Fire, Chrome, And Community

Live From Back To The Past

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast.

unknown 0:03

Yes.

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Go. Not you. But that's okay. Welcome everybody to the award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show today. Coming to you from the Back to the Past Car Show in Houston's Spring Branch neighborhood. Coming up, interview with one of our showgoers. Actually, she is a member of this outfit, and she's got a car that's pretty bad in the bone. I didn't say currently, but I just said bad to the bone. Um Mr. Jeffrey Zeke, this guy here, he's going to have cars that were too powerful for their time. For their own good. And Mr. Mars has five Renaissance festivals for a fall road trip. You know what? I think I'm just going to do my own road trip. When's the last time you've been to a Renaissance festival?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Oh. It's been a long time now.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Yeah. 30 years. We're not, yeah. We're not in that age group anymore. It's burned down twice. It has been. Well, that's the one here, yeah. Yeah. And now the guy is the guy, I think, but anyway, it's still blowing and going. Well, at any rate, hello everybody, and welcome to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Along with Mike out of this world, Mars. We always need more Jeff Zeke and today in person. Here he is. David Ainsley. I'm Don Armstrong. Glad you could join us today. Uh, it's been quite a trip here um at the Back to the Past car show brought to you by the Spring Branch High School Foundation. But um, because we've spent the last two hours setting up, we're not used to doing remotes anymore. And we've got new equipment and all that. And hey, did you bring this? Did you bring that? Where's that? We get we got WARs and stuff. Who's got the beer opener? It took us the entire two hours to set up this morning. We've been here since 5 a.m. Well, not quite that bad. We have. Yeah. Some of us have.

Meet Adelia And Her Coronet

SPEAKER_03 2:10

No, I I rolled in it directly. Actually, it was 802 when I rolled in. Oh boy. So in the guest hot seat right now is Adelia Graves, and uh she is with the Spring Branch High School. Uh the Foundation. She's a member of the Foundation. She doesn't want to claim that she's the president or the non-president or the secretary or the sergeant at arms.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

I'm a grant. I'm a grant.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Well, that's okay. We all are. And in this in this set scenario, so we all are. So she has a 1968 Dodge Coronet. And uh Mr. Mars was supposed to have a picture to be able to pull up, but he's out doing something. But I will tell you that it was a very nice looking car before it burned up. It done burn up. It's burned up. Done burned up. Well, uh, Sheila, I was gonna say good morning to you, but I hey, we're alive and well. The car's not doing so well, but uh we are.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yes, sir. Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

Well, it's a pleasure to thanks for having us out here. We appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Thank you for coming.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Yeah. So the 68 Dodge Coronet, uh I saw a picture of it and it's it's really nice. Actually, it was out here last year. And I think I think that we've seen you since then. Some some of the Lupe Tortilla property. Yeah, that's it. In the past. That's right, yeah. And uh which by the way, that car show is going on this morning.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

I heard that.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Well, we we met her at at one of the Lupe Tortilla. We did the show here, we went back to Lupe Tortilla, saw her there again, and now we're back here again.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

So it's you know, we're kind of married in some sort of way.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Ah, nice. Well, we are, aren't we? Well, my husband hopes it's cost y'all as much as it's cost him.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

I'm adopted. Yeah. But uh and anyway, so let's talk about the Dodge Coronet. Now, I understand it's a 383.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

But it's in a 440 body.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

That's correct.

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Is there a different body style for the 440?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

No, it's just a a different motor. That's all. That's it.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Because the the only how would you tell if it went down the street, how would you tell that it was a 440 or a 383?

SPEAKER_01 4:18

You know, um it would say on the side, normally, but I'd have to look at it. And there's really no body difference.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Is it an original 383?

SPEAKER_01 4:28

It is.

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It's an original 383.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Matching numbers. Really? From head to toe. The motor matches the transmission, rear end, it it's all it's was perfect.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

Well, um did you did did you have insurance on it?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

You betcha.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

Good. Yeah. Well, did you say that? With like with like Haggerty or something?

SPEAKER_01 4:49

No, it was with uh SafeGo.

