While we like to brag about the cars of yesteryear, we all have to admit one thing, the clock
never worked in them for very long, it always seemed to be the first thing to break!! While waiting for my car to be built, I would have sworn that time stopped altogether and though I'm a firm believer in not wishing my life away, I wanted that three months to fly by. Sure, the ticking of the clock DOES make a pearl more beautiful with each passing second, but it also makes an impatient kid go bananas!! Even though the dealership was miles out of the way, everyday, on my drive home from work, I would roll by to see if my car was delivered early by some chance. I never missed! Soon March was gone, then April whizzed past and before I knew it, I was into Mid-May and STILL nothing. I was beginning to worry and though the extra time gave me a chance to save up more than the required 10% down payment, I wanted my car NOW!! As it approached the end of May, I decided it was time to go ask my salesman if he could give me a clue as to when I could expect my car to be delivered. I walked into the showroom and found Greg sitting at his desk.
For many years I saved the newspaper ad (as well as the one for the Cobra) but lost them along with some other things I had stored in a box in my Dad's garage. Anyhow, the ad read something like.. FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH! I brought up this Hemi thing because when I stop to think about it, I find this value thing amazing. For six thousand eight hundred dollars I could have owned a 65 427 AC Cobra AND a 69 426 Hemi GTX and though in those days, that was a chunk of change, what these two cars ended up being worth is just mind boggling! When the musclecar market was in it's heyday in the 80's, I actually saw a Cobra, just like the one I wanted, for sale in Hemmings for half a mil!!! Five Hundred Thousand Dollars folks!! And the Hemi cars were cracking a hundred thou!!! Who could have predicted it?? These were cars that nobody wanted. In fact, I later learned that the Cobra I tried to buy never did sell and ended up getting totaled in an accident! Just like the convertible cars, they are so rare today because NOBODY wanted one back then. When you bought a rag top, you did so knowing you would pay more up front and lose value in the end!! It was one of those things that you did because you had a passion for it and therefore,
the financial loss was worth it to you. In any event, this money thing has really forced major changes in the hobby. The fact of the matter is the cars that really get the big bucks are few and far between. In the days these cars were being produced, they were purchased then hacked up with headers, double pumpers, Detroit Lockers and so forth. That was the fun of it all!! But a car like that in the collector market just doesn't cut it. You might read about a 1970 Chevelle Super Sport LS6 Convertible selling at auction for a hundred thousand + dollars and just assume that a nice LS5 454 Chevelle MUST be worth at least 80 grand! Well that ain't necessarily so! I have seen a lot of people spend way too much for a car that just didn't have it. I know of a 73 Super Duty four speed car that went for 138 thousand at auction but, it had under 4,000 miles on the odo!!! What does that make mine worth?? Determining the value of a car is one of the hardest things to do and it takes homework and the willingness to put the seller through the paces! If he's willing to ask big bucks, he best be willing to prove it's worth it!! I guess the bottom line is if you are getting ready to jump into the market, take your time and know what things are worth. There is nothing wrong with buying a souped up Mustang if you enjoy the header and cam thing, just know it doesn't have the monetary value
a pristine Boss 429 has and part with your money accordingly. Also, never confuse "Fun Value" with "Collector Value". Listen, my car is a low mileage, all original, one owner car! That carries a lot of weight in the market but, I still beat on it!! It still gets rubber on the quarter panels, every now and then I will still run first gear up to 7 grand on the tach which
translates into 70 MPH on the speedo and I still have oil on my firewall and undercarriage! Does this cost me Collector Value??? You bet it does, but for now I'll remain happily stuck in the 70's!! FINALLY!
