Junkyard Adventures: 1973 Pontiac Grand Am

Getting there is half the fun. Junkyard Life guys – hearts of gamblers with none of the instincts. That’s us! An ongoing obsession with 1973 Pontiacs is taking place at Junkyard Life. We have never seen a green 1973 Grand Am. So, having one became mandatory. We obtained possibly the coolest of Colonnades... a 1973 Pontiac Grand Am. In a rare color called "Golden Olive."
  A little background on "Olive," as we have named her. She is a shapely 1973 Pontiac Grand Am in mostly original condition. Her drive train operates nicely, though she does have a dead leg rear end. A NACA hood (added by us, soon after purchase), and several other tasty Grand Am things like a rear sway bar and reclining "horse collar" seats will earn her a permanent parking spot in the Junkyard Life stable.
 
Smoke show
  Olive has a bit of a smoking problem from her 400 engine, fed by a 2-barrel carburetor, but we are convincing her to quit. We have big engine plans in the near future... More, more, more! She has the finned hubcaps that Pontiac purest hold so dear. The GM A-body drives great, stops true, and feels tighter than a 42-year-old car should. But was Olive up for a trip to T.S.U.S.F. (Top Secret Undisclosed Storage Facility)? Dare we? The rain had no intention of letting up and we needed to put the car inside, right? Okay, lets go.  

Keith Lively takes the shotgun seat in the ’73 Grand Am adventure. Miss Olive needs a nose job but the NACA hood addition was a must.

Ride along
  We called a Junkyard Life brother, or two, to ride along (and "push” if needed). What could go wrong? For added safety, we decided to follow along in an even older car! Somehow, Junkyard Life brother, Keith Lively fell for this malarkey and rode shotgun.  

I wish we could say that was tire smoke. That 35 MPH limit won't be a problem.

>>This was Keith’s version of the event: 

How a Car Guy spent his weekend
  I received a call from the staff over at Junkyard Life asking if I wanted to go with them to take a barn find 1973 Pontiac Grand Am to their “Top Secret Undisclosed Storage Facility.”  
  Yes, you guessed it, I met up with the guys and, wow... What a car, and what an adventure, and what was I thinking?
  A normal person would have just put it on a trailer and made the trip. Not these guys. After some debating, it was decided to see if the Grand Am would run and make the trip under its own power. I was voted co-pilot on this adventure mission.  

This picture was taken as a door decided it was not going stay shut. We thought Keith was making a break for it.

Blast-off!
  We get the car started and (kinda) running. The old 400-V8 might have six working cylinders, and none of the dash worked. Also, no defroster during what was going to be a heavy rain and an hour-long drive with little-to-no window seals.  
  Believe it or not, the trip started out OK. After 20 minutes of driving in heavy rain, we had to pull into a gas station. YES, WE HAD to DRAIN THE FLOORS THAT WERE FULL OF WATER to keep our feet from going under. 
  Was this the Junkyard Life aquarium? (editor’s note: This may be the first time the word "aquarium" has been used in a Junkyard Life story. Thanks, Keith!)  

Keith wasn't kidding about the fog.

Lost Power, can’t see a thing
  Thirty-five minutes into the drive and the Grand Am lost what little power it had, so over into the emergency lane we go. After a few minutes it came back to life and we were moving again.
  Tail pipes billowing smoke and exhaust fumes starting to buildup inside the Grand Am. The windows are rolled down (yes, still raining) and I can't see a thing. My driver assures me we are getting close to the Top Secret Undisclosed Storage Facility, which sounds to me a bit like the Bat Cave.  By now, I'm thinking we just might make it. 

Fuel leak!
  With only 10 minutes left until we reached our destination, we had to go up a hill. That is when we found out the car must have a bad gas leak, because we are running out of gas when we go uphill. So, with two guys rocking the car back-and-forth, trying to get it to pick up enough fuel to make the last hill, we make it to the top. Victory is ours! 
  The chase rig, a green 1972 Vista Cruiser Wagon, loaded with tools, is hard to see through the smoke. We pull up to what looks like the longest building ever built. The door opens and with what little headlights we have left, I was not able to see the end on the building. We drive down the main lane to the rear of the building and see rows of really cool, old Hot Rods waiting to be rebuilt and brought back to life.

