1984 Pontiac Sunbird 4 Cylinder Wagon Derby Car
This car was picked up in Woodbridge, Ontario for $100. The previous owner told me the starter was dead so he just wanted the car gone. It turns out someone just broke the long starter bolt off in the block. So we drilled out the old bolt, threaded in a new one. The starter is just fine. This car was run in the Belleville Derby on September 1, 2002. They cut the limit off at 30 mini cars this year for the first time. I ended up winning my heat ($60) and I ran for the first time in the ring with my friend Jonathan (#55) who won second in the heat. Unfortunately, the rear end still went to the ground on me even though I had it pre-bent. I guess we have to do it further next time. Anyway, we only had 10 minutes to get the car ready for the feature. We tried to enlist the help of a fellow running one of the tractors to bend the back end back up again, but with such a short time (and a rookie tractor driver), we didn't get it done. So I changed the tires over to the "donut" spares to keep the wreck moving and maybe do well in the feature. Got out there and finished 4th out of 12 cars. I would have maybe gotten 3rd had my rear tire and rear bumper not held me in a soft spot in the track. Oh well! Once we got the car home, we realized it had a good run left in it, so we spent a day (and a 10 ton hydraulic jack) to push the doors back out, and to lift the roof and back end back up (pictures of the car after that still to come).
Sadly, upon closer inspection in the summer of 2003, I decided the car was too weak to bother running again. The rear subframe had started to tear away from the body and both rear wheel tub seams had split all the way to the bottom floor of the car. Along with the rear wheel that no longer turned, it was just going to be too much work and not enough car in the end to bother fixing it. So, therefore no return of this Sunbird wagon this time!
Click Here For Pictures Of It After Paint, Ready For The Derby!
Click Here For The After Derby Pictures!