SPEAKER_03 4:52

So what actually happened? We never just say. Well, we're gonna find out. Uh, you didn't give me a chance. Jeff Jeff's always ahead of the game here, so so we understand that there was a fire. When was when was the fire?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Uh it was a couple weeks ago, and I keep it out at the West Houston Airport in a hangar. Well, that's where Stan is. That's right. Yes. That's right. We're in one of 'em. And um I went in, cranked it

The Hangar Fire And Aftermath

SPEAKER_01 5:15

up, no no worries. I was hung around 30 minutes talking to a couple of the guys. I left. Thirty minutes after that I got home and he called and he says, Hey, I heard a boom. Your car's on fire. In the hangar. In the hangar. I thought, oh, you're kidding me. He said, No, I'm not kidding you. So we rushed right back there and uh got there just as the fire department has extinguished it. Yes, and kind of destroyed the hood because my eye my thought is they broke the window thinking there was a hood release on the inside when the old car you just go open the hood.

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Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah. Instead they they bent it back and they cut the fenders with that big saw. Yeah, it was ugly.

SPEAKER_03 6:04

Well, um, is it salvageable?

SPEAKER_01 6:07

I think so. I've got uh several um great mechanics that say we can restore it. They're all looking for parts. I'm just waiting on the insurance to uh let it go.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Wow.

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So they said I could buy it back.

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Wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

I know, it's gonna be a lot of work. And money. It's gonna screw my nails up bad.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Did they put a value on it?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

No, not yet. That's what you're waiting on? It is there is a stated value on the car of 95,000. So they're going back and forth trying to figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

Well, we hope everything works out for you.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Well, thank you. I I hope so too. I really love the car.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Well, we do too. Clearly.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Oh, yes, it does.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Yeah. Um, you know, all of us that have cars, I I I don't know whether you remember or not, but I have a 2001 Corvette that has 35,000 miles on it. It's my baby.

SPEAKER_04 7:05

Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 7:06

That paint on that car has been massaged so many times. You would think that it was a custom paint job. It's a black on black car. And there's nothing really special about it. I mean, it's got some 07 wheels on it. Um i i it I've done some things to it, but the motors it's all stock.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

No, you should have brought it.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

I I thought about it, but I thought, man, I've got too much to do to show it and all that stuff. But one of these times I'll bring it and we'll we'll you'll see it. Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

I brought a bet to the show today. Which one? I have a 2010, it's a Ruby, kind of a red convertible. It's got the skeleton in it. Okay. Sparked right over there. Um is it an automatic? It is an automatic.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Mine's a six speed. Oh. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

We get rubber and a couple of those gears. Yes, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Sounds like she wants to trade.

SPEAKER_03 7:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Want to trade?

SPEAKER_03 7:56

I don't know what's going on down here, and I don't really don't want to know.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Mike's doing his taxes and he's just helping them with it.

SPEAKER_03 8:02

Yeah. So um, anyway, we're not gonna worry about them.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Um, so how long have you had the Corvette?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Uh just uh about a year and a half now.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

Yeah. Um and you bought it because you're a car person.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Yes, but I had an O3 yellow Corvette, convertible, black top, had 369,000 miles on it. Wow. And they couldn't find parts for it anymore. So I had to trade it. And I got that 2010, had 64,000 miles on it when I bought it. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Well, you might know the guy that I bought the Corvette from. His name is Greg Enders, and I'm sure that you've heard of Erica Enders.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yes, yes, I have.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

Yeah, well, um Greg is her dad, so that's who I bought it from. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Stan and Stan Holt, uh, with Lupi Tortilla, and um Greg Enders and I were running buddies. Still are, but I don't get to see them as often as I'd like.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 9:00

Well, life moves on, you know. You just you know anyway.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

It's like old cars.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Yes, yeah, exactly. And you hang on to them for as long as you can, and then something happens in life, one thing or another, and then you sell the car. I had a 65 Corvair back when I was in high school that I bought. I was working at Richardson Chevrolet.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

And uh I bought it because he w the guy was a customer of mine. I was working in the service department and uh right in service and he called me on the phone and he said, I can't get the car to shift for speed. And uh so I said, Well, y what do you want me to do? Jackie Hansen. Uh and he says, Well, um I I

Insurance, Value, And Salvage Hopes

SPEAKER_03 9:45

I can't it doesn't I I can't make it run and go down the road, so I guess you're gonna have to send a wrecker. So we sent the wrecker over there and picked it up. And it was a thing called a shift tube. And those things they didn't have shift linkage, it was concentric tubes that ran from the shifter to the transaxle in the back. And yeah, and so it froze up. It had never been serviced, it was old, had lots of miles on it. So and the shift tube I think was like, I don't know, three or four hundred dollars. And uh the guy put it in and the customer couldn't afford to pay for it. He says, just keep the car. Okay. So then I had to buy it out of the dealership. And um I did. And I think it was five hundred bucks. And um that was my ride, and then I couldn't stand it.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