Pilot, Anthony Powell, and co-pilot, Keith Lively test the limits of the new Firestone tires on the Grand Am. New rubber rocks!

We made it! Keith wasn't kidding about the smoke either. We shall drop something roller-cammed in this one soon – stay tuned!

Trip summary  
  The ’73 Grand Am had no working electrical, except the engine. No defrost, and every window leaked heavily. The engine kept trying to die, and we had to stop and drain the water from the floors to keep our feet somewhat dry, but we made it. Overall, it was a fun trip with a bunch of great friends. I can’t wait to rescue the next barn find and start the next Junkyard Life adventure.
 
Ron Kidd & Keith Lively
— Junkyard Life

One-year-only 1973 Grand Am trunk lid. Tag/fuel filler door moves above bumper in 1974.

  Pontiac designers continued to offer the buying public beautiful, mid-sized cars even with the government said not to. Bless ‘em. Those reclining Strato bucket seats are a 1973 Grand Am feature. Pontiac Grand Prix and the Trans Am/Formula offered the same seats but without the recline or lumbar support feature.  

Miss Olive has a complex nervous (wiring) system. Previous owner added several toggles on the console, more accessory switches on the dash, air horns, and an apparent alarm system under the hood.

42-year-old, Miss Olive, shows off her curves.

First generation Grand Ams (1973-1975) were GM’s new breed of luxury, performance, and handling, built to compete with European corner carvers.

Miss Olive deserves proper cosmetic dentistry and the best rhinoplasty available. A fiberglass version of the soft Endura nose may do the trick.

Know a junkyard that we need to visit? Got a car story?  

Send emails to Jody at junkyardbull@gmail.com or Ron at Kidd403@bellsouth.net.

Reader’s Rides: Trio of 1976 Buick Free Spirit Indy Pace Cars rescued for restoration

Flock of Free Spirits. Len L'Heureux has gathered a trio of 1976 Buick Free Spirit Pace Cars at his shop in Canada. Len, no stranger to automotive restorations, located the rare (only 1,290 built), pace car replicas and negotiated their purchase.
  Despite their junky, as-found appearance, two are driveable. I was also surprised to learn that two of the slab-sided, silver Buicks were bought from original owners who had squirreled them away for decades. 

Attention-getting graphics on one of GM’s popular A-Body Colonnade beauties were not a recipe for success, but these overlooked, limited-production Buicks should soon skyrocket in value.

Fly again?
  Plans to restore the lone, t-top-equipped Free Spirit are underway. Once the restoration is complete, Len plans to sell the Free Spirit wearing the best graphics. He hopes to recoup some of the t-top Buick’s restoration costs by selling off the hard top swan. The ugly duckling of the bunch will likely be stripped of Free Spirit-specific parts. Those unobtainable, crown jewel items will be needed for Len’s parts stash or retirement fund. 
  Try finding a 1976 Buick Free Spirit aluminum roof halo or deck lid spoiler. I hate to say it, but I will. Len’s collection may be worth more, sold in pieces and parts. Let’s hope these three Buicks hit the road again.

  We will keep you posted on Len’s progress but if you get a wild hair and want to buy Len’s collection, he may consider leaving the Buick business. You can reach him at: lenbone.1@gmail.com

Jody Potter  
— Junkyard Life

The interior 1976 Buick Free Spirit Pace Car replica features bucket seats, console shift, tilt, A/C, and Rallye steering wheel.

Free Spirit spotter’s guide: Aluminum accent strip tops the squared roof.

Rare flock of three 1976 Buick Century Free Spirit Pace cars.

Only the best Colonnade-era Buicks featured a stunning, sweeping console.

Len L'Heureux plans to sell this Free Spirit replica, which has the best decals.

Len’s favorite t-top-equipped 1976 Buick Free Spirit is flanked by two hard top models.

A red Buick Rallye steering wheel frames the pace car’s gauges.

The Buick’s silver paint has dulled to a shade of grey that is often mistaken as primer. Spotter’s Guide tip: Pace car replica striping makes the lengthy hood look longer.

