Grady Cain
Well-Known Member
I thought I would finally sit down and start a restoration thread for my 1970 T/A. Quick history on the car: I am the 4th owner of this numbers matching, 62,000 mile, 4-speed with 3.91 option, non-rallye dash, non-console, radio-delete, steel wheel, FY1 Challenger. Purchased locally and has never left the 15 mile radius of the dealership. Owner of the now-extinct dealership's son is a friend of mine who helped me find the car in 2014. He remembers ordering this car when he worked for his father at the dealership as a kid. My uncle was the Service Manager at that dealership at the time. He remembers prepping the car and installing the radio after the original purchaser requested that option. The car was delivered to it's original owner at Lime Rock Park in CT at the 1970 Trans-Am race as a promotional event to celebrate the Trans-Am series and the car that bore it's namesake. Uncle Norm took it around the track for a few pace laps prior to that race. The 3rd owner (whom I bought it from) had it since 1977 and in 1986, decided to start a "restoration" that would result in the car being taken completely apart and left sitting in a barn/garage until I got it out in 2014. He did have the car documented by Galen Govier and it has been entered into the T/A registry. It was painted in 2000? but was put right back in the barn uncovered along with all of the removed parts that were stacked up on the floor and allowed to rust and get exposed to rodents and birds, etc... Segue to February 2014 - I worked out a deal and was able to purchase the T/A. I scrounged around and was able to find most of it's original date-coded parts. Pulling it out of the garage after being in for most of 27 years was quite a moment. I have been chipping away at an assembly-line correct restoration since then. I will post pics as I get time as I have had several requests to see its progress. Thanks for reading... Mark (aka: Grady Cain)
This is how I found it...
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