the bewitched camaro is gone

[Phil Genario]

they took away my 68 camaro on the trailer thursday,drove it over to home depot and away she went to kentucky.now i have plenty of money for candy and gum!i need to do some much needed stuff on the 69 lesabe,valve cover gaskets,i do need tires,probably going to go with j78 double stripes,whats on it now.the guy at firestone said the originals look fine,and i said what about a blowout, he said, nah,theyll never blowout!!!39 years old,alrighty then!did you ever hear such a thing?stick another pin in the voodoo doll whydontcha!

[Bob Alberini]

Been there and almost actually did that, Phil. Prior to going to the BCA National in Batavia, NY several years ago, I took gray to one of the local Firestone stores here for a tire inspection. The tires were about 18 years old with 3k on them and looked like new. He checked them over and said "they're fine". Well, about 100 miles out of Columbus, I started getting vibrations which became increasingly worse. At low speeds, you could literally feel the wobble. I was directed to a Firestone store in the area and my suspicions were correct. One tire had a cord separation and another was starting. Luckily, Keith had just replaced his tires not long before so I knew what I needed and wanted and within several hours, we were back on the road to Batavia but it was a good lesson. And both my 66 Wildcat and 72 Limited are still riding on their original bias ply tires and you are 100% correct. It's like driving with square tires. The radials are far superior in terms of ride and handling -- as long as they are in tact, that is.

[Phil Genario]

how are you! i think rather than buy another car, im going to put some bucks into the 69 lesabre,i want to go with the bias,because the car is so original and new.plus i love the double stripes. i still have all original hoses with tower top clamps, eveything under the hood except the belts and battery is original,including the radiator cap.i want to order a full set of correct hose clamps, any ideas where i can get good quality ones?then ill change hoses,some of the repro clamps are crap,the ones i had on the camaro were.she still has all 4 spiral shocks,which are staying,it has an nos gas tank, new full exhaust with nos muffler and clamps.all done right when the car was bought from the collection.the car was parked and unrun since 1979,when it was traded back to taylor buick in fulton kentucky.again climate control storage. the doors were closed for so long that the outer coating of the door weatherstrips stuck to the glass in a couple of spots.there was some mold on the door panels and under the mats, and a bit on the headliner, all which came off with some comet and brillo....(im kidding, mild dishsoap and water and a very nervous and skilled hand on the headliner!)other than that the car was spotlessly clean when i bought it.all paint is untouched,and no undercoating,it was a collection purchase last fall, and the gentleman who purchased the collection,sold the newer cars to another guy who sold it to me, so its been sitting since last january when i got it , so rather than buy another car i wont drive , she deserves the attention.isnt it funny that they repro j78s but no hs.so monday ill call universal tire in pa and order them,there shipping is virtually nothing, and there 10 to 20 dollars cheaper than coker, did you know those tires are made in pennsylvania, not by coker like they want you to believe. i will save the old ones.adam shouldlet me write my long stories and call my column on and on and on,or here we go again,or got a day or so!say hi to keith and tell him the poll is still going,if he didnt tell you, let him.

[Richard Dunn]

Phil, I don't know much about your LeSabre.
Tell us about it.

[Phil Genario]

1969 lesabre custom 400 sport coupe, arctic white black vinyl top and interior,22,030 miles , came out of 29 year idle storage last fall, belonged to a buick dealer collection in fulton tennesee,taylor buick-chevrolet. the collection was auctioned off last fall.car was traded i take it inthe late seventies,options are lesabre 400 performance package,350, 4 bbl,turbo 400,ps pb,air cond ,soft ray glass,carpet savers and handy mats,am radio,rear seat speaker with mesh package tray.tilt wheel,accessory group,wide belt reveal moldings,remote mirror, front and rear quarter body side moldings.door edge guards.front and rear quarter rocker panel moldings.deluxe wheel covers with argent painted center accent.power trunk.heavy duty suspension, heavy duty cooling,complete with 60s era mcdonalds plastic car window trays that i found under the front seat!all papers including window sticker$4,680, all sales docs, deliverednew june 19th 1969. hope that works!