Cloth or vinyl interiors were option on 1976 Buick Free Spirit replicas. I’ve seen black cloth in person, see that previous Free Spirit find here.

1976 Free Spirits featured reddish-orange painted wheels.

1976 Free Spirit Buicks spotter’s guide: Blacked-out tail panels.

Read more 1976 Buick awesomeness!

• First Turbo Buick
• Cars in Yard: 1976 Free Spirit Indy Pace Car replica
• Lessons from the bus that ate my Buick
• Scrap yard claims 1977 Buick Regal  

Do you know where a classic or muscle car is parked in the weeds, send photos and an address. We’re on the way!?  Send emails to junkyardbull@gmail.com.

 

Junkyard Emergency: 1969 Olds Cutlass S convertible rescue mission

 

Junkyard emergency of biblical proportions! Junkyard Life brother, Keith Lively, has done the impossible. Forget flying or time travel, this guy BOUGHT an entire car from a scrap yard! The official records will read that he did not buy a car, he bought every single part of the car. How many times have we tried to do that and got the obligatory negative head shake and a hand pointing at the door?   

All hands on deck
  “Junkyard Emergency!” an excited voice yelled on the other end of my phone. I knew this was serious business. So, I dropped everything and bee-lined to the scrap place. And look what I found. Keith Lively sitting on, guarding if you will, his bounty and new thing to do. A 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible! 
  Keith’s father, with trailer in tow, and I arrived at the same time. It was my turn to stand guard while they sealed the deal. My hands were plastered against the convertible as they made it all official with the scrap yard. Sold!
  Consider this baby rescued. Good finally wins over evil. Finally, the car guys triumph over scrap prices. 

Keith Lively rescued this 1969 Olds Cutlass convertible from an Alabama scrap yard. He plans a total resto-mod on the rough-but-complete, Crimson Red rag top.

 
What does he have here, really? 
  Keith has what I suspect to be a triple red Cutlass S convertible with an Oldsmobile 350-cu. inch V-8. The drop top is well-optioned with power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, bucket seats, with (dig this) no console. That’s right, it has a column shifter and buckets. Keith and I refuse to believe someone simply added buckets and didn’t have a console to install. No, the seats appear to match perfectly to the back seat. Almost forgot to mention the solid, rust-free frame and 12-bolt rear end out back.
  The treasure chest gets heavier when you consider a very unusual 3-spoke Sport steering wheel optioned on the Oldsmobile. You find a lot of “base model” steering wheels, which almost appear to be upside down or you may be lured to the sporty appeal of the famous 4-spoke Sport Wheel. The Oldsmobile dorks over here at Junkyard Life have not seen many of these way cool, 3-spoke steering wheels in Keith’s ’69 Cutlass. 
  The red rag top has the upscale Cutlass S trim on the fenders extending all the way down the royal sides of this drop top. It seems to have the original paint (code 52 Crimson Red). The hood? Oh, my. It has the “S” or Supreme hood that also made an appearance on the 442’s of the 1969 model year. We love that hood. How many of the 13,498 Cutlass convertibles built are still around?

Peek at the rare 3-spoke wheel. Note the column shifter and the bucket seats.

What doesn’t he have here?
  The drop topper has no radiator and does not have the original wheels. Boo-hoo. We can take care of that in short order. The frame for the convertible top and the mechanisms appear to be in good shape, although the material is long gone. 

Loaded up and trucking home with the latest project. Junkyard envy?

Get out there and build something
  We welcome this addition to the family of Junkyard Life Oldsmobiles we have rescued and played with. This rare Olds has fallen into good hands and the end of its life story is about to be rewritten. Good stuff. Great negotiating skills and a real life, “I can’t believe this!” story. We will start on this car after we can finally stop high-fiving each other. 

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life

Keith Lively, left, and Ron Kidd, right, assume the “hands-on-don’t touch-my-car” position while guarding the prized, scrap yard ’69 Cutlass convertible.

Big dent in the Cutlass passenger door is the result of a forklift moving the car at the scrap yard.

Original 350-cu. inch Olds engine under the hood, we think.