As I was saying, before veering off course, I DID call Greg and the news was good....GM approved the filling of outstanding orders and mine was on the list!! I was back to driving by everyday after work, this time knowing it would be there within the month! After two weeks went by, I came cruising through and my eyeballs popped out. In fact, I was SO excited I started to get out of my Dad's 73 LTD before putting it into park!! Sitting on the lot were 3 Super Duty Trans Am's, all in Cameo White with Blue interiors and Blue hood decals!! I was crawling all over those cars believing for the first time, since ordering mine, that I was actually
going get one and there was some real evidence!! Pontiac was once again building them. I raced in and found Greg who, this time, had nothing but a huge smile on his face!! I was practically begging to test drive one of those cars but he explained to me that those were purchased by the Ford Motor Company and would soon be on their way to Dearborn MI to get driven, dissected, analyzed and eventually crushed for scrap iron. Just unbelievable!! He did however, pop the hood open for me and I must admit, after looking at a Hemi, the SD sure did have a plain look to it! I would later learn to love that trait. That last week flew by and while making my usual rounds, there in front of the dealership was a Blue on Blue SD, it HAD to be mine!!! This time, after seeing the familiar brown LTD come driving in, Greg came out to meet me with keys in hand. He told me it JUST got unloaded off the truck minutes before. In fact, it was still minus the front spoiler, which Pontiac put into the trunk to prevent damage during shipping. The feeling was indescribable! Let's just say I was one happy boy! After unlocking the door, I hopped behind wheel and began playing with the shifter and gazing at what lay before me! The sight of that shaker scoop sticking out of the hood was so cool. I was able to see some of the huge bird on the hood! The 160 MPH speedo and 8 grand tach was so inviting!! I thought there was nothing that could make it any better, that was until I pulled opened the ashtray and spied a little slip of paper in there. There was a brief period in my life when I lived in Tulsa Oklahoma and shared an apartment with five other guys! As you could
well guess, things would get broken, fixed, lost, found, or perhaps a week's worth of food would mysteriously disappear in one day...all sorts of unexplained phenomenon would occur! The standard answer to all these events would be "The Elves Did It!" and it got to be a long standing joke between us. Anyhow, when I picked up and unfolded this little slip of paper sitting in the ashtray of my newly delivered car, it read (this is the censored version) TAKIN' CARE OF BASICS
I took delivery of my car on July 2nd and from then until I parked it for the winter at the end of September, plus whatever months I drove it in 1975, right around 7 months total, I logged in slightly over twenty two thousand miles!! That car never got a moments rest, in fact, that's an average of around 112 miles per day!! As you can see, during the summer, I spent a LOT of time behind her wheel so if it's possible to have a relationship with a hunk of iron, I
certainly did. We got to know each other well!! Of course, in keeping with automotive tradition, the first thing I had to do was give it a name and "Ol' Betsy" just didn't make the cut! I finally settled on naming it after a Judy Strangis character used in TV ads for Chrysler's Plymouth Division It had a nice ring to it and that's what I still call my car today. What's funny is my sister sat next to Judy Strangis on a flight from California and upon finding out who she was (Judy also played the part of Helen Loomis on the 70's TV show "ROOM 222"), mentioned that my car was named after her!! Since Judy was doing those commercials for Plymouth, she was surprised to find it was a Pontiac that carried the MMJ name. Sis tried to convince her to go for a ride in it as she was ALWAYS trying to "fix me up" being I was too shy to do it for myself, but Judy declined because she had her hair up in curlers and felt embarrased. Instead, she waved to me from a distance. Do you remember that scene, back when it was nothing for women to go out with their hair rolled up in those contraptions, celebrity or not??! So here I was, a 20 year old kid, owned what is among the fastest of Pontiac's best factory muscle, and didn't have a CLUE what to do with it. I mean, I was being bombarded with everybody's theories regarding proper break-in of the engine! It was the "Gotta Break It In Hard Bunch" VS the "Go Easy On It Gang" and they were both so sure their way was the right way. Of course, giving in to the "Break It In Hard" notion was the most tempting because the urge to put Mean Mary Jean (MMJ) to the test was strong. At the same time, I was planning to keep this car forever so if a little bit of patience would go a long way towards keeping her in peak running condition, well, that would make a lot of sense!! What I learned, driving a car like Mary Jean, is I had to make that decision quickly because everyone wanted to race. If I was going to follow the easy break-in method, I would have to make that choice and stick to it. Well, on my first full day of cruising it, I was sitting at the light when up drives Richard in his Boss 351 Mustang! It was a beautiful ride as well as fast, but he was the most arrogant guy around and would brag about his car excessively. There he sat next to me at the light, eyeballing my car with such a smug look on his face while revving his mill and doing the "staging" thing! I had to make my decision NOW and as the green light popped, that's exactly what happened, I made my choice. I took a deep breath and drove away from the light like Granny on a Sunday drive while Richard burned rubber as he fishtailed out of sight!! It rates among one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and of course, Mr Boss 351 was bragging all over town how I KNEW better than to race him. But, I had a lot of faith in the opinion of a fellow I worked with, "KY" as we called him, when he told me the ONLY way to break in an engine was easy! He swore up and down that a "Freak" engine (an engine that runs unusually strong)
was one that was driven real easy the first 3000 miles of it's life with 500 mile oil changes during the break in period. KY was solid motorhead and probably had a spark plug for a pacifier as a baby, so I took his advice. I'm telling you, it took pure discipline but I did it, all 3000 miles!! The contents of this site are copyright© 2000, Jamos1/Superduty455.com
After a brief exchange of pleasantries I went right to my question which he answered it with a bright red face and a
"OH ohhhhhh!!! Didn't you get a certified letter saying that you wouldn't be getting one???!!!"