I had to have a new Vega No.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

Yeah, I did. I actually bought two of them, one is 72 and the other one was a 74. And then in 75, a GT was the 74. And uh so in in uh 75 they came out with the Chevy Monza.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Monza.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Uh-huh. And they stuffed a small block V8 under the hood, and you had to take the tire off to get to the rear spark plugs on the right cylinder bank. And I thought, boy, I guess I'm not gonna hot rod this. That's why I bought I had a spider, I had a V6. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's it's uh it's a long story, but I'm telling you my story.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

I know it's a great story.

SPEAKER_03 11:23

Well, so tell us about the car show here today. Who are all of these people are Spring Branch High School Foundation members?

SPEAKER_01 11:30

No, they uh they probably went to the school at one time or another. Yeah. Um they're all really good people, you know, car people. Yeah, GNS Automotive sponsor was one of the sponsors.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

And um, so we really appreciate them. All these cars right here are theirs.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

Oh, yeah? Yep. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

That Hellcat.

SPEAKER_03 11:50

You know, I I vaguely remember this guy that that owns the.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

I think you interviewed him when you're gonna get it. That's a right-hand drive, too. That's a right-hand drive.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

He has a Rista, uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Wow. You got the Edsel. We're about to tub it out and put an L S in it, but that's an Etsel. Yeah, an EDSL.

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Can you imagine that?

SPEAKER_03 12:07

Well, it's a it actually is a beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

I would.

SPEAKER_03 12:10

I would too now. Well, you know, we have another friend of ours that uh has an EDSel, but it's an Etsel cop car.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Yeah. It's a cop car.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

Uh-huh. Bobby Sparkman that runs uh a hot rod tour of Texas. Have you you've never been on the hot rod tour?

SPEAKER_01 12:24

I have not.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

You need to do that. 400 cars and uh starts in Victoria, and this year we're gonna head north through the hill country again. Last year we came up here and yeah. But um it was uh fun just tons of fun. You'd enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Uh I would like to be there.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Yeah, we make we make stops along the way, you know, the uh Spetzel brewery and you know, places of interest.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Oh, that's that would be a place of interest.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Yeah. Yeah, it it's tons of fun. That's where you get the best Spezzel is at the Special Brewery. Uh-huh. And you get some pretzels there, too. Pretzels and Spezels. Pretzels and Spetzels.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Say that fast three times.

SPEAKER_03 13:00

Yeah. Um, so uh so this show today actually just started as we went on the air at ten o'clock. Now this is a judged show, is it not?

SPEAKER_01 13:09

It is. I've got uh six judges out there and some different classes. We've got a JDM class to add to it.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Really? So whose grandson is in the JDM bunch?

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Grandson?

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Because that wouldn't

Corvette Talk And Car Community Ties

SPEAKER_03 13:30

be our it wouldn't be our era.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

No, but it was a suggestion that was made to me. That's good. That we needed to have a JDM class. And next year it'll be in a European class, we'll add to it.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

Okay. So well, I don't have any European cars. All I have is an American car.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

I don't either. I I'm down with the American.

SPEAKER_03 13:50

I don't see any Buick's out here.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

You don't have to pull mine up front.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

Yeah. Jeff's got a new uh Buick station wagon. Well, that's in SUV.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Well, new station wagons, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

What is it, an Invista? Invi uh Invision. Invision. Yeah. But um anyway, so I see that we've got things to eat over here.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yes. Uh we had a alumni member that passed away and he was on this barbecue team and they came out and uh volunteered uh to cook barbecue today for us.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

How nice.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

So you'll enjoy that. It's it's the best.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

And at the other end you've got uh coffee and and donuts and things on there. That's where the registration's at is down there.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Yes, sir. Calachis.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

So you get a free calachi with a registration?

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Uh we can do that. No, I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Yeah. Because everything uh goes to the foundation. Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

That's correct.

SPEAKER_03 14:43

And and the foundation supports the museum.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Uh yes. Um we also give away scholarships to the Cornerstone School, and we do good things around.