A new convertible top will make a huge difference in the appearance of this neglected ’69 Cutlass.

Keith Lively stands proudly beside his latest hot rod project. See his 1966 Chevy Impala, LS 6.0 AWD project here.

1969 Cutlass S hood with rear louvers, also used on non-Ram Air 4-4-2s.

A vintage 95 Rock tag adorns the ’69 Cutlass. 95 Rock was ”the” Birmingham, Alabama rock station in the 1980s.

Bright Cutlass S trim runs the length of the 1969 Olds convertible.

A bit more air in the replacement rubber before she rolls off the trailer and the scrap yard treasure lands at its new home.

Last time this 1969 Cutlass had a new tag – 1987.

Would you have the guts to rescue this 1969 Cutlass? A lot of work ahead for Keith Lively, but he gets it – this is a dream car. 

One-of-13,498 V8 Cutlass convertible built in 1969.

The journey begins again for this scrap yard refugee. 1969 Olds Cutlass S convertible in the new “before” picture.

Know a junkyard that we need to visit? Got a car story?  

Send emails to Jody at junkyardbull@gmail.com or Ron at Kidd403@bellsouth.net.

 

Claymobile: Stolen Custom 1965 Corvair Corsa linked to Muhammad Ali, the whole story

The Claymobile almost got me arrested. I had no idea that the mysterious, custom car, with a rumored, legendary ownership, would eventually be stolen. The Claymobile story fueled my journey from junk yards to Junkyard Life and is the reason I continue to document automotive history, one junkyard dream at a time.

  Finally, the story comes home.

The Claymobile facts

  The Claymobile, previously owned by retired pilot and Corvair enthusiast, Orville Lippert, is a highly-customized 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible. The car is reportedly linked to boxing great Muhammad Ali (previously known as Cassius Clay).

  Legend has it that GM presented Cassius Clay with the modified Corvair in 1964. Hence the name “Clay”-mobile. Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964. Skeptics are quick to note that the raised white lettering on the tires reads “CLAYMOBILE CORVAIR 1965,” and that Ali would not have accepted the Corvair with his “slave name” attached.  

  The Claymobile was stolen six months after I “uncovered” the custom Corvair and published a story about it online. I’m still searching for the truth and the Claymobile.

Lead on Mystery Car

9:04 a.m. – December 6, 2008

  “You’ve never seen a car like this!”

  My brother-from-another-mother, Michael Reeder, had been feeding me a tale about acres of Corvairs surrounding a mystery machine in a field. He was convinced that one of the cars had to be a George Barris custom hot rod.

  “Looks like a home-built ‘Speed Racer’ car.”

  I was determined to lay eyes on the mystery car myself on a blustery, cold Saturday in December 2008. Three children tucked into the backseat of my battered, silver, Mazda 626. Reeder and I drove toward an overgrown triangle of land in Cullman County, Alabama. Armed with a camera and a box of Pop Tarts, we were ready for anything.

  “Are we there, yet?”

A mysterious, custom car, seemingly abandoned. The Claymobile!

First look: The Claymobile

10:13 a.m. – December 6, 2008

  “What the heck?”

  The Bermuda Triangle of oddball cars sits along a 55 MPH stretch of two-lane highway. A gray and black 1965 Fitch “Sprint” Corvair was planted a few feet from the road and served as our landmark. The location was desolate and surrounded only by farmland and swift traffic along the land bordering the highway.

  Hesitantly, our daddy daycare brood toured the abandoned car collection disguised as a junk yard. A line of four Corvair wagons, fighting a losing battle with the unrelenting hedgerow, caught our attention first. Stepping gently through the briar-laden property, with kids in tow, Reeder and I eye-balled dozens of complete, restorable cars. Almost all were mid-to-late 1960s-era. Mostly Corvairs. They were scattered among several vandalized and heavily damaged buildings, including a cinder block garage and single-wide mobile home.

  Cast-off parts, including doors, hoods and wheels, were piled, strewn and stacked in weeds. Bags of trash and pockets of decay resembling a garbage dump and war zone were sprinkled around the property for good measure.