I was in shock as I gave another of my profound responses.
"HUH???!!" He continued talking away but I was no longer listening. HOW could this be happening?!! Why ME???!!! I tuned back in just in time to hear Greg say that many others did not get letters so don't give up hope yet because rumor had it that GM might approve filling all the orders for those who did not receive notice. It was a glimmer of hope but I was feeling pretty sure that I was not going to get my Trans Am. It was time to go back to the drawing board! Since I already had nearly a thousand dollars saved up for a new ride, I was ready to find myself a nice used muscle machine but was back to the question of which one! I sat watching old re-runs on TV trying to give my mind a moment's rest when on came one of my favorite shows, "MANNIX"! Joe Mannix was one cool detective and that dark green Dodge Dart Convertible he drove was a
car I always liked!! That's it, I knew what I wanted and was back on the hunt. I scoured the classifieds hoping to find one but found something else instead, and once again, before I tell you,
it might be a good idea to sit down!
"For Sale 1969
Plymouth GTX 426 Automatic. 80,000 miles. $1800 or best offer!"
I went to look at it and found it to be one nice car!! That was the first time I ever laid eyes on a Hemi Engine, except in pictures, and I was in awe! The car was Gold with black stripes and a black vinyl roof and although it appeared well cared for, the test drive revealed a bit of blue smoke and a slipping tranny. At this point in time, it didn't much matter, I was still determined to buy it! In fact, I swung by home to get my bank passbook (remember those??) and was on my way to talk to a loan officer, much more prepared this time. As I was heading out the door, there it was, a note telling me to call Greg! I almost didn't call figuring he was just gonna tell me there was no Super Duty in my future and then try to talk me into something else! That was all well and good but I was in a hurry, I wanted to be done playing the waiting game. However, being the eternal optimist I am, I did succumb to the urge to call because maybe, just MAYBE I WAS going to get my car after all! Well, of course that IS what happened but I need to back up a bit here.
Know what's right for YOU!!
After edging out HEMIs on the street and being called a liar,
"There is NO WAY you're runnin' a stock engine!!!"
It was always fun to pop the hood and watch the expression on their faces as they gazed at that "Simple Looking Poncho Motor" that just ate their MoPar up!! Anyhow, Greg ran a VIN check for me and found mine was being built as we spoke and I would have it in another week.
"Dear #@!@#%%#.....NICE CAR.....Love, The Elves!!"
It was way too funny and it added to the excitment! It seems my friend Jim who was not only with me when I ordered the car, but was also there in Tulsa, spied the car on the top of the car hauler, climbed up the side of the trailer undetected (he was good at that) and put the note in there to surprise me. What more could a guy ask for??!! Anyhow, Greg got a pretty good chuckle out of it and told me I would need to come back in a couple of hours to give HIS Elves time to prep it.
Life just doesn't get any better than this!!!
"MEAN MARY JEAN"
JUDY STRANGIS LOOKIN' TOTALLY SEVENTIES
IN HER MEAN MARY JEAN OUTFIT.
Anyhow, my car had a name that I liked and still do!!
Now the time for cuttin' loose was at hand, and Mean Mary Jean would NEVER be the same.
NEITHER WOULD I!!
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