I’m sorry to say that what you are looking at here is probably the most expensive Auto World slot car I’ve built. That’s because I’ve bought it twice. The first time around, it was a complete car with a chassis for which I paid around $60. That one was, of course, stolen from my porch, so I never got to enjoy it. This one was purchased as a body “only” for $35 + tax and postage, but of course I also had to provide my own chassis, which wasn’t free, so along with the awesome RRR wheels and tires that brings it back to around $60-$65. So its safe to say this little Verdoro Green ’68 Firebird cost me $125; not cheap for one that isn’t even a classic yet!
But hey, lets look at the bright side: it sure turned out sweet! While I admit this isn’t my favorite shade of green, it is “a very Pontiac color,” as it seems to have been popular on all that company’s models from the late ‘60’s through the mid-‘70’s. I just saw a ’68 F-boid 400 convertible painted this color at a car show last weekend, so I can promise you this is a “factory correct color.” Fitted with RRR “Stones” wheels – which I like to call “A.R.E. Torque Thrust II’s” since that’s what they look like – she’s shod with that same firm’s awesome full sized silicone tires, which this body can comfortably accommodate. Initially I was going to mount it on a standard Ultra G chassis, but I instead decided to dedicate my final remaining light brown “barn find” chassis to it instead, since I think the light brown nicely offsets the olive-y green. It was finished off with one of the extra long guide pins from OS3, and when it all came to together, I was very pleased with the results! Expensive; maybe worth it.
Of course she needs a name and driver for her debut at the track, so this ’68 “‘boid” is being christened “Valedictory” and is the entry of a new driver, Minneapolis-born Grant Grennell. Grennell is something of an oddball; he is a fan of punk rock whose favorite band is The Misfits, which, along with the color of his car, has led to his nickname “Green Hell Grennell.” Standing nearly 6’3” and nearly always seen in knee high combat boots while in the paddock, many drivers seem to regard this newcomer with some caution, so he has a lot to prove. “Valedictory” certainly seems to have the right stuff, though: while it began life as moderately optioned 330HP 400, her original block has been completely rebuilt for competition, with high-flow high-compression “round port” heads, and a mid-rise aluminum intake and Holley Dominator carb hiding under a stock-looking Ram Air-style air cleaner breathing through functional hood scoops. MSD ignition and a wide aluminum radiator round out the power plant, which drives through an M21 4-speed to a 3.90:1 Safe-T-Track limited-slip differential, and is just kept under control by disc brakes at all four corners. As the fall racing season begins, the crowd is waiting to see if those numbers add up for “Valedictory” and “Green Hell!”