Centered among the chaos sat the CLAYMOBILE!

Check out the smooth curve on the top edge of the frameless windshield and dramatic swoop along the top edge of the Claymobile’s eight-inch-thick doors.

Walk-around

10:24 a.m. – December 6, 2008

  An open air cockpit, tail fins and long snout? Really, I had never seen anything like it. Long and low with an exaggerated set of tail fins and enormous diamond-shaped exhaust ports. Movie set rocket ships of the late 1950s had nothing on this car.

  A closer look revealed a rear-mounted, flat-six, multi-carb Corvair engine and a Corsa emblem on the glove box. All clues to Corvair origins. Raised, white letter tires proudly displayed “CLAYMOBILE CORVAIR 1965” around the vintage ET II wheels.

  Was this a home-built tribute to the “Speed Racer” car of cartoon fame? Could it really be a George Barris custom hot rod? Why was it sitting in a field next to a destroyed, single-wide trailer?

  It was time to ask the nearest neighbor about the place.

Custom, raised-white-letter tires tell the story, “ Claymobile Corvair 1965,” and dig those ET II mag wheels!

Knock-knock!

  “Hi! You don’t know me but I’ve got some questions about that land with all the old Corvairs.”

  Initially, the neighboring property owner was reluctant to divulge any details. But the story was just too good to keep secret.

  I learned that Orville Lippert, the owner of the land and all the Corvairs, had passed in 1989. Orville, originally from Michigan, was an airplane mechanic, inspector and pilot. He built his own airplane, the Lippert-Fokker, and established Lippert’s field, a landing strip in Michigan. Orville survived a 1969 airplane crash while practicing touch-and-go landing in his WWI German fighter plane. He moved from Michigan to Florida, then decided to retire and move to  property in Alabama, where he maintained a large collection of Corvairs.
  According to a neighbor, a member of Orville’s family had taken up residence on the property but struggled to maintain the place, because they worked in another town. Eventually, the family member moved away and seldom checked on the old place. Other alleged details from the neighbor, mentioned sketchy activity on the property, which all seemed plausible considering the condition.

 

Giant tail fins and large exhaust ports highlight the Claymobile’s rocketship styling.

Retracing my steps, the first Claymobile story

4:00 a.m. – December 9, 2008

  My automotive journalism career, if you can call it that, began in March of 2008. I co-authored a blog on al.com with two like-minded, fellow, newspaper journalists, Chris Tutor and Bill Kimber. We covered the local automotive scene for fun, receiving little recognition for our unpaid pursuits. My first story was about exploring junkyards. I was hooked.

  I posted the first Claymobile story three days after I saw it in that field. It was 4 a.m. and I was anxious to find out more about the mystery car.

Recognition

2 p.m. – December 9, 2008

  A few hours after the Claymobile story hit the web, Hemmings Motor News posted their own story, complete with my photos and details about the Claymobile. My colleague, Chris Tutor, had sent them word of our Claymobile scoop. The Hemmings story garnered immediate reaction. I watched as the Claymobile story and images spread to automotive websites and forums across the globe. I soon added a brief video, walking viewers around the Claymobile, in response to a comment posted on the Hemmings site.
  A local Corvair club, Vulcan Corvair Enthusiasts, in Birmingham, Alabama reported that the Claymobile was originally painted yellow. A photo from a late 1970s car show at Eastwood Mall shows that the Claymobile was painted purple by 1977. 
  Many theories circulated, none confirmed. Joji Barris, George Barris’s daughter, dispelled the myth that the Claymobile was a Barris creation. “No recollection,” she said.
  Ali Center, the Muhammad Ali museum in Louisville, also had no knowledge of any Claymobile connections to Ali.
  A rumor that the Claymobile appeared in Playboy magazine remains unfounded.

  I did learn that original content, especially automotive unicorns like the Claymobile, will be devoured by the web before you can blink.

The Claymobile retained many 1965 Corvair Corsa-specific parts, like the Corsa instrument cluster.

Stolen

10:45 a.m. – June 28, 2009

  “I need to talk to you, now!”

The Claymobile was stolen six months after I unveiled it to the world wide web.