SPEAKER_03 14:53

So tell everybody about the Cornerstone School. It sits on the property of Spring Branch High School, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

That's correct. And I don't know a whole lot about it.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

But uh You didn't go to Spring Branch High School.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

I did, but I don't know anything about the Cornerstone.

SPEAKER_03 15:04

No, but I'm talking about the school and the property here.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Yeah, and the alumni. We had a a lot of fine times back here in this parking lot during school.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

I'll bet you did.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

You know, you can't fool me, you party animal.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

I think your initials are in that tree over there.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Did you see that? That's awesome. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 15:20

It's trying it's trying to heal over, but it was the it was so deep in there that yeah, they couldn't quite do do that.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Yeah, but all the all the people, the alumni, the area, we just we just think about the bear. There's a book that's been written about it.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

You know, driving uh here uh I thought this is really a nice neighborhood.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

It is coming through here, it's very nice.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

And the street in front is it's a narrow street. You would never think that a high school would be in this area.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

You know, I can't.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

But back in the day, I mean, this was a thriving community that had young people in it. I would imagine young people can't afford to live here anymore. That would be my guess.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Yeah, they're pretty pricey some of these houses. Some of them being knocked down and new things built. Right. But there is I can't remember one of the ladies that just recently passed away. She was like in the fifties graduating class. She used to ride her horse to school.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

You know, so did I. You did. Yeah.

unknown 16:20

I think yours is more like a mule.

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Um I can't we can't hear the. It's probably just as well. I'm sorry. You said it's probably more like a mule. So that would be kind of like a jackass, but not.

SPEAKER_06 16:31

Well, I wasn't quite going to go that far, but yes.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Well, he pulled his conestoga wagon and parked it back in the Conestoga. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:38

Yeah, and that way you could just sleep in it overnight. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

That was the one that's the one that I ride on the saltgrass trail ride.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

I do you ride on the salt grass?

SPEAKER_03 16:45

I do not. I do. Do you? Yeah. And what and Wagon One. Wagon one of uh saltgrass trail rides.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Really? Mm-hmm. Yeah, me and a girlfriend, we've been doing it for 25 years. And when I was a kid I used to do it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

A trail rider. You know, I think that you're probably one of the first trail riders I've ever met.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Really?

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Yeah. We need to sit with you. I was uh I was uh a committee member for 20 years out there.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

No kidding.

SPEAKER_03 17:12

I was, yeah. That was way back in the day. But eighties and nineties, mainly, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

I was probably running around out there somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 17:20

Yeah, you probably were. I've got somebody that uh uh I need somebody to take her under their wing uh out there at the rodeo. And I you're the first person that I've met that's a uh committee member.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Really?

SPEAKER_03 17:33

You just you you got your fingers in lots of pots.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Well, but that's on the trail ride. I understand. But I know a lot of people and uh I'm sure you do. And uh how old is she?

SPEAKER_03 17:42

Uh she's twenty six. Twenty-six? Yeah, twenty-seven.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Okay, we could hook her up and go out to to uh the barbecue.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

And that's yes, and and that's what we need to get her out of the damned apartment and get her moving. Okay. Pretty girl. Yeah.

About The Show, Classes, And Sponsors

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Okay. Consider it done. All right, I got it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Just get with me.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

I will. Okay. I will, definitely will. That's good to know. Um we're talking about Leslie's daughter, Francesca. We call her Franca.

SPEAKER_05 18:14

Oh, I didn't know if you had a new girlfriend or what did you want?

SPEAKER_03 18:16

Well, I do. Her name is Leslie, but it's not new. I mean, we've been together almost four years. Old new girlfriend. Don't don't say that. Oh, you wouldn't appreciate old.

SPEAKER_05 18:27

No.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

None of us appreciate that word.

SPEAKER_03 18:31

Well, hello. And it goes both ways too, me either, but I am. Um so at any rate, uh when does registration end?

SPEAKER_01 18:41

When the cars stop coming in. Okay. All right. No, it's looks like it's um and there there's there's room.

SPEAKER_03 18:46

So if if you've got a car and you're listening to the show and you're thinking, well, I I don't want to have to get out and wash it. You don't have to wash it, just bring it in here.

SPEAKER_06 18:54

Yeah, and it's gotten kind of cloudy, so it's a little bit cooler. You know, it's not a hot sun.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Really? Well, of course, you're from Neeterville, and you your definition of uh cooler is different than mine.

