A Love Story
“Did you ever truly lust for something after seeing it for the first time? I did, once upon a time ...
It was hot in Springfield Missouri that fateful day in 1971 ... hot as in humidity and hot as in August and hot as in He.., well, you get the idea ... it was hotttt!
I was cruising down St. Louis street and as I passed the showroom of Thompson Pontiac & Cadillac, I all of a sudden got this funny feeling that went from my heart right down to my toes. There on the showroom floor was the most beautiful Pontiac Grandville convertible I had ever seen.
The top was down, and like a beautiful woman, it called to me ... ‘Max, PLEASE take me with you! I promise you will have more excitement, more of any and everything you could ever want if you will just let me be your love!’
My '70 Lemans sport coupe I was driving suddenly lost its appeal. In the blink of a eye it became just another boring car that, although just months old, was, I decided, probably on its last legs and badly needed trading off. Why, it didn't make a drop of sense to keep driving a car in that condition. It had EVEN lost the new smell!!!
Although I was working and living in Arkansas and it was a Saturday, somehow I talked them into financing my new love right then and there! As I drove down the highway in the heat (with the top down, of course) I had the air conditioning turned on high (and so was I)! The radio was playing a song that I have never forgotten. The name of it was "Down in the Boondocks." Would you believe that two years ago in August I was going down that same road in the same car with the top down listening to the oldies station and what song do you suppose started playing? Yep, you guessed it. “Down in the Boondocks”. Boy, what memories floated into my mind.
It always surprised me the way the car was equipped. A 455 cu.inch engine but only a single exhaust. That was taken care of the following Monday by installing twin pipes with smithy type mufflers. I wanted the sound of a motorboat and that is what I still have today. The next modification came at around 10000 miles when it needed distributor points. I put electronic ignition on it in 1972 and it is still on the car today working fine.
The car stood by my side while I went through three wives, many girl friends and a large amount of booze. Each of those wives, at divorce time, knew I would probably kill before they would get the convertible. I must have made a believer out of them, since I still have it!
Dependability is outstanding on this car. Didn't need brakes until almost 100,000 miles. The turbo 400 transmission still shifts perfectly and the engine has never had ANY problems other than normal maintenance. In 1995 at approximately 105,000 miles, I put heavy duty shocks, new motor mounts, carb. rebuilt, new water pump, timing chain, master cylinder and extra transmission cooler on it in preparation for pulling an RV trailer.
It is a 27' HiLo that weighs 6000 pounds. None of the repairs were needed, but I wanted to be certain of dependability while pulling the trailer. It does a great job and never have I felt I didn't have enough power or speed. On hills that I was down to 35 mph at the top with my motorhome, the convertible sailed up them at 70 mph if desired.
By the way, don't get to far from the gas station when pulling a trailer with it ... it gets about 7 mpg! Normally, it gets around 15 mpg when it is not pulling a 3 ton trailer. Believe me when I say there is not a more beautiful sound than that 4 barrel kicking in when pulling that trailer and those twin pipes making that deep throated sound! I do get some envious looks tooling down the highway.
The original seats were covered in vinyl which was very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Many a young lady screamed when she first sat on them. Remember, this was the days when the young ladies wore hot pants outfits! For those of you who are too young to remember, the outfit consisted of a micro-mini skirt with matching panties of the same color and usually worn with boots. YAHOO!
Part of getting the car ready for pulling the trailer included some cosmetics. New top, new paint, new carpets, new velour seat covers trimmed in contrast vinyl and subtle changes to the body. The headlights were frenched and the rear deck was shaved and an electric opener installed. As promised when I purchased it, it gave me more excitement, more of any and everything I ever wanted!”