Orville Lippert's son, Eric, the understandably shaken owner of the Claymobile, reached out to me in a desperate attempt to locate his one-of-a-kind custom Corvair.

  “I don’t have any paperwork or VIN information on the car,” Lippert said. “Did you take a photo of the VIN?”

  Unfortunately, I did not.

  The car was Eric’s family treasure. He inherited the car from his father, Orville Lippert, in 1989, and had plans of restoring the car to its former glory. He planned to sell the car, for what he hoped would be a huge profit, to fund his daughter's education and his own retirement.

  Lippert, now living in a distant city, rarely visited the Claymobile property. As soon as the Claymobile was discovered missing, Lippert notified the sheriff’s office and reported the theft. The authorities were unable to offer assistance without photos, paperwork or VIN information.

I gave the car's shark nose front end a firm tap. It responded with the dull thud of lead or Bondo. It must have been molded solid.

Help!

  Lippert looked to the web for help. He Googled “Claymobile,” and Boom! my photos appeared.

  Proof that the Claymobile was once on the property.

  Lippert sought my help –– after deciding not to press charges against me for trespassing.

  I received a phone call from the sheriff’s office and my employer’s legal team were involved. Luckily, I kept my job. My boss allowed me to continue posting content, that did not involve the police or lawyers, to al.com.

2nd Story Plea

11:00 p.m. – June 28, 2009

  I wanted to help Lippert find his Claymobile. The car was more than the sum of Corvair parts molded into a custom hot rod. It represented the family’s dreams. Lippert, convinced that the Claymobile once belonged to Ali, planned to complete the car’s restoration in hopes that it would garner the family a windfall. The same day I found out about the theft, I posted a new story alerting readers of the news. It included Lippert’s contact information.

The Claymobile was stolen from an overgrown triangle of land in Alabama where it had been stashed for many years, uncovered.

5+ year Claymobile update

  Still missing. Lippert has no leads on the Claymobile.
  “Maybe it will show up one day?,” Lippert said. “If they didn’t sink it in a lake.”

More vehicles went missing from his Cullman property after the Claymobile vanished.

  Lippert had enough.

  “I got tired of everyone stealing everything,” said Lippert.

Eric decided to scrap the remaining cars and sold the land. His father’s Corvair collection is no more.

  The Claymobile, and the Cassius Clay connection, a distant memory.

What did I learn?

  The story beneath the rust has value. Original content is king and everybody wanted a piece of the Claymobile for their website. Before I brought this story to light, few had ever seen the car or knew details about the mystery surrounding its existence.

  The photos I took and excerpts from my stories can be found on blogs and forums across the web. The mystery of Muhammad Ali and the Claymobile created quite a stir and led me to tell my tales on Junkyard Life.

  I continue to dig for dream cars on the cheap and will tell the stories of the people who held the keys.


Jody Potter
— Junkyard Life

Fins from the 1950s and imaginative design helped to make the Claymobile a one-of-a-kind custom that will never be recreated.

Small pillars support the windshield. High-backed bucket seats. Seat belts? No.

What was a custom Corvair built for Cassius Clay doing in a field?

Power locks or power window switch on the door panel of the neglected interior?

Imagine rowing through the gears in the open cockpit. Did the legendary Muhammad Ali once hold the Claymobile’s steering wheel?

Multi-carb, rear-mounted flat six Corvair engine powered the Claymobile.

A TV was installed in the glovebox of the heavily customized Claymobile when the car was first completed. Note the Corsa emblem.

The headlight trim and mouth-like grill were created in the use-what-you-have school of design. Notice the purple paint under layers of primer?

The Claymobile’s seats included headrests.

Vintage ET II mag wheels were wrapped with Silvertown tires lettered with "Claymobile Corvair 1965."

The Claymobile was advertised in Hemmings in the late-1970s.

Claymobile in 1977 at an Eastwood Mall Corvair show – Birmingham, Alabama.

Surprised at how good the Claymobile looks in 1977? What a difference 30 years can make when parked out in the elements.

Send Claymobile information, photos, money, junkyard tips and stories to Junkyard Life!
Email junkyardbull@gmail.com