SPEAKER_06 19:06

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

Well, um, I'm really thrilled to be here. All of us are. Thank you very much for inviting us. It's always a pleasure. Thank you for coming. And best of luck to hey, keep us posted on your car.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:18

Whether you know, once you once you get it all worked out with the insurance company and everything, uh let us know. We'll put some pictures up and everybody will be aghast. More before and after.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Okay. I would I would I would enjoy this.

SPEAKER_05 19:34

Yeah, what not to do.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Yeah. Well, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

And we appreciate it. Adelia Graves, our guest. All right, just ahead. Jeff's car culture. Cars that were too powerful for their day. Plus, Mars has five fall road trips to Renaissance festivals. Get dressed up and pretend you're not you. That's it. After this break, here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. You've waited all summer and it's finally here. The Tail Pipes and Tacos Ball 25 Cruise In Car Show. It's been a while, but the popular Tia Pipes and Tacos Cruise In returns to the Loopy Tortilla Tex Mex and Katie, Saturday, October 18th. Make any donation to Shirley's kids and get a free breakfast taco. Don't be mamosas and bloody merry's too. Get to the best cruise in of the year. Tick Pipes and Tacos Car Show, Saturday, October 18th, 8 to 11 a.m. Cruise in, make a donation of any amount, and grab a free Loopy Tortilla Breakfast Taco. Tail Pipes and Telicos only happens at the Loopy Tortilla Tex Mex in Katie, 703 West Grand Parkway at Kingston Boulevard, just south of the Katie Freeway. Join the car camaraderie, and your car will automatically compete for one of three chili pepper trophies at no charge. Paul is here, and what better way to celebrate than with a free taco at Tailpipes and Telicos Cruise and Car Show. Saturday, October 18th, 8 to 11 a.m. It's the cruise in You Won't Wanna Miss Loopy Tortillas, Tail Pipes and Telicos in Katie.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

400 of the coolest rods in Texas.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Welcome back, everybody. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Invite you to join us 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday for our live show, like this one is. And about all things automotive, as you probably have guessed. We thank you for being with us today. We are coming to you from the Back to the Past car show put on by the Spring Branch High School Foundation. And uh we're out here at Cornerstone Academy. As a matter of fact, I can tell you exactly where we are. Oh, yeah, I've got the address. Yeah, we uh we have the address uh somewhere. It's not it's not on there. Oh yeah, it is 9016 Westview, 9016 West View in Spring Branch, Houston, Texas.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

And that's where we're at.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Time now for Jeff's Car Culture. Two powerful cars for their time.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Too powerful for their time. TO Two, yeah, two two. Uh to capitalize on the muscle car craze and racing enthusiasm, many big three automakers built limited edition factory drag cars with unreal amounts of horsepower. These were intended for the track, but were 100% street legal. Are you ready, Fifi? Hit it. Uh first one is a 1963 Chevy Impala Z-11. 50 Impala Z11s were built as drag cars for the track only, but were guaranteed to run under 11 seconds. That's pretty quick. The fact calls into question that uh official power rating, because the cars were definitely quick, had more juice on it. There was no real dyno or credible sources to see exactly what the horsepower was, but it's estimated to be 510. That's the thing. Oh why? From the factory. From the factory. Yeah. The power of this car may have in part been part of the reason GM would ban engines over 400 cubic inches in the intermediate cars later on that GM produced. Uh may have been thinking about potential lawsuits arising from letting a bunch of knuckleheads get a hold of these cars.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

Who would be the knucklehead?

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Who would be the knucklehead? Uh next one we've got is a 63 Pontiac Catalina

Neighborhood Roots And Alumni Stories

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Super Duty. They call it the Swiss cheese. There's a theme on this list of all these cars had underrated the Catalina Super Duty was rated at about 405 on the horsepower, which is not enough to move a full-size car down the quarter mile in 1200. I think it was heavy, too. It was. Most likely it was over 500 ponies from the factory, higher on the track after it was tuned up. Pontiac made only 14 of these glorious cars, making them some of the rarest classics of the era. Wow, I've never heard of one. Yeah. Car pictured here is about $742,500 at a Mekam auction in 2025. So there you go. Uh another Catalina went for about 473. Okay, the next one is the 64 Ford Fairlane Thunderbird, Thunderbolt, I should say. The God of Thunder and Rock and Roll. The 64th Thunderbolt wasn't much of a myth as it was a legend, capable of ripping off quarter mile estimates in the Levens. With this mighty 427 cubic inch side oiler, the V8. Now science says that this was estimated about 425. So lightweight body and additional weight reduction. Isn't it not a good one?

