One Great Decision

Contributed by Steve Klein
Ever since high school, I’ve had an interest in muscle cars. My senior year, among the pedestrian sedans, wagons, and other family hand-me-downs, there were two 1969 Camaros, a Z/28 and an SS/RS, a 1967 Camaro convertible and a 1972 Buick Skylark 350. While this may sound familiar to anyone who went to school in the late ‘60s-early ‘70’s, my high school years were the mid- ‘90’s, and these cars are still crystal clear in my memory. Even after several afternoons or Saturdays where my best friend’s 72 Skylark left us stranded on the side of the road, I still knew I wanted to own a muscle car…someday.Fast forward 11 years to early 2008 and I was watching Barrett Jackson in early 2008 and noticed that the prices weren’t as astronomical as a few years earlier. It got me thinking that the time might be right to start looking for my muscle car.

But where to start, I love Chevelles and Camaros, but there are lots of them and I wanted something a little different. Of course, that means turning to “Ma Mopar.” I also knew I wanted a big block, but ‘Cudas, Challengers, and anything with a Hemi or 440 Six Pack were out of the range.

That’s when I came across an online classified ad for a B5 Blue 1969 GTX with a 440 and white interior. The interesting thing was that the GTX has the same body as the Road Runner, but a bigger base engine, bucket seats and a console, and the asking price was lower than the Road Runners I had been seeing for sale (the little cartoon and the beep-beep horn makes a difference). I called the number only to find out that it had sold a week earlier.

Undaunted, I went back to the Web and found another ad for a B5 blue/white interior GTX with a similar asking price. This one was in Deltona. The ad was posted the previous November, so while I didn’t get my hopes up that it would still be around 3 months later, I called and to my surprise, the car was still available. I saw it that weekend and after some brief negotiations, bought it the following Saturday.

Buying that car opened up a whole new set of experiences. The GTX is not a trailer queen by any means. I’ve driven it to shows all over Florida. I’ve met amazing people, including my girlfriend, who is a car nut in her own right. I’ve learned just enough about car repairs to know what I can and cannot do myself, and enjoy the challenge that presents. I’ve also been on 9 straight Hot Rod Power Tours, albeit in a different car, but likely never would have even considered it had I not bought the GTX.

If it has always been your dream to get a classic or muscle car (even a modern one), don’t wait. As a well-known shoe company said it best “Just Do It.”