I'll try & make this as short as possible.
I go see a friend at the parts store today & I see the 66 SS 396 Chevelle another buddy I've known for years and used to work with, parked out front.
I know my friend sold this car about 1 1/2 years ago. In fact I've met this new owner last june & hooked him up with the guy who built it. He wanted some history & general info.
The guy who built this chevelle did an extraordinarly good job in the resto. Car media blasted to metal, body dip, the whole enchilada.
Correct paint color, red line tires, every stock gauge working properly, you get the picture.
I watched this car go from shell on the side of the house to a 25K original.
When it came time to build the 396, WHICH by the way is #'s match, my friend built it to factory specs. I remember him spending 8 months hunting down the correct left hand exhaust manifold for a 4-sp which I learned were specific for this year only.
He spent alot of time in the little details and the car is just sweet.

So back to today, here's the car with the hood up. I walk up, hey what's up, how ya doing, blah, blah, blah.

He say's, ah, I pulled the 396 out. This is a 454. It's got more power than the 396 did. I'm like huh? :confused: O.K. I can understand, I guess.
I ask where the 396 is and he say's he's gonna sell it! He thinks. :eek:

I notice the red lines are gone, all the NEW tinted glass has been tinted limo black and now the motors gone.

I have to say I was a little heart broken. I know it's his car & all but crap. The car was there and the value. The reason I say generation is because this new owner is about 55-60 years old. He say's yeah, I used to have one back in the early 70's I raced, yep, that car got tore up a long time ago.

And I'm just standing there looking at him thinking, "Yeah, wasn't it your generation that tore them all up the first time?" LOL ;) I guess he wants to do it again. Which, I suppose, it can be rebuilt again, but you can't get the #'s motor back if you sell that.

By the way, he DOES have my # for the motor. And it WILL go in my SS if he offs it.

Flame if you will, but I think it kinda sucks for the car, and my friend who built it. Maybe I just feel like that because I was closer to this car than others.
Whatever. graemlins/sad.gif

Ya that does suck for the car, well for everyone for that matter.

If I owned a numbers matching car I think I would be forced to remove the entire driveline and put it in storage. Replace it with a driveline of my choice and drive it knowing that if I get a little stupid (which can happen when there's people watching :D ), I haven't lost half the value of my car when she blows graemlins/sad.gif .

Just my .02 I don't care if it's a numbers matching 6 cylinder car, keep all the pieces together.

Robb

I dunno....sounds like He's getting some time behind the wheel with it whereas I'm pretty sure that a lot of the numbers matching cars do not get driven much. He should definatley keep the engine tho...just thinking about selling it is ashame...

I can just see it happening. 55-60 year old zooming around in a High Performance Musclecar.
I can only imagine how someone that old would look standing in front of a judge for street racing or "Hot Dogging" as they used to call it back in his day :D

I agree that was the wrong car to modify Steve, even though I am from that generation myself. Back in "those days" we didn't care about #'s or originality at all.....we just wanted more performance and tore up lots of stuff that would be very valuable today.

What I wouldn't give for a time machine to go back and keep the 63 split window/fuelie 'Vette that I sold for $2500 :eek:
graemlins/clonk.gif

Lol....Garfield, I just saw your post....I'm "that old"...55....trust me, I still have a right foot!

I hear ya Don. I'm 10 years younger and would've done the same thing no doubt. In fact we did catch the tail end of the thrashing era on these cars and managed to tear some up in the late 70's. (They were laying around pretty cheap.)
I guess I'm trying to say, after the dust has settled the past 15-20 years. And watching the prices and availability of some of these cars, one would tend to think that a car that has been meticulously restored would be kept that way and a car of lesser value and desirability would be used to take apart & thrash on.
And, a man of his age would surely understand that, seeing as how he has seen the hobby come full circle. I mean, I know what this car went for. He could've bought a 66 malibu pro street car turn key. But hey, like I said, I'm just thinking outloud and my opinion doesn't mean squat. smile.gif
Like I said, I'm a little heartbroken & I'm crying outloud. LOL :D