SPEAKER_03 24:23

You just keep on doing your thing because uh the three of us are gonna go here. Go for it. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Uh best estimates put it about 540 on the ponies. Uh not a proven fact, but hey, they only made a hundred of them, and several of them are still registered on the street. So the next one we've got is a 68 Dodge Hemi Dart. It is a full-blown Hemi. Uh the 68 Dart was just as the name would suggest, a 426 street Hemi. We had a little thing here. Uh squeezed into the engine bay. Chrysler was uncomfortable with a factory installing Hemis and compacts, so they did one better. They just let Hearst do it. So actually uh it wasn't too bad for them to do that. In addition, the massive power was upgraded. The Hemi darts were stripped in every weight, adding comfort like rear seats, carpets, insulation, they took all that stuff out of there. So that would be uh for that Hemi. We're gonna get the next one here. That is a 66 Ford Fairlane, 500 R code for the 66 and 67 seasons only. The Ford Fairlane R dominated the NHRA SSB gas class and the AS classes. Uh so given the acceleration of the times of the era, and they had to do a lot of it to get it under an 11-second car. Unlike the rest of the cars on this list uh that we just read you, they're available to the general public. Ford reserved uh these cars for select drivers only. They made fifty-seven of them, and the top dollar collectors will be all over these things. And the last one we have, Michael, uh would be the oh that was the last one. There you go. So the 664 Fairlane. So there you go. That is a bonus car. Oh, the bonus car. There you go. I knew we had another one. There's the bonus baby right there. Thank you, Mike. And there you have it.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

What was the bonus car?

SPEAKER_02 26:09

My car. Performance Buick. Conformance Buick. There's always a bonus in that. Come on.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

All right. Are you ready to do driving uh destinations?

SPEAKER_06 26:20

No, I need to shift here for a second. Give me one second.

SPEAKER_03 26:23

Well, I tell you what, let's do this. Let's uh move you to the next segment. We'll start off the next segment with uh driving destinations, if that's okay. Yeah. All right. We'll do that. And um in the meantime, um I did want to tell you in this show, our story of the week is going to be something that uh may interest you. Um and it's about Porsche. We normally don't talk about Porsche on this on this show because we don't get Porsche's to drive. They have nothing in the press fleet that I'm aware of. Uh so we don't really talk about them that much. But um at any rate, uh we have that as our story of the week coming up in the next hour. So keep that in mind, okay? We've had a little spittle of a rain shower that kind of moved overhead, and everybody's scrambling to get underneath the tent like us. So there's that. All right, um we're going to do Mara's

Jeff’s Car Culture: Too-Powerful Legends

SPEAKER_03 27:30

driving destinations coming up. And we're also hopefully going to have another guest from today's Back to the Past Car Show over here at uh the former site of the Spring Branch High School. Um it's the annual classic car truck and motorcycle show motorcycle show that goes until two o'clock this afternoon here at the Cornerstone Academy. That's what that's behind us here in the place of Spring Branch High School, 9016 Westview in Houston, Texas. Um I I don't have a headset anymore, David. I think that you made a bump to something. Bump anyway. Um, so we're gonna take a quick break. The In-Wheel Time car talk show continues after this. You own a car you love. Well, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it? Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts. We promise you'll be impressed. Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nano ceramic window tent, or new windshield protection called Exoshield, Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go. Curbed your wheels? Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired? How about a professionally installed radar detector? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too. Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshield.com. Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway and get a personal tour. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior. Call them today, 832-930-5655 or gcautoshield.com. Wrap up your engines. It's time to roll back in style at the Back to the Pass car show. Join the Spring Branch Senior High School Foundation Saturday, October 18th at Cornerstone Academy, 916 Westview Drive in Houston. Classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles, family fun, food, music, and memories. It's something for everyone. Proceeds benefit local students and programs. Don't miss the shine, the chrome, and the nostalgia. 10 to 2 Saturday, October 18th, back to the Past Car Show. Springbranch Bears.com slash car show for more information. In Wheel Time will be there too. That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our In Wheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.