it may be timed just wrong. GM either needs to get the brands differentiated as they were back in the Sloan era, or eliminate the overlap. I just don't see how they can continue the wide variety of brands when just about everybody else covers the market with 2-3 (a'la Scion, Toyota, Lexus). I wonder of the long term viability of Pontiac and ponder if the next round of changes will see the middle lineup changed from Pontiac-Buick-GMC to Saturn-Buick-GMC.

Ahh, Sounds like a couple super suggestions. I'll do the template deal AND put the bolts in as a reference point. Cool. Still could use a pix of somebody's flap cut under the front seat though. Even the NCRS judging manual has me scratching my head.

OK gang, I'm going to try and install my first set of carpets in my 66 Convertible. I've done them before in a couple of Chevelle's, but those were two pieces and were easy as pie. There are a number of cuts to make to allow things to poke through, and I haven't found a very comprehensive set of pictures and instructions to make it go right the first time. Using the old carpet isn't an option, since THOSE holes were so far off. (Which is why I'm replacing it). I guess at least that tells me where NOT to put the holes. The fronts where the accelerator pedal and dimmer switch come out aren't an issue, and neither are the seat belt anchors. I hear the carpet gets slit where the seat frame bolts to the fiberglass, but could use a photo of that if somebody has one. In the rear, the part that concerns me is the cut over the wheelhouses where the flat metal piece sticks up near the top frame, just behind the seats. A plastic panel attaches there. Any hints or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Hey Ron, I just saw the Amphicar on SPEED's 101 Cars You Must Drive. Neat vehicle. Tony